Atlanta isn't THE worst place to drive but it is one of the worst. The biggest hindrance is that the mass transit system, MARTA, was done half-assed and is managed incompetently.
The best thing to do when dealing with Atlanta traffic is:
1) Live close to where you work
2) Live somewhere that is against the flow of traffic.
3) Avoid I-285, I-85, I-75, and GA-400 if at all possible.
4) Invest in a good time travel machine whenever possible
5) Win the lottery and quit working so you can buy up the GDOT and summarily execute every single engineer who thinks its okay to shut down 3 lanes of a 3 lane interstate at 9:05 am