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Every chart type is optimized for a specific kind of comparison. Picking a chart before you're clear on the question you're answering is how you end up with a beautiful visualization that doesn't actually communicate anything.
Most charts fall into one of five jobs: comparing categories (bar), showing change over time (line), showing relationships between two numeric variables (scatter), showing the shape of a single variable (histogram), or showing parts of a whole (stacked bar, occasionally pie). Name the job first, then pick the chart.
Bar charts are a safe default, but "safe" isn't the same as "correct." A trend over twenty time periods usually belongs on a line chart, not twenty adjacent bars; a relationship between two numeric variables belongs on a scatter plot, not a bar chart comparing pre-defined categories.
A chart trying to show revenue, cost, margin, and headcount at once forces the viewer to do the analytical work you should have done for them. Split it into two or three focused charts instead — each answering one clear question.
Show a chart to someone unfamiliar with the data and time how long it takes them to state the main takeaway. If it takes more than a few seconds, the chart — not the audience — is usually the problem.
Chart selection isn't a style choice, it's a communication choice. Start from the question, match it to the chart type built for that job, and verify the result actually lands with someone who wasn't in the room while you built it.