The right chart depends on the question being asked, not on the type of data alone.
The same sales table can need bars, lines or a histogram, depending on what someone wants to know.
Most questions fall into 4 groups: comparison, change over time, distribution and relationship.
Comparison across categories points to bars, sorted by value unless the categories have their own order.
Change over time points to a line, or to bars when there are only a few periods to compare.
The distribution of one number points to a histogram, or to box plots when comparing many groups.
A relationship between 2 numbers points to a scatter plot.
Parts of a whole can use a pie chart when there are only 2 or 3 slices of clearly different sizes.
With more slices, or close shares, a sorted bar chart shows the same thing more accurately.
A table beats any chart when readers need exact values to look up rather than a pattern.
A single important number, such as a total, often needs no chart at all.
Unusual chart types can impress but slow readers down, so they need a good reason.
In practice, sketching 2 or 3 options and keeping the one that answers the question fastest works well.
Showing a chart to someone who has not seen the data reveals quickly whether its message comes across.
The usual mistake is choosing the chart first and the question second, which produces a chart with no point.