Recent advances in single-cell and single-molecule epigenomic technologies now enable the study of genome regulation and dynamics at unprecedented resolution. In this Perspective, we highlight some of these transformative technologies and discuss how they have been used to identify new modes of gene regulation. We also contrast these assays with recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics and argue for the essential role of epigenomic technologies in both understanding cellular diversity and discovering gene regulatory mechanisms. In addition, we provide our view on the next generation of biological tools that we expect will open new avenues for elucidating the fundamental principles of gene regulation. Overall, this Perspective motivates the use of these high-resolution epigenomic technologies for mapping cell states and understanding regulatory diversity at single-molecule resolution within single cells.