Who doesn’t love a friendly competition? Every year, our readers submit thousands of votes telling us what they think about the best and brightest our city has to offer. The results are in, determined entirely by our readers, not Alibi staff. Here’s to you, Albuquerque, and to your finest.

Eric Williams

Best New Politician

The fresh-faced congressman representing our city and the rest of CD1 in Washington won this most important race, the one to your hearts. Awwww. So far he's made good on his promise to support green legislation and cosponsored a bill that would require the United States to get 25 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025.

Eric Williams

Best Locally Produced Film or TV Show Shot in New Mexico Last Year

Written, directed, filmed and edited by Chris Roybal, Descansos is a fine choice. The drama about love, loss and roadside shrines is made up of eight vignettes shot all the way across northern New Mexico. In addition to showcasing picturesque locations like Albuquerque, Taos and Chimayo, the film also shines a spotlight on more than 20 local up-and-coming actors and actresses.

Eric Williams

Best Casual Restaurant Service

When you're in the mood for a casual, food-based affair—you know, just a bowl of soup, an iced mocha latte or a big muffin—you head straight to one of the many (and still growing) locations of Flying Star. Who needs table service and linen napkins when you've got gooey, creamy mac and cheese?

Eric Williams

Best Bar Staff

A diverse array of drinkers stops by for a cold one every night at the Anodyne. No matter what social clique you belong to or what your beverage of choice is, the staff at the Anodyne makes sure you get it fast. It only takes a few visits before the bartenders know what you want before you even ask for it.

Eric Williams

Best DJ

Steward of copious Downtown booty dancing, DJ Justin Case knows how to get this party started ... this party being one that's cloaked in small pieces of skintight fabric and boots with the fur.

Eric Williams

Best Independent Bookstore

The movers and shakers behind New Mexico's largest independent bookstore recently shut the doors at Page One Two, folding most of that store's used stock into the original Page One. While it's sad to see Page One Two gone, it makes Page One even more vital. Where else can you find such a locally owned superstore filled with literary treasures both new and used?

Best Busker

Fast Heart Mart doesn't just talk the sidewalk talk; it walks the sidewalk rock. Rain, shine or mounted horse cops on the street, FHM gives the finger to holding down a job and high-fives the common man with a snare drum and that unmistakable double-necked acoustic guitar.

Carmine Russo

What do you teach at CNM, and how long have you been doing it?

I teach Global Cuisine classes in the Professional Cooking II program and have been working at CNM since 1991. My CNM title is Instructor. My ACF title is Chef de Cuisine and Culinary Educator.

Jeremy Foote

What makes the Albuquerque Press Club unique?

How many other bars in Albuquerque are located in a 105-year-old haunted log cabin placed in the middle of a park with great views of Downtown?

What's one drink you just couldn't live without?

A Toronto.

Derek Caterwaul

You put out an e-mail events newsletter called Subterranean Albuquerque. What's your motivation for doing it?

I think it's generally known as obsessive-compulsive disorder. But it also seems like there's a real need for something that gathers information into one place for people. It provides a big picture of how vital the "un-dependent" music scene (not to mention other alternative media) is in this town.

Mike Locksley

Best Charity

I've always been involved in the Boys and Girls Club. It's played a major role in who I've become. I grew up in a single-parent home and my mom worked. My coaches there were like my fathers. That was the first place I learned to take my hat off when I came into a room, and which is the salad fork and which is the dinner fork, and things like that. They have all kinds of great programs that helped me learn how to fit in wherever I went.

Bryan Konefsky

What’s an example of art you love in Burque, and why?

Ross Ward’s Tinkertown Museum (on the east side of the Sandias) embodies a theme that is unique to Albuquerque. Ward’s brilliant homage to himself expresses a wry and defiant sense of independence that does not answer to popular trends or fashions. Albuquerque’s creative community possesses this same need for self-invention. In the 18 years that I have lived in this city, I have witnessed the ebb and flow of a dynamic cultural landscape that demands a high level of engagement and participation but is always a whole lotta fun!

Rebecca Jo Dakota

What role does AIBA play in the community? 

We are the voice for locally owned businesses, supporting the sustainability of our local economy and the charm of our city.

How many stores are a part of AIBA? 

AIBA has about 275 members now, most of which are businesses. We have nonprofit organizations and some individuals as members, as well. The membership committee plans to have 500 members by the end of the year. Sign up!

It's a chance for you to kick us in the pants, complain about categories we did and didn't have, and give shout-outs to your homies. We got a vote for Hamlet 2 as the worst movie filmed in Albuquerque. Gene Grant's "The Line" on PBS got a vote as the best local TV show. Grant got another nod when someone voted for him and Jim Belshaw as the best ex-newspaper columnists. Another Burqueño said we should nickname our fair city "The Cheap and Sunny," probably after that killer Fast Heart Mart song. And how's this for heartwarming? Best reason to live in Albuquerque: the people.

OK, so the democratic process yielded the Best of Burque winners. So what? What about the hidden treasures and awesome insider info lurking inside your own BOB ballot? If you want to share your incredibly discerning picks with the world via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or whatever your favorite web gizmo might be, we've cooked up a quick-and-easy page here >>. It's a crazy social media world! We only live in it.