Welcome to the Boston Phoenix's third annual Best issue. As always, it's our biggest issue of the year, and the one we have the most fun with. Only here can we tackle such pressing issues as the "Best place to see an Irish step-dancer split his pants"; only in these pages can we reveal the "Best place to out-accessorize Joan Collins"; and only in this issue can we finally confess that, yes, we've been hanging out at the "Best place to stick a pencil up your nose while finding Jesus."

There are five sections this year, spanning everything from the great outdoors and la grande amour (Outdoors & Romance) to the twin gods of the evening: the dinner bill and the bar tab (Food & Drink). In each section you'll find our editors' inestimable picks, as well as the results of our readers' poll, which appeared in our newspaper and on our Web site throughout September. To better capture the diversity of Boston, the readers' choices generally feature two winners per category, one from north of the Charles and one from south. Although numbers tell only part of the story, overall we cover nearly 300 editors' and readers' choices, and laud more than 400 places, people, and businesses.

Another essential component of our annual Best issue is our salute to "local heroes" -- individuals and organizations working to make a real difference in this city. Their grand passions range from music to human-rights activism, and we have been transformed by their devotion. Their profiles begin here.

As much fun as we had with this issue, no small amount of work went into its creation. There are too many contributors to mention individually (we'd have to list the hundreds of people who sent in ballots, for starters), but special thanks are due to Michael Endelman, who helped verify a mind-boggling number of addresses, phone numbers, and facts. In addition to Phoenix editors and staff writers, other contributors included Rob McKeown, David Valdes Greenwood, Andrew Weiner, Nina Willdorf, Ben Geman, and Peg Aloi. The issue was designed by Ashley Willard and edited by Robert David Sullivan.

If you have any comments on the issue, please send them to best@phx.com. We're all ears, as next year isn't so far away.

-- Leighton Klein