Best local band
For the third year running, the multi-ethnic, multi-influenced, multi-flavored, multilingual Babaloo win our readers over with their one-of-a-kind blend of self-described (and discovered) punk mambo and hardcore juju. Babaloo combine Latin and Caribbean rhythm and spice with the DIY, in-your-faceness of punk, and the result gets audiences moving. In their words, cross "King Sunny Ade and the Ramones or Tito Puente and the Sex Pistols," and you've got some sense of what they're about. And whatever it is, it's contagious. Babaloo's next album is due out in early 2005, and their first full-length DVD, The Return of Eleggua, featuring concert footage, backstage peeks, and personal interviews, is also on the verge of release.

At the 2003 Boston Music Awards, Averi were nominated for best live show, and this year, Phoenix readers select these pop-rocksters as the finest in Beantown. With roots in the Merrimack Valley, Averi have toured relentlessly up and down the Northeast and beyond, creating a huge fan base. They've shared bills with the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20, Barenaked Ladies, and the Sheila Divine, among others. And on September 1, lead singer Chad Perrone reached the ranks of the Boss and Jimmy Buffett when he performed at Fenway Park. (Okay, he sang the national anthem, opening a Red Sox game against the Yankees, but still.) With two albums under their belt, Direction of Movement and At Wits End, it's only the beginning for this Boston band, and Phoenix readers have high hopes.

Babaloo, www.punkmambo.com; Averi, www.averimusic.com.