Welcome to the Boston Phoenix's first-ever Best issue. The print version is the largest Phoenix ever (440 pages, 2.562 pounds), and the largest alternative weekly newspaper of all time. And we've put the whole thing online, for those of you who just hate ink on your hands.

What's in this issue? Simply put, a recognition of all the great people and things that make Boston our home. To paraphrase Walt Whitman, Boston contains multitudes -- it's not just a single place, but a collection of cities and towns, each with its own culture, history, and language. Within every neighborhood of Greater Boston there are hundreds of "bests": quiet little spots that even Emerson would find ideal for contemplation; vibrant centers that rival any for their bustle, commerce, and visual riot; tiny shops that have persevered since James Michael Curley ruled this fair metropolis; and hundreds of thousands of individuals. Paying tribute to them all is no small endeavor.

We've covered Boston's Best in six sections -- Food & Drink, Arts & Entertainment, City Life, Shopping, Romance, and Outdoors -- plus a special six-part feature devoted to Local Heroes.

Within each Best section you'll find editors' choices and readers' choices. Throughout September we asked our readers what they loved about this not-inconsiderable corner of paradise. Given the city's almost infinite riches, these were choices only they could make -- the best new restaurant, the best place to go running, the best bookstore, and on and on. To increase our readers' say, we asked them to name two winners in each category: one north of the Charles and one south of the Charles. We believed this was the only way to begin to explore Boston's variety, and it worked -- more than 200 winners were selected in all.

With our readers in charge of making the tough decisions, our writers and editors got to have some fun. If you want to discover "the best place to find those lime-green-checked tights you thought you'd lost in 1984," you have only to look in the Shopping section. Curious about "the best place to be mistaken for a rock star"? It's in Arts & Entertainment. How about "the best café to find out who your neighbors are sleeping with"? There's only one, and we write about it in the Food & Drink section. There are more than 300 editors' choices, so that's a lot to enjoy.

This is the Phoenix's Best issue. It was the product of a lot of work, both ours and yours. We hope you enjoy it.

-- Leighton Klein