BOM HOME 2010

The Shepherd Express is pleased and proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original,� largest and most coveted Best of Milwaukee Readers' Choice Awards.It was 20 years ago--when the Shepherd was just 8 years old--that the staff decided to celebrate Milwaukee's best by letting the readers select their favorite people and places throughout the city. The Best of Milwaukee started with a large voter turnout and has grown ever since. The Shepherd Express has adapted its voting system from the early days when readers cut the ballot out of the newspaper to an online system in which thousands upon thousands of Milwaukee-area residents vote for their favorites. Shepherd readers take their Best of voting very seriously, which is why the award is prized above its many imitators. �

We're adding a new twist for our 20th anniversary. In addition to asking readers to vote for their favorites in more than 180 categories, we're asking some of the critics that write for the Shepherd Express to select their favorites and expound on their choices. In some cases, the readers and critics agree; in other cases, the readers trump the critics. In all, it is the Shepherd's effort to congratulate and thank the winners and runners-up for their contributions in making Milwaukee such a great city.