The best Best of Sacramento

The issue you hold in your hands is not the only thing in town that calls itself Best of Sacramento. But it is the real Best of Sacramento. It is the original Best of Sacramento. And it is the best. Here’s why.

First of all, as you know, SN&R’s readers are the smartest, hippest and most honest media consumers in Sactown. (Not to mention the best looking.) You know this city and its environs better than anyone. That’s why our Readers’ Poll contains the highest collective crowd-sourceable IQ in this market. And it’s a big crowd: Almost 50,000 votes were cast this year.

Secondly, SN&R is unlike other media in this market: Our readers feel that this is their newspaper. That’s probably why, if you disagree with something in these pages, you feel outraged. Betrayed. That’s also why close to 80,000 pick us up every week, making this one of the largest-circulation weeklies in the country.

Second-to-lastly: The whole concept of a Best of this-or-that city is an altweekly thing, invented by our friends at the SF Bay Guardian in 1975. We’ve been at this for a while, and doing it correctly requires not only deep knowledge of a place, but also the kind of independent-mindedness found at news organizations like this one.

Finally, the writers and editors who crafted this issue are passionate about Sacramento—passionate critics and also passionate boosters. Longtime SN&R editor Rachel Leibrock orchestrated the team and directed her writers to seek out the real Sacramento, including “the jank.” It worked.

Congratulations to the 290-plus winners. You are truly the best!