For 28 years, Creative Loafing’s Best of Charlotte has been a celebration of everything the readers enjoy; in addition to everything staff members love or love to hate. When we started brainstorming ideas for this year’s edition, we thought, “We are constantly telling people about our favorites every week in the paper and online. Why not give more of our readers a voice to share theirs?”

So, that’s what we’ve done. In addition to the readers’ selections for the Best of Charlotte in more than 220 categories, we’ve also interviewed 15 winners to find out more about their favorite things in and about Charlotte. Still wanting to hear from the critics? Well, we’re giving every regular writer the opportunity to share their highs and lows of 2015 at the end of the year. Until then, here’s what our readers love about the Queen City.

Thanks to everyone who voted and contributed!

— The staff of Creative Loafing