1. What is the Best of the Nashville?
For more than 35 years, the Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville has been a celebration of the people, places and things that make Music City a great place to live. From our Readers’ Poll awards (which pull in hundreds of thousands of votes) to our Writers’ Choices picks of the city, no issue better captures the BEST of the city than BON.
2. How does the Scene determine Best of Nashville winners for the online voting?
We don’t — our readers vote for their favorites in hundreds of categories through our online ballot via write-in submissions. At the end of the voting period, we review the write-in submissions, and the top number of submissions are the year’s Best of Nashville winners. We’ll also release our editorial team’s Writer’s Choice picks in each year’s issue — those are selected by our expert editorial department over a series of grueling meetings, based on what most impressed them over the course of the year.
3. Is there a nomination round and a voting round?
No! There is one open-voting submission window — during that time readers can write in their favorite Nashville businesses, people, places and things!
4. When does voting begin and end?
Voting starts July 31, 2025, at 7 a.m. CST and ends August 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
5. How many times can I write in vote for a business?
You can only vote once per category.
6. Do businesses have to pay to win?
No way! It is 100% free to participate. We do have options to give your business more exposure, but purchasing advertising does not guarantee any results for the contest. Best of Nashville results are based on our reader voting, we don't sell votes! Period.
If you are interested in getting your business’s artwork on the ballot or advertising, email us at bestofnashville@nashvillescene.com.
7. What happened to that one category from last year?
You sent us hundreds of notes during and after last year’s Best of Nashville, and we used that feedback to create this year’s ballot. Some categories have been expanded, others have been tweaked for clarity, and a couple were put on the shelf. These changes refresh the ballot so it’s not exactly the same year after year. We did our best to consider the impact of these changes, but we’d like to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions for the 2026 ballot. Please email those messages to bestofnashville@nashvillescene.com.
8. Do I have to vote in 20 categories for my ballot to count?
Yes, please! You must vote in at least 20 categories (that's to make sure everyone plays fair, and no one stuffs the ballot box). By having you vote in multiple categories, this helps us ensure that bots and spam voters don't flood only one category with fake votes. Plus, don't you want to show some local love to your favorite businesses? It only takes a few minutes!
9. How can I promote my business to get votes?
See our Best of Nashville Campaign Toolkit page with info and marketing tips.
10. Where is the “submit” button? How do I know my votes counted?
There is no final “submit” button. Once you click the “VOTE” button and enter your email address, your choice is recorded. No further action is needed.
11. I’m having trouble registering. What do I do?
When you start voting in the first category of your choice, you will be asked to fill out the required registration form. When you complete this step, you will be registered, and you can continue filling out your ballot.
If you have trouble with that process, we suggest trying a different browser or device.
12. I don’t have time to fill out the whole ballot right now. Can I come back later and do more?
Sure! As long as you’ve already registered, you’re logged in on the same device and it’s before the deadline, you can pick up where you left off. When you return to the ballot on the same device, you should be automatically logged in and able to see your previous selections or make changes to your ballot. If you get logged out, simply sign in and authenticate with the same email address to pick up where you left off.
13. Why do I have to make an account?
Our ballot software requires that users create an account to track your selections. This helps us guard against fraudulent voting and allows you to revisit your ballot before deadline to make changes and cast votes in other categories. Don’t worry — there’s no password needed.
14. How do I find out who the winners are?
Winners will be announced in our annual Best of Nashville Issue, released Oct. 9, 2025, in all regular Nashville Scene pickup locations. The results will also be widely shared online, on social media and via email to our subscribers. Subscribe now to get the Best of Nashville Issue delivered right to your door, and signup for our newsletter to get the results and voting reminders right to your inbox!