Welcome to the 12th annual celebration of local players, bands and fans. It’s Coast readers, the best fans going, who decide all the winners. Since this poll covers Halifax music released and performed during the 2012 calendar year, please keep your votes timely and local where applicable. This is not the place for PSY, Taylor Swift or The Black Keys (except for maybe the question about tours you wish came to town).

The rules couldn’t be easier: Just name your favourite in at least 10 of the following categories, and you’re a BOM voter. All BOM voters are entered in our grand prize draw, a random draw for an amazing $1,000 music gear shopping spree. There will also be four prize draws during the voting period—we have three pairs of pro-grade headphones and an awesome cajon drum to give away—so the earlier you cast your ballot, the more stuff you can win. (Prize winners are still entered in the grand prize draw.)

To enter, you must be a registered member of The Coast's website (you can sign up now if you haven't before). We promise not to share your information with anyone outside The Coast. We will add your email address to our newsletter mailing list, but you can easily unsubscribe.

The poll is open for voting from January 1 until February 5 at two minutes to midnight. We will then tabulate all the qualified votes and announce the results in The Coast Thursday, March 28.

We encourage musicians to lobby their fans to get out the vote, but only one entry per reader is allowed. (We have ways to thwart cheaters, and improper votes will be disqualified.) If you have clever comments to explain your choices, we may (anonymously) quote you. If you have any trouble voting, please let us know at bomtech@thecoast.ca

All prizes kindly provided by Long & McQuade.

If you're wondering about the best, non-musical, aspects of Halifax life, you'll be interested in our separate Best of Food and Best of Halifax awards. If you’d like find out more about how The Coast’s Best of awards work, check out the BOH FAQ here.

Otherwise enjoy your poll, thanks for taking part and let’s get this show on the road.