Boy, do you have your work cut out for you, trying to win the office basketball pool is hard enough; settling on the greatest thing in Los Angeles is something else entirely. We know. After all, just narrowing the field to 64 candidates entailed days of nominating and defending and filibustering among staffers. But it wouldn't be right for us to hog the debate. The responsibility for determining the favorite sight, ritual, delicacy, or landmark in town rests with you. Here we simply make the case for each of the contenders. In the ensuing months, the votes you cast at lamag.com or by phone at 800-915-1303 will whittle the field to 32, then 16, 8, 4, and finally, a single winner. It's like the college tournament, without the bookies. Or the body paint. When the champion is crowned in the August issue, victory may well be yours.

Amoeba Music
It arrvied from Berkeley only six years ago, yet Amoeba is like LA itself - teeming and gritty and so vast as to be daunting at first. Then, looking out past the ink-drenched Goth chicks, Latino punkers, bifocaled jazz aficionados, and dreadlocked dads fliping through the acres of bins, you see it for what it is: an unrivaled opportunity for exploration. The big staff - surprisingly non-'tudinal - and free shows make a great institution that much better.