Your favorite issue of the year is here: Best of Phoenix 2026

It’s that time of year again: The 48th annual New Times Best of Phoenix® is currently on newsstands and available online.

The theme, Come Out and Play, is a reminder to put down your phone, get off your computer and experience the Valley of the Sun up close and in person.

With this edition, we invite you — yes, you — to join us in celebrating the vivid experiences waiting to be enjoyed in metro Phoenix. Museums and dispensaries. Golf courses and nightclubs. Mountains and hotels. Day spas and taquerías. We have reported and written 500 reasons for you to put on some shoes, set your phone to Do Not Disturb and join the party happening every day, just outside your door.

We couldn’t produce Best of Phoenix® without help from our readers, so we dedicate an entire section to your picks for the city’s best in nearly 100 additional categories. As for our own picks, those come from our team of writers who know all corners of the city.

Let’s touch grass, literally. Let’s open our eyes to the Valley’s incredible people and places. Let’s get out there and live big.

To the readers of Phoenix, we say: Come out and play.

The staff and contributors who help make Best of Phoenix happen

Best of Phoenix was written by Angela Anderson, Christopher Boan, Tirion Boan, Zach Buchanan, Itzia Crespo, Sara Crocker, Niki D’Andrea, Sam Eifling, Morgan Fischer, Jennifer Goldberg, Geri Koeppel, Brendon Kleen, Benjamin Leatherman, TJ L’Heureux, Mike Madriaga, Anwar Newton, Zach Oden, Rudri Bhatt Patel, P-Body Scott, Clarissa Sosin, Kelly Walsh, Georgann Yara and Amy Young.

Art direction was by Eric-John Torres. The cover was designed by J. Gonzo. The section opener art was made by Alex Clauss.