Best art gallery

With so many choices out there, this category never produces a landslide winner. This year, Newbury Street partisans split their votes among a dozen or so galleries, which meant that none of them finished on top. Instead, a narrow victory went to the two-year-old Gallery Bershad, which probably benefited from location (it's the only major arts venue in trendy Davis Square) and size (it's got a healthy 3200 square feet of exhibition space). Bershad, which is an outgrowth of the historic Provincetown Group Gallery, features work by both local artists and nationally known figures such as Mark Priest and Rosalind Burns. Its current exhibition, "Naked & Nude," will help benefit the AIDS Action Committee -- and will undoubtedly raise public awareness of the gallery to an even higher level.

South of the Charles, the winner was the Gallery at Green Street, conveniently located in an Orange Line subway station. Another youngster in the local arts scene, the three-year-old gallery features regional artists and cutting-edge works. Its last exhibit, "Crossing Paths," included photographs by high-school students and by participants in the Bikes Not Bombs program.

Gallery Bershad, 99 Dover Street, Davis Square, Somerville, (617) 629-9400; Gallery at Green Street, Green Street T Station (141 Green Street), Jamaica Plain, (617) 522-0000.