Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned “best of Milwaukee” click-a-thon? Best Milwaukee Restaurant! Best Milwaukee Public Figure! Best Milwaukee Dog Grooming Place That Hasn’t Advertised With Us Yet! Sure, these very serious contests are great and all, but how many of them are brave enough to name a single Best Milwaukee Thing?

Just this one.

So welcome to Milwaukee Record’s Best Milwaukee Thing of 2025 Bracket! Like the last two years—in which local celebrity Tabman was named the Best Milwaukee Thing of 2023, and local band MIZZY was named the Best Milwaukee Thing of 2024—there are two head-to-head matchups in 16 categories spread out over four general areas: Music, Food/Drink, City Life, and Sports/Other. A total of six rounds will take place throughout December, and a single Best Milwaukee Thing of 2025 will be named on December 29.

So here’s Round 1, which runs through Thursday, December 4. (Round 2 will be December 5-11; Round 3 will be December 12-18; Round 4 will be December 19-22; Round 5 will be December 23-25; and the Finals will be December 26-28.) IMPORTANT: Round 1 is your only chance to vote for a write-in candidate, in the second matchup of each category.

Okay, enough talk: VOTE. VOTE EARLY AND AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE. JUST VOTE. And may the Best Milwaukee Thing win!

MUSIC

FOOD/DRINK

CITY LIFE

SPORTS/OTHER

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RELATED ARTICLES

• Milwaukee band MIZZY is the Best Milwaukee Thing of 2024

• The people have spoken, and Tabman is the Best Milwaukee Thing of 2023