Best Music Poll | Boston

When it started in 1989, the WFNX/Phoenix Best Music Poll was — to borrow Leonard Cohen’s current boilerplate — “just a kid with a dream,” and the alt-folk quartet Ed’s Redeeming Qualities were our cover. Twenty-one years and one hip-hop and grunge revolution later, local electro-pop upstarts Passion Pit are bigger than just about anything else in our poll, and they’re part of a massive free BMP concert that’s set to take over City Hall Plaza this Saturday afternoon, August 1. Within, find an interview with Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos and our assessments of the trends in this year’s local and national ballots, as well as comprehensive “Meet the Winners” profiles of the bands you selected as champs.