Best of Austin 1999, Readers Poll

Media

Year after year, this local mainstay rocks out on top. Must we reiterate why? Great local and national acts. Years and years on the air. Loyal supporters who tune in every week. Or maybe it's just the stripped-to-the-bone-gut-rumbling-hip-rocking-good-time music that shakes the KLRU set every week and made all those ugly rusted metal plates fall off of the Communications Building's old facade.

Two different takes on the political spectrum, but both from the same station: Go figure. Our readers like KJFK. Some favor Shannon "Shando" Burke's liberal (and sometimes scatological) midday shift, while others go for the extreme libertarianism of Alex Jones' The Final Edition, which keeps listeners up to date on the sinister lurkings of The Delta Force (and in light of the latest Waco revelations, Alex might not be so far out).

We swear we didn't rig it. We swear we didn't rig it. We swear we didn't rig it. We swear we didn't rig it. We swear we didn't rig it.Yes, we really won again. Karen Rheudasil, the Chronicle's online/production manager, along with Webmaster Matt Williams, have set our lovely site on an ambitious path for the next millennium. Auschron's leap forward in design and user friendliness is in response to our readers' support and loyalty in the recent past. And boy, it sure looks purdy, too. Watch as our movie database and search capabilities get even snazzier. Congrats, kids, you earned it. Thank you, Austin!

Well, this ain't his first rodeo. For six years running, our readers have bootlicked Austin's answer to Dave Barry for his inimitable skill in tweaking our spleens and chuckling our butts. Lordy, he's got the gift of wit; he makes us laugh out loud, and that's a powerful good thing. No doubt about it, this bubba's got his Bud on our pulse.

We went back and forth on our decision to run this category in our ballot. Our goal is to create categories that encourage votes cast for locals. But really, when you're talking the World Wide Web, you're talking about horizons expanding and the entire planet as your back yard. The San Jose-based eBay has all but defined the worldwide realm of online auctions and blows away all other contenders in this category. And with just a little bit of surfing, we realized that many, many Austinites participate in eBay's dizzying world of "high bidders" and "positive feedback." Go ahead, log on, pick a handle, and commence to bidding. You might start by doing a search for "Austin Texas."

With a reputation as one of the most computer-dense cities in the world, it's no wonder Austin technicians - especially the mobile kind - are at a premium. Our readers' endorsement of those lovable nerds proves that they are fast, efficient, friendly, and professional. When your PC or Mac is ailing, that's comfort indeed.

The past year has not been kind to Dallas-based CompUSA. Stiff online competition and falling prices have forced "America's Largest Computer Superstore" to close its local Highland location and lay off several hundred employees. But the newly streamlined CompUSA has a much more efficient customer service setup and a burgeoning Web presence. And their gargantuan sales volume still means that they can offer highly competitive rates on all major brands of both hardware and software.

From Selected Shorts to Car Talk, with cool jazz and informed deejays, every night we find something to satisfy our craving for great radio from this longtime favorite. So why haven't we sent in our pledge yet?

Ten years ago, Illuminati was just a piddling little bulletin board system. Now it's one of the most popular ISPs in Central Texas. Their deep roots in the community are appreciated, their packages and rates are still attractive, and their equipment is top-of-the-line. But their best feature is their customer service - phone calls to their help line are usually answered by the second ring whether you're calling at four in the afternoon or four in the morning.

Andy Langer walks a narrow line as a nationally published journalist and as local deejay on both KUT-FM's Sunday Overnight show and 101X's Next Big Thing. But with feet his size, his steps are solid. One thing Langer emphatically is, is on top of things. He was on the scene of Carole Rylander's self-serving tax raid on Antone's within minutes thanks to a hot tip; that's the kind of chutzpah that will only fuel his career. Andy Langer, we salute you and our readers salute you. But you smoke too much.

This is Local Live's second take of this award and KVRX's seventh BOA of the decade. Even back in its day as the cable-only KTSB, Texas' only student-run radio station received national recognition as a true-to-form innovator. Local Live, the station's weekly blast of live local music recorded right there in the Moore-Hill dorm studios keeps listeners loyal and true. This past year, KVRX has featured Knife in the Water, x,xx,xxx,xxx among its stellar lineup of guests.

Austin360 is a one-stop portal for all your local news, information, and entertainment needs. They have it all - detailed maps and driving directions, exhaustive restaurant/movie/music listings, up-to-the-minute weather reports, interviews and chat, travel and recreation tips, terrific local and national sports coverage, searchable databases of employment opportunities and classified ads, and great technology and real estate sections. New features are being added all the time - even the complete contents of the day's Austin American-Statesman.

This is Alan Pogue's ninth BOA. What words can be said about this Austin legend that his pictures worth far more than a thousand words can't? He's been capturing shards and slices of moments in Texas time for decades. His recent shows on Iraq and on U.S. prisons put it all in black and white.

Ahhh, take a deep breath. Relax. The world may be imploding, the dog needs walking, the Prozac's running low, but All Things Considered, we're still here, and we can listen in peace to the moderated sounds and civilized voices of public radio at its best. This is indeed the antidote to the shrill cacophony of modern media, a breath of Fresh Air, and we're lucky folks to be amongst the airwaves.

This show may be little more than a crass attempt on the part of the hosts to grab whatever free goods and services they can squeeze out of the Hollywood's bloated PR departments. But it also happens to be the most hilarious show on access. Host Korey Coleman and friends mix promotional clips and no-nonsense reviews with goofily irreverent skits and digressions that are often more entertaining than the Hollywood flicks they make reference to. Wednesdays at 10pm.

No Ricky Martin, no genies in bottles, and no retro new wave disco dance party Fridays. Just groovin' music - even Austin music - that people love delivered by well-informed and mellow-modulated deejays. Adult contemporary? Adult alternative? The Gee-Zer was all over those before they even had names.

The executive secretary likes to keep the company dial tuned to classical, just to keep his nose close to the boss' - you know. The assistant manager changes the thing to "Way Over the Top Wednesday" every chance she gets, while she "gets down" with her bad self. The boss? When no one's looking, the old man bangs his brains out to the local metal station. Can't we all just get along?!? With a format that doesn't overwhelm our working environment, KGSR makes the flourescent lights seem a little mellower, the cubicle walls a little lighter, and Friday a little closer.

No wonder our readers love Liscano. He projects an affable loutishness with just enough dedicated professionalism to keep him credible. Fans think of him as "one of us," not some Ken-doll talking head spouting the latest scores or Sports Illustrated retread. Recent broadcasts hint at a bit of a change of image, however, for the roly-poly reporter. His sexy new close-cropped hairdo and leaner, meaner gridiron girth just might make him completely irresistable to a whole new legion of fans.

The Coach would not like for it to be widely known what a softie he is, but it's the truth. That certainly does nothing to diminish the high regard with which our readers hold him, but it goes a long way toward explaining his passion for sports. And is he passionate! Dallas? Phooey! Chicago? Yay! The coach does not dillydally with these things. What's been most fun is reading his rants through the years as his kids grew up, his love life fluctuated, and his dogs wreaked havoc. Kinda like one of the family, our Coach is.

She's gone and won it again. We count this as the eighth BOA for the KVUE anchor, which is almost half of her station's total wins. We won't argue with your fine choice, either. With a delivery somewhere between mother, teacher, minister, and pal, she conveys the news with warmth, authority, intelligence, and sincerity every night, right into our homes.

For six years running you have voted KVUE your most reliable, best all-around newscast. Perennial BOA favorite Judy Maggio is certainly a draw, but there's got to be more to a good newscast than its anchor. Chalk it up to a great writing staff and good judgement on the part of the news editors, along with the talent in front of the camera.

The management at KLBJ-AM was reportedly greatly saddened by Culpepper's recent jump from radio to television, and with good reason - they lost an excellent broadcast journalism talent. Now on your small screen, Culpepper has impressed us with her ability to get a handle on hard news issues and concisely explain why they matter. She fits in well with what was already the best newscast in town.

Jim's competitors don't come within spitting distance of reaching this holy man of weather prognostication. An Oklahoma boy whose fascination with the skies was honed growing up in the heart of tornado alley, Jim has won every weather-broadcasting award there is. He established the Live Weathernet with 75 sites at schools and fire stations all around Central Texas to give us the real look at local weather. Unfortunately, some competing weather vanes feel South Austin stops at Ben White, or that a weeklong forecast is cool, even if not accurate. Jim's Future Forecast is seldom wrong, and the new VIPIR 3-D radar system illustrates each tiny component of every thunderhead, layer-by-layer. Jim surfs the cutting edge of new weather technology, and it's no wonder that our atmospheric freak readers chose Spencer as the weather guru worthy of weekday worship at 6 and 10.