WINNER: Best mural in metro Atlanta | Best of Atlanta

With all the colorful, poignant, whimsical paintings in metro Atlanta, we assumed it would be tough to pick a favorite. We were wrong.

We chose seven that either impressed us, made us smile or both. They pay homage to Atlanta’s civil rights legacy, hip-hop royalty, a goddess, a baby Jedi and more.

But those weren’t enough, so we added a write-in nominee.

In fifth place was Baby Yoda, by Chris Veal and Nels G. Inspired by “The Madalorian,” the pals created the mural along the Beltline.

» Local artists breathe new life into Atlanta Beltline with Baby Yoda mural

In fourth place was Civil Rights. Samuel Glickman, owner of Provado Grooming, donated the wall of his building for a civil rights leaders mural in the historic African American neighborhood of Vine City.

» Murals near stadium highlight Atlanta's civil rights legacy

Our third place finisher was *Hero. This mural of U.S. Rep. John Lewis is always a favorite, even winning last year. Atlanta-based artist Sean Schwab worked on the mural for eight days using a 65-foot lift.

» Mural honors John Lewis

Second place goes to a mural honoring Atlanta hip-hop royalty OutKast. Seen in a back parking lot in Little Five Points, the mural is "ATL all the way," according to the artist, a Greensboro-based muralist known as JEKS.

The overwhelming winner was a write-in candidate that received 62.5% of the votes. Portrait of a Goal Scorer in Castleberry Hill shows Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez with his arms widespread above Walker Street. Artist Matt Letrs said the mural began as a generic soccer tribute, but soon changed focus to be of Marinez.

» Atlanta United's Josef Martinez joins short list of area's elite players