The nominations for this year's SD Times 100 are now open. There's an excellent write-up, explaining just what these awards are intended to do, Here. There is also a FAQ on the process. After you've familiarized yourself with the criteria, you can vote for your favorite buzz-worthy software development tools.
This is always an interesting process, and we usually have a few surprises each year, along with some obvious choices. Feel free to nominate popular open source projects, such as Eclipse. Potentially, open source companies that offer service and support would qualify, also. But we generally prefer those companies to offer some sort of development tools, so keep that in mind.
There's a nice list of past winners, for those looking for inspiration.
We really appreciate all of our reader nominations. It makes a big difference to us, as you are the folks who are using these tools, after all.