Here are my options. This was indeed difficult; I started with ten and had to prune viciously.
1) EP195: 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson
I love love love the tone of this one, flat and declarative and yet filled with wonder. I love the incongruity and the homeyness, and I love the way it all ties together in a way that makes sense and feels organic instead of forced. One of the few endings I did not see coming, for which I feel duly ashamed. Oh, and: Best title ever.
2) EP187: Summer in Paris, Light from the Sky by Ken Scholes
I had JUST been thinking, "Man, it would be interesting to think about what might have happened to, say, Hitler, if things had turned out just a little differently." Then this story came up in my trip through the archives, and I said, "[unprintable]! Well, at least this way the story can be published, since it doesn't look like I'd have done it well enough." It was very nicely done, and I particularly enjoyed the glimpses of the other changes in history around the edges of the central conceit.
3) EP202: Will You Be an Astronaut? By Greg van Eekhout
I would read this to my children. That is all.
4) EP197: From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled… by Micheal Swanwick
I put this in fourth place instead of "Exhalation" because I didn't want TWO of the award-nominated stories in, and plus I enjoyed this one a lot. The title was nifty and intriguing, and the story held my interest by explaining as little as possible. I'm also usually not a fan of overt "Lady or Tiger?" endings, but I appreciated it in this instance, since I think either ending would have felt a little too pat on its own.
5)EP214: Sinner, Baker, Fablist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast by Eugie Foster
Eugie Foster stole my dreams and also writes them better than I can. Goddammit, Eugie, stop being awesome. You're killing my self-esteem. (Also, major props to the reading; I read this story before hearing it, and the reading was really fun. Obviously everyone had a good time going into that one.)