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One of the most common questions I receive from Creditnet readers is "How can I rebuild my bad credit?"  My responses generally include several suggestions, but the first recommendation I give is always the same- you need to build positive payment history. Sure, there are quite a few other tricks you can try that may provide short-term credit score boosts, but building positive payment history will have more of a lasting effect on your FICO scores than anything else. After all, it accounts for the largest chunk of your FICO score. So how can you go about building positive payment history when your credit is in the tank and you fear you'll never get approved for a credit card again? Fortunately, there are credit issuers out there who are willing to take a chance on you again.  These guys often get a bad rap because they offer products with higher than average fees and interest rates to consumers trying to rebuild credit.  However, the truth is these cards can provide huge long-term benefits for those that truly care about fixing the mistakes they've made and getting their personal finances back on track. Of course, there are some products that stand out above the rest. Here are my picks for the top 2 credit cards for bad credit in 2011:

Orchard Bank Visa Card

If you think your credit is decent enough to qualify for an unsecured card, Orchard Bank credit cards are your best option on the market today. Your annual fee and interest rates will vary depending upon your current credit level, but once again, you don't care about interest rates. You won't be carrying any balances! You can, however, expect your annual fee to fall somewhere between $35 to $59, which you'll find isn't bad at all when compared to other bad credit credit cards. It's important to remember that these cards are stepping stones on your way back to healthy credit.  If you play your cards right, you shouldn't be using them for more than 6-12 months.  And while it may be a bit painful to pay a higher annual fee and not receive any rewards while using your new card, that's a small price to pay for building positive payment history and watching your FICO scores rise once again.