Top 10 Albums
- American Saturday Night by Brad Paisley
- Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
- Crack the Skye by Mastodon
- Revolution by Miranda Lambert
- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
- Love vs. Money by The-Dream
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt 2 by Raekwon
- Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
- I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers
- The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
Top 10 Animal Stories
Top 10 Apologies
Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective
- William Kentridge: Five Themes
- Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice
- Cy Twombly: The Natural World, Selected Works 2000-2007
- Yinka Shonibare MBE
- James Ensor
- Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons
- Kandinsky
- Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction
- Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective
Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Balloon Boy Spills the Beans
- Kanye West Doesn't Let Taylor Swift Finish
- The Beer Summit
- Artie Lange Steals Joe Buck's Show
- Mark Sanford's Mea Culpa
- Ryan Seacrest's Regrettable High Five
- Joaquin Phoenix Bombs on Letterman
- The Colonel Is in the House
- Joe Jackson Works the Red Carpet
- Categorizing Caster Semenya
Top 10 Best Business Deals
Top 10 Breakups
Top 10 Buzzwords
Top 10 Children's Books
- Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
- Guess Again by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Adam Rex
- Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth by Diane deGroat and Shelley Rotner
- Crow Call by Lois Lowry; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
- Elephants Cannot Dance! by Mo Willems
- Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman
- How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
- Pick a Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket; illustrated by Carson Ellis; music (accompanying CD) by Nathaniel Stookey
- The Snow Day by Komako Sakai
Top 10 Crime Stories
Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
Top 10 Facebook Stories
Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
Top 10 Fashion Moments
Top 10 Feuds
Top 10 Fiction Books
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
- Swimming by Nicola Keegan
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
- Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
- In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
- Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
- The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
Top 10 Gadgets
Top 10 Green Ideas
Top 10 Heroes
Top 10 iPhone Apps
Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Dave's Dirty Laundry
- The Daily Show's CNBC Takedown
- Conan Gets a Mayor's Attention
- Why Sarah Palin Is No Letterman Fan
- The White House Gets Less Funny
- Jon Stewart: How Not to Do Interviews
- Glenn Beck: Too Wacky Even for Colbert
- Disgraced Politician Watch
- Don't Ask, Don't Take Seriously
- Overdosing on Tweets
Top 10 Magazine Covers
Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
Top 10 Movie Performances
- 1. Mo'nique as Mary Jones in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
- 2. Carey Mulligan as Jenny in An Education
- 3. Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones
- 4. Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia
- 5. Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini in Nine
- 1. Colin Firth as George in A Single Man
- 2. Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James in The Hurt Locker
- 3. George Clooney as Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air
- 4. Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds
- 5. Michael Jackson as Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's This Is It
Top 10 Movies
Top 10 New Species
Top 10 News Stories
- America's Economic Crisis: Now for the Non-Recovery
- Afghanistan: Can the U.S. Avoid a Quagmire?
- Iran's Tumultuous Election and Its Aftermath
- The Divisive Debate Over Health Care Reform
- Massacre at Fort Hood: The New Face of Terrorism?
- The Death of Michael Jackson
- Pakistan: On the Verge of a Breakdown
- Mexico's Bloody Drug War
- H1N1: That's Swine Flu to You
- The End of Sri Lanka's Cataclysmic Civil War
Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
- D-Day by Antony Beevor
- Lit by Mary Karr
- Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith
- The Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed
- Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna
- Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
- Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
- Cooking Dirty by Jason Sheehan
- John Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey
Top 10 Oddball News Stories
Top 10 Pariahs
Top 10 Pictures of the Year
Top 10 Plays and Musicals
Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Joe Biden's Swine Flu Hysteria
- Barack Obama's Bowling Blooper
- Joe Wilson's Unwanted Outburst
- Hillary Clinton Gets Lost in Translation
- Michael Steele's Abortion Aberration
- Larry Summers' White House Sleepover
- Barack Obama Opens the Floodgates
- Joe Biden's Stimulus Stumble
- Sarah Palin's Coin Conspiracy
- Michelle Obama's Buckingham Brush with Etiquette
Top 10 Quotes
Top 10 Religion Stories
Top 10 Scandals
Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
Top 10 Songs
- "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson
- "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear
- "No Line on the Horizon" by U2
- "The Fear" by Lily Allen
- "Crown on the Ground" by Sleigh Bells
- (Tie) "Stillness Is the Move" by Dirty Projectors and also Solange
- "White Liar" by Miranda Lambert
- "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" by Jay-Z
- "Sabali" by Amadou and Mariam
- "Mad World" by Adam Lambert
Top 10 Sports Moments
Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
Top 10 TV Ads
Top 10 TV Episodes
Top 10 TV Series
Top 10 Tweets
Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Continuing Segregation Is Hurting U.S. Competitiveness
- Nigerian Blood for Oil
- The Maoist Insurgency in India
- America: Barring Foreign Brains?
- Ethnic Unrest in Iran
- The Deadlier Flu Virus: When Pigs Fly
- Obama Allows Faith-Based 'Discrimination'
- Who Owns the Mekong?
- Oops! U.S. Nuclear Secrets Are Posted Online
- Experimenting with Children
Top 10 Untruths
Top 10 Video Games
Top 10 Viral Videos
- Susan Boyle
- Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson's Wedding
- David After Dentist
- All the Single Babies
- Slate V: The All-Star Celebrity Rant
- 'Total Eclipse of the Heart': Literal Video Version
- United Breaks Guitars
- The Longest Way 1.0 One Year WalkBeard Grow Time Lapse
- Deadline: Post-It Stop-Motion
- Flutter
Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists