December 31, 2009, 8:10 PM — It's that time of year again when the endless, and always entertaining, year-end lists come out. The search engines have already had their say with Yahoo's top searches of 2009 , the most popular search questions of 2009 , and the top search term of the year . But no series of year-in-review articles would be complete without the hottest selections from the iTunes Store--one of the most popular retail stores on the planet.
The editorial team at iTunes spent some time before the holidays mulling over what they believe to be the best of the best in all of iTunes' departments including Music, Movies, Television, Podcasts, Audiobooks, and of course, iPhone Apps. You can check out the complete iTunes Rewind 2009: The Best of the Year compilation on the iTunes Store, but here are some highlights from each category.
Music
The iTunes editorial team kicked off their best of 2009 series with a nicely curated mix of music from the past year. With the untimely passing of Michael Jackson in June, iTunes decided to honor the King of Pop as its Artist of the Year. Top album of the year honors were given to Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, Only By the Night, and Lady GaGa was chosen as Best New Artist.
I would highly recommend listening to the iTunes Rewind podcast #63 where the iTunes editors explain their music picks in greater detail including their reasoning for choosing Lady Gaga, an artist who debuted in August 2008, as Best New Artist for 2009. The list is simply too large to reprint here, but you can check out the complete music selection on iTunes .
Artist of the Year: Michael Jackson
Album of the Year: Only By The Night by Kings of Leon
Best New Artist: Lady Gaga
Best Alternative Album: Union byThe Boxer Rebellion
Best Country Album: Fearless by Taylor Swift
Hip-Hop/ Rap Best Single: Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keys)
Best Pop Single: Wonderful by Gary Go
Best New Rock Artist: Charm City Devils
Best Singer/Songwriter Album Reissue: Leonard Cohen (Live at the Isle of Wight 1970)
Best R&B/Soul Single: Pretty Wings by Maxwell
Movies
The iTunes Editorial Staff chose twelve top picks among iTunes movie downloads this year. Taking the top spot was Disney-Pixar's UP, the story of Carl Fredricksen, a grumpy old man whose lifelong dreams of adventure are rejuvenated after he meets Russell, a young Wilderness Explorer. Other notable films include JJ Abrams' reimagining of the classic Star Trek universe, numerous comedies and two notable documentaries: Tyson and Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
UpStar TrekThe HangoverAdventurelandTysonInglorious Basterds500 Days of SummerSunshine CleaningDrag Me To Hell: Unrated Director's CutSin NombreAnvil! The Story of AnvilCoraline
The iTunes Store also announced its top-selling movies for 2009 including Twilight, Pineapple Express, Quantum of Solace, The Proposal, and Star Trek.
Television
This is a great time to be a television fan, with so many high-quality series continuing the tradition that started with ground-breaking hits like The Sopranos and Six-Feet Under. The iTunes Store has selected a wide range of favorite TV hits from 2009 in the categories of Comedy, Drama, Documentaries and more. Notable selections include AMC's Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the CW's Gossip Girl and SyFy's Battlestar Galactica.
Best Comedy Season: Glee, Season 1
Best Comedy Episode: The Funcooker, 30 Rock
Best Drama Season: Breaking Bad, Season 2
Best Drama Episode: Mad Men: The Gypsy and the Hobo
Best Sci-Fi Season: Battlestar Galactic, Season 4
Best Sci-Fi Episode: Epitaph, Dollhouse
Best Animation Season: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Collection 1
Best Animation Episode: Family Guy: Road to Multi-verse
Best Reality Season: Top Chef, Season 5
Best Reality Episode: The Real Housewives of New Jersey: The Last Supper
Best Teen Season: Gossip Girl, Season 2
Best Teen Episode: Glee: Showmance
