Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Websites

From social networking to hip-hop news, these are the daily online destinations that control the Complex world.

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In 2009, we spent so much time putting together our retrospective of the last decade (click here for our "Best of the 2000s" series) that we almost forgot about all the memorable things that happened this year. Well, 2010 ain't here yet, so we're spending the last week looking back at all our favorite stuff, including albums, movies, video games, girls, sports moments, books, style trends, and websites. And since we are a website, we had to save the best for last. From social networking to hip-hop news, our lives completely revolve around certain online destinations, so we decided to count down all of our daily must-visit URLs. Look back on all our favorites with the Top 25 Websites of 2009 countdown...

#25: TINYURL
URL:www.tinyURL.com
TYPE: Internet Utility
• We'd bet our holiday bonuses that on an average workday, you click at least five links created using TinyURL, the original URL redirection site that shortens your URL and and still reigns supreme in the Twitterverse.
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#24: UNKUT
URL:www.unkut.com
TYPE: Hip-Hop
• You already know where to go for you fix of rap news, but those looking for a little history and closer examination of this here hip hop culture found it at Unkut. A mixture of amusing (The Unkut Guide to STD Rap ) and informative (The Unkut Guide to Hip Hop's Most Notorious Projects) lists and interviews with some of the industry's biggest behind the scenes players, made this one of the sites we made sure to check on the daily.
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#23: GDGT
URL:www.gdgt.com
TYPE: Technology
• It started as a promise of a sick, new gadget site and an accompanying popcast,and grew into a unique gadget community that lets consumers share experiences, reviews and likes and dislikes with fellow gadget users. Power to the people and all that.
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#22: KOTAKU
URL:www.kotaku.com
TYPE: Video Games
• Yes, they've been fairing economically well while other medias struggle; still, 2009 was a good year for video games, and Kotaku was there for all of it. On top of their minute-by-minute coverage of all the newest releases, they provided game reviews that cut through the B.S. and the hype to deliver the real. But, perhaps the reason we rock with them is because they were the first site to cover Soulja Boy's video game interests. Kotaku tell 'em!
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#21: THE YBF
URL:www.theybf.com
TYPE: Gossip
• What started simply as another blogspot blog has grown into the foremost black celebrity site on the Net. It's gotten so big, celebrities try their best to check themselves before they leave the house, lest they become fodder for founder Nastasha's Foolywang column. And we aren't the only ones noticing 'Tasha's hustle: Black Enterprise featured her on their cover as representative of a new generation of black entrepreneurs.
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HIT NEXT TO SEE THE REST OF THE COUNTDOWN! (WEBSITES #20 - #16)

 

#20: KARMALOOP
URL: www.karmaloop.com
TYPE: Retail
• Even though we provide all the websites in the magazine, question we often get is: Where can we buy all the stuff we see in the mag? Well, if you're too lazy to individually go to each site we give you, a good place to start is KarmaLoop. The online streetwear boutique has stepped its game up in 2009 by offering more brands than ever and even venturing into video with performances and other online video shows. How many shops do you know that do that?
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#19: HYPEBEAST
URL:www.hypebeast.com
TYPE: Streetwear/Fashion
• You would think some site would have came along and dethroned HypeBeast, but no. And it's not hard to see why. Besides Kanye legitimizing the brand when he referred to himself as a "walking hypbeast", the site continues to dominate the game with a relentless stream of streetwear news and a all-star roster of bloggers, including our very own Joe La Puma.
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#18: FUNNY OR DIE
URL:www.funnyordie.com
TYPE: Video/Comedy
• Will Ferrell's site started off pretty slowly, but this year, Funny or Die started to realize its potential by giving a platform for a number of up and coming comedians. If you haven't been to the site since Will's daughter played a landlord, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's worth it just for the Nick Trott videos.
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#17: DEADSPIN
URL:www.deadspin.com
TYPE: A sports site more irreverent than ESPN's Page 2? That's exactly what Deadspin is. If something happens in the world of sports and you're thinking, WTF? You can count on Deadspin to be thinking that right along with you. Those guys need a TV show.
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#16: HULU
URL:www.hulu.com
TYPE: Video
• Let's see, Hulu has a good number of our favorite shows, for free, in high quality video. It will always make our list as long as they don't go ahead with their plan to start charging for content.
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HIT NEXT TO SEE THE REST OF THE COUNTDOWN! (WEBSITES #15 - #11)

 

#15: WIKIPEDIA
URL:www.wikipedia.com
TYPE: Internet Utility
• Besides Google, name one site you use more than Wikipedia? More so a conversation between the public than an encyclopedia site, Wikipedia continues to hold us down when we need to settle a dispute at a party. It's invaluable.
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#14: NICE KICKS
URL: www.nicekicks.com
TYPE: Sneakers
• Calling Nice Kicks the Nah Right of the sneaker world wouldn't be too far fetched. Ran by sneaker head Matt Halfhill, Nice Kicks delivers up to the minute info on anything to do with the world of sneakers. Over the past year we've seen this blog evolve from a basic news site to a full fledged online destination thanks to Matt starting up a bunch of inventive franchises like Kicks on Court and Shop Shout that shows readers where exactly to get all the dope kicks he rants on about.
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#13: EGOTASTIC
URL:www.egotastic.com
TYPE: Girls
• You know that moment when you hear a set of sexy photo's of [insert celebrity name here] hit the Net and you scramble to try and find them? No need, all you gotta do is hit up Egotastic.
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#12: JALOPNIK
URL: www.jalopnik.com
TYPE: Automotive
• If Gawker Media is a newspaper, think of Jalopnik as their Automotive section. A really informative, biting, witty, funny and all-around good automotive section. That's more than a lot of newspapers can say for their automotive sections. We mean, how many newspapers can say they called out the head honcho of a car company and challenged him to a car race? We can only name one...
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#11: TMZ
URL:www.tmz.com
TYPE: Gossip/News
• TMZ owes a great debt to Michael Jackson. When traditional news outlets failed to confirm whether or not the King of Pop had indeed passed away, TMZ stepped up to the plate and affirmed everyone's fear. How did they get the scoop before CNN? We don't know, nor care, really. We do know that since that day, we check TMZ everyday to stay abreast of anything regarding our favorite stars.
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HIT NEXT TO SEE THE REST OF THE COUNTDOWN! (WEBSITES #10 - #6)

 

#10: GOOGLE DOCS
URL:docs.google.com
TYPE: Internet Utility
• When's the last time you actually went to Google.com to search for something? Chances are most of your Googling was done through your browsers search box. 2009 was the year of the Google services. Now, it's pretty obvious Google is going for Microsoft's neck. Sergy and Brin's brainchild has launched or intends to launch a (free) product to battle against all of Microsoft's strongholds. And this year, they dealt the Redmond, Washington corporation a major blow with their free, online, collaborative office suite, Google Docs. Able to read almost any and every document format, Google Docs allows you and anyone with a Google account (which by now, is damn near everyone and their mothers) to share and collaborate on projects. In a word, it's awesome.

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#9: EXTRA MUSTARD (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
URL: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/extramustard/
TYPE: Sports/Pop Culture
• For sports fanatics that are looking to be plugged into the pop-culture pipeline, there's no better one-stop destination than Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard. Not only does the site lead off with a hot girl twice a day ( the site recently went to two-a-days, with a.m and p.m link round-ups) but readers will get everything from the day's major sports stories, to what's going on in MTV's latest reality show, to hilarious YouTube videos, en route to being re-directed to some of the funniest blog posts you'd never discover if Extra Mustard wasn't around. We suggest you start clicking.

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#8: WORLD STAR HIP-HOP
URL:www.worldstarhiphop.com
TYPE: Video
• Out of all the sites on this list, World Star Hip Hop may be our sole guilty pleasure. Besides delivering every music video that could be considered "hip hop" or hip hop related, they offer up a bevy of the lowest common denominator entertainment that is all but impossible to ignore. The ultimate work-day killer.
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#7: GAWKER
URL:www.gawker.com
TYPE: Media Gossip/News
• Billed as the "source for daily Manhattan media news and gossip", Gawker has kept us abreast of whatever was going on in the world of celebrity and media, which in 2009, was a hell of a lot. Whether it was news of another magazine biting the dust, or Micheal Steele's ridiculous Christmas cards, Gawker had it first.
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#6: KANYE WEST BLOG
URL: www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/
TYPE: Men's Lifestyle
• Given the non-stop stream of fashion, music, art, and design coverage, we question whether or not Kanye actually contributes to his own blog. Well, we do until we read one of his infamous rants written in all caps. The simple, yet unique blog manages to make headlines each and every time we get to read through the lightblue font and see the self-indulgent musical genius that is Kanye West ranting his ass off.
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CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE COUNTDOWN! (WEBSITES #5 - #1)

 

#5: MISS INFO
URL: www.missinfo.tv
TYPE: Hip-Hop News/Gossip
• How did Miss Info manage to carve a niche for herself in between all the celebrity gossip and rap blogs? By focusing on the little tidbits overlooked by the ravenous blog machines and mixing in—GASP—some actually reporting. Bloggers, take note.
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#4: NAH RIGHT
URL:www.nahright.com
TYPE: Hip-Hop
• Despite some new competitors and imitators, Eskay's homebase remained the place to get all your hip-hop news and media, with a steady assist from the brilliant New Music Cartel alliance. They even expanded past their laptops and hosted a few events during CMJ and SXSW. Guess you can't blog forever.
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#3: FACEBOOK
URL:www.facebook.com
TYPE: Social Networking
• Sure, they were in the news more for people's initial outrage over the changes in their design and privacy policies, but even with all the added rules and adoption of a Twitter like interface, Mark Zuckerberg's brainchild held its own by delving into new territories like, hosting the live chat during the 2009 Inauguration.
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#2: COMPLEX
URL:www.complex.com
TYPE: Men's Lifestyle
• Allow us a moment to pat our own backs, if you will. If you didn't see us in Ad Age (why would you?), know this: our relentless stream of witty, irreverent humor, spot on fashion advice and coverage of everything else you find interesting has been paying off big time. And it's all thanks to you. We're obviously doing something right, or you wouldn't be here reading this list.
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#1: TWITTER
URL: www.twitter.com
TYPE: Social Networking/Life
• If it happened in 2009, it was on Twitter. Only in it's third year of operation, the social networking site that was on the tips of everyone's tongue not only hosted each and every important conversation, it was the conversation. It gave a megaphone to everyone with something to say and scared the shit out of traditional media institutions. All in all a good year.
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RELATED:
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Albums
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Movies
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Video Games
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Girls
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Sports Moments
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Books
• Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Style Trends
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