It’s the end of a decade. Which means only one thing: “best of the decade” lists. Since it will be Crikey’s own 10th birthday next year (February 14, mark it in your diaries), we’ll save the decade-long Crikey reflections for another few months and just keep it to 2009.

But in a year in which Barack Obama was sworn into office, Iranian elections and protests, the road bump that was the GFC, Utegate and the explosion of Twitter, what were the big Crikey stories? The results are perhaps surprising.

Top 10 Crikey Stories of 2009 (with results taken with a wee dash of salt due to a new website, Google Analytics mayhem and major technical changes):

1. Kyle and Jackie O’s live lie detector test goes very wrong — Sophie Black

2. Sky not falling, just passing quite close — Ben Sandilands

3. Ian Thorpe: Australia’s dirty little secret — Ian Thorpe

4. Michael Jackson: so many bad jokes — Ben Pobjie

5. Bernard Keane’s guide to writing to Ministers — Bernard Keane

6. How Windschuttle swallowed a hoax to publish a fake story in Quadrant — Margaret Simons

7. Vegemite’s new name unites the internet in contempt — Ruth Brown

8. Turnbull admits he has no case against Rudd

9. Matthew Johns: what happened and what people are saying about it — Ruth Brown

10. Will Brendan Sokaluk ever come to trial? — Greg Barns

Special mentions to First Dog’s ‘MasterChef! The true truth!’ and Karl Stefanovic: “I didn’t FEEL drunk” (videos unfortunately removed due to our YouTube moronicness), which should feature in the top 10 but don’t because they are not articles and therefore don’t count.

We rejigged the Crikey website and now have outgoing links to all the most fascinating bits and pieces from the internet.

Top 10 outgoing links for 2009:

1. How menus trick you into picking the $30 steak not the $10 burger — NY Magazine

2. Crabb: The three men fighting over the scraps of the Liberal Party — ABC

3. Guardian: Australia’s Copenhagen strategy is a sham — The Guardian

4. Myf Warhurst: Why I hate Matt Preston — National Times

5. The Guardian’s 100 best websites of 2009 — The Guardian

6. The 10 fattest countries in the world — Global Post

7. Turnbull vs. Bishop: the email flame war — ABC

8. Australia’s most hate brands — Advertising Age

9. Crabb: Abbott’s new front-bench: frightening but fascinating — ABC

10. Gore: What in the hell do they think is causing climate change? — Slate

Most popular website topics:

liberal leadership

Malcolm Turnbull

Utegate

Photo galleries

Godwin Grech

The busiest days on our website:

A giant spike that can’t be accounted for on March 3 except for the announcement that the GDP fell 0.5 points in the three months to December.

Utegate — you bunch of giant political wonks. When it broke, when a sick Godwin Grech did an Oz interview from a psych ward, you loved it all.

Kyle and Jackie O and the child rape lie-detector scandal

Hey Hey and the Blackface mayhem

Tony Abbott’s rise to Opposition leader gave Crikey it’s busy website day ever. Thanks Tone.

Want more top 10 action?

Associated Press announced its  top 10 news stories of 2009, as voted by their US editors and news directors.

1. The economy

2. Obama inauguration

3. Health care

4. Auto industry

5. Swine flu

6. Afghanistan

7. Michael Jackson dies

8. Fort Hood rampage

9. Edward Kennedy dies

10. Miracle on Hudson

Time has realised their top 10 of everything from the top ten under-reported stories of 2009, to the top ten Oprah proteges and top ten pictures of the year.

Our favourite shock jock of the year, Glenn Beck and his top ten moments of 2009.

Ten hottest nerds of the decade.

Meghan McCain’s picks for the ten most intriguing people of 2009.

Seven saddest songs ever sung by a Muppet.

Now we’re just getting silly.

But check out the Crikey 2009 topic page, which has bazillions of 2009 retrospectives. You know you want to.