Its almost February, meaning that it is almost too late to create a retrospective of last year. I don’t do this kind of thing very often, but as someone who gets most of his news and content from the internet, I wanted to share some of the bright spots online for me. A few things this list is not: For the most part this list is noncommercial. Some of the sites use advertising, but in most cases it is to cover costs. This is no way an authoritative list, and not all of these were new launches or new ideas in 2009, but stellar examples of online content. Finally this list is not a resource of sites specifically about design or illustration, although I have included a few that fall into that category. Here it is, in alphabetical order:

And The Pursuit of Happiness: an idiosyncratic illustrated history of the United States on the New York Times website by the artist Maira Kalman.

The Big Picture is not brand new, but still remains relevant. This Boston Globe site continued to demonstrate itself as one of the most expressive venues for photojournalism today. And the big pictures themselves are just magnificent. See Scenes of the Recession, The Inauguration, China Celebrates 60 years, and Hubble Telescope Advent Calendar

Daily Serving is one of the better contemporary art web sites I’ve come across, with a focus on international artists. Its worth checking every 2 weeks or so.

Design Observer is a 5 year old weblog, but in 2009 it launched a 3.0 version with about three times the content as before, and became much, much more than a design blog. Its founders William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand recieved a NEA grant, aquired the architecture/environmental design journal Places, and created an audio/visual component for the site. Smart, relevant commentary and investigations of the world we live in (we being the whole human population, and not just a narrow group of designers), and a force to watch in this brave new decade of New Media.

The Frontal Cortex is one of those reading comforts I would have a hard time giving up. Its a blog by the science writer Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist.

idsgn is growing on me. At first I thought it was covering territory already covered by other design or advertising blogs, and I try to avoid the design reporting that starts to sound like a circular conversation. But I couldn’t ignore great write-ups on things like the ubiquity of “precision” razors, the invention of vending machines, a 99 cent store-inspired architecture studio and the history of Clarendons.

Nerdboyfriend is a blog about menswear, eyewear, and hats with an interesting retro take. Its a very postmodern approach to shopping (I wouldn’t reccommend it).

The Old, Weird America is a blog that delves into Harry Smith’s Folkways Anthology of American Song. The author takes a look at the artist who wrote and recorded each song on the Anthology. He includes other known recordings of the artist in the public domain, as well as other versions of these songs. Because it is about discovery and rediscovery, this wins my vote as music blog of the year.

Put This On is a “web series about dressing like a grown-up”. Its kind of a more practical Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, explaining clothing for us young men who are ready to move beyond the dorm room uniform of ripped jeans and sweatshirts, but are not yet ready for waistcoats and ascot ties. It also has some excellent wedding advice for guys. Wired magazine has already picked up on the momentum this month.

Read Between the Leading is two students in Savannah, Georgia discussing design on a well-informed and intellectual level. There are some great interviews and discussions from behind the scenes people like Scott Thomas who designed for the Obama campaign, and Jos Buivenga, a typeface designer. Its a bit more technical and narrower than most podcasts, but nonetheless a good way to stay informed in the graphic design world. These guys are graduating this semester, and I’m sure we will continue to see great work from them in the future.

The Sound of Young America is an interview show, featuring lots of comedians, actors, and other interesting people working in media, self described as Fresh Air hosted by Conan O’Brien. It started as a student broadcast on college radio and has been going strong for years, but I only discovered it this year. The show is distributed by Public Radio International, and broadcasts on XM and some HD affiliates (including Knoxville’s WUOT-2) but is still technically a podcast (and proud of the fact as well) and is still conducted in the host’s living room. Low-tech, but high quality. The host, Jesse Thorn also runs Put This On.

Via Frank is the blog of a brilliant illustrator and designer. Unlike the 70 percent of design blogs that are self-promotion, his writing is mostly about the creative process, and ideas themselves. And its substantial, well written, and completely transparent in its approach, which lets face it, is the best form of self promotion.

WDVX is a radio station that plays bluegrass, blues and roots music old and new. I didn’t know anything about until moving to Tennessee this year. Its one of those great noncommercial community stations that actually feels like a community station. Now that I live in Knoxville proper, I don’t have to listen to it on iTunes, but you can, and should!