There are only a few days left in 2009, a year that has been full of high drama, triumph, tragedy, trouble and humor — sometimes all at the same time. It will be a year that will go down in history as the 12 months that saw the inauguration of Barack Obama, the death of Michael Jackson, the rise of Lady Gaga, the fiasco that was "Balloon Boy" and the return of Eminem.
There was the drama that unfolded around Chris Brown and Rihanna, which began with a punch in February, lead to Brown pleading guilty to assault and both of them releasing new albums in December.
2009 also saw a renaissance of sorts for Britney Spears, who took her Circus tour on the road to sold-out arenas and received both critical acclaim and commercial success. Spears wrapped up her 2009 with The Singles Collection, a compilation of her biggest hits.
It was certainly an up-and-down year for Lil Wayne, who opened 2009 with the best-selling album of the previous year (Tha Carter III). Though Rebirth was repeatedly delayed, he did drop the well-received mixtape No Ceilings. However, his year ended on a down note, as the rapper plead guilty to criminal possession of a weapon, which will put him in jail for a year starting in February 2010.
As far as memorable images go, perhaps nothing will represent 2009 more than the scene of Kanye West crashing the stage while Taylor Swift was giving an acceptance speech at this year's Video Music Awards.
