Editor's note: This article appeared in the December 22, 2009, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.

2009 was the year of Twilight, the cross-media juvenile-fiction juggernaut that hit top-five (and even No. 1) status in several Top 10 categories, from box office to book-on-tape, according to New York researcher The Nielsen Company's year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2009. But 2009 wasn't only about the undead. Live football, animated features and Top Chef product placement were also among the phenomena to resonate with the masses. Check out the rest of Nielsen's rankings to find out if you rode the trend wave of 2009.

Television

Top 10 TV programs (regularly scheduled)

1 - American Idol (Wednesday)

2 - American Idol (Tuesday)

3 - Dancing with the Stars

4 - NBC Sunday Night Football

5 - Dancing with the Stars (results show)

6 - NCIS: Los Angeles

7 - NCIS

8 - NFL Regular Season

9 - Sunday Night NFL Pregame

10  - The Good Wife

 

Top 10 TV programs (single telecast)

1 - Super Bowl XLIII

2 - Super Bowl Pregame

3 - Super Bowl Kick-Off

4 - Super Bowl Post

5 - AFC Championship On CBS

6 - Fox NFC Championship

7 - Academy Awards

8 - AFC Divisional Playoff

9 - Fox NFC Playoff

10 Fox NFC Wildcard Game

 

Top 10 "Timeshifted" Primetime TV Programs

1 - Battlestar Galactica

2 - Mad Men

3 - Damages

4 - Rescue Me

5 - True Blood

5 - Stargate Universe

7 - Sanctuary

7 - Heroes

9 - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

10 - 10 Things I Hate About You

10 - Dollhouse

10 - Melrose Place

 

Internet

Top 10 online Web brands (home and work)

1 - Google

2 - Yahoo!

3 - MSN/WindowsLive/Bing

4 - YouTube

5 - Facebook

6 - Microsoft

7 - AOL Media Network

8 - Fox Interactive Media

9 - Wikipedia

10 - Apple

 

Movies

Top 10 box office (all theatrical)

1 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

3 - Up

4 - The Hangover

5 - Star Trek

6 - Twilight Saga: New Moon

7 - Monsters vs. Aliens

8 - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

9 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

10 - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

 

Top 10 DVD sales

1 - Twilight

2 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

3 - Up

4 - Madagascar: Escape 2 - Africa

5 - Dark Knight

6 - Gran Torino

7 - Star Trek

8 - Bolt

9 - Marley & Me

10 - Quantum of Solace

 

Music

Top 10 albums

1 - Fearless; Taylor Swift

2 - I am...Sasha Fierce; Beyonce

3 - Dark Horse; Nickelback

4 - Twilight Soundtrack

5 - Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack

6 - Circus; Britney Spears

7 - 808s and Heartbreak; Kanye West

8 - The Fame; Lady Gaga

9 - Relapse; Eminem

10 - The E.N.D.; The Black Eyed Peas

 

Top 10 most digitally-downloaded songs

1 - Boom Boom Pow; The Black Eyed Peas

2 - Poker Face; Lady Gaga

3 - Just Dance; Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis

4 - Right Round; Flo Rida

5 - I Gotta Feeling; The Black Eyed Peas

6 - Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It); Beyonce

7 - Gives You Hell; The All-American Rejects

8 - Love Story; Taylor Swift

9 - Heartless; Kanye West

10 - I'm Yours; Jason Mraz

 

Top 10 most listened-to songs on the radio

1 - Love Story; Taylor Swift

2 - You Belong With Me; Taylor Swift

3 - I'm Yours; Jason Mraz

4 - Knock You Down; Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo

5 - Boom Boom Pow; The Black Eyed Peas

6 - Just Dance; Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis

7 - Blame It; Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain

8 - I Gotta Feeling; The Black Eyed Peas

9 - Poker Face; Lady Gaga

10 - Live Your Life; T.I. featuring Rihanna

 

Top 10 mastertones (ringtones)

1 - Kiss Me Thru the Phone; Soulja Boy Tell'em featuring Sammie

2 - Blame It; Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain

3 - Dead and Gone; T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake

4 - Heartless; Kanye West

5 - Boom Boom Pow; The Black Eyed Peas

6 - Day 'N' Nite; Kid Cudi

7 - All Summer Long; Kid Rock

8 - Birthday Sex; Jeremih

9 - Whatever You Like; T.I.

10 - Right Round; Flo Rida

 

Mobile

Top 10 mobile phones in use

1 - Apple 3G iPhone

2 - RIM BlackBerry 8300 Series (Curve, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i)

3 - Motorola RAZR V3 - series (V3, V3c, V3m, V3i, V3i DG, V3)

4 - LG VX9100 (enV2)

5 - LG Voyager

6 - Samsung SPH-M540 (Rant)

7 - RIM BlackBerry 9530 series (Storm)

8 - LG VX9700 (Dare)

9 - LG Vu series (CU915, CU920)

10 - RIM BlackBerry 8100 series (Pearl, 8110, 8120, 8129)

 

Top 10 Web sites accessed via mobile phones

1 - Google search

2 - Yahoo! Mail

3 - Gmail

4 - Weather Channel

5 - Facebook

6 - MSN Hotmail

7 - Google Maps

8 - ESPN

9 - AOL e-mail

10 - CNN News

 

Top 10 brands accessed via mobile phones

1 - Yahoo!

2 - Google

3 - MSN/WindowsLive/Bing

4 - AOL Media Network

5 - Weather Channel

6 - Facebook

7 - CNN Digital Network

8 - Fox Interactive Media

9 - ESPN

10 - Apple

 

Top 10 mobile video channels

1 - YouTube

2 - FOX

3 - The Weather Channel

4 - Comedy Central

5 - CBS

6 - ABC

7 - MTV

8 - NBC

9 - ESPN

10 - E!

 

Books

Top 10 book sales (adult fiction)

1 - The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown

2 - The Shack, William P. Young

3 - The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

4 - The Associate (Hardcover), John Grisham

5 - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer

6 - The Help, Kathryn Stockett

7 - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

8 - The Host, Stephenie Meyer

9 - Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout

10 - The Associate (Mass Market Paperback), John Grisham

 

Top 10 book sales (adult nonfiction)

1 - Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships Intimacy, And Commitment, Steve Harvey

2 - Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against An Out-Of-Control Government, Inspired By Thomas Paine

3 - Liberty And Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, Mark R. Levin

4 - Outliers: The Story Of Success, Malcolm Gladwell

5 - Going Rogue: An American Life, Sarah Palin

6 - Three Cups Of Tea: One Man's Mission To Promote Peace ... One School At A Time, Greg Mortenson

7 - Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution, David Zinczenko

8 - The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

9 - Have a Little Faith: A True Story, Mitch Albom

10 - Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government, Glenn Beck

 

Top 10 audio-book sales (adult and juvenile)

1 - The Lost Symbol (Unabridged), Dan Brown

2 - The Secret, Rhonda Byrne

3 - The Shack, William P. Young

4 - Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

5 - Liberty And Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, Mark R. Levin

6 - The Associate, John Grisham

7 - The Lost Symbol (Abridged), Dan Brown

8 - Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against An Out-Of-Control Government, Inspired By Thomas Paine, Glenn Beck

9 - New Moon, Stephenie Meyer

10 - Excuses Begone!: How To Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits, Wayne W. Dyer

 

Top 10 book sales (juvenile)

1 - New Moon, Stephenie Meyer

2 - Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer

3 - Eclipse (Hardcover), Stephenie Meyer

4 - Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

5 - The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney

6 - Dog Days, Jeff Kinney

7 - Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney

8 - The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan

9 - Eclipse (Trade Paperback), Stephenie Meyer

10 - Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself, Jeff Kinney

 

Consumer Purchasing Trends

Top 10 consumer packaged goods (growth by dollar sales)

1 - Canning and freezing supplies

2 - Seasonal general merchandise

3 - Dry vegetables and grains

4 - Flour

5 - Canned vegetables

6 - Tobacco and accessories

7 - Sugar and sugar substitutes

8 - Motor/vehicle care/accessories

9 - Pasta

10 - Baking mixes

 

Top 10 consumer package goods (growth by unit volume)

1 - Canning and freezing supplies

2 - Fresh meat

3 - Frozen novelties

4 - Cheese

5 - Vitamins

6 - Wine

7 - Baking mixes

8 - Pasta

9 - Dry-mix prepared foods

10 - Yogurt

 

Advertising

Top 10 product categories by ad spending

1 - Automotive

2 - Pharmaceutical

3 - Quick-service restaurants

4 - Wireless telephone services

5 - Department stores

6 - Motion picture

7 - Dealerships

8 - Direct-response products

9 - Restaurant

10 Furniture stores

 

Top 10 best-liked TV commercials

1 - Clydesdale fetches a large tree branch (Budweiser)

2 - Man and llama feed candy to each other (Starburst)

3 - Man throws snow globe into vending machine (Doritos)

4 - Puppy is pampered at spa (Cottonelle)

5 - People with unusual and large pets (Pedigree Adoption Drive)

6 - Clydesdale travels to find Daisy (Budweiser)

7 - Man talks to a Scotch-Korean; pack of contradictions (Starburst)

8 - Baby talks smack about golf opponent (E*Trade)

9 - One bottle equals $1 to save wildlife (Dawn)

10 - Red candy runs on grocery store checkout conveyor belt (M&Ms)

 

Top 10 most-effective product placements on brand opinion

1 - Subway contestants eat at restaurant; trainers describe "Fresh Fit" meals on The Biggest Loser

2 - Kids Crooked House Company assembles kids playhouses in the Gosselin's yard on Jon and Kate Plus 8

3 - Vaseline sponsor of miniseries and contest; Clarissa wears Aloe Fresh on Maneater

4 - Food & Wine Magazine, Gail Simmons is identified as working for the magazine on Top Chef Masters

5 - Cheerios Cereal is recommended as a healthy food; sponsor of challenges on The Biggest Loser

6 - Whole Foods Market contestants shop for ingredients to use in challenges on Top Chef Masters

7 - CVS Pharmacy Company donates money and provides supplies to families on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

8 - Mood Designer Fabrics; designers shop at store for supplies for their challenges on Project Runway

9 - GE; Alex and Simon install Monogram appliances in their remodeled kitchen on The Real Housewives of New York City

10 - Glad Company provides prize to winner; products are used during challenges on Top Chef

 

Top 10 programs with product placement activity

1 - The Jay Leno Show

2 - WWE Monday Night Raw

3 - The Biggest Loser

4 - American Idol

5 - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

6 - The Celebrity Apprentice

7 - Top Chef: Las Vegas

8 - America's Next Top Model

9 - Project Runway

10 - Dancing With The Stars

 

Video games

Top 10 PC game titles

1 - World of Warcraft

2 - The Sims

3 - The Sims 2

4 - RuneScape

5 - Halo: Combat Evolved

6 - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

7 - Left 4 Dead

8 - Call of Duty Activision

9 - Diablo II

10 - Fallout 3 - Bethesda

 

Video-game console usage

1 - Xbox

2 - PlayStation 2

3 - Wii

4 - PlayStation 3

5 - Xbox

6 - GameCube