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As you might have started noticing about four weeks ago, this is the time of year that every media outlet in the universe recaps the year that's passed by ranking the most memorable, important, funny, or otherwise relevant books/movies/celebrity paternity suits, etc. hierarchically. But this week, as all the Best Best Best coverage reaches its apex, the options can begin to seem a bit overwhelming, like trying to figure out which Christmas-released Oscar bait to see with your parents at the multiplex tonight. That's where we come in, with our expertise and ability to read. We've sorted through a bunch of Best Of lists for you, so that you'll be able to decide which stuff to pretend to have seen/read/known about. Our five faves of the moment are after the jump; expect more as we trudge towards New Year's.

1) Best Week Ever's 10 Best Celebrity Encounters With The Law List.
On Trey Anastasio's D.U.I.: "I'm sure he was just mellowin' out, rolling around listening to an old "Burlington New Year's Gig" bootleg, smooth groovin' as the band made a trippy transition from one incoherent jam into the next. It's not like he was going to hurt anyone."
2) Slate's The Year In Books
We like this one because it's just like your favorite local bookstore's employee recommendations section, except with more personal agendas and coherent sentences. And hey, if they're allowed to mention their own book, we're allowed to mention a Best of list with a contribution from Gawker associate editor Doree Shafrir. We're not above that. Also, we like the way they try to nip 'The Emperor's Children' backlash ("at parties")in the bud. We're with that.
3) LA Times Favorite Fiction and Poetry
Loses points for Pessl-inclusion, makes it up in Eggers-exclusion.
4)Manhattan Offender's Best of His Own Blog Entries List
At first this seems so self-promoting and lame, but it's actually such a good idea. Sometimes you want to get into a blog, but you read a couple of entries and it's like coming into '24' midseason: you just can't catch up, so you lose interest. Every blogger should totally recap their own best blog entries periodically for newcomers. You know, bloggers, you have this me me me show on the internet — why be coy about it?
5)Paper's Best of 2006
We like the drug-addled randomosity of this list. Why the fuck wouldn't we, you know? Because everyone is allowed to make up their own categories, it's like the Village Voice Best of lists but without as many factual errors and things that actually suck. And unlike when, say, New York does this, when Paper has a category like "Best song to play while dumping your Swedish girlfriend," you feel like someone probably did actually dump their Swedish girlfriend to that song.