We all do it- make top whatever lists. Rate all the things in our lives. I’m beginning to see it’s caused by a desire to have some sort of control and order. We’re an anxious society. Well, here’s my need for control, my top five lists of 2006. Movies and music and maybe even in a little television thrown in there. I must say, the small screen has surprised me this year.

My top five movies of the year were not the top grossing, though some of them were close. For me, it’s about connection, back stories, characters I can see myself in or just plain good movies.

My top five movies of the year go as such:

1. Superman Returns
2. Cars
3. Rocky Balboa
4. John Tucker Must Die
5. X-Men 3: The Last Stand

To some of you this list might seem like a joke. I just know what I like. X3, though not as good as its prequels, was an awesome movie. It did help that Sean Ashmore, Ice Man, had some serious face time. Even though this was labeled the last stand, there is room for an X4 in my heart.

John Tucker Must Die is just an awesome ode to a woman scorned. The total destruction of a man is amusing to watch. With a cast of four popular actresses and the undeniably cute Tucker brothers, the movie was funny and diabolical.

Rocky Balboa was the cheesiest movie about boxing ever made, but it provided a much better ending to the Rocky series than Rocky V previously had. It is easy, I think, to look past the cheese factor and into the heart of Rocky. By providing flashbacks to all of the movies except the fifth and by staying true to the original Rocky in Philadelphia, the movie took the series to a complete ending.

To make this simple, the top two movies on my list were simply huge. Cars caught the hearts of kids and their parents and with a killer soundtrack it caught the interest of the musically inclined. As for Superman, it just needed to be done. With all the superhero movies out, it was inevitable. Stealing Bryan Singer away from the final X-Men movie, though it broke my heart, was an amazing idea and the movie was a super hit. It had great casting and special effects. It covered all the bases in a way that Superman fans and newcomers alike would understand.

It wasn’t the best year for music, at least at first. The year started off slow, but come summer and especially September 12, the music industry brought sexy back. Future Sex/ Love Sounds, along with John Mayer’s Continuum, helped bring the music industry back to life this fall. Here are my top five CDs of the year:

1. Continuum – John Mayer
2. How to Save a Life – The Fray
3. Dusk and Summer – Dashboard Confessional
4. Louder Now – Taking Back Sunday
5. Future Sex/Love Sounds – Justin Timberlake

I think this list is pretty self-explanatory. Timberlake and Mayer are Grammy nominees, and though I am not a fan of the new Timberlake, both of their albums are innovative difference makers. Both are honest and that is really all you can ask for. The Fray came out of nowhere with this CD that came out in 2004 and now are the biggest thing to hit the airwaves in a long time. Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional have new CDs that show different sides of each group. They broadened their horizons, not only musically and lyrically, but with their fan base. The new sound invites new listeners and has helped to create a new fan base for the movement.

There are two new TV shows to hit the small screen this summer and fall that made short yet sweet impacts on my senses. ABC Family released the show Kyle XY this summer about a boy, or an alien, or a clone, without a belly button. The show caught the interest of kids and adults alike. At least for this summer there was a reason to watch TV.

Then this fall, TBS released a bombshell of a show in My Boys, a program about a female sports journalist who has all guy friends. The show was a little predictable and the premier season was 13 episodes, but overall My Boys showed lasting power as it has already been picked up for another season. These two shows are just the beginning of the cable primetime debut, the beginning of a time where primetime is not dominated by network television.

Overall, 2006 was a pretty awesome year in entertainment. Good music, good movies, great TV. I had fun, but it’s time to kick 2007 off with a blast. Welcome back, bloggers, school’s in session.