Top Websites for 2008

The Wiki community usually intervenes, however — egregious edits get reported on WikiScanner and Wiki trolls are given the heave ho — or at least a Wiki humiliation. Now you can even enjoy Wikipedia’s wisdom without ever clicking on it. The Microsoft Live search engine automatically pulls up the frst paragraph of any relevant Wikipedia entry in its search results.

Yahoo! Finance
A haven for armchair investors and money junkies, Yahoo! Finance has everything you need to keep up with business — news, stockspecifc research, charts, even press releases. In late May, Yahoo! Finance resumed free realtime quotes instead of the standard 20minute delays on rivals like Google Finance.

Craigslist
Its elementary page design has barely changed in 13 years, even as newer, fashier competitors vie for a chunk of the $15 billion online classifed market. But so what? Craigslist is a Web pioneer that will never go stale, and remains the essential site for want ads ranging from real estate and used furniture to jobs, romance and onenight stands. Craigslist launched in 100 additional cities this spring, making the site’s services available in over 500 cities in 50 countries.

Wikitravel
The best travel guides have one thing in common: they’re up to date. That’s why WikiTravel has become the most invaluable travel resource on the Web. While message boards like Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Travel Forum are great for specifc questions — such as “Should I spend more than a day at Angkor Wat?” — and community sites like TripAdvisor are useful for seeing other folks’ photos and reviews, only WikiTravel keeps a concise, current directory of nearly 20,000 destinations. It’s so complete, you’ll be tempted to skip the guidebook altogether.

Yahoo! Answers
Advice is everywhere on the Web, but nowhere is it more accessible than at Yahoo! Answers. Questions are arranged both by topic and what’s most popular (e.g., “Is rinsing your hair with milk good for it?”) and get all sorts of amusing, creative and, occasionally, helpful responses. Contributors compete to boost their rankings by answering the most questions and collecting the most positive feedback on their replies. If you’ve got yet more questions needing answers, visit Ask Metaflter or the newer Try This.

AskMen.com
Think of it as Cosmopolitan for men. Beyond the requisite yearly hot-babe-ranking (2008’s “Top 99 Women” is already live), AskMen dishes out provocative tips on sex, dating and relationships, and schools men on everything from office-party survival to the “FAQ on Semen.” Other articles on the site include “10 Signs You’re Whipped” and “Turn a Female Friend into Something More.” Racier than Men’s Health and FHM, AskMen is the go-to site for single guys on the make.

Health.com
Health.com tackles even the most serious matters, like heart disease and depression, with a sympathetic tone. Although it does not delve as thoroughly into science and treatment as the other sites, Health.com does a better job of addressing the related emotional issues. Its section on breast cancer, for example, explores body image and how the disease can affect your sex life. You’ll also find videos of patients who had successful treatment and the doctors who cared for them. Health.com (which is owned by TIME.com’s parent company, Time Inc.) was totally overhauled in May 2008, so if you haven’t visited lately, make sure to circle back. For a newsier approach to wellness, we rely on the Health News section of the New York Times.