From the year's most stunning media shakeups to our favorite water-cooler TV moments, Observer.com takes a look back at the year that was...

Good, bad and indifferent, 2010 happened. It did! (Technically there is a month to go, yes, but we're actually kind of ready to move on.) You'll recall there was an election, all sorts of upheaval in the media business and on Wall Street (nothing like a good flash crash to get the blood pumping), and loads of exciting New York tech startups and pretty new buildings. Not to mention plenty of great TV to distract us from what sometimes seemed like a steady drumbeat of unfortunate events (wars, record unemployment, "Parker Spitzer"). About those bummers—in the interest of keeping everyone's spirits high for what we all hope will be a better 2011, we've decided to focus on the positive. And as it turns out, there were actually plenty of high notes in 2010. Think back, won't you...

New York's 10 Most On-Fire
Tech Startups

The 10 Biggest Game-Changers
in Tech

The Top 10 Tech Beakthroughs We're Still Waiting for

The Biggest Wall St. Stars of the Year

The Most Staggering Wall St. Surprises of the Year

The Year's Most Jaw-Dropping Business Quotes

Best of Politics header
Power Players

The Top 10 Political Power
Players in New York

New York's Biggest Political Stories of the Year

The Most Memorable Political Moments of 2010

Media Launches

The Biggest Media Launches of 2010

The Year's Most Memorable Magazine Covers

Media Shakeups

The Year's Most Scandalous Media Shakeups

Cultural Highlights

The 10 Cultural Highlights
of the Year

The Most Welcome Cultural Newbies of the Year

Watercooler Minutes

TV's 11 Best Watercooler Moments of the Year

Best of Real Estate header

New York's 15 Biggest
Real Estate Machers

Best new buildings

New York's Most Eye-Popping New Buildings

Biggest deals

The Biggest New York Real Estate Deals