The Top 10 Everything of 2010

In 50 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months

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1. Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Before this year, everyone knew that a smooth-talking man in a bathroom would generate 23.5 million YouTube views. Right? Such is the appeal of Old Spice Guy, who became a true cultural phenomenon. "Hello ladies," croons the well-cut star in the john, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. "Look at your man," he says. "Now back to me. Now back at your man. Now back to me." His cadence is pitch-perfect, and the conceit gets more charmingly ridiculous: your man will never match up to Old Spice Guy, but if he uses Old Spice Body Wash, he can smell like him — and maybe wind up on a boat, with two tickets to that thing you love, or even diamonds, while riding on a white horse. Perhaps the only thing more appealing than Old Spice Guy is Grover spoofing him on Sesame Street.

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