See the rest of TIME’s Top 10 of Everything 2013 lists here
10. Lady Gaga
Tobias Schwarz / Reuters
ARTPOP will be far less commercially successful than its predecessor, Born This Way—first-week sales were 258,000 and 1.1 million, respectively—but there’s no denying Gaga’s lasting impact: her ARTPOP promotional gimmicks (the flying dress, the Jeff Koons cover, etc.) were covered ad nauseum, and according to Forbes, she is still the second highest-earning musician in the world. (Madonna is number one.)
9. Ron Burgundy
Anchorman 2 doesn’t hit theaters until Dec. 20, but buzz surrounding its leading man, played by Will Ferrell, has already reached a fever pitch. The real-life newscaster who spoofed Ferrell’s character for Halloween didn’t hurt, either.
8. Derrick Rose
After spending the 2012-2013 season rehabbing his ACL, Rose’s physicality, explosiveness and vertical appeared to be better than ever, even if his team hasn’t quite worked out their kinks. (The Heat beat the Bulls in the season opener.) But Rose’s comeback proved short-lived; in a game against Portland in late November, the former league MVP tore his right knee meniscus, an injury that will force him to spend a second straight season on the bench.
7. The ’80s
This yeah, it’s back to the future with regard to the 1980s. Beyond new ’80s-inspired looks from Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Rihanna, among others, NBC welcomed one of the biggest ’80s stars, Michael J. Fox, back to primetime. And ABC premiered The Goldbergs, a 30-minute sitcom set entirely in the ’80s.
6. Yahoo!
At the beginning of 2011, Yahoo! was in such bad shape that trading of its stock had been suspended. But under the leadership of new CEO Marissa Mayer, the tech titan has made several high-profile acquisitions—Tumblr and Summly—and redesigned its email client. As a result, its stock has been steadily trending upwards.
5. Red Sox
Nothing like a 2013 World Series win to erase a terrible 2012 season from fans’ memories.
4. Best Buy
Back in 2012, Best Buy appeared to be at death’s door. Its stock was at decade-lows, and the success of Amazon and other e-commerce sites were on track to put the electronics store out of business, just as they has eliminated book store chains like Borders. But thanks to its CEO’s “renew blue” initiative—involving closing its larger stores, moving into smaller spaces, amping up its ecommerce efforts, and focusing on fewer products to improve profit margins—Best Buy’s was best performing stock in 2013.
3. Twinkies
Marketed as the “sweetest comeback in the history of ever,” Twinkies returned to grocery store shelves in July after Hostess Brands announced its bankruptcy eight months prior. And its makers aggressively pursued a whole new demographic—20-something men, who embraced the pastry as a late-night snack.
2. Netflix
Studios, consumers and just about everyone had lost faith in Neflix two years ago; according to a Forbes survey, people thought BlackBerry and Sears were more likely to survive than Netflix in 2013. But following a string of buzzed-about original series—Orange is the New Black, the Arrested Development revamp and the Emmy-winning House of Cards—the tech titan has emerged as the second best-performing company of 2013 (in term of stock price) and left all other video streaming services in the dust—it’s used 10 times more than Amazon Instant Video and Hulu combined.
1. Miley Cyrus
It began with May’s surprisingly catchy “We Can’t Stop.” Then came the VMA awards. Then that video where she straddled a wrecking ball…totally nude. Then the #1 single and album. Like it or not, Miley has twerked her way back into relevance, morphing from has-been Disney star to pop-cultural lightning rod. And at just 21, she’s got a long career to go.
Think we missed something? Tell us using hashtag #TIME2013
Follow @TIME