The recently released list of 2009's top websites from Time Magazine provides a peek into the diverse mix of educational, commerce, entertainment and practical tools that help web users stay organized, share information and quench their ever-increasing thirst for knowledge, information and immediacy, MarketingCharts reports.

While many of the top 20 sites on Time's "Top 50" list - chosen by Time editors - are useful tools that help web surfers stay ahead of clutter (popurls, Flickr, Metafilter, OpenTable, Kayak), many present formidable attempts to circumvent, supplant or complement traditional media.

Voice-over-IP provider Skype, for instance, helps users bypass traditional phone service, while Hulu enables its audience view favorite TV shows from days gone by.

A good number of sites on the list represent direct attempts to compete with category-leading websites. The Wolfram|Alpha search engine has its sights on Google, while ShopGoodwill.com and Craiglook - a Craigslist RSS feed aggregator - are aimed at those who seek no-frills alternatives to eBay.

Other sites, such as Academic Earth, provide a glimpse into the world of academia at a level previously off-limits to all but the elite, while CaliforniaCoastline gives geography buffs a no-frills look at a meticulously mapped section of the US.

The top 20 websites of 2009:

1. Flickr
2. California Coastline
3. Delicious
4. Metafilter
5. popurls
6. Twitter
7. Skype
8. Boing Boing
9. Academic Earth
10. OpenTable
11. Google
12. YouTube
13. Wolfram|Alpha
14. Hulu
15. Vimeo
16. Fora TV
17. Craiglook
18. Shop Goodwill
19. Amazon
20. Kayak

Time's older lists of Top 50 websites for both 2008 and 2007 also report on other useful, interesting and entertaining web spots.Sites Mirror Online Preferences, ActivityRecent data about internet activity from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) revealed that internet users spend the most time with content, communications, community, commerce and search sites - in that order. Over the past six years, time spent on content and community have both risen significantly.