Be prepared: this year was all about top 40 female pop stars.

So here are my top 10 albums of 2011 (as in the albums I listened to the most, not necessarily the albums that have been released this year).

10. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

I got this album when it came out and listened to it for a few weeks and it’s VERY very good. But then after that I sort of lost the appeal of it. This isn’t typically my genre of music so maybe that’s why but I lost interest. But don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic album and should be required listening for everyone.

9. Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster

This album has been out for a couple years but it was definitely one of my most played. It was No.2 in 2009 and 2010. Looking back I still find it to be one of the most enjoyable albums in the last decade. I have a feeling it will make it in to the next coupe of year-end wrap ups as well.

8. Rihanna – Talk That Talk

Sticking to her one-album-every-year-for-the-last-7-years mantra, Talk That Talk came out late in 2011. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the whole thing over and over again but the couple of songs that I have heard I’ve been jamming to. I just wish she wasn’t so disgusting and gross.

7. Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures

It almost seems impossible that we lost Amy this year. For the first time that I can remember I was actually upset with the death of a celebrity. Lioness was released in late 2011 and though I haven’t given it the attention that I should, it is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year.

6. Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

If there’s one thing Glee is good at it’s introducing me to new music. In the second half of season 2 they did Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers” and I LOVED it. I went and downloaded the entire album and low and behold it’s absolute magic. She has another album “Youth Novel” that came out in 2008 and I can’t wait to explore it the same way I did this one. Definitely check this album out regardless of your musical tastes.

5. Britney Spears – Femme Fatale

I am not a Britney Spears fan but she puts out some fun dance music. I am not invested in this album in any way other than to have on in the background of a party or something.

4. Glee Cast – Music from Seasons 2 and 3

There’s no denying my love for Glee. Not just the show the music as well. It’s everything I love about television. Seasons 2 and 3 were basically my main albums this year but they weren’t even really albums (I would buy the music as it became available every week). I know people knock the show but it’s a fun way to spend your Tuesday evenings.

3. Beyonce – 4

I went back and forth about what I thought about this album. It was announced like a month or 2 before the release, there was next to no promotion, and none of the songs were huge hits. Talking to my other Beyonce expert Phillip, we both agreed that this seems like an album she made in an effort to have a repertoire of middle-ground material when she does her 3 year stints in Las Vegas down the road. Either way this album is her most mature and most interesting yet.

2. Adele – 21

This was the year of Adele. There’s no denying that. She is breaking records left and right and doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon as almost a year later the album is still No.2 on Billboard. I was on the Adele train in 2008 but it’s really fun to see everyone get just as excited about 21 as I was about 19!

1. Lady Gaga – Born This Way

I don’t remember the last time I was this excited about a new album. There was no way, even if this album tanked, that it was going to be anything other than No.1 for me this year. The sheer excitement for it alone would have put it at the top. I think this album is going to land in my top 10 every year for a while…she still has a tour coming up as well! This is another one that even if you aren’t a fan of pop music, you should definitely try it out!

I hope everyone had a very happy new year’s day today! And don’t forget: the holidays aren’t over. Johnnukkah is on its way!

Episode 5 of Glee Chat is finally here! There was no new episode of “Glee” to talk about, so this week’s hosts switch things up a bit!

This week Coty, Jessica and Roxanne join John for a fun-filled episode full of fan questions comments and theories:

- No new episode of “Glee” so we change things up
- We sort most of the characters on “Glee” in to Hogwarts houses, from the Harry Potter books
- We take fan questions and comments
- We talk about our favorite characters and episodes of all time
- We discuss what our “Born This Way” shirt would say on the front of it
- We discuss a crazy rumor that has been circulating in the fandom about Mercedes
- We analyze what we’ve seen of Quinn so far, and where her character may be headed
- Once again, John’s Finnofsky ship is brought up
- We finally realize why “Glee” is taking a 3 week hiatus
- We introduce a new “Shoutout” segment where we give a shoutout to fans of the show and people we like!
- Details are given about Glee Chat’s very exciting Halloween episode!
- Stay tuned after the closing song for yet another one of John’s stumbling bloopers!

Subscribe on iTunes | Hypable’s Glee Chat page | Download Directly

One of my favorite things in the world is when The Christmas Lights release a new music video. You may remember when I promoted them as part of an MTV TJ challenge last year. They have a new video out, just in time for Halloween, for their latest song “Out Into The Dark.” Check it out below and follow The Christmas Lights on Facebook and Twitter (@TheXmasLights)!

If you like what you hear, you can download their music on iTunes. Check out their website too, www.christmaslightsmusic.com

I am offering up my 15″ 2011 MacBook Pro to my Facebook, Twitter and blog followers in hopes that I can help someone out. If no one on said accounts is interested, I’m going to put it on eBay as a last option! I just bought this MacBook like 2 weeks after it was updated in February, so it’s brand spanking new. I absolutely LOVE it, but need something more portable than the 15″. It runs like a million dollars and is far and beyond the best computer I’ve ever owned. It’s in “New” condition and is cosmetically in really great shape. There is a tiny bit of wear next to the trackpad where your wrist would rest, but it’s a lot more visible in photos (like below) than in real life. I’ve taken great care of this thing!

Below are the details on the MacBook Pro, and yes, it comes with the brand new Thunderbolt technology!

15″ MacBook Pro (February 2011 release, this is the latest updated MacBook Pro)

• 2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (SO fast)
• 4GB ram
• 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive
• Intel HD Graphics 3000
• AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
• Thunderbolt port
• SD card slot
• 7 hour battery life
• MagSafe Power Adapter
• OS X 10.7 Lion

Here’s a screen shot of the specs straight from the computer itself:

So how much am I asking for it, you ask? Currently, you can buy this exact computer from Apple for $1,800. After tax I paid almost $2,000 for this machine. I am offering it to Facebook, Twitter and my blog readers for $1,450. This price is semi-negotiable. This is a huge discount considering the price of a brand new one. Like I said, this one is only 8 months old!

If you would like to contact me regarding purchasing this beauty of a machine, or have any questions you can e-mail me at jthrasher5@gmail.com. Please, serious inquiries only!

Tonight, the world found out that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died. After battling pancreatic cancer, and apparently liver cancer as well, Steve’s untimely death comes as a shock to me and so many others.

Yes, I am an Apple fan boy, but I am because of the brilliant mind and genius of Steve. Steve has truly changed my life, and in some capacity, so many more across this planet.

Steve gave the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford and one part of it really blew me away:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

If those aren’t words to live by, I don’t know what are.

So many people have spoken out about Steve’s death, but New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg had one of the most eloquent quotes that I’ve ever read in the wake of someone’s death:

Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. Again and again over the last four decades, Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people could even see the horizon. And Steve’s passionate belief in the power of technology to transform the way we live brought us more than smart phones and iPads: it brought knowledge and power that is reshaping the face of civilization. In New York City’s government, everyone from street construction inspectors to NYPD detectives have harnessed Apple’s products to do their jobs more efficiently and intuitively. Tonight our City – a city that has always had such respect and admiration for creative genius – joins with people around the planet in remembering a great man and keeping Laurene and the rest of the Jobs family in our thoughts and prayers.

Steve was our generation’s Henry Ford, and an American who turned his idea in his garage in to the most powerful and successful company on the planet. What a life.

Rest in peace, Steve, wherever you may be.

Even though I pleaded that there would be an iPhone 5, like many millions of other iPhone users, Apple did their best to make the iPhone 4S seem like a homerun. In reality it’s just a minor upgrade to the already fantastic iPhone 4. Here are some iPhone 4S features:

• 8 megapixel camera with a bunch of technological advances that normal human beings don’t understand.
• 1080p HD recording
• Apple’s A5 duel-core processor, which according to today’s demo, will make monsters melt your eyes better.
• Better connectivity to cell towers
• Siri – voice activated personal assistant (which was an app that I have owned for years. Demo below)