Happy New Year! THE POP FIX hopes you have a fantastic and safe celebration to bring in 2010! We wish you happiness, health and abundant wealth throughout the new year (and new decade)!

I present to you a collection of ten records from the year that I either felt weren’t up to some of the incredible hype they received, were letdowns compared to a band’s previous release, or just ended up as personal disappointments. It’s been a great year and I couldn’t ask for any more excellent albums, but there’s always going to be some bad with the good, and 2009 wasn’t any different.

It’s so complicated to put together this list of the best of 2009 that can be worn in 2010. Remember every designer showcases his or her collection almost one year in advance, so we have a pretty clear picture of what the upcoming year will bring…

It’s a nearly impossible feat to choose thirty songs over so many awesome albums, especially in year as good as 2009. But after a few months of fine-tuning and multiple switches, below are my top songs of the year. A few notes: I made it a rule to only allow one song per artist, and I’m definitely not spoiling my best-of- 2009 albums list, as only eleven of those albums are represented here. Comments/thoughts/replacements encouraged…

I usually destroy people when I talk about their fashion sense (don’t get me started on Miley), and for some reason those are the most read articles. Yet, Blake Lively is quite difficult for me to criticize because I feel she is really heading towards a fantastic direction in terms of style, especially when discussing the colors she chooses and the labels she prefers. Blake Lively (or our favorite high-school whore from Gossip Girl) is definitely becoming an IT girl in my book.

If you’re not already familiar with TheStream.tv, you should be. TheStream.tv is the world’s 1st and largest network of live, interactive television owned and directed by Brian Gramo. Although TheStream is known for producing fun entertainment, it’s also a charitable organization from time to time that holds “streamathon” fundraisers for charity. Gramo says, “Everyone should do their part to help those less fortunate than themselves. Events like Streamathon are a fun way to remind people to do just that by raising awareness of worthy causes.”

For Virginia Beach rap duo Clipse, what more fitting time to release their third album than when the weather starts to turn white? Brothers Malice and Pusha T have long made their name on critically-acclaimed, popularly-ignored hardcore rap that largely focused on one thing and one thing only: cocaine, and all the business ventures and death threats that go along with it. From their brutal lyrics, relentless flow, and minimalist Neptunes-provided beats, they’ve always seemed darker than their contemporaries, more real and, most importantly, more believable. But after yet another long layoff and another sub-standard mixtape to whet their fans’ appetites, Clipse have found themselves in a weird place: successful, and with nothing to prove…

This year we have reviewed trends for the holidays and important fashion shows throughout this year. I expect that you have learned that regardless of money or status, decent looking clothes are a necessity and we all feel that urge to dress accordingly to the latest and greatest trends and/or designers. However, there is a topic I haven’t covered yet, and that topic is “vintage” (used) clothing…