From A to Z, the best and worst in 2011 entertainment

Adeleâ┚¬â€Just in time for anyone who'd been dumped on Valentine's Day, the British soul singer released 21, which went on to become the year's number one album. Adele's therapeutic collection was embraced by critics and consumers alike with a sound beloved by fans of all generations.

The Book of Mormonâ┚¬â€Created by South Park scribes Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the Broadway smash re-wrote the book with their sweet but oh-so-spicy musical, winning nine Tonys in the process.

Cardboard signsâ┚¬â€Realizing social media wasn't enough, people across the globe re-embraced the old-school method of getting their point across: taking magic marker to posterboard before taking to the streets. American protestors came in many flavors: tea partiers, the Occupy Wall Street movement (and its subsequent expansions), and trial crowds from coast (Casey Anthony's in Florida) to coast (Dr. Conrad Murray's in California).

Daytime TV transformsâ┚¬â€Oprah and Regis weren't the only ones to leave a void. Two ABC soaps were killed off while NBC's lone sudser Days of our Lives re-launched itself by bringing back numerous characters (and the actors who played them). Leading the attempt to woo newly stranded Oprah-less viewers: Anderson Cooper. Thanks to his show's marginal ratings, many are still expecting the silver fox to finally come out as a sweeps stunt for increased viewership.

E! â┚¬â€Should have renamed itself K!, thanks to repeated airings of any and all things Kardashian.

Fran Drescherâ┚¬â€The Nanny returned to TV with Happily Divorced, an autobiographical sitcom about a woman who re-enters the dating scene after discovering her husband is gay.

Gagaâ┚¬â€Her gay rights anthem â┚¬Å”Born This Wayâ┚¬Â broke barriers and became an instant classic. Besides being played on each and every 2011 gay pride parade float, the song was also Billboard Magazine's 1,000th Hot 100 No. 1 in the list’s 52-year history.

Harry Potterâ┚¬â€The film series' final flick became the top-grossing movie of the year, while Universal Orlando's newest theme park land reportedly doubled the resort's financial bottom line. Universal also announced that not only would Potterland be duplicated at its California park, but Orlando's resort would get additional Muggle-icious attractions. In other theme park news: Legoland opened; Mickey Mouse announced he was climbing into bed with Avatar's blue Navi tribe; and, Busch Gardens added a cougar-themed coaster. Sadly the ride's inspiration was not the predatory sex-hungry species of older women but the actual spotted cheetah.

It Gets Betterâ┚¬â€The anti-bullying campaign received national prominence when a diverse range of organizations, including Universal Orlando's StudioOut LGBT employee group, the Walt Disney Company and several Tampa Bay Rays players and its coach filmed videos for the cause. Additionally, a frequently played TV commercial for Google Chrome highlighted the non-profit, tugging at heartstrings in the process.

Jane Lynchâ┚¬â€The Glee scene stealer hosted the Emmys and became a spokesperson for both Healthy Choice and the Nook e-reader. Hope you enjoyed your run Ellen, but America has a new favorite lesbian!

Katesâ┚¬â€One (Perry) become the first artist since Michael Jackson to have five singles from the same album top the Billboard Top 100. The other (Middleton) had her wedding viewed by an estimated 2 billion people. Though both influenced fashion, the British Kate had the larger impact, particularly with the fascinator, a cross between a headband and a hat. The headpiece quickly rose to prominence on US shores when it became drag de rigueur.

Lost virginityâ┚¬â€ Glee continued to push boundaries with a fall episode that gave equal prominence to both hetero couple Finn & Rachel's and gay couple Blaine & Kurt's deflowering.

Marriagesâ┚¬â€Weddings, we just couldn't get enough! The Royal Wedding was watched by billions, while Kim Kardashian's E!xtravaganza earned the cable network's highest ratings ever. Nuptials also ruled the box office in sequels to The Hangover and Twilight. But the most popular â┚¬Å”I do'sâ┚¬Â were found in Bridesmaids, the year's box office breakout.

Nancy Graceâ┚¬â€The HLN host served as ringleader for the Orlando-based media circus/trial of Casey Anthony. On hearing the trial's â┚¬Å”not guiltyâ┚¬Â verdict, Grace said, â┚¬Å”The devil is dancing tonight,â┚¬Â only to take to the dance floor herself on Dancing With the Stars. Headline News, and other cable nets, saw their highest ratings during the Anthony trial.

Osama Bin Ladenâ┚¬â€Sales of the executed terrorist leader's Halloween mask were among the season's highest, followed closely by one of â┚¬Å”tot momâ┚¬Â Anthony. In the days after bin Laden's capture and subsequent killing Disney attempted to secure the trademark to â┚¬Å”SEAL Team 6,â┚¬Â the elite squad responsible for killing the Al Qaeda leader. Though the company quickly withdrew its application, we're left wondering not only â┚¬Å”what could have beenâ┚¬Â from a new ride, restaurant, or souvenir shop in a theme park version of the raided Pakistanian compound, but more importantly â┚¬Å”Why?â┚¬Â

Pitbullâ┚¬â€How to get radio to play your single? Feature the Miami rapper for at least 30 seconds of your song. By year's end Mr. 305 had appeared with T Pain, J-Lo, Timbaland, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Usher and Dr. Pepper.

Queens, Dragâ┚¬â€With several lip-syncing favorites relocating out of state, and area nightclubs opening and closing, there was an unprecedented cosmic shift in local entertainment lineups.

Rants, Homophobicâ┚¬â€A perennial entertainment â┚¬Å”worst,â┚¬Â this year's injustices came from director Brent Radnor, who said rehearsals were for â┚¬Å”fags,â┚¬Â and Vince Vaughn (in character) calling electric cars â┚¬Å”gay.â┚¬Â Topping them all was Tracy Morgan, who, during a Nashville stand-up gig, attempted to get laughs by saying he'd shoot his own son for exhibiting any gay tendencies.

Superheroesâ┚¬â€Say what you will about 3-D movie versions of Thor, Captain America, and the X-Men appearing in your face. But on Broadway it's far more likely that Spiderman could land right in your lap.

â┚¬Å”Talentâ┚¬Â showsâ┚¬â€American Idol rebooted with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez coming on board as judges/hair consultant. And America’s (Allegedly) Got Talent made some want to have even their entertainment Made in China. Chaz Bono on Dancing With The Stars made headlines, but most watched in anticipation of mom Cher appearing in the audience. The Dark Lady did not disappoint, showing up on Movies-theme night complete with John Travolta's Battlefield Earth dreadlocks.

Uneducated sports playersâ┚¬â€Perhaps school children can teach visiting â┚¬Å”Play 60â┚¬Â NFL players to not to put their hands over their hearts when Lea Michele sings â┚¬Å”America The Beautifulâ┚¬Â as she did during this year's Super Bowl, since the song is not our National Anthem.

The Voiceâ┚¬â€Left viewers shocked every time Christina Aquilera's chair spun aroundâ┚¬Â¦not for which singers she'd select during the blind auditions, but instead for seeing whatever outfit the former Mouseketeer had attempted to squeeze herself  into.

Whistlingâ┚¬â€Not since Snow White's seven little friends came along has the happy-go-lucky sound been so embraced. Artists such as Foster The People (â┚¬Å”Pumped Up Kicksâ┚¬Â), Maroon 5 (â┚¬Å”Moves Like Jaggerâ┚¬Â), Britney Spears (â┚¬Å”I Wanna Goâ┚¬Â), and Jason Derulo (â┚¬Å”‘It Girl”) all took the concept of â┚¬Å”lips together, teeth apartâ┚¬Â to heart.

The X Factorâ┚¬â€Who thought Paula Abdul would find a soul sister in Nicole Scherzinger? Even Simon Cowell mocked the women's attempts at inspiring the contestants, calling the former Pussycat Doll â┚¬Å”The ultimate rainbow.â┚¬Â

YouTubeâ┚¬â€The good: â┚¬Å”Honey badger don't give a fuckâ┚¬Â videos. The bad: Rebecca Black's song â┚¬Å”Friday.â┚¬Â

Zzz'sâ┚¬â€What we're all hoping Charlie Sheen is getting since he was seemingly awake for all of 2011.

What we're looking forward to in 2012: The London Olympics, The Hunger Games, Madonna performing at Super Bowl and releasing her first album in four years, an expected album from Cher, festival showings of the filmed-in-Orlando drag movie My Fair Liddy.