Best of the Web!

Ok, so lately, I got to thinking about the many free websites that I have grown to love and use on a daily basis. Sadly though, many of my friends have no clue that they even exist! So, to fix that problem, and hopefully introduce some of you to the most wonderful websites you've ever been to, here is my very random list of websites I have deemed Best of the Web. Check 'em out--they're all free, and you might find they become a favorite of yours, too!

First of all, I feel I should mention some websites that everybody already does know about, but that are amazing anyways. This would include:

Best search engine:
Google.com

Best social networking site:
Facebook.com
(not that I actually have an account, but that doesn't negate the fact :)

Ok, now for the fun ones.

Best Photo-Sharing:
Flickr.com
Hands down, Flickr wins this one. If you ever take pictures, whether you've just got your little pocket-camera or a ginormous SLR, you should absolutely get a flickr account. It's a great way to get your pictures out into the photography world! You can post your pictures for your friends to comment on, and you can keep track of all the pictures your friends are taking. And when you join groups with other photographers, you can see learn all sorts of new photography tricks.

Best Book Site:
Goodreads.com
I know this caption doesn't make much sense, so allow me to explain. Well, better to just explain what Goodreads is, and you'll see why it's the best. With Goodreads, you can keep track of every book you've ever read: rate it, write a review about it, suggest it to your friends, put it in a bookshelf--everything. You can also see what books your friends are reading and how they're liking them, or check out an individual book and see what people are saying about it before you start reading it. Goodreads is SO cool.

Best Online Dictionary:
Onelook.com
This title is easily won by Onelook. Sure, I know that there are a gazillion different online dictionaries out there, and you're probably thinking that they're all the same. WRONG! Because Onelook isn't just one dictionary; it is a page that searches the best dictionaries out there (oxford, merriam-webster, etc) and provides a link to each site's definition of your word. This is great especially if you are writing a paper or in debate, because you can look over a couple of definitions and pick the one that works best for you, then cite it directly from the dictionary's page. If you don't want to go to all that work, it provides one concise definition right on the main page. It's so clean and easy, and there are no ads!

Best for Buying/Selling Textbooks:
Bigwords.com
Now this website I just discovered last month, when I was selling back all my schoolbooks. It's amazing. You type in the ISBN of the book you want to buy or sell. Their "machine" searches all the major book selling/buying websites for your textbook. It compares prices, takes into account extras like shipping and coupons, and then spits out a list of the best places to buy/sell your book. It does all the work for you in seconds, and is totally free!

Best Knitting Website:
This one's actually a tie between:
Knittinghelp.com and Knitting Pattern Central
Now I know many of you don't care. But I said this was going to be a list of the websites I've found most helpful, and these definitely make it! So, for any knitters out there, here's what I love about each of them:
Knittinghelp.com has wonderful step-by-step videos of almost every stitch and technique known to knitting. So helpful if you're trying something for the first time.
Knitting Pattern Central is just a compilation of thousands of different knitting patterns, organized into categories. If you're looking for a pattern online, this is where you'll find it.

Well, that's all of my Best of the Web winners! If you have also come to know and love any of these websites, please comment! And, if you have your own "Best of the Web" sites, feel free to share them, too!