The F-List

Youngna.com

Our own fixation on words and culture could be what swayed us toward photographer Youngna Park as our photoblogger pick. Interspersing well-composed pics of put-together hipsters with contemplative landscapes and crisp detail shots, Park adds engaging (and endearing) commentary that puts the photos in the context of her life. Plus, she gave thanks for the Chicago Manual of Style — awww. -Jocelyn K. Glei

Apartmenttherapy.com

Apartment Therapy's lively blogs in LA and NYC prove that the phrase "cosmopolitan nester" isn't an oxymoron. Offering daily posts on topics ranging from art-deco end tables to who to call to saw your sofa in half, AT provides sage and savvy home advice, supplemented with helpful add-ons like furniture classifieds, product guides, and its new offshoot, the Kitchen. -Jocelyn K. Glei

The-Flog.com

Few art blogs match the visual elegance of Fette's Flog, a chronicle of art happenings in the LA area. Fette, a French visual artist, interweaves lush photographs and musings, adding personal interviews with local artists and an extensive calendar of openings. For the holiday season, check out her famous Christmas List of affordable art in the LA area. -Bryony Roberts

Gothamist.com

Gothamist isn't new to NYC readers. In fact, this attuned and informal blog about all things city — from events to interviews to news — has racked up many a Bloggie nomination. But, more importantly, the -ist empire is ever-growing. Now with 15 city editions, including the new Houstonist and the farther-flung Parisist and Shanghaiist, it's becoming a phenomenon-ist. -Jocelyn K. Glei

Designiskinky.com

If HTML gets you hot, Design is Kinky is for you. Started by Australian web designer Andrew Johnstone, DiK (go ahead, snicker) is a go-to site for designers to share portfolios, swap theory, and announce events. But the juiciest bits are the Profiles, over 50 interviews with international designers, and Mugshots, 3,000+ photos of the faces behind the fonts. -Annette Ferrara

Scratch Perverts

The Scratch Perverts — whose members hold six world turntablism and DMC titles among them — apply their bountiful technical skills to weaving in and out of pop, drum 'n bass, hip-hop, dancehall, and beyond, making even the most jaded jaws drop in amazement. -Colin J. Nagy

Jennifer Cardini

Parisian Jennifer Cardini balances out the cool, dandyish sophistication of her colleagues at Kompakt Booking with an unabashed will to rave. Holding court at Paris' Rex Club, Cardini cuts up classic Plastikman and next month's micro sounds with such complexity that you'd swear there were three decks involved, while her head-banging command brings a butch energy that's sorely lacking in techno. -Philip Sherburne

Google.com/ig

Sure, Google isn't really "emerging" at this point, but it is expanding its technological repertoire every second — and its new Ajax-driven personalized homepages are downright addictive. You can choose a totally customized suite of RSS feeds, including everything from news headlines to weather and local movie times, and dynamically drag and drop them to design the homepage however you like. -Jocelyn K. Glei

Pandora.com

Pandora is a spin-off of the Music Genome Project, an ambitious undertaking to break down songs like DNA strands, analyzing them on qualities as specific as "rhythmic syncopation" and "key tonality." The result is your own personal radio station — one that anticipates what you'll like based on as little as a single artist or favorite song. -Doug Levy

Theweekmagazine.com

The companion to the cheap but hard-to-find print version of The Week, Theweekmagazine.com filters major international newspapers and websites to provide a snapshot of the best columns, op-eds, reviews, headlines, and controversies of the past seven days. With a refreshingly balanced, albeit cheeky, perspective, it's a CliffsNotes-style solution to becoming well-informed. -S. Aki Moorman

Mocoloco.com

The design-savvy have bookmarked Harry Wakefield's MoCo LoCo site since it launched in late 2003, and still check it religiously. The Quebec-based Wakefield and his international ring of design enthusiasts have an insatiable appetite for all things modern and contemporary as well as that oh-so-important asset: discriminating taste. -Annette Ferrara

Moluv.com

Moluv is a web designer's website that is (gasp) also well written. Devoted codeheads can dive into Maurice Wright's practical tips on ASCII character codes or actionscript techniques, but even the newly converted techie can appreciate Wright's literate and engaging essays on such topics as "Web Design in American Football Terms." -Annette Ferrara

Newstoday.com

Calling themselves the Quorporation, designers Folkert Gorter (Amsterdam) and Jason Kristofer (Los Angeles) are the Oz-like administrators behind the officious-looking and authoritarian-sounding Newstoday site, which acts as a populist message board and minute-by-minute filter of the hottest design work available on the net. -Annette Ferrara

Linkdup.com

Linkdup, the virtual brainchild of English design group Preloaded, is a comprehensive, filtered link-garden of the best of the best-designed sites on the web. What separates the site: it's relentlessly organized, cuts a wide swath in terms of categories (from arts festivals to usability theory), and has crossover appeal — both the creative- and business-minded check it habitually. -Annette Ferrara

M.I.A.

Maya Arulpragasam may have had a cool DJ/boyfriend, advert-attractive singles, and the best backstory in '05, but without her euphoria-inducing early live performances, her star might not still be rising. Unpolished routines, spotty sound, unpretentious charisma, and boundless enthusiasm added up to an undeniably exciting and new brand of DIY dance-pop. -Jake Lancaster