AnnArbor.com launched on July 24. In the 5-plus months since then, Washtenaw County has seen an awful lot of quality entertainment and arts happenings.

We asked our regular reviewers — including Jenn McKee, Will Stewart, John Carlos Cantú, Susan Isaacs Nisbett and Roger LeLievre — for the absolute best things that they saw in town this year, and this list is the result: the crème de la crème. (Of course, we weren't able to see everything.)

We also take note of a few major news items on the entertainment scene that didn't really fit into a "best of" format. And please let us know your own highlights of the past 6 months by commenting at the end of this post.

Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and here's looking forward to more amazing happenings in 2010.

Our picks for the top arts/entertainment events since July 24:

• "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead," opened September 18 at Performance Network.

• Ani DiFranco, September 25 at the Michigan Theater.

• Alisa Weilerstein, October 8, Hill Auditorium, University Musical Society.

• Suzanne Farrell Ballet, October 9 and 10, Power Center, UMS.

• "The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting along the Normandy Coast, 1850-1874," October 10-January 3 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

• Edgefest, October 15-19 at Kerrytown Concert House.

• "Love's Labour's Lost," performed by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, sponsored by UMS, opened October 20 at the Power Center.

• Jay-Z, October 21 at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center.

• Loud & Rich (Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright), October 27 at the Michigan Theater.

• Belcea Quartet, October 30, Rackham Auditorium, UMS.

• "The Image Wrought: Historical Photographic Approaches in the Digital Age," November 7-January 17 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

• "Brahms and Friends" by Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, November 14 at the Michigan Theater.

And some other big events:
Simply from a news perspective, a few other events deserve special notice here at the end of the year.

• Ann Arbor continued to be a hot area for Hollywood movies to be shot.

• The Firefly Club closed.

• The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra released its first album, and it branched out with a holiday concert in conjunction with David Archuleta.

• Two cherished local venues, Kerrytown Concert House and the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, celebrated landmark anniversaries.

• The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology expanded and reopened to the public, while the Ann Arbor Art Center also reconfigured its space.

• Ann Arbor proto-punk band The Stooges was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Watch a slideshow recapping these and other local entertainment highlights: