The 35 Most Useful Websites

There are millions upon millions of websites, but the ones we visit are probably the same ones we always visit. However, there are many amazingly useful sites that you might not know about that could soon become your new favorites.

These sites exist to save time and money, to help us search more effectively, to drill down into reference materials, and so much more.

Search and Reference

• Wikibooks: A giant collection of online textbooks that anyone can edit.
• HyperHistory: A visual timeline of history; select a link to be taken to a whole new panorama of information.
• oSkope: A visual search engine that lets you search and organize items from different web services, including Amazon and Flickr.
• Digital History: For anyone who wants more information on U.S. history, this site is the place to look. It has essays and primary sources.

Reading and Writing

• Project Gutenberg: A huge database of thousands of free downloadable books.
• ManyBooks: Tons of free Kindle books and books in other formats for your computer or eReader.
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): A fantastic array of hundreds of free resources for improving your writing. Includes an updated MLA style guide.
• LibraryThing: Share what you're reading with others and connect with people that read similar books.

Entertainment and Video

• YouConvertIt: A file converter where you can upload any media file format and change it into another format absolutely free of charge and without installing any software.
• Internet Movie Poster Awards: Get the first look at the very latest movie posters. Archives go back to 1912.
• IMDb TV: While IMDb is really popular for everything movie-related, did you know it also has free movies?
• Animoto: Make a video using your own images and music, with professional looking effects.
• Internet Movie Script Database: If you're looking for a movie script, IMSDb is where you need to be. It's a great way to get another point of view on your favorite film.

Web Applications and Tools

• Mint: Free and automatic money management. Mint is a great way to be on top of your finances and is one of the best money management apps.
• Tripit: Organize your travel plans into one primary online itinerary with everything you need—a super useful service.
• amCharts: Free and customizable JavaScript charts, maps, and timelines. There are really nice looking images here to use for your presentations or projects.

Shopping and Travel

• Woot: One of the best places to find deals on the web; mostly gadgets and technology-related deals.
• RetailMeNot: A coupon website that has coupons for both online and in-store products.
• ThisNext: Save what you find around the web at ThisNext, a social shopping community.
• FlightAware: A free live flight tracker where you can view and track the activity of any private or commercial flight, as well as get printable airport information.

Music and Multimedia

• Last.fm: Find free streaming radio stations of any music or artist you might be looking for.
• HypeMachine: Listen to the music that people are talking about on the web.
• Gnoosic: Discover new music that you didn't even know you liked.
• Miro: Free, open source video player that works with a huge variety of video file formats. Also lets you download YouTube videos and torrents, convert files, and share files over your network.
• Magnatune: A unique website of free streaming music, most of which is unique to this site.

News and Information

• Popurls: An awesome way to get quick information from a variety of popular online sources. On a single page is listings from Reddit, Digg, Wired, Lifehacker, YouTube, The Onion, and other sites.
• BoingBoing: An exceedingly eclectic array of information gathered from all over the web.
• Techmeme: One of the best places to get breaking technology news.
• Drudge Report: The Drudge Report is a great site to find news that's off the beaten track. Also usually one of the first places to break really big news items.

Fun and Games

• Orisinal: A beautifully designed gaming site; parents love this one.
• Paper Toys: Hundreds of free custom-designed paper models that you can print out and fold yourself.
• Web Sudoku: Play Sudoku for free with literally thousands of different combinations.
• Miniclip: Tons of cute animated games for kids and adults.

Productivity and New Media

• Twitter: A mini-blogging application that you can use to journal your thoughts and ideas.
• Netvibes: A starting page for the web; you can personalize your Netvibes to your unique preferences.