Fitocracy, SleepCycle, and The Week's Top Apps

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s an automotive journalist, I'm very lucky to get to drive a new car just about every week. And one of the first questions people ask me when they find out what I do for a living is to ask about the best cars I’ve driven.

So, in the reflective spirit of the season, I’m going to look back on the best of what I've driven. There are no set rules here, other than a) I drove the car in calendar 2011 and b) I spent significant time in it, meaning either I had an example for a loa n or I attended the press launch, and c) I drove it, not merely rode in it. This means I’ll have to exclude a few great cars that I only had a few minutes with, as well as a couple of excellent machines in which I rode shotgun but did not take the wheel. Also, some excellent cars I drove in 2010 won’t make the cut under this criteria, even if they remain unchanged. That may seem unfair, but we’re only going back a year here.

Since this list will be pretty diverse, each car will be judged only on its merits and how it stacks up against its competition. Price and fuel economy matter, and will matter more in some cases than others, but the basic criteria is this: did I like the car or not?

Here we go, in no particular order, keeping in mind that I am just one journalist of many.

Fitocracy Our Favorites Fitocracy. Fitocracy is a free app that tracks your workouts and gives you points for them. Enter different activities, join different groups to connect with other users who have similar interests or goals (healthy eating, running, etc.). The app helps you stay on track by using points and higher levels as motivation. It's a little goofy, but it's a boost of encouragement.

SleepCycle SleepCycle This $0.99 app works as a smart alarm that wakes you up gently as you come out of REM sleep. We covered these sorts of alarms in the past on Web2Carz but we were admittedly extremely skeptical. This one wakes you up in time for your alarm (though in our experience, it wakes us up before our alarm and leaves us feeling better than if we'd slept all the way to the alarm), and works by being placed under your sheet next to your pillow and monitoring your movement during sleeping. It sounds complicated, but it's not. And believe us—it works.

Sinead O’Connor Gets Married gretvh in Pink Cadillac Paid Apps In first place in the paid apps category is Bad Piggies, the Angry Birds spinoff. In second is Slender-Man, a game described as "the most scary game ever," and in third is The Amazing Spider-Man. Fourth place goes to WhatsApp Messenger, and fifth place belongs to the HD version of Bad Piggies.

Free Apps Free Apps In first place is YouTube, which users lost when they updated to iOS 6. It's now a standalone, not-standardly-included app. In second is Podcasts, and in third is a game called Hungry Hungry, which as you might have guessed, is an iPhone's take on the popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos. iTunes U is holding strong onto fourth place, and Find My Friends is in last place.