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By James Montgomery

There was no shortage of musical moments in 2009 — and not all of them revolved around Lady Gaga, either. Artists bubbled beneath the surface, broke through to the mainstream and established themselves as unlikely forces to be reckoned with. Say what you will about the past 12 months, but you can't deny that they were interesting.

There was Blink-182's big-time reunion tour, Cobra Starship's party-hearty anthems and the sleeper success of Owl City, to name just a few. Kris Allen's underdog win on "American Idol." Ke$ha's out-of-nowhere ascent to the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100. Jay Sean extending the reach of Cash Money's musical empire. Everywhere you looked, things were happening.

So as the year draws to a close, we decided to ask some of your favorite artists to name their favorites: songs, albums and fellow acts that they admired in 2009.

Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy

Song of the Year: "My favorite song of the year would probably have to be Jay-Z's 'Run This Town.' I think he came out and said and did everything, and he works harder than [anyone]. That record, he's the most angry he's been in a long time."

Albums of the Year: "I like the Dead Weather's [Horehound], Them Crooked Vultures' [self-titled debut], and I like the new Green Day record [21st Century Breakdown] a lot; that's a band that's influenced me a lot."

Artists of the Year: "He's not really an artist, but I would have to say Obama, and there are many reasons for that. Leader of the free world. I think he's going to get a lot of the things done that he has promised. And my pick for woman of the year would have to be my wife, otherwise she'd murder me."

source (read other artists' picks here)