Best of the Best in 2008

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The past year had its share of lows, but there were also plenty of high points, too. From hot products like Acai berries to new state quarters, we can't keep our eyes off this year's highlights. Some of which include the best high school which is in Virginia, best college(Massachusetts), best bathroom(Tennessee), best places to live(Minnesota) and more.

Click forward to see the best of the best of 2008.

First Up: Best Places to Live

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CNN Money

Best Places to Live

No. 1: Plymouth, Minnesota

Population: 70,100
Median home price: $288,950
Average property tax (2006): $4,526
Pros: Reasonable home prices; good schools; quick drive the nation's biggest mall
Cons: Very cold winters

More on the Best Places to Live

Next: Best Rural Places to Live

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Joe Link

Best Rural Places to Live

No. 1: Kent County, Md.

Just a two-hour drive from Washington, D.C., Kent County should be covered with homes, strip malls and farmettes. But it's not. Not anywhere close. Instead it's a rare "sprawl" holdout.

For a county to be in Progressive Farmer's Best Places list, they hold them to the usual standards -- good schools, health care, safety and other desirable qualities. But what makes Kent stand out is its residents' resolve to maintain a solid rural heritage.
More on the Best Rural Places to Live
Next: Best States for Healthy Living

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Beth Gauper, St. Paul Pioneer

Best States for Healthy Living

No. 1: Minnesota

It has taken nine long years, but Minnesota is back as the Healthiest State in America. The North Star State last topped the rankings in 1999.

It ranks No. 1 in the categories of health insurance coverage and the number of adults who exercise.

More on the Best States for Healthy Living

Next: Best Places to Retire

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Craig Litten, AP

Best Places to Retire

No. 1: Dunedin, Fla.

Pros: Less crowded and less expensive than many towns on the Atlantic side of the state.
Cons: Hurricanes are possible.

Morning rush hour is a steady flow of walkers, joggers and bikers cruising the 37-mile Pinellas Trail or heading over the causeway to Honeymoon Island State Park, a 385-acre recreation area with four miles of beach and more than two miles of nature trail.

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Next: Best States for Safe Living

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Hector Mata, Getty Images

Best States for Safe Living

No. 1: New Hampshire
New Hampshire is ranked No. 1 for the first time thanks to impressively low crime across the board. It boasts the nation's lowest murder rate and second-lowest aggravated assault and burglary rates.
Rankings in Crime (out of 50 states)
(1 = Worst, 50 = Best)
Assault: 49
Burglary: 49
Murder: 50
Motor Vehicle Theft: 47
Rape: 39
Robbery: 43
More on the Best States for Safe Living
Next: Best Cities for Safe Living

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Town of Ramapo

Best Cities for Safe Living

No. 1: Ramapo, NY

Ramapo's crime rate is 89.18% below the national average. Ramapo had the fewest burglaries, the second fewest motor vehicle thefts, and also ranked in the top 10 for fewest robberies. In all, Ramapo had only 688 incidents of reported crime over the past year.

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Next: Best Health Care Plans

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Best Health Care Plans

No. 1: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Overall Score: 91.2
How It Performed (max score of 3)

Customer Assessment

Getting Care: 3
Satisfaction with Physicians: 3
Satisfaction with Plan Services: 3

Prevention

Immunizing Children: 3
Women's Reproductive Health: 3

Treatment

Asthma: 3
Diabetes: 3
Heart Disease: 3
More Best Health Care Plans
Next: Best Hospitals

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Best Hospitals

No. 1: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
30 points in 15 specialties

U.S. News Ranking:
No. 1 Urology
No. 1 Gynecology
No. 1 Rheumatology
No. 1 Ear, nose and throat
No. 2 Ophthalmology

More of the Best Hospitals

Next: Best Drugstores

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Best Drugstores

Drugstore Chain: The Medicine Shoppe
Consumer Reports Rating: 91

More on the Best Drugstores

Next: Best Colleges

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Best Colleges in America

No. 1: Harvard Univ.
Cambridge, Mass.

U.S. News Overall Score: 100

2007 Total Enrollment: 19,257
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees: $36,173
Application Deadline: 1/1

More on the Best Colleges in America

Next: Best College Values

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina, Collegiate Images, Getty Images

Best Public College Values

No. 1: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Enrollment: 17,628
Student/Faculty Ratio: 14
In-State Total Costs: $13,731
In-State Costs After Aid: $4,960
Total Out-of-State Costs: $30,629
Out-of-State Costs After Aid $21,858

More on Best Public College Values

Next: Best Private College Values

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Best Private College Values

No. 1: California Institute of Technology

Location: Pasadena, CA
Undergrad Enrollment: 864
Student/Faculty Ratio: 3
Admission Rate: 17%
Total Costs: $43,540
Aid From Grants: 99%
Avg. Debt at Grad.: $5,156

More on Best Private College Values

Next: Best Places to Live a Long Life

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Courtesy: Federal Realty Investment Trust

Best Places to Live a Long Life

No. 1: Montgomery County, MD
Life expectancy at birth: 81.31 years

Two top-ranked hospitals (Suburban and Naval, both in Bethesda) help make affluent, educated Montgomery County No. 1 for longevity. Last year, Montgomery's county seat of Rockville unveiled a new pedestrian-friendly town center, bringing together housing, jobs, shopping, and recreation.

More on the Best Places to Live a Long Life

Next: Best Retirement Communities

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Best Retirement Communities

Meadowood Retirement Community
Bloomington, Ind.

The Indiana University is a leader in the trend of universities welcoming seniors to retire nearby and both enjoy and contribute to campus life. Retirees can choose to live in homes, apartments or eventually, hospital beds. In addition to campus life, they can also enjoy a spa or wet bar.

More on the Best Retirement Communities

Next: Best High Schools

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Charlie Archambault for USN&WR

Best High Schools

No. 1: Thomas Jefferson High School
(Alexandria, VA)

' College Readiness Index: 100
' Quality-Adjusted AP Participation Rate: 100%
' Enrollment: 1,802
' Minority Enrollment (% of total): 3.9%

More on the Best High Schools

Next: Best Franchises

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Tim Boyle, Getty Images

Best Franchises

No. 1: 7-Eleven

Taking its name from the hours its stores used to operate (7 a.m. to 11 p.m.), 7-Eleven has grown from a Dallas-based ice company to an international convenience store chain. Approximately 6 million customers visit 7-Eleven stores in the US and Canada each day.

No. of Franchises: 30,642
Franchising Since: 1964
Startup Costs: Varies

More on the Best Franchises
Next: Best Things to Buy in Bulk

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Getty Images

Best Things to Buy in Bulk

Buying in bulk usually saves money. Wal-Mart boasts on its Web site that the average family of four can pocket $2,000 a year by opting for bulk purchases instead of smaller sizes. That is, of course, assuming nothing goes to waste. Here are some of the best bulk purchases. They include gift cards, toothbrushes, paper goods, cell phone minutes, blank DVDs, lightbulbs and generic vodka.

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Next: Best New Products

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Andre Penner, AP

Best New Products

No. 1: The Acai Berry

Americans have always loved their miracle cures. Little wonder the Acai berry (pronounced Ah-Sigh-EE), from Brazil's tropical rainforests, has become the "it" food of 2008. (Sorry, pomegranates!) If the snake-oil salesmen are to be believed, that $7 Acai drink you're about to quaff will restore your youth AND do your laundry.

More on the Best New Products

Next: Best Bathrooms

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Rubin Communications

Best Bathrooms in America

No. 1: The Hermitage Hotel
2008 Rank: 1st Place
Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Named after Andrew Jackson's Hermitage estate this nearly 100-year old luxury hotel includes public art deco-themed restrooms with authentic terrazzo floors, leaded-glass tiles and a shoeshine station.

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Next: Best Tax Havens

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AOL

Best Tax Havens

Wealthy individuals flock to places where they can set up trusts that shield their assets from major litigations -- and, though some might not admit it, taxes.

More on the Best Tax Havens

Next: Best Supermarket Products

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Best Supermarket Products

Whether you seek flavorful coffee beans for your morning eye-opener or picnic plates that can stand up to mounds of fried chicken, you'll find them in Consumer Reports' roundup of top-performing supermarket products.

From food to snacks to household needs, click through our gallery to see which products CR names as supermarket standouts -- and deserve a place in your shopping cart.

More on the Best Supermarket Products

Next: Best New Grocery Products

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Best New Grocery Products

For the sixth consecutive year, the editors at Progressive Grocer, a food retail industry expert, have surveyed a wide assortment of new items from all supermarket categories and delivered their verdicts on the best of the bunch.

Click through our gallery to see a sampling of the almost-70 items that Progressive Grocer picked as the best new grocery products for 2008.

More on the Best New Grocery Products

Next: Best State Quarters

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Best State Quarters

No. 1 (Tied): Alaska

Score: 94%

Release Date: August, 2008
Coins Minted: To Be Announced
Scene: A grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth walks in a river.

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Next: Best State Quarter (tied for First)

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Best State Quarters

No. 1 (Tied): Maine

Score: 94%

Release Date: June, 2003
Coins Minted: 448,800,000
Type of scene: Tableau
Scene: Pemaquid Point Light atop a granite coast and of a schooner at sea.

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Next: Best Knockoffs

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Aktion Plagiarius

Best Knockoffs

Can you tell the difference between these watches? On the left is a FORTIS B-42 Official Cosmonauts Chronograph wristwatch that runs for $2,000 to $2,300, and on the right is a counterfeit.

More of the Best Knockoffs

Next: Best Laundry Detergents

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Amazon.com

Best Laundry Detergents

For Front-Loading Washers
Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated with Color Clean Bleach Alternative HE
This liquid detergent for front-loading washers ranks number one among laundry detergents. For 25 cents a load, you get an "excellent" detergent.
Score: 87 / 100

More on the Best Laundry Detergents

Next: Best Appliance Stores

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Nancy Palmieri, AP

Best States to Own a Car

No. 1: New Hampshire

Taxes & Fees: $250
Depreciation: $18,305
Finance & Interest: $5,213
Insurance: $6,507
Fuel Costs: $13,216
Maintenance: $3,276
Repairs: $829

Total True Cost to Own: $47,499

More on Best States to Own a Car

Next: Best Mutual Funds

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Best Mutual Funds

If you feel confused, even dazed, by the thousands of mutual funds available, you're forgiven. But Kiplinger has screened this vast universe for you and picked the best stock and bond funds to help you meet your wealth-building goals here in the Kiplinger 25.

More on the Best Mutual Funds

Next: Best Bills to Pay Last

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jupiterimages

Best Bills to Pay Last

Utilities
If it's the dead of winter and you're experiencing financial hardship, know this: During the winter, utilities are prohibited from shutting off your heat. Further, if you're a senior citizen, are part of a low-income family with an infant or have a serious illness, your heat must stay on at all times, despite missing the payments. Also, in most, if not all states, if your landlord is behind on paying the building's utility bill, it's not your fault and you should still receive running water and heat.

More on the Best Bills to Pay Last
Next: More From WalletPop

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More on AOL:
The Best and Worst of 2007

You've seen the best of 2008, now see what users voted as being the best and worst of 2007 in 16 different categories.

Start New Gallery:
The Best and Worst of 2007

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Amazon.com

Best Appliance Stores

No. 1: Amazon.com

Amazon.com won a following with free shipping on many small appliances not sold through partners (our category included grills, vacuum cleaners, and air conditioners).

More of the Best Appliance Stores

Next: Best States to Own a Car

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