The end of the year is almost here, and with it, so are the looks back at everything important that transpired in 2010.  Yahoo’s more than done its part, too, as today the company released well over a dozen lists covering popular searches in different categories.

Out of respect for your time, we’ll stick to the basics here – the official "Top Searches on Yahoo in 2010."  But know that lots of other stuff, from the top ten "Survivor Stories" to "Inspiring Acts," is available on a Year in Review site Yahoo put together.  Plus there’s a second, UK-specific version of the site.

As for those top searches, it turns out that more Yahoo users searched for information about the BP oil spill than anything else in 2010.  Then the second-most researched topic was the World Cup.

A few celebrities – Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, and Lady Gaga – got third, fourth, and fifth places.  Next, the iPhone came in sixth, and Megan Fox got seventh.

Finally, rounding out the top ten were Justin Bieber, American Idol, and Britney Spears.

Vera Chan, senior editor and Web trend analyst for Yahoo, explained in a statement, "In 2010 consumers watched the BP disaster unfold like a slow-motion horror film and discovered a love for the ‘other’ football.  There was no stopping the meteoric rise of artists like Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber.  And a favored Disney star, Miley Cyrus, made the up-and-down transition to adulthood, while Britney Spears seemed to get her life back on track and dropped on the Top 10 list again this year."