MSNBC.com's 25 Top Rated stories of 2005

One of the unique facets of MSNBC.com is that readers can tell us — and other users — how much they like our stories by using our Top Rated feature.

Ever wonder which stories on the site got overall top accolades? Wait no more! Here are the Top 25 highest-rated stories on the site. (We're not quite sure why so many are from November — perhaps readers were in generous mood with the approach of the holidays! It's also a reminder that this is not so much a scientific survey as a popularity contest.)

Full disclosure: Since the Top Rated feature only started in June of this year, the headline should strictly read “The Top Rated Stories of the Last Six Months of 2005.” For a complete year’s ratings, we look forward to seeing you at the same time and place next year.

1. Remembering John Lennon (“Dateline,” Nov. 14)
2. Hero dog memorialized as 'Cat of the Year' (Nov. 11)
3. One of last British WWI veterans dies at 109 (Nov. 21)
4. Shaggy survivors hanging on after Katrina (Nov. 3)
5. Freeman calls Black History Month ‘ridiculous’ (Dec. 15)
6. Viruses exploit Sony CD anti-piracy scheme (Nov. 10)
7. Scientists discover how cancer spreads (Dec. 14)
8. Cabbie strikes gold for returning lost diamonds (Nov. 30)
9. Dead lab worker’s records mean freedom for 3 (Oct. 16)
10. Abramoff scandal heats up ("Hardball," Nov. 23)
11. Weis honors dying boy by using his called play (Oct. 1)
12. Centenarian veterans recall the ‘Great War’ (Nov. 10)
13. 76-year-old man found after 18 days (Sept. 19)
14. Soldiers still waiting for armor reimbursements (Sept. 29)
15. DNA tests clear Georgia inmate of rape charges (Dec. 8)
16. Sony Music issues fix to anti-piracy program (Nov. 3)
17. Reporter chronicles her battle with cancer (Nov. 26)
18. Sun-watching probe turns an amazing 10 (Nov. 29)
19. An Airman, a dog and an act of Congress (Dec. 6)
20. Business groups seek limits on Patriot Act (Oct. 5)
21. College covered: Donors to pay all tuition (Nov. 11)
22. Fallout from Sony CD flap getting worse (Nov. 15)
23. Mars rover enjoys view from the top (Sept. 1)
24. 'Solid, Strong, True' (Newsweek, Oct. 17)
25. Children of war in Uganda ("Dateline," Aug. 22)

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