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Since everyone and their mother is creating a list of best [insert tech category here] of 2011, I wanted to give credit to some apps (which can include games) I’ve been really enjoying for iPhone and iPad. It’s not a top five or three or ten list — I want to showcase whichever apps felt most deserving in random order. So without further ado, here’s my personal list of the best iOS apps of 2011.

Instapaper - $4.99
for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
My life would probably be significantly worse if it weren’t for Instapaper. Marco Arment’s widely praised app for saving any website — particularly ones involving reading — for later has become a tool I use on a daily basis. I use it the most for saving links I want to share on GT Daily at a later point, but I also find myself saving videos or other content when I’m feeling overwhelmed. For five bucks, it’s worth every penny.

Weather HD - $0.99
for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
Finally fed up with how poorly designed The Weather Channel app for iPad is, I went on a hunt to find something simpler that got the point across. Weather HD is only a buck and it’s beautiful. The display is consumed by gorgeous animations of the weather condition for the day or hour you select, as well as the current conditions, but there’s also enough information in the forecast to make it a credible source.

Flipboard - free
for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
Finally there’s a good app that presents all your RSS feeds and social networks in a magazine-like format that’s easy to flip through and keep organized. It recently became available for the iPhone and iPod touch, but I prefer the iPad version. It’s fast, well-designed, and the go-to app for catching up on all of your sources each day.

Editions by AOL - free
for iPad
This is another great app for news junkies, though it acts more like a typical magazine. Each day, a fresh copy is made ready for you at a specified time. You can flip through and see the top stories in a bunch of different categories (also customizable). The app gets smarter the more you read, rate, and share particular news stories. I use this when I’m feeling overwhelmed with a lot of news, and I just want to see all the best in the day. For an AOL app, it’s really well done.

Stamped - free
for iPhone and iPod touch
It doesn’t have a strong user base yet, but I hope it will because it’s such a great app. Stamped is for rating your favorite books, restaurants, movies, apps, music, and anything else by placing your “stamp” of approval on it. There’s no 5-star rating system here. It’s just stuff you recommend. You follow others’ recommendations and they can follow yours. The best part about it is its structure: you are only given 100 stamps at the start until you earn more credibility through various means, and you can’t just stamp any random thing like on Oink. The design is top-notch, too.

Tiny Wings - $0.99
for iPhone and iPod touch
One dollar gets you one of the most addictive games I’ve ever played. I love games with simple controls like this: tap and hold to swoop down and steer the bird, and let go to let it soar freely. The object is to get as far as you can up and down the hills before the sun sets. It sounds stupid, but it’s insanely fun. If you are one of the few who don’t own it, give it a go.

IntoNow - free
for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
One of the few apps that actually gets better after an acquisition, Yahoo snatched it up and made it more social and iPad-compatible. This app revolves around the concept of social television. Hold your iDevice up to the TV for it to recognize what you are watching. Share it with social networks, and now discuss the show or interact with other IntoNow users. It’s social TV done right.

Instagram - free
for iPhone and iPod touch
Snap a photo. Add a cool filter. Share it with your social networks and with your Instagram followers. It’s basically Twitter for photos. I’ve been using it ever since it came out and I’ve happily watched it grow dramatically over the past year. Design, performance, and usability are all impressive. There’s really not much else to say — go download it.

Waze - free
for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
I’m not sure why I love this app as much as I do, but nonetheless, I do love it. It’s social GPS. Use the app to travel with free turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, collect points the more you travel, and see and interact with other “Wazers” traveling nearby. Map performance is a tad on the slow side, but it’s easily overlooked when you see all of the app’s benefits.

Tweetbot - $1.99
for iPhone and iPod touch
Tweetbot is basically the king of all Twitter clients. It’s designed pixel-for-pixel by the developers, and the looks and sounds of the app mimic a robot. I love the way it has enough features for Twitter power users, but is simple enough to function perfectly for even the most basic of tweeters. And it blows away the official Twitter app, which sucks after the recent update.

There you have it. All the apps I can’t get enough of. Again, they are in a completely random order. The links to each app are included so I encourage you to download as many as possible and support these incredible developers.