Finally, a best-of apps list we can digest

From time to time, it’s quite appreciated to find a restaurant that only has a handful of items on their menu. Instead of inundating restaurant goers with page after page of everything but the kitchen sink, smart restaurateurs select their best and brightest – a few choice items to grace the menu, making ordering enjoyable.

As for the menu at the Apple app store? There are 500,000 smartphone programs available. And Android is just as bad. So because they seemingly can’t do their customers a solid and whittle that list down, the folks at PC World did it for them. And we can’t thank them enough.

So without further ado, here are their favorite productivity tools, utilities, reference apps, media helpers, timesavers and games: (And because we couldn’t help ourselves, we’ve made a few notes next to our top picks, as well. Bon APPetite!)

Audio and Music Apps

• BeyondPod – We still listen to a lot of podcasts and love the fact that there aren’t any interruptions from streaming. Just download your daily podcasts onto the program and head out the door. It’s as simple as simple can be.
• Grooveshark
• Last.fm
• Listen
• MOG
• Nobex Radio Companion
• Pandora
• PodTrapper Podcast Manager
• Public Radio Tuner
• Shazam
• Slacker
• Thumbplay

Browsers

• Atomic Browser
• Bookmarklet
• Dolphin Browser HD
• Skyfire – Flash sites come alive on your iPhone with the Skyfire flash video-enabled social browser. And loading time is instantaneous.

Entertainment Apps and Games

• Angry Birds
• Doodle Jump
• I Love Katamari
• Kindle
• MLB.com
• Onion News Network
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Words With Friends – We can think of no better way to waste away countless hours. And while we’re at it, we also like the SMS feature, which let’s us razz our friends when we get a triple word score. Take that!

Financial Tools

• Bloomberg Mobile
• CNNMoney
• Expensify – This app organizes finances on your phone. Users can sync it with their credit cards and bank accounts to track purchases as they happen. Digital receipts can even be accessed, if need be.
• iStockManager
• Mint
• Mobile Checkbook
• XE Currency

Maps and Location Services

• Google Earth
• Google Maps
• Layar Reality Browser
• MapQuest 4 Mobile
• TeleNav
• TomTom
• WorldMate – For anyone who does a lot of traveling, WorldMate is like your own little pocket travel agent, providing real-time flight alerts and a slew of other travel services.

News and Reference Apps

• AP Mobile
• BerryWeather
• How to Cook Everything
• NPR News
• Relief Central
• Viigo
• WeatherBug
• Whole Foods
• WolframAlpha - WolframAlpha a search engine that gives users access to the world's facts and data and calculates answers to a broad range of topics.

Organizers and Timesavers

• Barcode Scanner
• ConvertMe
• Craigsphone – For anyone who shops on Craigslist, the Craigsphone app is a must-have. By plugging in your desired parameters, the app alerts you the moment someone else’s trash can become your treasure.
• Digital Recipe Sidekick
• LastPass
• Lose It
• 1Password
• OurGroceries
• Personal Assistant
• RunKeeper
• Smart Measure
• Spirit Level Plus

Photo and Video Tools

• Bitbop
• Diptic
• IncrediBooth
• Picasa Tool Pro – Picasa has been a go-to photo editor for a while now. Offering the ability to cut, crop and share pics on your phone solidifies its place in the universe of photo technology.
• SlingPlayer Mobile

Productivity Tools

• AndroZip File Manager
• Astro File Manager
• CalenGoo
• CamCard
• Dropbox – This program is essentially your own personal cloud. Documents that were once only accessible on your PC are now retrievable from anywhere that you can gain Internet access.
• Evernote
• GTasks
• Instapaper
• Jott Assistant
• Remember the Milk
• Thinking Space
• ZumoDrive

Social Networking and Communication Apps

• BeejiveIM
• BlackBerry Messenger
• Bump
• CrunchSMS
• Foursquare
• Handcent SMS
• HootSuite
• iTookThisOnMyPhone
• Pixelpipe Post & Upload Pro
• UberTwitter – UberTwitter, which is now known as UberSocial due to a minor hiccup a few months back, is the ultimate in Twitter on the go. It’s also available on BlackBerry, which is good news for the dwindling numbers that are still married to their Pearl.

Utilities

• AntiDroidTheft
• BerryBuzz
• Color Flashlight
• Gesture Search
• Google Voice – Google Voice, which is essentially VoIP for the masses, gives you a single phone number that will ring on all of your phones – be it your cell phone, your home phone, your office phone or an out-of-town number like a hotel room or alternate office. It’s mobility to the max!
• Line2
• Missed Call
• Ookla
• QuickLaunch
• SmrtGuard
• Tether
• Toddler Lock
• Vlingo
• Wifi Analyzer
• Wi-Fi Finder