I decided to hold off on the Vlog reviews until today, to give you something to amuse yourself with now that everyone is back in the office from the holiday. The following vlogs are my absolute favorites, most of which I save to my computer so I can re-watch and show to others. As you can see, the five vlogs I’ve included vary in content, tone and video quality, and not even my definitive list – just what I consider to be the cream of the crop.

Rocketboom is at the top of my list. I’ve been watching since May, which is about half of their year long lifespan. They’ve made some changes over the last six months, including the addition of correspondents from other cities, making Rocketboom less NYCentric. Covering everything from Ball Machine to Bush’s approval rating, their content is always fun to watch. Every Friday they have a “Casual Friday” show, which can be funny, goofy or just silly.

Channel Frederator is one of several animation vlogs, and caught my eye thanks to the big red robot-guy that’s their logo. While this is animation, the content is more Adult Swim than Disney Afternoon, so don’t go showing your 3rd grader. Each short piece is user submitted, so you get a range of interesting content that varies in style and tone. My favorite part is in between each, they have title cards with pithy sayings on them.

Xolo.tv is hard to classify - they review and highlight a ton of video content. Xolo is handy if you’re interested in keeping up with the oodles of content that pops up every week. They also have interviews with interesting people (most recently they interviewed one of their girlfriends, who was an animator on the latest Harry Potter movie) and focus on both cool stuff happening online and Creative Commons-type issues. The best part is Xolo is longer than many vlogs and there’s a lot to watch. I highly recommend trolling through their backlog as well as watching the new episodes.

Four Eyed Monsters is a vlog by a couple who have made a movie about their relationship and trying to get that movie distributed. The videos, the editing and the stories told on the vlog are beautiful and sometimes heartwrenching (the latest episode discusses how their relationship has suffered since making the film). While it will be interesting to see if this vlog will help them get distribution, the human element is even more interesting. Part marketing tool, part reality show, part sad indie film and part diary of a dying relationship, I look forward to every single episode. Start at the beginning, as they’re only on episode three, to get a feel for the whole story. Bring tissues.

The 1Up Show is part video game reviews, interviews and discussion panels, part video game geek version of “The Office,” The 1Up Show is always interesting (if you like video games). While they discuss trends and new stuff in gaming, they also show what its like at the 1Up offices (and the offices of related magazines). I love it, because it’s an alternative to the slicked up editing of G4TV. I hope they keep the show just as bare bones as it is now.

Enjoy (but don’t yell at me if you get in trouble for not getting any work done). Part 3 will focus on other vlogs that I watch, but don’t have to watch.