1. The Confessions Tour rocks on Madonna's birthday in London. August 16, 2006.

How to best summarize the most successful female-headlined tour of all-time after sixty performances in front of 1.2 million fans on three continents? As much as we'd like to claim shows at Los Angeles, New York, or Philadelphia should be the prime example, clearly Her birthday performance three-quarters into the tour was the sterling show.

Nearly three months had passed since the first performance of the tour, so dance moves were fluid, costume changes were seamless, banter was provided down to a science. Undaunted by the religious protests in England and elsewhere, Madonna barrelled through the entire show, including Her controversial and woefully misinterpreted Live To Tell piece on the faux crucifix.

Cameras rolling for the ill-received NBC special meant few, if any, technical glitches and a pitch-perfect performance. Madge got a huge (48th) birthday shout-out from Her crew and the crowd, including Her closest friends and family in attendance, lightening the mood and elevating this particular show from the rest of the pack. Taken broadly together or in parts, the Confessions Tour was an unrivaled success by any measure and was the crowning achievement of yet another banner year.