This season, when it’s time to buy a ticket to a concert at Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater or Nissan Pavilion, you won’t do it through Ticketmaster. Instead, you’ll head to http://www.livenation.com and use its selective seat map.

If the end of the year is less than a week away, it must be time for another list.  But you guys love lists, right? I’m going with the theory that you do (and if you really do, check out Sunday’s Flair section   for our picks for best and worst music and movies in 2008).  It’s also the time of year when most of us survey the wreckage of the past 11½ months and pull out the most memorable or rewarding moments. And here’s a handy tip: These topics also serve as solid conversation starters if you find yourself cornered at a party during the next week.

It’s the same old song for top concert draws       Check out the top 10 names of this year’s highest-grossing tours and then feel free to wonder aloud, “What year is it, anyway?“  It certainly looks like 1985 with Bon Jovi conquering the top slot with a gross of $210.6 million from its “Lost Highway” tour.

George Harrison is on it.  So is Michael Bolton.  And, as we’re reminded in the current “Cadillac Records,“ Chuck Berry made sure The Beach Boys were also on the list.  Now add Coldplay to the lineup of artists who have been accused of musical plagiarism.  The British quartet is being sued by guitar maestro Joe Satriani for allegedly swiping “substantial original portions” of Satriani’s instrumental “If I Could Fly” in the band’s Grammy-nominated hit, “Viva La Vida.“

George Harrison is on it.  So is Michael Bolton.  And, as we’re reminded in the current “Cadillac Records,“ Chuck Berry made sure The Beach Boys were also on the list.  Now add Coldplay to the lineup of artists who have been accused of musical plagiarism.  The British quartet is being sued by guitar maestro Joe Satriani for allegedly swiping “substantial original portions” of Satriani’s instrumental “If I Could Fly” in the band’s Grammy-nominated hit, “Viva La Vida.“

I’ve heard a lot of confessions this week.  Confessions from guy friends whose musical tastes usually tend toward rugged, manly stuff, like Springsteen and AC/DC.  Confessions from girl friends whose only use for flirty pop music is the thundering mix used at the gym.  They’re all sheepishly acknowledging the same thing: their re-ignited infatuation with Britney Spears.

Add music-celebrity misbehavior to the list of things that tanked in 2008 - alongside such things as the economy, record sales and the Yankees’ season.