They've shared countless headlines in 2009. And now it seems Kanye West is going to have to let Taylor Swift finish five steps ahead of him. Billboard magazine has crowned Taylor their Artist of the Year.

Kanye earned the Top Male Artist spot, but only managed to land in the No. 6 position on the overall chart. It was a great year for women: the Nos. 2-5 spots belong to Beyonce, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas (featuring Fergie) and Miley Cyrus.

The only other country acts who finished in the Top 20 were Rascal Flatts at No. 19 and the Zac Brown Band at No. 20.

The rankings were tallied by combining album sales and Hot 100 song rankings. Billboard notes that Taylor, whose 'Fearless' has sold more than four million copies, "sold more albums than any artist not named Michael Jackson."

"When I was growing up I didn't watch much kid television," Taylor tells Billboard in a special Q&A. "When I was 10, I watched a special on Faith Hill and how she went to Nashville and made it in country music. I watched how Garth Brooks kept his ticket prices low. I watched how Shania Twain was able to be a blend of different genres. I just love what I get to do so much that there's never a moment of my day when I'm not thinking about a certain aspect of it, and there's never a point when I feel like I know all I need to know about the music industry."

Taylor adds that she will "possibly" have a new record out next year, and that her biggest hope for the album is that "the feelings I'm feeling right now will be accurately portrayed."

The artist of the year caps off 2009 with her 20th birthday on Sunday, Dec. 13.

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