Every month, since before the beginning of AltSearchEngines.com (in fact it led to the creation of AltSearchEngines), I have listed my assessment of the Top 100 Alternative Search Engines.  The best 100 out of the 1,400 that we consider worth tracking. Please note that that means there are about 1,300 good search engines that are not on my list, just in case you think we missed one.  This post will also include the Top 100 search engines according to you, as well as the Top 100 according to all web users.

Along with each month’s Top 100, I also pick one search engine from the list and call it the Search Engine of the Month.  Once again, it’s a purely personal choice.  The other 99 are simply listed alphabetically, they are not ranked.  The other two lists, The Search Race and AltsR.Us, however, are most definitely ranked.

At the end of each calendar year, I finally select one of the Search Engines of the Month and crown it the Search Engine of the Year.  In 2006 it was ChaCha, and last year it was Quintura.  This year we have had five (5)  monthly winners so far, and they are ChaCha (yes, again), EveryZing, Sputtr, Faroo, and SearchMe.

This month, July 2008, I have made an unusual discovery, and this is why I love my job.  This month’s winner is not just a brand new member of the Top 100, but it also cinched the top spot in its first month!

Why?  Is it the next Google killer?  No, as I have discussed, I do not believe that any one search engine can beat Google.

Does it push the Semantic envelope – understand your query in natural language?  Nope.  It’s entirely keyword based.  In fact, it only searches flickr images.  Why, it doesn’t even crawl the web!  Some readers will say that disqualifies it as a true web search engine.  Hard to argue with that.

What about funding?  Has it taken millions of  deutschmarks to create?  Actually it is the work of one graduate student named Steven Wood in Germany.

Is it just because it’s pretty to look at?  Because you can rotate it with your mouse, zoom in and out with your mouse wheel, drill down and zip 235 images many times faster than most image results?  I can only imagine what Search Guru Danny Sullivan would say if he finds out about my choice.

Check out his recent title:  Visual Search the Future? Spare Me The Eye Candy.

Well, to each his own.  If nothing else, all of the Top 100 search engines show us that search can be far more enjoyable and engaging than the old players would have us believe. I often liken my job to working in a jewelry store, surrounded by dozens of different gems, each one of them curious and unique.

I think this month’s Search Engine of the Month, now a contender for Search Engine of the Year, Tag Galaxy (http://www.taggalaxy.de)  (Note: it is not .com) is a shining example of beauty, creativity, functionality, and certainly originality.

Take a minute and try it yourself, and be sure to mouse over, click and drag, go to full screen mode (bottom right), double click on the sun or a planet, grab and spin the image ball (the inside of any sun) - just play with it.

Then go back to Google, Yahoo!, or MSN Live and search for those same 235 images.  I would welcome many comments this month.  The standard Top 100 lists follow after these screenshots.

 From this simple black and white search box…to this…in one click!

Double click on any sun for the images.

Here are the links to the three Top 100 lists mentioned above.  There were very few changes in June.

For the entire Top 100 results of The Search Race, Click Here.

For the entire list of AltR.Us, visit http://AltsR.Us

…and these are the Top 100 according to yours truly!

The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, July 2008 (.xls)

The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, July 2008 (.pdf)