The Essential Cramer

But there were pharma thorns in the market's bed of roses, and Cramer was careful to help readers keep from getting pricked -- or their hearts broken, literally:

• Who Will Gain From Merck's Vioxx Loss
• Merck, Pipe Down Before You Hurt Yourself
• Can't See the Appeal of Big Pharma

The year couldn't end without one last gasp of an aging scandal: Fannie Mae Execs Should've Fessed Up. However, things were looking up. Speaking of scandals, Martha was back and looking better than ever (along with her stock) and the Election Ushered in New Bull Market.

2005: London Attacks, Hurricane Katrina and Good Riddance to Greenspan

Panic struck the market again when several bombs went off around London in July. But this time, it was different; the market had learned painful trading lessons four years before and was On the Trading Defensive. Readers and traders coped surprisingly well, Riding High Off the Post-Panic Panic.

Tragedy struck again when Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed plunged a whole region and several industries into chaos. Even in the death and devastation, there was opportunity. Cramer told us how to Bet Against the 'Cane Consensus and avoid some tricky pitfalls by Seeing Through the Silver Lining.

Cramer waved goodbye with the market to longtime Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, though perhaps with more glee than others in the markets, and offered a what seemed by comparison a warm welcome to his successor: Wait to Panic About Bernanke.

Did you get your Under Armour? Cramer showed a legion of small investors how to get theirs, explaining IPOs Are for Public, Not Just Flippers. He warned that you Can't Bet Against Sirius' Karmazin and that Drillers Could Be Killer in '06.

2006: Options Backdating, Vonage and ...?

Ah, spring, when a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ... rotten IPO deals and industry-sweeping options backdating practices.