I have to admit, that until the time Firefox hadn't rolled out its latest 4.0 version, I was a hardcore Chrome user. But now things have changed and with change I needed a new list of add-ons that I can choose from. 

In this post I share my list of 34 handpicked add-ons for Firefox bifurcated into following categories:

This add-on is a side-bar that finds related websites/articles while browsing. It displays thumbnails of suggested sites at the side-bar and also lets you customize results by adding sites of your choice. One of my favorite add-on that lets me research on topics way more conveniently, and also displays top comments and Twitter buzz. (Link)

This add-on is a drop-down next to the address bar from where you can access all the services provided by Google. The drop-down feature is to save space on your browser, you can also choose to have it display shortcuts as buttons placed above the address bar. You can instantly reach services like Gmail, Google reader, Google Analytics, Google Calender, Google Maps and numerous other services provided by Google Inc. (Link)

A screen-shot add-on is a must in such lists, and Pixlr Grabber is one of the best ones available for Firefox. You can copy, save, share and edit these screenshots that can be of an entire page or selected areas; you can also pull out backgrounds. I must add, that this add-on works like a charm and has a pretty amazing editor which is quite rare in screenshot extensions. (Link)

All of us have a fix set of sites that we religiously visit at the start of the day, and this add-on keeps track of our routine websites and opens them in tabs. And whats even cooler is that you can have lists based on time, I have three, one for the morning, one after lunch and one at the end of the day.  And of course, you can customize your morning coffee sessions. (Link)

This add-on is perfect find for designers and typographers who are continuously looking for new style of fonts.  It brings all the information you need about a font and lets you analyze it more deeply, you can find info like: font color, background color, font family, element type, height, size, style, variant, font weight etc. All this information can be copied to a clipboard. (Link)

Another useful add-on that lets you measure any webpage that you visit, you can check width, height or alignment in pixels. Just drag your mouse over the area that you wish to measure and view all its measurements...a very handy add-on. (Link)

Pretty much like Google shortcuts add-on, this one lets you integrate Google services like calender, reader, Picasa, tasks, Gmail labs etc with Gmail interface. It displays these shortcuts right next to the left-sidebar of  your inbox, and the content in these shortcuts can be viewed within the same window. (Link)

This is a pretty handy add-on that notifies you every time you receive a new email, it supports email services like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Naver, Paran and many more. Once you install this add-on, it will display an 'envelope' icon next to address bar and at bottom right of your browser. (Link)

If you are anything like me, a reminder add-on/extension is a must and very very useful. ReminderFox is one of the best reminder add-on for Firefox, that lets you create categories for reminders using lists, alerts or alarms; without a separate calender program. (Link)  

This add-on displays a cute little blue clock in your status bar or tool bar. This clock gives you local time in locations all over the globe, gives you alerts on the time/date chosen by you, tracks browsing time or time spent on specific project and lets you set up count-up or count-down timer. "A mild-mannered blue alarm clock" is what the developer of this add-on likes to call it. (Link)

A very important add-on for internet marketers who are continuously referring to Google PageRank or Alexa rank to analyse the popularity and reach of a website/blog. Not only does it display such information within your browser, it also brings features like keyword density analyzer, keyword highlights and backward/related link and other SEO related stuff. (Link)

The name of this add-ons says it all...it checks the validity of link on any webpage. Pretty handy for a blogger is you ask me...:) (Link)

Another smart add-on that lets you add notes to websites or pages that you visit; notes can also be added to comments, links or images...you can't imagine how useful it is while researching. You can have different notes saved for different websites, choose size of these notes, view jump list, place the note as per your liking and also has keyboard shorts integrated. Incredibly easy to use and surprisingly addictive. (Link)

AdSense is the bread and butter of an internet marketer, and this add-on aims to make things much easier. A simple yet nifty add-on that displays your AdSense earnings on the status bar. (Link)

KGen stands for Keyword Generator that allows you to view strong keywords within the websites or pages  for search engines. A great find from SEO point of view...specially for keeping a close watch on your competition. (Link)

A simple-to-use add-on that lets you download YouTube videos in FLV, 3GP, MP3 and MP4 formats. You can also get YouTube videos in 720p HD and 1080p HD quality. Once you install this add-on it will display a 'download as' button on the bottom left of your browser. (Link)

This add-on lets you stream Last.fm radio in all the places where its available directly from your toolbar. You can discover new songs and artists, and also find your friend's favorite collection or those whose music taste is similar to yours. Its got a great usability. (Link)

A great add-on to get your mind of things and play a simple yet very addictive shoot-em up video game. You've got to destroy a web page and beat others playing around the world. "Destroy the Web is played against any page in the Web, causing the outcome to be always different." describes the developer. (Link)

Another fun add-on to take that power break during the day that turns any image on Firefox into a puzzle. It comes with 4 levels and increases difficulty as you go forward. It sounds very simple, but trust me...its a quite indulging. (Link)

With this I wrap up the first part of this post (don't wanna bore you with too much content in a single article) and will be publishing the sequel with remaining categories, i.e. Web Development, Reading and Social Media. 

So stay tuned and watch out for 34 Handpicked Firefox Add-Ons/Extensions. Who Needs Chrome Now...(Part II).


Note: Some of the add-ons listed above are not compatible with Firefox 4.00 (since it was rolled out very recently), the developers are already working on coming up with latest versions of their add-ons. 

In the meanwhile you can check out add-ons for Gmail and Chrome:

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