Over 9,000 new apps were published on the Android Market last month and about one third of them were junk. That leaves 6,000 apps to browse through or about 200 per day.

Which would you rather do? Browse through the sometimes-slow loading Market on your phone OR bookmark a few sites and see what’s hot in seconds.

Here are a few of my favorite tools to discover new Android apps and games. Which sites do you visit for finding new apps to download?

1. AppAware – Stats

See app installs in real time.

Link: AppAware – Stats

AppAware is the most basic site on this list, but it is the one I visit the most. I normally browse it from my Android phone, but they also have their stats online.

Whenever an AppAware user installs, updates, or removes an application, that information is automatically reported to their server (and Tweeted if the user enables it). I regularly check their last hour report to see which apps are being installed the most. This allows me to instantly see what is hot and I discover something new to download almost every day.

It is also cool to browse the Top installed apps in the last day report. I can see that many of our readers are already using AppAware because when we post about a new app it will get a couple hundred installs.

Another interesting report is the Featured apps page. Apps are ranked by the number of times they are installed vs uninstalled which generates a quality score. This allows some apps that might not have as many downloads (but still has a loyal following) to be discovered by new users.

Make sure you install the matching app if you have an Android phone. Additional reports allow you to see the most popular apps by specific device and location.

Hits: Companion Android app, live data, automatic reporting, Twitter integration, QR codes listed on site, popular apps by device, popular apps by location

Misses: No app details, no way to temporarily “mute” service for privacy or exclude apps from reporting, slow load times on the app, no search feature

2. aTrackDog – Most Popular Apps

Filter apps by category, popularity, and price.

Link: aTrackDog Most Popular Apps

ATrackDog has been a long time favorite of ours. They gather their stats from an Android application that reports the versions of Android apps installed on a user’s device. This data is used to generate a most popular apps list that can be sorted by category, time, and price.

Combining different views allows you to create some pretty cool lists like top 100 apps for the last month, most popular paid games for the week, or new and updated apps.

The Android application is also the best at tracking version numbers of apps. It can track any app including betas, installed, uninstalled, or even those backed up on your SD card (aTrackDog(SD) required).

Hits: Most popular apps lists with advanced filters, companion Android app, keeps apps up to date, tracks uninstalled apps, tracks latest beta versions of apps, export app list for sharing, tracks non-Market apps, download beta apps from developers web site, built-in app manager

Misses: No premium version (non-ad supported), no QR codes on site, no live stats, some app listings are in Chinese, user has to manually check for updates

3. AndroLib – Top of the Day

Track the daily progression of apps.

Link: AndroLib – Top of the Day

AndroLib is primarily used to browse app listings, but they have some interesting stats that no one else provides. I like browsing their Top of the day report which has revealed some real odd apps.

Applications are ranked by pageviews on the site and updated once per day. Since the stats do not come from Market or installation data, this report regularly produces some odd results. These apps might not be always be good, but they are normally entertaining (Night Vision Goggles).

Hits: Extensive application detail, track daily progression of apps, discover weird apps people are viewing, app recommendations

Misses: No Android app, no mobile UI for site, popular stats can only be viewed by day (no week, month, etc.)

Top 10 Applications

Advanced Task Manager remained the most popular paid application.  The Android OS is still sluggish at times and having a task manager allows you to easily kill background processes and speed up your phone.  I expect this app to remain at the top for some time to come.

MyBackup Pro temporarily lowered their price from $4.99 to $2.99 and jumped into the top 3.  The app allows you to schedule backups for your applications, contacts, call log, bookmarks, sms\mms, system settings, desktop shortcuts, alarms, dictionary and more.  MyBackup Pro is also allowing other developers to integrate their engine to backup other data.

Bluex jumped a spot to number 5.  As long as Android lacks support for Bluetooth file transfer, this app will remain on many phones.

Dropping off the list was aHome.  The developers mAPPn have re-branded the app as FreshFace and are offering it for free.  It is now part of the official T-Mobile AppPack.  Early reviews are mediocre at best.  It appears home replacement apps in general are starting to lose their appeal.

Top 10 Games

At the top of the games is Robo Defense once again.  In the early days of Android, there were 4-5 tower defense games in the top 10 and it appears Robo Defense has won that battle.  Lupis Labs has produced a definite hit and I’m anxious to see what game they turn out next.

The lack of quality games has led the way for emulators to once again dominate the list.  Developer yongzh now has 4 of the best selling titles.  He recently updated each emulator to include on screen controls so myTouch 3G users can enjoy all their favorite old titles from previous platforms.  Rumor has it his next release will be a PSX emulator and I expect that to instantly jump to the top 10 when it comes out.

Abduction holds its spot at number 5.  This game gets more updates than any I know and remains popular among its fans.  Developer Phil Symonds has since released a free title Milky Milky and reports that he is also working on a completely new game.

I’m proud to see Buka back in the mix.  I was a big fan of this game when it first came out, but it had some small issues.  The developer Hexage recognized this and released several updates to improve the game.  Replay value has been greatly extended with the new survival game mode that includes an online leaderboard.

If you still haven’t played Buka, check out this speedrun from one of the later levels.

Note:  These stats from from aTrackDog which reports installed apps on users phones.  It can be hard to judge an app on total number of downloads because many users uninstall their apps.  This data reports what is currently installed on phones and gives a more accurate picture.  Visit the aTrackDog site for more information.

Install aTrackDog to support your favorite developers.

Top 10 Applications

A quick look at the top apps reveals some interesting info.  The top 3 selling titles were all priced under $1.  After that, the prices vary based on the demand for the application.  Backing up your data and document support are two highly requested features and those developers can charge more for their apps.

Better Android has continued to do well with 3 apps in the top 10.  Open Home continues to be the most popular home replacement.  We have been a fan of their work and created some skins for Better Keyboard.  Customizing the look of your Android phone is a popular trend and they have benefited from this greatly.

The rest of the top selling apps each address issues where Android is lacking.  Snap Photo Pro improves upon the basic camera software.  Bluex unlocks bluetooth file transfer for root users.  Advanced Task Manager allows you to close all running applications.  The community has demonstrated over and over that they will fill the gaps the official operating system is missing.

Top 10 Games

Tower defense games remain popular on Android.  Retro Defense was once the top selling game, but has now been replaced by Robo Defense.  I believe Robo Defense has succeeded based on the outstanding support from the developer Lupis Labs.

Eight of the Top 10 games sell for under $3.  This appears to be the current sweet spot for Android games.  It looks like several developers have recognized this and lowered the price of their titles.

With the small library of current games, users have opted for emulators which can play your favorite ROMs from the past.  Android developer yongzh has three top selling titles with Nesoid, Snesoid, and Gensoid.  If Sega or Nintendo ever decided to join the Android team, they could really profit from some of their older titles.

Note:  These stats from from aTrackDog which reports installed apps on users phones.  It can be hard to judge an app on total number of downloads because many users uninstall their apps.  This data reports what is currently installed on phones and gives a more accurate picture.  Visit the aTrackDog site for more information.

Have you checked out these best selling apps for Android?