I faced a bit of a conundrum the other day: I was attempting to put together a grocery list for a specialty grocery store I only have time to visit once a month. I realized then—too late to conduct proper research—that I did not have a reliable application on my phone that could provide this exact sort of functionality. I had forgotten to look into downloading a to-do application that would allow me to create just a simple list.

I stuck to the pen-and-paper method for my grocery list, but I would have much rather had something archived on my phone so I could refer to it the next time I go to that same specialty store. So I went to the Google Play store in search of a few to-do lists and task managers that could make my life a little easier.

There are a multitude of these sorts of apps offered in the Google Play store, but here are a few that stuck out. All of the apps listed sync up with the cloud in one way or another, and one app even offers features beyond just making lists. We've even found an application that syncs with other platforms for those of you who might use both an Android and iOS device.

Classic Notes, $1.99

Classic Notes labels itself as a simple note-taking app for Android, but it actually contains quite a long list of features. For sporadic note takers, those in need of a quick way to leave a note can do so with one tap from the main screen. For power users, you can even export notes as text to the SD card or send those notes to services like Google Docs and Dropbox. There's even the ability to set up Hotstrings.

Classic Notes also includes a slew of other features, like a stopwatch, tip calculator, and a rhyming words function. You can even search for information on a band and save the band's biography as a note for future reference, or you can look up the recipe of the day for quick inspiration and save it for later. Classic Notes is an all-around useful app with a few novelty features that could come in handy someday.

Any.DO, Free

Any.DO is great for keeping reminders present for the upcoming week. It’s divided up into a few pre-determined sections, including Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming, and Someday. Any.DO contextually scans the list to create alerts and notifications; for instance, when I told it that I had a call at 1:30, it immediately set up an alert in my notifications shade.

Any.DO also allows users to attach notes to each item and then share them with friends. Its most powerful feature, however, is that it accesses Google’s voice dictation functionality. This is especially helpful in getting an idea out without the thought delay that often occurs while typing. There's also a helpful Any.DO widget that users can tap to quickly take a voice note.

You’ll have to create an account with Any.DO if you want to sync anything, though it does enable Facebook linking.

Todo.txt Touch, $2.00

Todo.txt Touch is still one of the best to-do applications for Dropbox and Text Edit or Notepad users, as it syncs a todo.txt file between your Dropbox and your Android devices. You can update the file with any compatible text editor and then create separate line breaks for each task. Todo.txt also offers the option for Windows-friendly line breaks and the ability to automatically date each new task. You can create sections, categorize them by project, or just plop in a phone number you didn't feel like adding to your contacts list.

Astrid, Free

We wrote about Astrid a while back. It’s still a fantastic task manager, made especially powerful through the use of add-ons you can purchase through the Google Play store. Astrid is very persistent in notifying you about appointments and deadlines, and it’s especially useful in organizing long-term projects and assigning tasks and due dates to other collaborators. It even syncs with services like Google Tasks and reminds you of missed calls you may have forgotten about. But you do have to set a due date for each task, which doesn't make it the best grocery-store-list-maker. Power users should definitely look to this application to help them get tasks on track, but casual users might want to stick to something simpler like the previously mentioned applications.

Wunderlist 2, Free

Wunderlist is particularly useful for cross-platform users who need to sync to-do lists across various devices. Users can create a list, attach reminders and notes, set notifications, and add sub-tasks. Wunderlist features cloud sync and collaborative notes as well as the ability to switch out backgrounds. If you want to toy with a to-do list on your computer, you can download the application for your specific operating system and manage to-do lists from there.

Like Any.DO, Wunderlist also syncs up with a Facebook account.

If you use any of these apps or have another app you're happy with, leave your thoughts and recommendations in the comment section below!