Canaan Answer

Identifying the images isn't too hard, and puzzlers might recognize "North Korea, South Korea, Marylin Monroe" (the last three in the first set) as part of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire".  Sure enough, each string of images is from a song, except one object is missing from each:

1. "We Didn't Start The Fire" - Billy Joel  JOEMCCARTHY
   
2. "Nations of the World" - Animaniacs  SWAZILAND
   
3. "The Elements" - Tom Lehrer  CHROMIUM
   
4. "Wytches Chant" - Inkubus Sukkubus  HECATE
   
5. "Wakko's America" - Animaniacs  TOPEKA
   
6. "Verb: That's What's Happening" - Schoolhouse Rock  SWIM
   
7. "Dig It" - The Beatles  BBKING
   
8. "Where Do They Make Balloons?" - They Might Be Giants  FISHES
   
9. "Bulbous Bouffant" - The Vestibules  FOIBLE
   

The lengths of the missing words are, coincidentally, each one more than the lengths of the lists of images; if you pair up letters in the missing words with the items on the list, then the missing word pairs with the letter to extract, giving the final answer: CLOCKWISE.