THE TOP 25 MOVIES
25. Sideways: Paul Giamatti’s gut-wrenching performance carried this otherwise breezy tale of mid-life crisis in California wine country. — Thomas Floyd
24. District 9: Neill Blomkamp’s allegory for South African apartheid smoothly blended social commentary and science fiction. — T.F.
23. Oldboy: Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung Hui immortalized it but understood the wrong message: Revenge, as beautiful as it may be, is never justified. — Vaman Muppala
22. The 25th Hour: Maybe the first Spike Lee movie without an explicit plot, it channeled post-9/11 New York to perfection, resulting in Lee’s final, grim letter to his city. — V.M.
21. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: It’s debatable as to what 2000s quirk-fest is Wes Anderson’s best, but Bill Murray’s dry deadpan in the leading role of The Life Aquatic showed a great actor in his (second) prime. — Jon Wolper
20. Lost in Translation: Pairing Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson is strange enough and setting them against Tokyo’s neon nightscapes is even stranger. Somehow, the disparate parts came together to form a beautiful little story. — J.W.
19. Juno: Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody and Ellen Page broke through with a witty and heartwarming chronicle of teenage pregnancy, popularized by Cody’s idiosyncratic one-liners. — T.F.
18. Almost Famous: A rock ‘n’ roll ode to the formative years of Cameron Crowe and, by extension, anyone who ever lived their life next to a record player. — V.M.
17. WALL-E: When a film can so superbly mock its audience and still captivate and inspire them, you know it’s one for the ages. — V.M.
16. Adaptation: Charlie Kaufman spun a heady, satirical yarn about the difficulties of a screenwriter — named Charlie Kaufman — adapting Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief. And Adaptation itself is an adaptation of The Orchid Thief. What? — J.W.
15. Superbad: Jonah Hill and Michael Cera’s contrasting personas, along with non-stop laughs, highlighted the Apatow clan’s cleverly crafted account of horny teenage anxiety. — T.F.
14. Little Miss Sunshine: Dysfunctional families are not exactly an original topic. The combination of dark comedy and sophistication, however, made this road trip a winner. — Sharad Thaper
13. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Michel Gondry’s surreal yet tender comedy was a thought-provoking film that broke new ground with its innovation. — S.T.
12. The Fountain: The Fountain is the type of movie that may be too ahead of its time to be widely appreciated right now. The cult status will grow, though, and the film could become a classic. — J.W.
11. Children of Men: Clive Owen starred in the bleak tale of a not-too-distant future where humans have lost their reproductive powers. For all its depression, the movie succeeded by leaning on a faint ray of hope. — J.W.
10. The Departed: After years of failing to win an Academy Award, Martin Scorsese finally succeeded with his neo-noir picture of violence and bloodshed. — S.T.
9. Kill Bill: Spaghetti western and Kung Fu action collided in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part, genre-splicing saga of love and revenge. But don’t underestimate Tarantino’s always-brilliant dialogue. — T.F.
8. Requiem for a Dream: Darren Aronofsky’s effective and harrowing tale of drug abuse on Coney Island is a forceful must-see that remains very difficult to watch. — J.W.
7. Memento: Before The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan had already established his originality with this non-linear narrative of a man suffering from anterograde amnesia. — S.T.
6. Synecdoche, New York: With his metafiction done on a transcendent scale, Charlie Kaufman finally conjured up the heart to match his talent. — V.M.
5. The Prestige: Featuring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale’s engrossing duel, this film took Christopher Nolan’s narrative techniques into another mind-bending and tragic plane. — V.M.
4. There Will Be Blood: An astounding synthesis of sound and vision perfectly complemented the biggest and most brilliant exploration of American greed theology this decade. — V.M.
3. The Lord of the Rings: Only time will tell if Peter Jackson’s artful meld of groundbreaking spectacle and engaging character will have a lasting cinematic impact, but all signs point to his trilogy doing just that. — T.F.
2. No Country for Old Men: This bloody adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel featured an impressive technical display by the Coen Brothers and defining performances from Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. — V.M.
1. The Dark Knight: A smartly stylized and effortlessly paced take on social paranoia, The Dark Knight is Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. And Heath Ledger’s haunting, maniacal transformation into the Joker will never be forgotten. — T.F.
THE TOP 25 ALBUMS
25. Brand New, Deja Entendu: The album became a turning point for Long Island’s finest as the band turned away from its pop-punk roots. — Kyle Lucas
24. The Strokes, Is This It: What we know today as rock ‘n’ roll owes a great debt to these five prep school grads who made it OK to have as much swagger and sex appeal as songwriting talent. — Vaman Muppala
23. Drive-By Truckers, Southern Rock Opera: This tribute to youth, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the South established the group as one of the best active American rock bands. — Reese Higgins
22. Streetlight Manifesto, Everything Goes Numb: In a time when ska was supposed to be dead, Tomas Kalnoky and company released this behemoth that redefined the scene. — K.L.
21. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup: Zach Condon brought his love of all things French into his compositions — horns, ukulele and double bass come together for a unique sound. — Jon Wolper
20. The Gaslight Anthem, The ’59 Sound: It was on The ’59 Sound that the Gaslight Anthem let its brand of Bruce Springsteen-tinged punk rock loose to marvelous results. — K.L.
19. The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree: John Darnielle’s most personal album is his most bracingly real work as a songwriter. — R.H.
18. Radiohead, In Rainbows: The reigning kings of all music, basically, came back to earth with a grounded album that trumped 2003’s Hail to the Thief. — J.W.
17. Nas, Hip Hop Is Dead: God’s Son’s proclamation sent shock waves throughout the hip-hop community, and emcees are still addressing the issue three years after its release. — Alex Rush
16. Sigur Ros, Takk…: The definition of the word “ethereal,” or at least music to accompany glacial shifts, Takk… succeeds by the LP’s strange, inviting otherworldliness. — J.W.
15. Jens Lekman, Night Falls over Kortedala: This collection is overflowing with the Swede’s trademark samples and romantic lyrics, proving why he’s pop music’s best diplomat. — R.H.
14. Outkast, Stankonia: “B.O.B.’s” blend of Jimi Hendrix-esque guitar, gospel chants, turntable scratches, rapid-fire flows and sonic boom set the tone for the rest of this hit-heavy album. — A.R.
13. The Hold Steady, Stay Positive: Filled with superb instrumentation and Craig Finn’s signature storytelling, The Hold Steady crafted this pitch-perfect ode to growing older, all while continuing to mature musically. — K.L.
12. Queens of The Stone Age, Rated R: They set the bar for the decade of rock to come with this drug-indulgent masterwork featuring ex-bassist Nick Oliveri’s best songs with the band. — R.H.
11. Arcade Fire, Funeral: Arcade Fire created a marriage of beauty and intensity, making songs that are brooding, anthemic and just generally incredible. — J.W.
10. Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/Lovesounds: Removed from his bleached blonde ‘N Sync days, Timberlake and Timbaland crafted the decade’s pregame, club and after-party soundtrack. — A.R.
9. Blink-182, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket: The band bridged the gap between Enema of the State and Blink-182 by combining the juvenile energy of the former and the maturation of the latter to create a pop-punk classic. — K.L.
8. The Twilight Sad, Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters: Four Scottish men gave us the most heart-wrenching LP of this decade or any with an experience that resonates with the listener long after the last song ends. — R.H.
7. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America: The title was derived from a Jack Kerouac line and used supremely well, marking The Hold Steady’s status as a band that respects its influences enough to make something new out of them. — V.M.
6. Jay-Z, The Blueprint: This Source-certified classic LP made soul samples en vogue again, broke out producers Kanye West and Just Blaze and affirmed Jay-Z’s status as a contender for the greatest rapper of all time. — A.R.
5. The National, Alligator: This 2005 album by Brooklyn’s classiest indie rockers featured Matt Berninger’s distinctive baritone, evocative lyrics and a grasp of mood few can replicate. — J.W.
4. Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak: After the initial shock wore off, listeners were left with sad laments and angry accounts of a broken relationship that destroyed nearly every remaining idea of what a rapper could do. — V.M.
3. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Jeff Tweedy took melancholy and modern dread, wrapped them in layers of cigarette-smoke romanticism and made his masterpiece. — V.M.
2. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP: “The Real Slim Shady” was played ad nauseum, but introspective tracks “The Way I Am” and “Stan” really stood out, featuring the Dr. Dre protege’s most personal fears. — A.R.
1. Radiohead, Kid A: Thom Yorke and company weren’t the first to seize upon the notion that the best way to express the fractured decade was with equally fractured music, but nobody did it with more awe-inspiring ambition and sheer technical prowess than Radiohead did. — V.M.
