In a vast cultural sea, what is it about the '00s that swells to greatness? Dive in with The Washington Post's critics to navigate the crests (and the depths).

FILMS

I'm arguing with myself already. "What, 'Y Tu Mama Tambien' and no 'Children of Men'? 'The Lives of Others' and no 'Diving Bell and the Butterfly'?

"And really? 'Finding Nemo'?!"

Actually, on that last one, I stand firm. I fly the little clown-fish flag proudly, on the grounds that one of the organizing principles of Top 10 lists is not only tolerating, but wanting to watch something over and over again. "Finding Nemo" fits that description, which I discovered firsthand five years ago, when we brought our then 3-year-old daughter home.

But "Finding Nemo" also deserves the decade's No. 1 slot because it so aptly symbolizes how important animated family features have become in the movie business — along with toy and book franchises, they're the last of the reliables in prying people off their couches — and the leaps they've taken aesthetically.

This was a decade, after all, that included such masterworks as "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle," "WALL-E" and, this year alone, "Up," "Ponyo," "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Princess and the Frog." But the one I reach for first will always be the little clown fish.

— Ann Hornaday

THE BEST

1. "Finding Nemo" (2003)

2. "You Can Count on Me" (2000)

3. "The Lives of Others" (2006)

4. "The Hurt Locker" (2009)

5. "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (2001)

6. "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)

7. "The Edge of Heaven" (2007)

8. "A Mighty Wind" (2003)

9. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004)

10. "There Will Be Blood" (2007)

THE WORST

"Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2008)

If "Finding Nemo" represents the best of the animation decade, this misfire represents the very worst, punctuating a decline in the "Star Wars" franchise that began in 1999 with "The Phantom Menace" and continued its downward spiral through "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." Sad.

POP MUSIC

Was there really an era before ear buds? And was it really the '90s? From Napster to iTunes to a blogosphere still brimming with MP3s, our almost-over decade changed the way we consume music forever — or, in the words of OutKast's Andre 3000, "forever-ever." Major labels entered a death spiral, allowing pop music to bloom into all kinds of crazy shapes in a sprawling blogscape.

For an unimaginative record industry, the toll has been devastating. But for listeners restrained only by their own curiosity, the Aughts meant breathtaking access to the entire history of recorded music, with Beyoncé, Beethoven or Balinese gamelan just a few keystrokes away. Today, a flood of new sounds awaits each time we fire up the computer. How do we decide what's best?

For me, the decade's greatest recordings managed to transcend the data flow and still demand to be experienced again and again, over and over, forever-ever.

Here are 10 albums that still held their deepest secrets after the thousandth listen.

THE BEST

1. OutKast, "Stankonia" (2000)

So fresh, so clean, so prescient. In 2000, the visionary Atlanta duo minted the Aughts' most visionary pop music, capturing the chaos of a decade before it even happened.

2. The Strokes, "Is This It" (2001)

Once the blizzard of hype subsided, the Strokes' hyper-ballyhooed debut revealed its eternal cool.

3. DJ Drama & Lil Wayne, "Dedication 2" (2006)

Weezy's enthralling watershed mix tape found him babbling over other artists' beats like he truly belonged there — a methodology he would soon apply to the pop charts and interviews with Katie Couric.

4. Daft Punk, "Discovery" (2001)

Two Parisians dressed as robots discovered the holy grail of good times: a dance album whose every track felt like the best night of your life.

5. D'Angelo, "Voodoo" (2000)

It feels hyperbolic to call the disc a miracle, but considering D'Angelo has kept his delirious falsetto under lock and key ever since, how can we assume "Voodoo" was anything but?

6. M.I.A., "Kala" (2007)

Mash-up, shmash-up. M.I.A. took cross-pollination to new heights, fusing sounds from across the globe. "Kala" was the sound of a shrinking planet where the possibilities still felt endless.

7. Kanye West, "808s & Heartbreak" (2008)

How fitting that pop's great egomaniac decided to sing his confessions entirely through Auto-Tune. Swaddling difficult truths in gooey, digital anti-truth, "808s" will go down as the soundtrack for a Facebook generation caught at the intersection of narcissism and technology.

8. Jamey Johnson, "That Lonesome Song" (2008)

The country singer's dark-hearted opus felt like a solitary storm cloud thundering over Nashville's mostly sunny skies.

9. Radiohead, "Kid A" (2000)

Stuffy. Sexless. Almost as fun as Sudoku. Lob all the insults you want at Radiohead — many will stick. But the plaintive paranoia of "Kid A" remains both exquisite and bulletproof.

10. Calle 13, "Calle 13" (2005)

The Aughts birthed a gazillion genres, yet few exploded with the verve and tenacity of reggaeton. With its irresistible debut, Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 pushed the sound's boundaries (and shelf life) into the next decade.

THE WORST

American Idolatry.

Great television, absolutely. But aside from Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and a few stray Carrie Underwood gems, "American Idol" has overloaded our collective pop consciousness with oodles of rank garbage. What number do we dial to make it stop?

— Chris Richards

FASHION

The most significant news in the fashion industry once had to do with hemlines and silhouettes. But fashion made a profound aesthetic shift in the 1980s and the 1990s, with consumers embracing ostentation — logos, designer handbags and $200 jeans.

BEST MOMENTS

2000: When Jennifer Lopez wore a plunging, emerald green Versace evening gown to the Grammys, she proved the fashion industry could energize a career with one provocative dress.

1998-2004: HBO's "Sex and the City" transformed a generation of young women into cosmo-sipping, Ugg-boot-wearing, Manolo Blahnik-coveting romantics.

2004: The Patrick Kelly retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum of Art was a rare look at the 1980s fashion and cultural contributions of the Mississippi-born, Paris-based, African-American designer.

2004: "Project Runway" — a reality show that rewards talent — debuted on Bravo. It gave mainstream viewers a peek at the creative pressures on designers and introduced the delightful Tim Gunn, a master at delivering tough love to the style-challenged.

2006: "The Devil Wears Prada" turned a revenge fantasy first novel into an irresistible fashion parable. In a scene created just for the film, star Meryl Streep explains the importance of the fashion industry in a brilliant monologue on cerulean blue.

2007: Hillary Clinton showed a hint of cleavage on the Senate floor. The congressional fashion moment was an encouraging convergence of power, femininity and sexuality.

2008: The Balenciaga fall '08 collection, with its mix of little black dresses and Chinese tapestry prints on latex, was a masterly foray into fashion's future while respecting its past.

2008: The spring '09 Lanvin collection, which employed flowing silk, inside-out seams and silhouettes that gently caress the body, proved that the best fashion is both respectful and empowering of women.

2009: The Queen of Soul nearly stole the show at the presidential inauguration with her magnificent gray flannel cloche hat — and bow. Aretha Franklin's chapeau made a statement about the historic inauguration: For many, it was a moment of redemption, hope and renewal. Only a glorious church hat would do the day justice.

THE WORST

2009: Paparazzi magnet Lindsay Lohan is appointed artistic adviser at Emanuel Ungaro.

— Robin Givhan