Listers are impatient people and have been making “Best of the 21st Century (so far)” lists for several years now, even though this century is less than two decades old. I’ve collected these lists and made meta-lists for the best films, books and music of the 21st Century so far. I published the first version of this meta-list in 2017, but I’ve been updating as I find new lists. Where I have seen a movie, read a book or listened to an album, I also provide my 1-10 rating.
I. MOVIES
On 16 lists
There Will Be Blood (US, 2007) Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (9/10)
On 14 lists
No Country for Old Men (US, 2007) Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen (10/10)
On 13 lists
Spirited Away (Japan, 2001) Director: Hayao Miyazaki (9/10)
On 12 lists
Mulholland Drive (US, 2001) Director: David Lynch (10/10)
The Social Network (US, 2010) Director: David Fincher (8/10)
On 10 lists
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (New Zealand/US, 2001) Director: Peter Jackson (10/10)
The Hurt Locker (US, 2008) Director: Kathryn Bigelow (8/10)
Boyhood (US, 2014) Director: Richard Linklater (10/10)
Moonlight (US, 2016) Director: Barry Jenkins (10/10)
On 9 lists
City of God (Cidade de Deus) (Brazil, 2002) Director: Fernando Meirelles with Kátia Lund (9/10)
Lost in Translation (US, 2003) Director: Sofia Coppola (8/10)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Zealand/US, 2003) Director: Peter Jackson (10/10)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US, 2004) Director: Michel Gondry (10/10)
Before Sunset (US, 2004) Director: Richard Linklater (9/10)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico/Spain, 2006) Director: Guillermo del Toro (9/10)
The Dark Knight (US, 2008) Director: Christopher Nolan
A Separation (Iran, 2011) Director: Asghar Farhadi (9/10)
On 8 lists
In the Mood for Love (China, 2000) Director: Wong Kar-Wai (10/10)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan/US, 2000) Director: Ang Lee (8/10)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania, 2007) Director: Cristian Mungiu (10/10)
Mad Max: Fury Road (Australia, 2015) Director: George Miller (7/10)
On 7 lists
Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Taiwan, 2000) Director: Edward Yang (10/10)
The Royal Tenenbaums (US, 2001) Director: Wes Anderson (10/10)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Zealand/US, 2002) Director: Peter Jackson (9/10)
Brokeback Mountain (US, 2005) Director: Ang Lee (7/10)
A Prophet (France, 2009) Director: Jacques Audiard
12 Years a Slave (UK/US, 2013) Director: Steve McQueen
On 6 lists
Memento (US, 2000) Director: Christopher Nolan (9/10)
Dogville (Denmark/Netherlands, 2004) Director: Lars Von Trier (10/10)
Caché (Hidden) (France, 2005) Director: Michael Haneke (9/10)
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) (Germany, 2006) Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (10/10)
Children of Men (US/UK, 2006) Director: Alfonso Cuarón (9/10)
Zodiac (US, 2007) Director: David Fincher (8/10)
WALL-E (US, 2008) Director: Andrew Stanton (5/10)
The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band, Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte) (Germany/Austria, 2009) Director: Michael Haneke (10/10)
Zero Dark Thirty (US, 2012) Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Under the Skin (UK/US, 2013) Director: Jonathan Glazer (9/10)
Inside Llewyn Davis (US, 2013) Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen (9/10)
On 5 Lists
Werckmeister Harmonies (Hungary, 2000) Directors: Béla Tarr with Ágnes Hranitzky
Almost Famous (US, 2000) Director: Cameron Crowe (9/10)
Amélie (France, 2001) Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet (9/10)
Far From Heaven (US, 2002) Director: Todd Haynes
Oldboy (South Korea, 2003) Director: Park Chan-Wook
The Incredibles (US, 2004) Director: Brad Bird (8/10)
Sideways (US, 2004) Director: Alexander Payne (8/10)
Grizzly Man (US, 2005) Director: Werner Herzog (10/10)
Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) (Sweden, 2008) Director: Tomas Alfredson (8/10)
Inception (US, 2010) Director: Christopher Nolan (4/10)
The Tree of Life (US, 2011) Director: Terence Malick (10/10)
Stories We Tell (Canada, 2012) Director: Sarah Polley
Ida (Poland, 2013) Director: Pawel Pawilkowski (9/10)
The Wolf of Wall Street (US, 2013) Director: Martin Scorsese (8/10)
Her (US, 2013) Director: Spike Jonze (9/10)
Inside Out (US, 2015) Directors: Pete Docter & Ronnie Del Carmen (6/10)
On 4 Lists
Requiem for a Dream (US, 2000) Director: Darren Aronofsky (10/10)
Finding Nemo (US, 2003) Director: Andrew Stanton (7/10)
Tropical Malady (Thailand, 2004) Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Moolaadé (Senegal, 2004) Director: Ousmane Sembène
A History of Violence (US, 2005) Director: David Cronenberg (9/10)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (UK/US, 2006) Director: Larry Charles (8/10)
Slumdog Millionaire (UK/India, 2008) Director: Danny Boyle (10/10)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel, 2008) Director: Ari Folman (9/10)
White Material (France/Cameroon, 2010) Director: Claire Denis
Fish Tank (UK, 2010) Director: Andrea Arnold (8/10)
The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) (Italy, 2013) Director: Paolo Sorrentino (9/10)
Timbuktu (Mauritania/France, 2014) Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
The Grand Budapest Hotel (US/Germany, 2014) Director: Wes Anderson
On 3 Lists
The Gleaners and I (France, 2000) Director: Agnès Varda
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (US, 2001) Director: Steven Spielberg
Talk to Her (Hable con Ella) (Spain, 2002) Director: Pedro Almodóvar (10/10)
Punch-Drunk Love (US, 2002) Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (8/10)
The Pianist (France/Poland, 2002) Director: Roman Polanski (8/10)
25th Hour (US, 2002) Director: Spike Lee
Elephant (US, 2003) Director: Gus Van Sant (8/10)
Munich (US, 2005) Director: Steven Spielberg
Casino Royale (UK/US, 2006) Dir: Martin Campbell (7/10)
Eastern Promises (UK/Canada/US, 2007) Director: David Cronenberg (7/10)
Dogtooth (Greece, 2010) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (8/10)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey, 2011) Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Margaret (US, 2011) Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Get Out (US, 2017) Dir: Jordan Peele (8/10)
Roma (Mexico/US, 2018)- Director: Alfonso Cuarón (9/10)
II. MUSIC
On 12 Lists
Elephant (2003) – The White Stripes (8/10)
On 8 Lists
Stankonia (2000) – OutKast (8/10)
Kid A (2000) – Radiohead (8/10)
Is This It (2001) – The Strokes (8/10)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) – Kanye West (8/10)
On 7 Lists
Discovery (2001) – Daft Punk
Funeral (2004) – Arcade Fire (10/10)
Fleet Foxes (2008) – Fleet Foxes (8/10)
On 6 Lists
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) – Arctic Monkeys (8/10)
Back to Black (2006) – Amy Winehouse (9/10)
Sound of Silver (2007) – LCD Soundsystem (8/10)
In Rainbows (2007) – Radiohead (8/10)
Channel Orange (2012) – Frank Ocean (7/10)
On 5 Lists
The Blueprint (2001) – Jay-Z
American Idiot (2004) – Green Day (9/10)
Let England Shake (2011) – PJ Harvey (10/10)
On 4 Lists
The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) – Eminem
Vespertine (2001) – Björk (9/10)
Original Pirate Material (2002) – The Streets
Fever to Tell (2003) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs (10/10)
The Black Album (2003) – Jay-Z
The College Dropout (2004) – Kanye West (8/10)
xx (2009) – The xx (9/10)
Lost in the Dream (2014) – The War on Drugs (9/10)
To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) – Kendrick Lamar
On 3 Lists
Relationship of Command (2000) – At the Drive-In
Up the Bracket (2002) – The Libertines
Songs for the Deaf (2002) – Queens of the Stone Age
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) – Wilco (10/10)
I Am A Bird Now (2005) – Antony and the Johnsons (9/10)
Savane (2006) – Ali Farka Touré (9/10)
Donuts (2006) – J Dilla
Sam’s Town (2006) – The Killers
Untrue (2007) – Burial
For Emma, Forever Ago (2007) – Bon Iver (8/10)
The ’59 Sound (2008) – The Gaslight Anthem
Good Kid, m.A.A.d City (2012) – Kendrick Lamar
Modern Vampires of the City (2013) – Vampire Weekend (8/10)
Black Messiah (2014) – D’Angelo
On 2 Lists
All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) – U2 (10/10)
White Pony (2000) – Deftones
Rated R (2000) – Queens of the Stone Age
Voodoo (2000) – D’Angelo
Parachutes (2000) – Coldplay
The Teaches of Peaches (2000) – Peaches
Weezer [The Green Album] (2001) – Weezer (8/10)
Lateralus (2001) – Tool
Toxicity (2001) – System of a Down (8/10)
Radio Tisdas Sessions (2001) – Tinariwen
Time (the Revelator) (2001) – Gillian Welch
Songs in A Minor (2001) – Alicia Keys (8/10)
American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002) – Johnny Cash (8/10)
In Search Of… (2002) – N*E*R*D
( ) (2002) – Sigur Rós (9/10)
Justified (2002) – Justin Timberlake
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) – Outkast (8/10)
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (2004) – My Chemical Romance
A Grand Don’t Come for Free (2004) – The Streets
Madvillainy (2004) – Madvillain
Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) – Kings of Leon
Hot Fuss (2004) – The Killers (8/10)
The Woods (2005) – Sleater-Kinney (9/10)
Illinois (2005) – Sufjan Stevens (10/10)
Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike (2005) – Gogol Bordello (9/10)
Arular (2005) – M.I.A. (9/10)
Late Registration (2005) – Kanye West
Raising Sand (2007) – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (8/10)
Sky Blue Sky (2007) – Wilco (8/10)
Kala (2007) – M.I.A. (8/10)
Dear Science (2008) – TV on the Radio (9/10)
Third (2008) – Portishead (8/10)
808s and Heartache (2008) – Kanye West
Vampire Weekend (2008) – Vampire Weekend (8/10)
London Zoo (2008) – The Bug
Middle Cyclone (2009) – Neko Case (9/10)
The Hazards of Love (2009) – The Decemberists (9/10)
The ArchAndroid (2010) – Janelle Monae (8/10)
Take Care (2011) – Drake
AM (2013) – Arctic Monkeys (7/10)
Trouble Will Find Me (2013) – The National (7/10)
Beyoncé (2013) – Beyoncé
Yeezus (2013) – Kanye West
Morning Phase (2014) – Beck (9/10)
Skeleton Tree (2016) – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Lemonade (2016) – Beyoncé
Damn (2017) – Kendrick Lamar
III. BOOKS
On 9 Lists
The Corrections (US, 2001). By Jonathan Franzen [fiction: novel] (8/10)
The Road (US, 2006). By Cormac McCarthy [fiction: novel] (10/10)
On 8 Lists
Atonement (UK, 2001). By Ian McEwan [fiction: novel] (10/10)
Oryx and Crake (Canada, 2003). By Margaret Atwood [fiction: novel]
Gilead (US, 2004). By Marilynne Robinson [fiction: novel] (8/10)
On 7 Lists
White Teeth (UK, 2000). By Zadie Smith [fiction: novel] (10/10)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (US, 2000). By Michael Chabon [fiction: novel] (8/10)
Middlesex (US, 2002). By Jeffrey Eugenides [fiction: novel] (10/10)
Cloud Atlas (UK, 2004). By David Mitchell [fiction: novel] (8/10)
The Year of Magical Thinking (US, 2005). By Joan Didion [nonfiction: memoir] (10/10)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Dominican Republic/US, 2007). By Junot Díaz [fiction: novel]
On 6 Lists
Persepolis (Iran/France, 2000). By Marjane Satrapi [nonfiction: memoir]
Austerlitz (Germany, 2001). By W. G. Sebald [fiction: novel] (10/10)
Never Let Me Go (UK, 2005). By Kazuo Ishiguro [fiction: novel] (10/10)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (US, 2006). By Michael Pollan [nonfiction: food] (10/10)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (UK, 2007). By J. K. Rowling [fiction: novel]
Wolf Hall (UK, 2009). By Hilary Mantel [fiction: novel]
Gone Girl (US, 2012). By Gillian Flynn [fiction: novel]
On 5 Lists
American Gods (UK, 2001). By Neil Gaiman [fiction: novel]
Kafka on the Shore (Japan, 2002). By Haruki Murakami [fiction: novel] (8/10)
The Namesake (US, 2003). By Jhumpa Lahiri [fiction: novel]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (UK, 2003). By Mark Haddon [fiction: novel] (6/10)
The Kite Runner (Afghanistan/US, 2003). By Khaled Hosseini [fiction: novel]
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (UK, 2004). By Susanna Clarke [fiction: novel]
The Line of Beauty (UK, 2004). By Alan Hollinghurst [fiction: novel] (8/10)
2666 (Chile, 2004). By Roberto Bolaño [fiction: novel]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sweden, 2005). By Stieg Larsson [fiction: novel]
On 4 Lists
True History of the Kelly Gang (Australia, 2000) By Peter Carey [fiction: novel] (8/10)
Bel Canto (US, 2001). By Ann Patchett [fiction: novel]
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (US, 2003). By Erik Larson [nonfiction: history]
The Plot Against America (US, 2004). By Philip Roth [fiction: novel] (8/10)
No Country for Old Men (US, 2005). By Cormac McCarthy [fiction: novel]
The Book Thief (Australia, 2005). By Markus Zusak [fiction: novel]
A Visit from the Goon Squad (US, 2010). By Jennifer Egan [fiction: novel]
The Art of Fielding (US, 2011). By Chad Harbach [fiction: novel]
The Neapolitan Novels (four books) (Italy, 2012-2015). By Elena Ferrante [fiction: novels] (10/10)
On 3 Lists
The Amber Spyglass (UK, 2000). By Philip Pullman [fiction: novel]
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (UK, 2000). By J. K. Rowling [fiction: novel]
The Blind Assassin (Canada, 2000). By Margaret Atwood [fiction: novel]
Me Talk Pretty One Day (US, 2000). By David Sedaris [nonfiction: memoir/essays]
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (US, 2000). By Dave Eggers [nonfiction: memoir] (10/10)
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Canada, 2000). By Malcolm Gladwell [nonfiction: psychology/sociology]
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (US, 2000). By Stephen King [nonfiction: memoir/writing]
The Secret Life of Bees (US, 2001). By Sue Monk Kidd [fiction: novel]
Life of Pi (Canada, 2001). By Yann Martel [fiction: novel]
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (US, 2001). By Barbara Ehrenreich [nonfiction: journalism/sociology] (8/10)
Coraline (UK, 2002). By Neil Gaiman [fiction: novella]
Fingersmith (UK, 2002). By Sarah Waters [fiction: novel]
The Time Traveler’s Wife (US, 2003). By Audrey Niffenegger [fiction: novel]
The Known World (US, 2003). By Edward P Jones [fiction: novel] (10/10)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (UK, 2003). By J. K. Rowling [fiction: novel]
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (UK, 2003). By Lynne Truss [nonfiction: language]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (UK, 2005). By J. K. Rowling [fiction: novel]
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (US, 2005). By Steven D. Levitt [nonfiction: economics]
The Thirteenth Tale (UK, 2006). By Diane Setterfield [fiction: novel]
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (US, 2006). By Alison Bechdel [nonfiction: graphic memoir] (8/10)
The Name of the Wind (US, 2007). By Patrick Rothfuss [fiction: novel]
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (US, 2007) By Michael Chabon [fiction: novel] (8/10)
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time (US, 2007). By Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin [nonfiction: memoir/journalism]
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Canada, 2007). By Naomi Klein [nonfiction: economics]
The Hunger Games (US, 2008). By Suzanne Collins [fiction: novel]
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (US, 2008). By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows [fiction: novel]
The Hemingses of Monticello (US, 2008). By Annette Gordon-Reed [nonfiction: biography] (10/10)
The Help (US, 2009). By Kathryn Stockett [fiction: novel]
My Struggle (six books) (Norway, 2009-2011). By Karl Ove Knausgård [fiction: novels]
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (UK, 2010). By David Mitchell [fiction: novel]
Freedom (US, 2010). By Jonathan Franzen [fiction: novel]
IQ84 (Japan, 2010). By Haruki Murakami [fiction: novel]
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (US, 2010). By Rebecca Skloot [nonfiction: biography/science] (8/10)
The Night Circus (US, 2011). By Erin Morgenstern [fiction: novel]
The Sense of an Ending (UK, 2011) by Julian Barnes [fiction: novel]
Thinking, Fast and Slow (Israel/US, 2011). By Daniel Kahneman [nonfiction: psychology/economics]
The Fault in Our Stars (US, 2012). By John Green [fiction: novel]
Citizen: An American Lyric (Jamaica/US, 2014). By Claudia Rankine [nonfiction: criticism/poetry]
On 2 Lists (nonfiction only)
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster (Russia, 1997; English translation, 2005). By Svetlana Alexievich [nonfiction: journalism/oral history]
London: The Biography (UK, 2000). By Peter Ackroyd [nonfiction: history] (8/10)
John Adams (US, 2001). By David McCullough [nonfiction: biography] (10/10)
A Short History of Nearly Everything (US/UK, 2003). By Bill Bryson [nonfiction: science] (10/10)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Canada, 2005). By Malcolm Gladwell [nonfiction: psychology]
The Glass Castle (US, 2005). By Jeannette Walls [nonfiction: memoir] (6/10)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (US, 2006). By Elizabeth Gilbert [nonfiction: memoir]
Enrique’s Journey (US, 2006). By Sonia Nazario [nonfiction: journalism]
The God Delusion (UK, 2006). By Richard Dawkins [nonfiction: science/religion]
Zeitoun (US, 2009). By Dave Eggers [nonfiction: journalism] (8/10)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (US, 2009). By Chris McDougall [nonfiction: journalism/memoir]
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern (US, 2011). By Stephen Greenblatt [nonfiction: history/criticism] (8/10)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (US, 2012). By Susan Cain [nonfiction]
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (US, 2012). By Cheryl Strayed [nonfiction: memoir] (6/10)
Priestdaddy (US, 2017). By Patricia Lockwood [nonfiction: memoir]