TV

(Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Courtesy of HBO)

The Sopranos: The series people will most associate with the decade, by virtue of its having invented the quality-cable brand.

(Photo: Charles Sykes/Everett Collection)

Sex and the City: Spiky, poignant, rewatchable—and I suspect humans will still be overanalyzing breakups in ten years.

(Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp.)

American Idol: Of all the reality shows, this is the one that changed not just TV, but the music industry and the nature of stardom itself.

(Photo: Kevin Fitzsimons/Courtesy of Comedy Central)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report: The outraged court jesters of the Bush years, they reinvented the way people get—and analyze—their news.

(Photo: Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images)

The Oprah Winfrey Show: The dominating pop-culture personality, she transformed herself into a multi-platform portal for all things self-improvement.

(Photo: Mario Perez/ABC/Everett Collection)

Lost: It will be remembered as oh so very aughty, but nobody will remember why they were so obsessed with that damned hatch.

See Also: Emily Nussbaum on why The Wire is the show of the decade.