The aughts in review

The decade of debacles
Chicago had a rough go of it in the ’00s.

RESTAURANTS & BARS
Most monumental restaurant openings of the decade
Five restaurants Check, Please! got wrong
LTHForum’s top restaurant discoveries
2009’s weirdest food-industry tweets
Top foodie scuffles

STYLE & FITNESS
Decade’s top candidates for a makeover
Most fashionable TV shows of the aughties
Top five most interesting fitness trends

AROUND TOWN
More assets the city could sell to private companies in the next decade
Most ass-kicking weather extremes
Most groan-worthy political moments
Worst sayings of the 00s
Top ten Daley quotes of the aughts

ART & DESIGN
Top architectural milestones
Developments that changed Chicago art and design forever
Top changes that would improve art and design in the next decade

BOOKS
Top books about Chicago that aren’t Devil in the White City
Most sorely missed independent bookstores

CLUBS
Top five things that have revolutionized club culture
Most notable electronic subgenres to rise—and fall
Top five things that have sullied club culture

COMEDY
Top moments that cracked us up—and changed Chicago comedy
Our funny predictions for comedy in 2010

DANCE
Best dance moments of the decade
Best touring dance companies to hit Chicago

FILM
Best uses of Chicago on film of the decade
Worst attempts to pass off some other city as Chicago
Most heartening film-related developments in Chicago
Most disheartening film-related developments
The most overrated films of the decade

GAY & LESBIAN
Ways the ’00s screwed the gays
Predictions for a more LGBT-friendly decade ahead

KIDS
Best things to happen to Chicago kids
Five ways to make Chicago more kid-friendly

MUSIC
Events that shook the Chicago music landscape
Coolest album covers depicting Chicago
Decade’s top ten stupidest Kanye West quotes
Underrated Chicago albums
Top ten local releases of 2009
Top 10 Auto-Tune tunes
Top ten jazz records of 2009

SPORTS
Most memorable sports moments

THEATER
Theater companies we were sorriest to see go
Weirdly hyperbolic quotes about Chicago theater in non-Chicago media
Most prolific theater artists of the decade
Best theater sets of the decade