Broward County canvassing board members Judge Robert W. Lee, left, and Judge Robert Rosenberg examine disputed ballots Thursday, Nov. 23, 2000 at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. {thanks, AP}

The 2000s, the aughts, the oh-ohs — whatever you call it, this decade definitely changed the way we live. So we’ve compiled the 25 moments, events, people and trends that defined the decade, in no particular order. From wars on terror to natural disasters to reality TV and everything Apple, the decade has an identity all its own.

The Sept. 11 Attacks
It’s collectively seared into our memory: Two planes loaded with passengers smash into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and a fourth into a Pennsylvania field. Nearly 3,000 people died that day. After that Tuesday morning in 2001, we — and the world — were never the same. It’s not just the definitive moment of the decade — it’s also one of the most definitive in history.

Global War on Terror
Before Sept. 11, acts of terrorism happened to other countries, to other people. Suddenly, we were those people. A war was launched to retaliate against al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and, later, a broad War on Terror targeted Iraq and led to the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein. A nation united soon became divided about the wars, which we’re still dealing with today.

Social Networking
It’s a small world after all. In the 2000s, the world connected through MySpace updates, Facebook statuses and Twitter characters. Initially populated by teens and college students, social-networking sites became the portal du jour among everyone from the national media to grandmothers.

The Changing Music Industry
Ah, the 1990s, a simpler time when people actually went into stores to buy albums. This decade, album sales slumped dramatically as P2P sharing grew (R.I.P. Napster) and downloading became the norm. One bright spot: Vinyl sales more than doubled.

Presidential Election of Barack Obama
He wasn’t called Barackstar for nothing. Obama became the political popular giant of the decade, with a historic presidential run focused on a deceivingly simple theme: “change.” We’re still waiting to see whether those changes will happen.

Reality TV
MTV’s “The Real World” may have launched way back in 1992, but this decade, reality TV exploded with “Survivor” and “The Bachelor” and “Jon & Kate Plus 8” and “Dancing With the Stars” and “American Idol” and … well, you get the idea.

2000 Election
The best reality TV of the decade? The tighter-than-skinny-jeans 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, which proved too close to call. The political machine high-tailed it for Florida, where a recount was launched (adding “hanging chad” to the lexicon). The decider was the Supreme Court, which voted to halt the recount, handing a victory to Bush.
Going Green Movement
After his defeat, Gore dove into what will likely become his legacy: the green movement. Ushering in the height of “going green” — checking your carbon footprint, using just a square of T.P. — Gore starred in his Oscar-winning PowerPoint-lecture film “An Inconvenient Truth.” Global warming has become the environmental debate of the decade.

Gay Marriage
Also vying for debate of the decade honors: gay marriage. A sampling of polls finds an average of 45 percent of Americans support legalizing same-sex marriage. In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize it, followed by four others. But opponents have fought back, with California legalizing gay marriage until voters passed Proposition 8, overturning the decision. Next up: maybe D.C.?

Britney Spears
What 10 years can do to a pop princess! Britney started the decade on top of her not-that-innocent game, but the latter part of the 2000s — uh, not so much. She married, had two children, divorced, shaved her head and had multiple apparent breakdowns before her family swooped in to manage her life. She epitomized what it meant to be a celebrity in the ADD-addled 2000s — built up by obsessive love-affair and torn down by scrutiny later to be pulled back up by the very same observers.
Steroids in Baseball

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Digitalization
Newspapers are dying, the Web is growing and everyone has a DVD player and some sort of DVR device. Oh, as well as small video players, digital cameras and other assorted gadgetry. Now, many Americans can set up their own Brookstone.

Global Recession
Brother, can you spare a euro? Actually, euros won’t do Americans much good either anymore. Yen? Yeah, not even yen. Perhaps pesos. Banks got massive bailouts, though, as families were forced out of their foreclosed homes. We can only go up from here, right?

Pirates/Vampires/Zombies
Yo ho ho and a bottle of bloodsucking brain-eaters! This terrifying trio permeated pop-culture this decade in film, TV, books and the posters of teen girls/sci-fi dorks everywhere. Sorry, Harry. Wizards are so 2000 and late.

State of Fear
No, not Tom Clancy’s latest. But it might as well be. Scary-ass diseases such as swine flu, bird flu and SARS flew through the air. We even had to fear anthrax. And lettuce and spinach. And peanut butter. Even babies had to be scared of rubber duckies because of something called BPA (we still don’t know what that is). Basically: Be afraid. Of everything.

Google
Google is the Michael Phelps of search engines: reliable, fast, sleek and well-versed in marijuana. Well, Google “marijuana” and you get about 24,600,000 results. Worth, somehow, $23 billion, Google has made the crazy-crowded Web world seemingly navigable. The company that lets you check your e-mail and directions is becoming even more indispensable with powerful applications for computers and phones.  Plus, wacky artistic changes to its logo!

Gas Prices
For much of the 2000s, it was a game of “how high can it go.” Pretty high —$3, $4, $5 a gallon. A country spoiled too long by low prices cried uncle: dropping their SUVs, riding bikes or  — shock — even walking.

HBO Explosion
Both premiered in the late ’90s, but “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City” put HBO on the map for much of the 2000s. The network transformed itself into a juggernaut of creative and popular programming. The quality on the premium channel trickled down to regular ol’ network and cable — with complex series such as “Lost” and “Mad Men” ushering in a new golden age of TV.

Mobile Life
Hello? Oh, hey! What’s that? You sent me an e-mail? No, wait, I’m on my Bluetooth. I know, right? Let me check my BlackBerry. OK, cool. I’ll set up the reservations on my 3G browser. Oh, don’t worry, my GPS will get me there fine. I can’t wait to spend most of my time Twittering about our meal when we sit down!

Apple
Taking a bite out of, well, just about every technology company, Apple elevated itself as the purveyor of everything trendy. The various Mac iterations, iPods, iPhones — these weren’t just products, they were lifestyles. And when Steve Jobs spoke, America listened. And eagerly waited to see what shade of black turtleneck he’d wear.

Video-Gaming
In the increasingly sedentary 2000s, nothing was more ubiquitous in a living room (well, next to a couch, perhaps) than a gaming system — PlayStation, Xbox, Wii. They were must-haves. Game releases such as “Guitar Hero” and “Madden” became life-moments that necessitated hibernating. Even more staggering were the growth and development of interactive role-playing games (“World of Warcraft,” anyone?). Even those who don’t morph into elves on a daily basis know MMORPG.

Death of Privacy
Is nothing sacred? Pretty much, no. And not just for celebrities, who have to deal with vulture-like paparazzi and gossip sites such as perezhilton.com and tmz.com. No, the average person most be careful this day and age what he reveals on Facebook, on blogs or YouTube. Basic moral: What happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet. For a very, very long, embarrassing time.

Hurricane Katrina
A disaster whose natural devastation — lives, homes, much of New Orleans — was perhaps matched by the devastatingly slow, seemingly inept government response, 2005’s Katrina is a heart-wrenching moment in time. While New Orleans committed to rebuilding, many families probably won’t return to the place they once called home.
Craigslist
Despite its still very-1995 look, Craigslist (worth reportedly close to $200 million) revolutionized the concept of “online community,” where items from concert tickets to TVs are sold in a refreshingly simplistic way. Another legacy: the unintentionally hilarious “missed connections” section.

YouTube
When Time magazine famously named “You” its Person of the Year in 2006, the video-sharing site was cited for ushering in a new age of common-folk video communication. Bought by Google for $1.65 billion (!), the site has a never-ending stream of the bizarre (“Chocolate Rain,” that “Numa Numa” kid), the mundane (strangers vlogging about their boring lives) and the useful (music videos, TV shows). It changed the way we saw ourselves.

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