O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The soundtrack that awoke the US to a musical heritage it had forgotten it owned. Released in late 2000, the Coen brothers' depression-era romp about three escaped convicts – a revisioning of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey in the deep south of 1930s America – came with a rich showcase of antique folk and country assembled by producer T-Bone Burnett. Packed with gorgeous gospel from Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch, plaintive bluegrass from veteran Ralph Stanley, and lovable vintage such as Big Rock Candy Mountain, the album went on to sell more than 7m copies in the US alone.