Choosing between these masterpieces is like choosing which of your children you like best. But in the end, the top spot goes to Miller's Crossing. Only their third movie, this flick proved the brothers could do anything with a small budget, and that prohibition-era pieces don’t have to cost $100 million (like Public Enemies). Though it is primarily a drama, lines like "don't give me the high hat!" are as quotable as any comedy. Deserving of inclusion on every top movie list, the film finally got recognition as one of Time's "100 Best Movies of All-Time."

Very few have produced more original scripts than these guys. But sometimes even the best choose to adapt someone else's work, as the Coen brothers did to Cormac McCarthy's fantastic novel here. After The Ladykillers, we were hoping the Coen brothers would return with something breathtaking, and they exceeded most everyone's expectations. The fact that this film beat There Will Be Blood for the Best Picture Oscar just about says enough. Okay, Friendo?

Not giving this classic the top spot, or even the second, on this list was heartwrenching. Fargo was the newest film on the American Film Institute's 1998 "100 Years...100 Movies" list. The film received seven Oscar nominations, winning two. For the script, Joel and Ethan received their first Oscar, and the other went to Joel's wife Frances McDormand for that spot-on Minnesota accent.

Believe it or not, O Brother was loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey. Very loosely. Then a Coen neophyte, George Clooney has arguably never been funnier on the big screen; the same could be said for Coen veteran John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson. Despite the fantastic cast and story, innovations in color correction and the Grammy winning soundtrack are what made this movie famous. Who would have thought "Man of Constant Sorrow" would see a new millennium comeback?

Nicolas Cage's filmography is littered with missteps, but Raising Arizona certainly isn't one of them. Not only is the movie hilarious, but Cage somehow manages to act appropriately in it. He delivers his career comedic performance without resorting to his trademark unnecessary yelling. That was left to co-stars John Goodman (The Top 13’s favorite Coen brothers collaborator) and William Forsythe.

Are you a Lebowski or are you a Dude? Or are you a Walter or a Donny or a Maude or a Jesus or a Bunny or a Brandt or a Treehorn or just some techno-pop nihilist? Chances are, you're one of them, considering they account for most of the basic philosophies, moralities, or what have you. This is regarded by many as the best Coen comedy. Say, anyone up for a Caucasian?

With their newest, darkest, most autobiographical, and most spiritual film yet, the Coens managed to incorporate everything we love about them into one film. Though it is not their most entertaining film (in fact, it's actually rather depressing), it is by far one of their smartest. Loosely a retelling of the biblical story of Job in modern America, A Serious Man is also notable for its lack of any A-list Hollywood actors.

Barton Fink was actually written on the side while Joel and Ethan had writer's block during the making of Miller's Crossing. It was their first collaboration with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, who went on to shoot all of their films except Burn After Reading. Almost 20 years later, the brothers are now consdering a sequel set after Barton has sold out fellow artists to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Made for little over $1 million, this is the film that launched Joel & Ethan's careers, set Joel up with Frances McDormand, launched her career, and even launched the career of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who went on to direct Men in Black. That's a lot for a debut film to do. It was ranked 98th on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Thrills," and a remake called The First Gun by Zhang Yimou is set to release in China next month.

This film could be one of the greatest film noirs in decades. The director of photography, Roger Deakins, showed what he could do when given the chance to work with black and white film, receiving his fifth Oscar nomination for his efforts. Since then, he has picked up three more nominations, but still has not won, and he is currently signed on to work on what might become the Coen brothers' next film, Hail Caesar.

The only better directorial match for Brad Pitt than Quentin Tarantino (with whom he made Inglourious Basterds this year) was the Coen brothers. Pitt’s role as a dim-witted gym employee easily contends with John Goodman's Walter in The Big Lebowski for the funniest Coen character yet. But Pitt's character is hardly the only idiot in this film. Indeed, Burn After Reading also features fantastic idiotic turns from such heavyweights as George Clooney and John Malkovich.

At first, Joel and Ethan weren't going to make this movie. They wrote the script for Universal for someone else to direct, reportedly because they felt it was too commercial for them. They were probably right, but when the involvement of Clooney changed their minds, what resulted was one of their strangest films yet. Not that that's a bad thing. While the blockbuster cast made this film seem mainstream, it maintained all the oddities that are hallmarks of the brothers’ work.

Don't let The Hudsucker Proxy's placement at the bottom of The Top 13 give you the wrong idea. Co-written by cult horror film and Spiderman director Sam Raimi, this film is still a gem, as well as a basic cable staple. It features a villainous Paul Newman, a dopey Tim Robbins, and the (fictional) story of the Hula Hoop's invention. You know, for kids.