2011 milestones from iPod to Potter

It's time again to look ahead by looking back.

Here's a guide to some of the notable pop culture anniversaries we'll be celebrating in 2011 (plus three big sports anniversaries of local interest thrown in for the heck of it).

1961 (50th anniversary) 

'STAND BY ME' (May 22)

A triple anniversary: 50 for Ben E. King's heartfelt ballad, and 25 for both the River Phoenix teen movie classic and the re-release of King's song, which became a top 10 hit all over again.

'THE HUSTLER' (Sept. 25)

This merely has a double anniversary. Gold for the original movie with Paul Newman as poolshark Fast Eddie Felson and silver for Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" in which Fast Eddie returned to tutor a young protégé (Tom Cruise).

ROGER MARIS BREAKS BABE RUTH'S HOME-RUN RECORD (Oct. 1)

And the guy was just 6 feet tall and a skinny 197 pounds. Just saying.

'THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW' (Oct. 3)

Oh, Rob! Has it really been a half-century since we met you, Laura, Buddy, Sally, Mel and Alan?

1971 (40th anniversary)

'ALL IN THE FAMILY' (Jan. 12)

The first time network TV viewers hear racial epithets, see the effects of menopause and hear a flushing toilet.

CAROLE KING'S 'TAPESTRY' (Jan. 30)

Did any boomer not own this album, which spent 15 weeks at No. 1?

DEATHS OF JIM MORRISON (July 3) and DUANE ALLMAN (Oct. 29)

In a bathtub and on a motorcycle, respectively.

'DIRTY HARRY' (Dec. 22)

The era of the modern cop movie begins here with Clint Eastwood, clutching a .44 Magnum, staring down a thug and snarling, "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

1981 (30th anniversary)

'DYNASTY' (Jan. 12)

You still have to admire those shoulder pads they wore on TV's glitziest prime-time soap.

'RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK' (June 12)

Steven Spielberg reinvents the Saturday-morning serial for the big screen.

THE ROYAL WEDDING (July 29) At least Charles and Diana looked happy at the time.

MTV (Aug. 1)

Snooki won't even be born for another six years.

1986 (25th anniversary)

'TOP GUN' (May 16)

Yes, my children, there once was a time when Tom Cruise was best known for his movies, not for being Suri's dad.

OPRAH WINFREY (Sept. 8)

The Chicago-based talk-show host's show goes national; she'll leave in September just in time to mark the show's silver anniversary.

GAME 6 OF THE WORLD SERIES (Oct. 25)

The four sweetest words a Mets fan has ever heard: "It gets through Buckner."

BEASTIE BOYS' 'LICENSED TO ILL' (Nov. 15)

So the first hip-hop album to hit No. 1 on the pop charts was made by three Jewish guys? 

1991 (20th anniversary)

THE GIANTS WIN SUPER BOWL XXV (Jan. 27)

At least this time, it was the other team that screwed up as time ran out. (Buffalo Bills' kicker Scott Norwood's last-second field goal went wide right.)

'THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS' (Feb. 14)

Some fava beans and a nice Chianti would be a fine way to celebrate.

NIRVANA'S 'NEVERMIND' (Sept. 24)

Grunge hits the mainstream, and through no fault of his own, Kurt Cobain finds himself the spokesman for a "new generation."

2001 (10th anniversary)

JAY-Z'S 'THE BLUEPRINT' (Sept. 11)

Bad timing for its release date didn't deter Mr. Carter's sixth album from being a hip-hop masterpiece.

iPOD (Oct. 23)

You mean this little rectangle can contain your whole CD collection in the palm of your hand? How is that even possible?

'24' (Nov. 6)

Jack Bauer begins his eight-year mission to save the world. And for eight years, he never eats or relieves himself.

'HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE' (Nov. 14)

When the Boy Wizard really was a boy.