Year-End Lists

NPR Music: Best 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
6. H. Abrahamsen: Let Me Tell You
   Barbara Hannigan, Andris Nelsons & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
7. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
8. Teens of Denial
   Car Seat Headrest
9. The Weight of These Wings
   Miranda Lambert
10. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
11. Black Terry Cat
    Xenia Rubinos
12. Anti
    Rihanna
13. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
14. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
15. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
16. Lola
    Carrie Rodriguez
17. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
18. The Dreaming Room
    Laura Mvula
19. David T. Little: Dog Days
    James Bobick, Marnie Breckenridge, Cherry Duke, John Kelly, Michael Marcotte, Newspeak, Alan Pierson, Peter Tantsits & Lauren Worsham
20. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. Telefone
    Noname
23. Habib Galbi
    A-Wa
24. Jeffery
    Young Thug
25. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
26. Arbina
    Noura Mint Seymali
27. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
28. Emily’s D+Evolution
    Esperanza Spalding
29. Puberty 2
    Mitski
30. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
31. Masterpiece
    Big Thief
32. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
33. Shift
    Logan Richardson
34. The Bird & the Rifle
    Lori McKenna
35. Chopin: Mazurkas
    Pavel Kolesnikov
36. Hero
    Maren Morris
37. Sound of Red
    René Marie
38. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
39. Charlene
    Tweet
40. Silver Tears
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
41. Darraje
    Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy
42. Pure Disgust
    Pure Disgust
43. The Very Last Day
    Parker Millsap
44. Christopher Rouse: Odna Zhizn, Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 and Prospero’s Rooms
    New York Philharmonic & Alan Gilbert
45. Kiid
    Mal Devisa
46. Fallen
    Steven Julien
47. Ojos Del Sol
    Y La Bamba
48. Genesis
    Domo Genesis
49. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
50. Harlem on My Mind
    Catherine Russell

Kitty Empire: Top 10 Albums of 2016, as published by The Observer

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

• You Want It Darker
  Leonard Cohen
• Lemonade
  Beyoncé
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
  Margo Price
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Chaleur Humaine
  Christine and the Queens
• Not to Disappear
  Daughter
• Couch Baby
  Jamie Isaac
• 25 25
  Factory Floor
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest

Mark Kermode: Best Films of 2016, as published by The Observer

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014]

• Under the Shadow
  Babak Anvari
• Notes on Blindness
  Peter Middleton and James Spinney
• Embrace of the Serpent
  Ciro Guerra
• Son of Saul
  László Nemes
• 13th
  Ava DuVernay
• Room
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Julieta
  Pedro Almodóvar
• I, Daniel Blake
  Ken Loach
• Your Name
  Makoto Shinkai
• A United Kingdom
  Amma Asante
• Things to Come
  Mia Hansen-Løve

Consequence: Top 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
6. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
9. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
10. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
11. Puberty 2
    Mitski
12. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
13. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
14. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
15. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
16. Schmilco
    Wilco
17. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
18. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
19. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
20. Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
    Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
21. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
22. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
23. One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache
    The Body & Full of Hell
24. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
25. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
26. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
27. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
28. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
29. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
30. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
31. Metal Resistance
    BABYMETAL
32. The Wilderness
    Explosions in the Sky
33. Magma
    Gojira
34. Rot Forever
    Sioux Falls
35. Standards
    Into It. Over It.
36. Telefone
    Noname
37. Potential
    The Range
38. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
39. Adore Life
    Savages
40. Gore
    Deftones
41. When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired
    Mothers
42. Islah
    Kevin Gates
43. Goodness
    The Hotelier
44. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
45. Jeffery
    Young Thug
46. Blisters In the Pit of My Heart
    Martha
47. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
48. Paradise
    White Lung
49. Weaves
    Weaves
50. Post Pop Depression
    Iggy Pop

Time Out London: 25 Best Films of 2016

[see also 2021 • 2018 • 2015]

1. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
2. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
3. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
4. Mustang
   Deniz Gamze Ergüven
5. I, Daniel Blake
   Ken Loach
6. The Nice Guys
   Shane Black
7. Embrace of the Serpent
   Ciro Guerra
8. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
9. A Bigger Splash
   Luca Guadagnino
10. Love & Friendship
    Whit Stillman
11. Driving with Selvi
    Elisa Paloschi
12. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
13. Julieta
    Pedro Almodóvar
14. High-Rise
    Ben Wheatley
15. Fire at Sea
    Gianfranco Rosi
16. Bone Tomahawk
    S. Craig Zahler
17. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    David Yates
18. The Pearl Button
    Patricio Guzmán
19. Under the Shadow
    Babak Anvari
20. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
21. Our Little Sister
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
22. Tale of Tales
    Matteo Garrone
23. Captain America: Civil War
    Anthony and Joe Russo
24. Queen of Katwe
    Mira Nair
25. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson

Gorilla vs. Bear: 60 Favorite Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
2. Oh No
   Jessy Lanza
3. January Sun
   Kedr Livanskiy
4. 99.9%
   KAYTRANADA
5. A Moon Shaped Pool
   Radiohead
6. Blond
   Frank Ocean
7. Familiar Touch
   DIANA
8. The Bells
   Kornél Kovács
9. Young Death / Nightmarket
   Burial
10. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
11. Front Row Seat to Earth
    Weyes Blood
12. Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
    Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
13. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
14. Yoncalla
    Yumi Zouma
15. Sky Girl: Compiled by Julien Dechery and DJ Sundae
    various artists
16. Fall Forever
    Fear of Men
17. Wabi-Sabi
    Cross Record
18. The Party
    Andy Shauf
19. RR7349
    S U R V I V E
20. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
21. Body Work
    Negative Gemini
22. Hoops / Tape #2 / Tape #3
    Hoops
23. Don’t Leave Me in the Dark
    Vesuvio Solo
24. You Know What It’s Like
    Carla dal Forno
25. Black Mirror: San Junipero
    Clint Mansell
26. The Visitor
    Kadhja Bonet
27. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
28. Graphic
    Troller
29. Bonito Generation
    Kero Kero Bonito
30. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
31. Rojus (Designed to Dance)
    Leon Vynehall
32. Yes Lawd!
    NxWorries
33. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
34. Reverie
    Postiljonen
35. Bird Sound Power
    Equiknoxx
36. Amparo
    Maria Usbeck
37. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
38. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
39. Dreamboat
    Dreamboat
40. Binasu
    NV
41. Cross Your Heart
    LIZ
42. Stand Up and Speak
    DJDS
43. E•MO•TION: Side B
    Carly Rae Jepsen
44. On Vacation
    CFCF
45. Dead Blue
    Still Corners
46. Psychic Materials
    Casey Mecija
47. Autodrama
    Puro Instinct
48. Uncanny Valley
    Merely
49. Color
    Katie Gately
50. Strangers
    Marissa Nadler
51. Stiff
    White Denim
52. Parts
    Parts
53. Disco Mantras
    various artists
54. Yr Body Is Nothing
    Boy Harsher
55. Fading Lines
    Amber Arcades
56. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
57. Liquid Cool
    Nite Jewel
58. Dangerous Woman
    Ariana Grande
59. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
60. Will
    Julianna Barwick

Sight & Sound Poll: Top 30 Films of 2016 (a poll of 163 critics, published by Sight & Sound Magazine)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
4. Certain Women
   Kelly Reichardt
5. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
6. I, Daniel Blake
   Ken Loach
7. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
8. Things to Come
   Mia Hansen-Løve
9. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
10. The Death of Louis XIV
    Albert Serra
11. Personal Shopper
    Olivier Assayas
11. Sieranevada
    Cristi Puiu
13. Fire at Sea
    Gianfranco Rosi
13. Julieta
    Pedro Almodóvar
13. Nocturama
    Bertrand Bonello
16. Cameraperson
    Kirsten Johnson
16. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
18. Love & Friendship
    Whit Stillman
19. Aquarius
    Kleber Mendonça Filho
19. Victoria
    Sebastian Schipper
21. Embrace of the Serpent
    Ciro Guerra
21. Everybody Wants Some!!
    Richard Linklater
21. Evolution
    Lucile Hadzihalilovic
21. Hell or High Water
    David Mackenzie
21. O.J.: Made in America
    Ezra Edelman
26. Lemonade
    Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Kahlil Joseph with Jonas Åkerlund, Melina Matsoukas, Dikayl Rimmasch, Mark Romanek and Tod Tourso
26. Nocturnal Animals
    Tom Ford
26. The Ornithologist
    João Pedro Rodrigues
26. Raw
    Julia Ducournau
26. Neruda
    Pablo Larraín

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Sight & Sound Poll: Nicole Brenez: 5 Best Films of 2016

Stereogum: 50 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Blond
   Frank Ocean
3. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
4. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
5. Blackstar
   David Bowie
6. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. Puberty 2
   Mitski
9. The Life of Pablo
   Kanye West
10. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
11. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
12. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
13. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
14. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
15. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
16. A Good Night in the Ghetto
    Kamaiyah
17. Paradise
    White Lung
18. Flood Network
    Katie Dey
19. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
20. Anti
    Rihanna
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. The Dream Is Over
    PUP
23. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
24. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
25. Slow Forever
    Cobalt
26. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
27. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
28. Telefone
    Noname
29. Kiid
    Mal Devisa
30. Wriggling
    Abi Reimold
31. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
32. Still Brazy
    YG
33. Shapeshifter
    IAN SWEET
34. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
35. Romantic
    Mannequin Pussy
36. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
37. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
38. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
39. Goodness
    The Hotelier
40. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
41. Beyond the Fleeting Gales
    Crying
42. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
43. Junk
    M83
44. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
45. Emotions and Math
    Margaret Glaspy
46. Stage Four
    Touché Amoré
47. Real
    Lydia Loveless
48. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
49. Nattesferd
    Kvelertak
50. Holy Ghost
    Modern Baseball

Murielle Joudet: Top 10 Films of 2016, as published by Les Inrockuptibles

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
2. Homeland (Iraq Year Zero)
   Abbas Fahdel
3. Slack Bay
   Bruno Dumont
4. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
5. Julieta
   Pedro Almodóvar
6. In Bed with Victoria
   Justine Triet
7. Everybody Wants Some!!
   Richard Linklater
8. Staying Vertical
   Alain Guiraudie
9. Carol
   Todd Haynes
10. Dark Inclusion
    Arthur Harari

This list contributes to:

• Les Inrocks: Top 20 Films of 2016

Emily Barnett: Top 10 Films of 2016, as published by Les Inrockuptibles in order of preference

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

• Heal the Living
  Katell Quillévéré
• The Death of Louis XIV
  Albert Serra
• It's Only the End of the World
  Xavier Dolan
• Anomalisa
  Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
• Right Now, Wrong Then
  Hong Sang-soo
• Midnight Special
  Jeff Nichols
• Elle
  Paul Verhoeven
• The Witch
  Robert Eggers
• Nocturama
  Bertrand Bonello
• In Bed with Victoria
  Justine Triet

This list contributes to:

• Les Inrocks: Top 20 Films of 2016