Year-End Lists

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
2. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. France
   Bruno Dumont
5. In Front of Your Face
   Hong Sang-soo
6. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
7. Annette
   Leos Carax
8. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
9. The Tsugua Diaries
   Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
10. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg

Special mentions

• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• The Girl and the Spider
  Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher
• A Night of Knowing Nothing
  Payal Kapadia
• Petite Maman
  Céline Sciamma
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion

Robert Christgau: Dean's List 2021

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2012]

1. Barn
   Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2. Both Ways
   The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band
3. Spilligion
   Spillage Village
4. Sour
   Olivia Rodrigo
5. Angels Over Oakanda
   Burnt Sugar / The Arkestra Chamber
6. Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs
   Peter Stampfel
7. sketchy.
   Tune-Yards
8. Let Me Do One More
   illuminati hotties
9. Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
   Low Cut Connie
10. Red, White and American Blues (it couldn't happen here)
    Nathan Bell
11. 29
    Carly Pearce
12. In Sickness & In Flames
    The Front Bottoms
13. Path of Wellness
    Sleater-Kinney
14. Live From Blueberry Hill
    Chuck Berry
15. WINK
    CHAI
16. The Work Is Slow
    Body Meπa
17. Happier Than Ever
    Billie Eilish
18. purple moonlight pages
    R.A.P. Ferreira
19. Christmas is Right Here
    Lori McKenna
20. Sacred Soul of North Carolina
    various artists
21. Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing
    Joseph Spence
22. Reckless
    Morgan Wade
23. I Got Here by Accident
    Kalie Shorr
24. Me & Ennui Are Friends, Baby
    Sarah Mary Chadwick
25. The Horses and the Hounds
    James McMurtry
26. Live In New York
    Khaira Arby
27. Apokalyptickej Pták
    The Plastic People of the Universe
28. Sweet Princess
    Dry Cleaning
29. Anoura
    Anansy Cissé
30. Onetwothree
    Onetwothree
31. Psychodrama
    Dave
32. Home Video
    Lucy Dacus
33. Safe Space Invader
    Paris
34. Legends Never Die
    Juice WRLD
35. We're All Alone in This Together
    Dave
36. Things Take Time, Take Time
    Courtney Barnett
37. You Get It All
    Hayes Carll
38. Finding Inspiration Somehow
    Gift Of Gab
39. AZEB
    Mereba
40. New Long Leg
    Dry Cleaning
41. February On Ice
    Joe Fahey
42. Ladies And Germs
    Thomas Anderson
43. Chemtrails over the Country Club
    Lana Del Rey
44. Remember Her Name
    Mickey Guyton
45. Pray For Haiti
    Mach-Hommy
46. Soberish
    Liz Phair
47. Ultra Mono
    Idles
48. 29: Written In Stone
    Carly Pearce
49. Half A Hundred Years
    Asleep At The Wheel
50. Sympathy for Life
    Parquet Courts
51. Planet Her
    Doja Cat
52. Razor Blade Smile
    Emily Duff
53. The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
    Anthony Joseph
54. Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound
    Kasai Allstars
55. bob’s son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the garden level cafe of the scallops hotel
    R.A.P. Ferreira
56. Limpopo Champions League
    Sho Madjozi
57. Tower of Age
    Lithics
58. if I could make it go quiet
    girl in red
59. Still Woman Enough
    Loretta Lynn
60. 1975
    No-No Boy
61. 11th Street, Sekondi
    Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
62. No Gods No Masters
    Garbage
63. FREE I.H: This Is Not The One You've Been Waiting For
    illuminati hotties
64. I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico
    various artists
65. Georgia Blue
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
66. Love & Rage
    Carsie Blanton
67. Way Down in the Rust Bucket
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
68. I Tape
    Vic Mensa
69. Music to Be Murdered By – Side B (Deluxe Edition)
    Eminem
70. Startisha
    Naeem
71. weight of the world
    MIKE

Reverse Shot: Best Films of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
5. Annette
   Leos Carax
6. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
7. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
8. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
9. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
10. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman

Willa Paskin: The Top 10 TV Shows of 2021, as published by Slate

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Succession
2. Hacks
3. The Underground Railroad
4. Philly D.A.
5. City of Ghosts
6. The White Lotus
7. Station Eleven
8. The Beatles: Get Back
9. Only Murders in the Building
10. Starstruck

This year’s installment of David Ehrlich’s video countdown: The 25 Best Films of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
6. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
7. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
8. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
9. Saint Maud
   Rose Glass
10. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker
11. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. In the Heights
    Jon M. Chu
13. The World to Come
    Mona Fastvold
14. Procession
    Robert Greene
15. The Matrix Resurrections
    Lana Wachowski
16. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
17. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
18. All Light, Everywhere
    Theo Anthony
19. Undine
    Christian Petzold
20. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
21. West Side Story
    Steven Spielberg
22. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
23. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
24. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
25. Zola
    Janicza Bravo

Jim DeRogatis: The Best Albums of 2021, as aired on Sound Opinions

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Comfort To Me
   Amyl and The Sniffers
2. New Long Leg
   Dry Cleaning
3. Welfare Jazz
   Viagra Boys
4. All Bets Are Off
   Tamar Aphek
5. Paradigmes
   La Femme
6. Crawler
   Idles
7. On All Fours
   Goat Girl
8. Cyclorama
   Polo & Pan
9. Drunk Tank Pink
   Shame
10. Things Take Time, Take Time
    Courtney Barnett
11. A Southern Gothic
    Adia Victoria
12. Over The Overlords
    Naked Raygun
13. Raise The Roof
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
14. There Is No End
    Tony Allen
15. Doomin' Sun
    Bachelor
16. In Standard Definition
    Art d'Ecco
17. Access Denied
    Ray BLK
18. Home Video
    Lucy Dacus
19. sketchy.
    Tune-Yards
20. Nine
    Sault

Greg Kot: The Best Albums of 2021, as aired on Sound Opinions

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. On All Fours
   Goat Girl
2. Crawler
   Idles
3. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
   Little Simz
4. There Is No End
   Tony Allen
5. New Long Leg
   Dry Cleaning
6. Sharecropper's Son
   Robert Finley
7. Always Something
   UV-TV
8. All Bets Are Off
   Tamar Aphek
9. Wary + Strange
   Amythyst Kiah
10. Since Grazed
    Eleventh Dream Day
11. sketchy.
    Tune-Yards
12. Hey What
    Low
13. Haram
    Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
14. A Southern Gothic
    Adia Victoria
15. Raise The Roof
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
16. Deciphering The Message
    Makaya McCraven
17. Second Line
    Dawn Richard
18. NOW
    Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble
19. Stand For Myself
    Yola
20. A Martyr’s Reward
    Ka

Benoit Rouilly (aka Harry Tuttle): Top 10 Films of 2021, as posted to Twitter

• About Endlessness
  Roy Andersson
• Memoria
  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Days
  Tsai Ming-liang
• A Hero
  Asghar Farhadi
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces
  Zhu Shengze
• In Front of Your Face
  Hong Sang-soo
• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Pedro
  Natesh Hegde

runners up

• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Malcolm & Marie
  Sam Levinson
• Dune
  Denis Villeneuve
• A New Old Play
  Qiu Jiongjiong
• There Is No Evil
  Mohammad Rasoulof
• First Cow
  Kelly Reichardt
• Minari
  Lee Isaac Chung
• Tug
  Jon Lazam
• The Great Movement
  Kiro Russo

Jordan Ruimy: The 10 Best Movies of 2021, as published by World of Reel

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
3. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Annette
   Leos Carax
5. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. France
   Bruno Dumont
7. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
8. The Killing of Two Lovers
   Robert Machoian
9. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
10. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
10. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. Bad Trip
    Kitao Sakurai
13. Petite Maman
    Céline Sciamma
14. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott
15. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
16. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić
17. PVT Chat
    Ben Hozie
18. In the Same Breath
    Nanfu Wang
19. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg
20. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve

Keith Phipps: The Best Films of 2021, as posted at The Reveal where it appears alongside fun selections like "Reason for Hope," "Reason for Despair," "Most Annoying Discourse," and "Most Anticipated Film of 2022"

[see also 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

The Top 15

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
5. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
6. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. A Hero
   Asghar Farhadi
8. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
9. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
10. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
11. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
13. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
14. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve
15. The Disciple
    Chaitanya Tamhane

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  Josh Greenbaum
• Benedetta
  Paul Verhoeven
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• C'mon C'mon
  Mike Mills
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Lamb
  Valdimar Jóhannsson
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• Last Night in Soho
  Edgar Wright
• Malignant
  James Wan
• Nightmare Alley
  Guillermo del Toro
• Red Rocket
  Sean Baker
• Saint Maud
  Rose Glass
• Shiva Baby
  Emma Seligman
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes

Lest We Forget

• Judas and the Black Messiah
  Shaka King
• The Father
  Florian Zeller