Year-End Lists

A browsable archive of notable year-end lists. Follow the link for each list to see essential commentary from its author, at the source.

2020

Movies

TV Shows

Albums

Books

Poetry

Podcasts
2010s

Movies

TV Shows

Albums

Books

Poetry

Podcasts
2019

Movies

TV Shows

Albums

Books

Poetry

Podcasts

Barack Obama: Favorite Books of 2020

17 December 2020

Barack Obama: Favorite Books of 2020, as posted to Twitter

[see also 2019, 2018]

Homeland Elegies

Ayad Akhtar
Jack

Marilynne Robinson
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Isabel Wilkerson
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

Erik Larson
Luster

Raven Leilani
How Much of These Hills Is Gold

C Pam Zhang
Long Bright River

Liz Moore
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir

Natasha Trethewey
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

Anne Applebaum
Deacon King Kong

James McBride
The Undocumented Americans

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett
The Glass Hotel

Emily St. John Mandel
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Robert Kolker
The Ministry for the Future

Kim Stanley Robinson
Sharks in the Time of Saviors

Kawai Strong Washburn
Missionaries

Phil Klay

Recent Lists

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2020
Robert Christgau: Dean's List 2020
La Internacional Cinéfila Poll: Best Movies of 2020
Saige Walton: Favorite Films of 2020
Jordan Ruimy: The 15 Best Movies of 2020
Todd McCarthy: Top 10 Films of 2020
Jordan Cronk: Top Ten Films of 2020
Hyperallergic: Favorite Movies of 2020
Sheila O’Malley: Top Ten Films of 2020
Jeremy D. Larson: Favorite Albums of 2020
David Morgan: The 10 Best Films of 2020
Allison Shoemaker: The Best Films of 2020
Jordan Cronk: The Top 30 Albums of 2020
Brooklyn Vegan: Top 55 Albums of 2020
Scott Tobias: Top 10 Films of 2020
Shondaland: The Best Books of 2020
Shondaland: The Best Podcasts of 2020
Susannah Gruder: Best Films of 2020
Molly Haskell: Best Films of 2020
Hyperallergic: Our Favorite Poetry Books of 2020
Joshua Rothkopf: Top 20 Films of 2020
No Depression: Favorite Roots Music Albums of 2020
Hip Hop Golden Age: The Best Hip Hop Albums of 2020
Electric Lit: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2020
Electric Lit: Favorite Novels of 2020
Mike D’Angelo: The Best Films of 2020
Kelly Lawler: The 15 Best TV Shows of 2020
Claire Fallon: The Best Books of 2020
Christina Newland: The Best Films of 2020
Little White Lies: The 30 Best Films of 2020
Playlist: The 25 Best Films of 2020
Ed Gonzalez: Best Films of 2020
Mark Kermode: 10 Best Films of 2020
Glenn Kenny: Notable Films of 2020
Vogue: The Best Books of 2020
Vogue: The 15 Best Movies of 2020
Tony Fantano: 50 Best Albums of 2020
Hank Stuever: Best TV of 2020
Steve Erickson: Best Films of 2020
Steve Erickson: The Best in 2020 Music
Maggie Fremont: The Best TV Shows of 2020
LaToya Ferguson: The Best TV Shows of 2020
David Fear: The 20 Best Movies of 2020
K. Austin Collins: Top 20 Movies of 2020
The Wild Honey Pie: Top 30 Albums of 2020
Alan Sepinwall: The 20 Best TV Shows of 2020
Magnet: Top 25 Albums of 2020
Guardian: The 50 Best Albums of 2020
New York Times: The Best New Podcasts of 2020
XXL: Best Hip-Hop Projects of 2020
Albumism: The 100 Best Albums of 2020
Sight & Sound TV Poll: The Best Television Series of 2020
Refinery29: Best Books of 2020
Boston Globe: Best Poetry of 2020
Boston Globe: Best Books of 2020
Matt Singer: The Best Movies of 2020
Chris Willman: The Best Albums of 2020
Andrew Barker: The Best Albums of 2020
Jem Aswad: The Best Albums of 2020
Chris Molanphy: Top 13 Albums of 2020
Uproxx Music Critics Poll: Best Albums of 2020
Steven Hyden: Favorite Albums of 2020
Joshua Rivera: The Best Movies of 2020
KCRW: Top 10 Albums of 2020
Vanity Fair: The 15 Best Books of 2020
Rolling Stone: Best Podcasts of 2020
Ela Bittencourt: The Best Films of 2020
Kevin Fallon: The 20 Best TV Shows of 2020
Brittany Spanos: Top 13 Albums of 2020
Barack Obama: Favorite TV Shows of 2020

By Year

2020
2010s
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011

By Category

Movies
TV Shows
Albums
Books
Poetry
Podcasts

Trending Lists

Wire: Top 50 Releases of 2019
Wire: Top 50 Releases of 2020
Tony Fantano: Top 50 Albums of 2019
Pitchfork: The 50 Best Albums of 2019
Entertainment Weekly: 40 Best Albums of 2015
Sean Fennessey: Top 10 Movies of the Decade
Tony Fantano: Top 50 Albums of 2017
Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2018
Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2020
Rolling Stone: 100 Best Albums of the 2010s
Sight & Sound Poll: Top 11 Films of 2012
Pitchfork: Top 50 Albums of 2011
Pitchfork: Top 50 Albums of 2012
Sight & Sound Poll: Best Films of 2018

Trending Works

Wake (Subic)
The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)
The Interrupters
Days
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen
Hanging Tree Guitars
The Woman Who Ran
A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
Possessor
Rough and Rowdy Ways
Unrest
Georgia Swan
Felicity

Archive

2020 Movies
2020 TV Shows
2020 Albums
2020 Books
2020 Poetry
2020 Podcasts

2010s Movies
2010s TV Shows
2010s Albums
2010s Books
2010s Poetry
2010s Podcasts

2019 Movies
2019 TV Shows
2019 Albums
2019 Books
2019 Poetry
2019 Podcasts

2018 Movies
2018 TV Shows
2018 Albums
2018 Books
2018 Poetry
2018 Podcasts

2017 Movies
2017 TV Shows
2017 Albums
2017 Books
2017 Poetry

2016 Movies
2016 TV Shows
2016 Albums
2016 Books
2016 Poetry

2015 Movies
2015 Albums
2015 Books
2015 Poetry

2014 Movies
2014 Albums

2013 Movies
2013 Albums

2012 Movies
2012 Albums
2012 Books
2012 Poetry

2011 Movies
2011 Albums
2011 Books

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Year-end lists are fingerprints; aggregate statistics are smudges. Therefore, we make no tallies.

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