Year-End Lists

Ty Burr: The 50 Best Movies of the Decade, as published by The Boston Globe with insightful capsules for the top ten

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. The Clock
   Christian Marclay
4. The Social Network
   David Fincher
5. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
6. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
7. The Florida Project
   Sean Baker
8. Le quattro volte
   Michelangelo Frammartino
9. The Act of Killing
   Joshua Oppenheimer
10. Under the Skin
    Jonathan Glazer
11. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
12. Amour
    Michael Haneke
13. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
14. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
15. Margaret
    Kenneth Lonergan
16. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
17. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Benh Zeitlin
18. Cameraperson
    Kirsten Johnson
19. The Shape of Water
    Guillermo del Toro
20. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
21. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
    Quentin Tarantino
22. Her
    Spike Jonze
23. A Separation
    Asghar Farhadi
24. Paterson
    Jim Jarmusch
25. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
26. Fruitvale Station
    Ryan Coogler
27. The Immigrant
    James Gray
28. MANAKAMANA
    Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez
29. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
30. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
31. The Irishman
    Martin Scorsese
32. Whiplash
    Damien Chazelle
33. Toy Story 3
    Lee Unkrich
34. Boyhood
    Richard Linklater
35. The Death of Stalin
    Armando Iannucci
36. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
37. The Tree of Life
    Terrence Malick
38. Hugo
    Martin Scorsese
39. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
40. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
41. Marriage Story
    Noah Baumbach
42. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
43. Atlantics
    Mati Diop
44. This is Not a Film
    Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
45. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
46. Long Day's Journey Into Night
    Bi Gan
47. Oslo, August 31st
    Joachim Trier
48. The Fits
    Anna Rose Holmer
49. Nebraska
    Alexander Payne
50. Spring Breakers
    Harmony Korine

Time Out New York: The 50 Best Movies of the 2010s

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
3. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. The Social Network
   David Fincher
5. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
6. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
7. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
8. Lady Bird
   Greta Gerwig
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
   Wes Anderson
10. Marriage Story
    Noah Baumbach
11. Inception
    Christopher Nolan
12. Call Me by Your Name
    Luca Guadagnino
13. Midsommar
    Ari Aster
14. Inside Llewyn Davis
    Joel & Ethan Coen
15. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
16. We Need to Talk About Kevin
    Lynne Ramsay
17. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
18. Zero Dark Thirty
    Kathryn Bigelow
19. The Act of Killing
    Joshua Oppenheimer
20. Margaret
    Kenneth Lonergan
21. The Tree of Life
    Terrence Malick
22. Her
    Spike Jonze
23. Stories We Tell
    Sarah Polley
24. The Death of Stalin
    Armando Iannucci
25. Carol
    Todd Haynes
26. Bridesmaids
    Paul Feig
27. A Separation
    Asghar Farhadi
28. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
29. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
30. Exit Through the Gift Shop
    Banksy
31. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
32. 12 Years a Slave
    Steve McQueen
33. The Great Beauty
    Paolo Sorrentino
34. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
35. The Raid: Redemption
    Gareth Evans
36. Young Adult
    Jason Reitman
37. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
38. The Babadook
    Jennifer Kent
39. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
40. Another Year
    Mike Leigh
41. Sightseers
    Ben Wheatley
42. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
43. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
44. Gravity
    Alfonso Cuaron
45. Cold War
    Pawel Pawlikowski
46. God’s Own Country
    Francis Lee
47. Leviathan
    Andrey Zvyagintsev
48. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
49. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
50. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler

Hyperallergic: The Best Films of the Decade

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019]

1. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
4. The Act of Killing
   Joshua Oppenheimer
4. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
5. The Tree of Life
   Terrence Malick
6. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
7. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
8. Cameraperson
   Kirsten Johnson
9. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
10. Inherent Vice
    Paul Thomas Anderson
11. Lemonade
    Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Kahlil Joseph with Jonas Åkerlund, Melina Matsoukas, Dikayl Rimmasch, Mark Romanek and Tod Tourso
12. Margaret
    Kenneth Lonergan
13. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
14. Certified Copy
    Abbas Kiarostami
15. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
    Isao Takahata
16. Mad Max: Fury Road
    George Miller
17. HyperNormalisation
    Adam Curtis
18. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
19. High Life
    Claire Denis
20. Love is the Message, the Message is Death
    Arthur Jafa
21. Citizenfour
    Laura Poitras
22. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt
23. The Grand Bizarre
    Jodie Mack
24. On the Beach at Night Alone
    Hong Sang-soo
25. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan

Revolver Magazine: 25 Best Albums of the 2010s

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

1. Diamond Eyes
   Deftones
2. L’Enfant Sauvage
   Gojira
3. Fear Inoculum
   Tool
4. Infestissumam
   Ghost
5. Emperor of Sand
   Mastodon
6. Firepower
   Judas Priest
7. Sunbather
   Deafheaven
8. Surgical Steel
   Carcass
9. The Satanist
   Behemoth
10. Resolution
    Lamb of God
11. Koloss
    Meshuggah
12. 13
    Black Sabbath
13. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
    Metallica
14. The Pale Emperor
    Marilyn Manson
15. Nightmare
    Avenged Sevenfold
16. We Are Not Your Kind
    Slipknot
17. Forever
    Code Orange
18. All We Love We Leave Behind
    Converge
19. One of Us Is the Killer
    The Dillinger Escape Plan
20. Honor Found In Decay
    Neurosis
21. Atonement
    Killswitch Engage
22. Hiss Spun
    Chelsea Wolfe
23. Purple
    Baroness
24. Low Teens
    Every Time I Die
25. A Different Shade of Blue
    Knocked Loose

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Best Films of the Decade (2010-2019), as submitted to Caimán Cuadernos de Cine

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
2. Margaret
   Kenneth Lonergan
3. The Other Side of the Wind
   Orson Welles
4. Goodbye to Language
   Jean-Luc Godard
5. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
6. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
7. Bernie
   Richard Linklater
8. A Bread Factory
   Patrick Wang
9. Certified Copy
   Abbas Kiarostami
10. I, Dalio (or the Rules of the Game)
    Mark Rappaport

Robert Christgau: Dean's List 2010s

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

1. How I Got Over
   The Roots
2. Thelonious Sphere Monk
   Mas-T
3. American Honey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
   various artists
4. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
   Billie Eilish
5. Room 25
   Noname
6. Dark Matter
   Randy Newman
7. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
8. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
   Kanye West
9. A Crow Looked at Me
   Mount Eerie
10. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
11. Americana
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
12. Hokey Fright
    The Uncluded
13. Whack World
    Tierra Whack
14. Attica!
    Wussy
15. Nostalgia, Ultra
    Frank Ocean
16. Funeral Dress II
    Wussy
17. Maya
    M.I.A.
18. Estudando a Bossa: Nordeste Plaza
    Tom Zé
19. Anti
    Rihanna
20. Sounds of the Syrian Houran
    Dabke
21. Whiteout Conditions
    The New Pornographers
22. To Pimp A Butterfly
    Kendrick Lamar
23. Modern Vampires of the City
    Vampire Weekend
24. Strawberry
    Wussy
25. Relax
    Das Racist

Town & Country: The 17 Best Books of the 2010s

[see also 2023]

1. The Goldfinch
   Donna Tartt
2. The Luminaries
   Eleanor Catton
3. A Little Life
   Hanya Yanagihara
4. Just Kids
   Patti Smith
5. Lincoln in the Bardo
   George Saunders
6. Crazy Rich Asians
   Kevin Kwan
7. My Brilliant Friend
   Elena Ferrante
8. A Visit from the Goon Squad
   Jennifer Egan
9. Americanah
   Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
10. All the Light We Cannot See
    Anthony Doerr
11. The Underground Railroad
    Colson Whitehead
12. Between the World and Me
    Ta-Nehisi Coates
13. The Flamethrowers
    Rachel Kushner
14. Negroland

    A Memoir
    Margo Jefferson
15. Fates and Furies
    Lauren Groff
16. A Gentleman in Moscow
    Amor Towles
17. French Exit
    Patrick deWitt

Michael Sicinski: The 30 Best Avant-Garde Feature Films of the 2010s, as published by Mubi, "the selection of which presents a challenge of access, sensibility, and privilege"

[see also 25 Great Experimental Films of 2023 • The Best Experimental Films (That I Saw) in 2022 • Top 50 Films of 2018 • Top 30 Experimental Films of 2018 • Top 25 Films of 2017 • Top 10 Films of 2016 • Top 12 Films of 2014 • Top 10 Films of 2013 • Top 12 Films of 2012]

1. The Extravagant Shadows
   David Gatten
2. The Grand Bizarre
   Jodie Mack
3. The Giverny Document (Single Channel)
   Ja’Tovia Gary
4. PROTOTYPE
   Blake Williams
5. Differently, Molussia
   Nicolas Rey
6. Streetscapes [Dialogue]
   Heinz Emigholz
7. Sixty Six
   Lewis Klahr
8. Park Lanes
   Kevin Jerome Everson
9. American Colour
   Joshua Bonnetta
10. Episode of the Sea
    Van Brummelen & De Haan and the inhabitants of Urk, Netherlands
11. Field Niggas
    Khalik Allah
12. The Realist
    Scott Stark
13. Watching the Detectives
    Chris Kennedy
14. Terror Nullius
    Soda_Jerk
15. American Falls
    Phil Solomon
16. Daredevils
    Stephanie Barber
17. The Lanthanide Series
    Erin Espelie
18. The Illinois Parables
    Deborah Stratman
19. Tondal's Vision
    Stephen Broomer
20. Seeking the Monkey King
    Ken Jacobs
21. Easy Rider
    James Benning
22. Science Without Substance
    Daniel Barnett
23. Two Years at Sea
    Ben Rivers
24. Invention
    Mark Lewis
25. Three Landscapes
    Peter Hutton
26. 88:88
    Isiah Medina
27. The Royal Road
    Jenni Olson
28. Circle in the Sand
    Michael Robinson
29. Ouroboros
    Basma Alsharif
30. Where the Chocolate Mountains
    Pat O'Neill

Slant Magazine: The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
   Kanye West
2. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
3. Norman Fucking Rockwell!
   Lana Del Rey
4. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
5. Body Talk
   Robyn
6. Modern Vampires of the City
   Vampire Weekend
7. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
8. DAMN.
   Kendrick Lamar
9. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
10. 1989
    Taylor Swift
11. Let England Shake
    PJ Harvey
12. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
13. The ArchAndroid
    Janelle Monáe
14. Devotion
    Jessie Ware
15. Art Angels
    Grimes
16. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
17. Melodrama
    Lorde
18. Born to Die
    Lana Del Rey
19. LP1
    FKA twigs
20. Born This Way
    Lady Gaga
21. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
22. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
23. Wounded Rhymes
    Lykke Li
24. Teen Dream
    Beach House
25. True Romance
    Charli XCX
26. Black Messiah
    D’Angelo and The Vanguard
27. Dirty Computer
    Janelle Monáe
28. Ghosteen
    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
29. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
30. Honey
    Robyn
31. Pure Heroine
    Lorde
32. They Want My Soul
    Spoon
33. The Haunted Man
    Bat for Lashes
34. Ctrl
    SZA
35. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
36. Something To Tell You
    HAIM
37. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
38. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
39. Blackstar
    David Bowie
40. Black Up
    Shabazz Palaces
41. Yeezus
    Kanye West
42. Magdalene
    FKA twigs
43. Strange Mercy
    St. Vincent
44. The Suburbs
    Arcade Fire
45. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
46. Golden Hour
    Kacey Musgraves
47. This Is Happening
    LCD Soundsystem
48. Anima
    Thom Yorke
49. The Ghosts of Highway 20
    Lucinda Williams
50. Blond
    Frank Ocean
51. Settle
    Disclosure
52. Hive Mind
    The Internet
53. Lost in the Dream
    The War on Drugs
54. Take Care
    Drake
55. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
56. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors
57. Cupid Deluxe
    Blood Orange
58. Invasion of Privacy
    Cardi B
59. Utopia
    Björk
60. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
61. Tough Love
    Jessie Ware
62. Brothers
    The Black Keys
63. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
64. 4:44
    JAY-Z
65. Treats
    Sleigh Bells
66. Need to Feel Your Love
    Sheer Mag
67. Whokill
    Tune-Yards
68. Wildheart
    Miguel
69. (II)
    Crystal Castles
70. Purple Mountains
    Purple Mountains
71. Be the Cowboy
    Mitski
72. Shaking the Habitual
    The Knife
73. Celebration Rock
    Japandroids
74. Bon Iver
    Bon Iver
75. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
76. The Most Lamentable Tragedy
    Titus Andronicus
77. Hell on Heels
    Pistol Annies
78. Trouble Will Find Me
    The National
79. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
80. Vulnicura
    Björk
81. Master of My Make-Believe
    Santigold
82. 50 Song Memoir
    The Magnetic Fields
83. Smother
    Wild Beasts
84. House of Balloons
    The Weeknd
85. The Practice of Love
    Jenny Hval
86. Knock Knock
    DJ Koze
87. Run the Jewels 2
    Run the Jewels
88. reputation
    Taylor Swift
89. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
    M83
90. Kaputt
    Destroyer
91. Caution
    Mariah Carey
92. On A Mission
    Katy B
93. The Epic
    Kamasi Washington
94. Flower Boy
    Tyler, The Creator
95. Syro
    Aphex Twin
96. James Blake
    James Blake
97. Real Life Is No Cool
    Lindstrøm & Christabelle
98. Electric
    Pet Shop Boys
99. U.F.O.F.
    Big Thief
100. Life Is Easy
     Bright Light Bright Light

Chris Willman: The Best Albums of the 2010s, as published by Variety

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

1. 1989
   Taylor Swift
2. By The Way, I Forgive You
   Brandi Carlile
3. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
   Billie Eilish
4. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
5. Same Trailer Different Park
   Kacey Musgraves
6. Whiteout Conditions
   The New Pornographers
7. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
8. Look Now
   Elvis Costello & The Imposters
9. Mental Illness
   Aimee Mann
10. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen

And not to forget

• Dreams and Daggers
  Cécile McLorin Salvant
• Southeastern
  Jason Isbell
• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest
• Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Original Broadway Cast
• Nudes
  Lucius
• God’s Favorite Customer
  Father John Misty
• All Your Favorite Bands
  Dawes
• Four the Record
  Miranda Lambert
• Heathers the Musical Original West End Cast Recording
  Laurence O'Keefe & Kevin Murphy
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Interstate Gospel
  Pistol Annies
• Help Us Stranger
  The Raconteurs
• Hero
  Maren Morris
• Sweetener
  Ariana Grande
• The 2nd Law
  Muse
• Triplicate
  Bob Dylan
• Body Talk
  Robyn
• Gone Away Backward
  Robbie Fulks
• 21
  Adele
• Dark Matter
  Randy Newman
• Melodrama
  Lorde
• What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
  Sara Bareilles
• The Fool
  Ryn Weaver
• Bad as Me
  Tom Waits