Year-End Lists

Refinery29: The 10 Best Albums of the 2010s

[see also 2018]

1. Anti
   Rihanna
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. 21
   Adele
4. Golden Hour
   Kacey Musgraves
5. Pure Heroine
   Lorde
6. Body Talk
   Robyn
7. Dirty Computer
   Janelle Monáe
8. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
9. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
   Billie Eilish
10. 1989
    Taylor Swift

Jim Harrington: 50 Best Albums of the Decade, as published by San Jose Mercury News

[see also 2018 • 2017]

1. Pure Heroine
   Lorde
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
   Kanye West
3. Born to Die
   Lana Del Rey
4. Same Trailer Different Park
   Kacey Musgraves
5. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
6. Let England Shake
   PJ Harvey
7. Melodrama
   Lorde
8. Beyoncé
   Beyoncé
9. The Outsiders
   Eric Church
10. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
11. To Pimp A Butterfly
    Kendrick Lamar
12. The Weight of These Wings
    Miranda Lambert
13. mbv
    My Bloody Valentine
14. California Nights
    Best Coast
15. The Bones Of What You Believe
    Chvrches
16. Lost in the Dream
    The War on Drugs
17. Norman Fucking Rockwell!
    Lana Del Rey
18. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
19. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
20. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
    Metallica
21. Red
    Taylor Swift
22. Look Up Child
    Lauren Daigle
23. Teen Dream
    Beach House
24. Push the Sky Away
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
25. Hero
    Maren Morris
26. Body Talk
    Robyn
27. 13
    Black Sabbath
28. All That Reckoning
    Cowboy Junkies
29. Born Sinner
    J. Cole
30. Kiss
    Carly Rae Jepsen
31. American Teen
    Khalid
32. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
33. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
    Billie Eilish
34. Blackstar
    David Bowie
35. Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
    Sturgill Simpson
36. DAMN.
    Kendrick Lamar
37. Pharmacy of Love
    Bettie Serveert
38. Ghosteen
    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
39. The Suburbs
    Arcade Fire
40. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
41. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
42. Vulnicura
    Björk
43. Invasion of Privacy
    Cardi B
44. Jesus Is King
    Kanye West
45. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
46. Chief
    Eric Church
47. 1000 Forms of Fear
    Sia
48. Cuz I Love You
    Lizzo
49. Lonerism
    Tame Impala
50. Days Are Gone
    Haim

Tiny Mix Tapes: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade

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

1. Eccojams Vol. 1
   Chuck Person
2. Black is Beautiful
   Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland
3. Yeezus
   Kanye West
4. Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides
   Sophie
5. Just A Taste Vol. 1
   DJ Rashad
6. Floral Shoppe
   Macintosh Plus
7. R Plus Seven
   Oneohtrix Point Never
8. Pop 2
   Charli XCX
9. Blond
   Frank Ocean
9. Endless
   Frank Ocean
10. PC Music x DISown Radio
    PC Music
11. “BBF” Hosted By DJ Escrow
    Babyfather
12. Far Side Virtual
    James Ferraro
13. The Light That You Gave Me To See You
    E+E
14. &&&&&
    Arca
15. Ruins
    Grouper
16. An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
    The Caretaker
17. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
18. Barter 6
    Young Thug
19. Replica
    Oneohtrix Point Never
20. Bish Bosch
    Scott Walker
21. White Flame
    Lil B
22. A Crow Looked at Me
    Mount Eerie
23. DS2
    Future
24. The Smoke
    Lolina
25. Quarantine
    Laurel Halo
26. The Redeemer
    Dean Blunt
27. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    Kanye West
28. To Pimp A Butterfly
    Kendrick Lamar
29. Elysia Crampton
    Elysia Crampton
30. Kaputt
    Destroyer
31. Anti
    Rihanna
32. XXX
    Danny Brown
33. James Blake
    James Blake
34. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
35. Beyoncé
    Beyoncé
36. Dark Energy
    Jlin
37. Product
    Sophie
38. Devotion
    Tirzah
39. The Money Store
    Death Grips
40. Double Cup
    DJ Rashad
41. Everywhere at the End of Time
    The Caretaker
42. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
43. Before Today
    Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
44. Black Messiah
    D’Angelo and The Vanguard
45. Some Rap Songs
    Earl Sweatshirt
46. My Teenage Dream Ended
    Farrah Abraham
47. Playboi Carti
    Playboi Carti
48. Mutant
    Arca
49. Sounds of Sisso
    various artists
50. Loud City Song
    Julia Holter
51. Black Up
    Shabazz Palaces
52. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
53. Melodrama
    Lorde
54. Songs About Nothing
    Jason Lescalleet
55. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
56. Triad
    Triad God
57. Half Free
    U.S. Girls
58. Classical Curves
    Jam City
59. Double Negative
    Low
60. Tommy
    Klein
61. Oh No
    Jessy Lanza
62. Modern Jester
    Aaron Dilloway
63. Vroom Vroom
    Charli XCX
64. Late Nights: The Album
    Jeremih
65. The Monitor
    Titus Andronicus
66. Visions
    Grimes
67. MIXTAP3
    18+
68. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
    Colin Stetson
69. Live In Paris
    Lolina
70. Dark Web
    Giant Claw
71. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
72. COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres
    Matana Roberts
73. Tomboy
    Panda Bear
74. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    Angel Olsen
75. Stadium
    Eli Keszler
76. Almighty So
    Chief Keef
77. Public Strain
    Women
78. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
79. Teen Dream
    Beach House
80. Photographs
    Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet
81. Piñata
    Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
82. Past Life Martyred Saints
    EMA
83. Luxury Problems
    Andy Stott
84. Fresh Roses
    D/P/I
85. The Original Faces
    Helen
86. Tha Tour Part 1
    Rich Gang
87. Through Donkey Jaw
    Amen Dunes
88. Shaking the Habitual
    The Knife
89. Carve Out the Face of My God
    Infinite Body
90. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
91. Blackstar
    David Bowie
92. R.I.P.
    Actress
93. Apocalypse
    Bill Callahan
94. New Slaves
    ZS
95. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
96. A History Of Every One
    Bill Orcutt
97. Halcyon Digest
    Deerhunter
98. Daytona
    Pusha T
99. Grafts
    Kara-Lis Coverdale
100. We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
     John Maus

Jordan Cronk: The 50 Best Films of the 2010s, posted publicly to Patreon

[see also The Ten Best Experimental Films of 2022 • Top Ten Films of 2022 • Top Ten Films of 2021 • Top Ten Films of 2020 • Top 20 Films of 2019 • Top 20 Films of 2018 • Top Ten Films of 2017]

1. Twin Peaks: The Return
   David Lynch
2. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. The Strange Case of Angelica
   Manoel de Oliveira
4. Goodbye to Language
   Jean-Luc Godard
5. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
6. House of Pleasures
   Bertrand Bonello
7. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
8. Mysteries of Lisbon
   Raoul Ruiz
9. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
10. The Turin Horse
    Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
11. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
12. Li’l Quinquin
    Bruno Dumont
13. Zama
    Lucrecia Martel
14. Certified Copy
    Abbas Kiarostami
15. Stray Dogs
    Tsai Ming-liang
16. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
17. Liberty
    Albert Serra
18. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
19. Sieranevada
    Cristi Puiu
20. Leviathan
    Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
21. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
22. Differently, Molussia
    Nicolas Rey
23. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
24. Let Your Light Shine
    Jodie Mack
25. Norte, the End of History
    Lav Diaz
26. This is Not a Film
    Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
27. The Extravagant Shadows
    David Gatten
28. Winter Vacation
    Li Hongqi
29. Slow Action
    Ben Rivers
30. La Flor
    Mariano Llinás
31. The Master
    Paul Thomas Anderson
32. Stranger by the Lake
    Alain Guiraudie
33. Dead Souls
    Wang Bing
34. Episode of the Sea
    Van Brummelen & De Haan and the inhabitants of Urk, Netherlands
35. I Was at Home, But
    Angela Schanelec
36. Knight of Cups
    Terrence Malick
37. The Irishman
    Martin Scorsese
38. The Last of the Unjust
    Claude Lanzmann
39. Arabian Nights
    Miguel Gomes
40. High Life
    Claire Denis
41. A Touch of Sin
    Jia Zhang-ke
42. Maps to the Stars
    David Cronenberg
43. Jealousy
    Philippe Garrel
44. Le Havre
    Aki Kaurismäki
45. 4:44 Last Day on Earth
    Abel Ferrara
46. The Last Time I Saw Macao
    João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata
47. Amour fou
    Jessica Hausner
48. L. Cohen
    James Benning
49. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
    Alain Resnais
50. Lost and Beautiful
    Pietro Marcello

Rolling Stone: The 50 Best Movies of the 2010s

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. The Social Network
   David Fincher
3. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
4. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
5. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
6. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
7. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
9. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
10. Carol
    Todd Haynes
11. Phantom Thread
    Paul Thomas Anderson
12. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
13. A Separation
    Asghar Farhadi
14. Inside Llewyn Davis
    Joel & Ethan Coen
15. Faces Places
    Agnès Varda and JR
16. 12 Years a Slave
    Steve McQueen
17. Winter's Bone
    Debra Granik
18. Under the Skin
    Jonathan Glazer
19. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
20. The Irishman
    Martin Scorsese
21. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
22. Lady Bird
    Greta Gerwig
23. Dunkirk
    Christopher Nolan
24. The Act of Killing
    Joshua Oppenheimer
25. Selma
    Ava DuVernay
26. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
27. Cold War
    Pawel Pawlikowski
28. Spring Breakers
    Harmony Korine
29. Zero Dark Thirty
    Kathryn Bigelow
30. The Grand Budapest Hotel
    Wes Anderson
31. Meek’s Cutoff
    Kelly Reichardt
32. No
    Pablo Larraín
33. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos
34. You Were Never Really Here
    Lynne Ramsay
35. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
36. We Are the Best!
    Lukas Moodysson
37. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
38. Zama
    Lucrecia Martel
39. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
40. Call Me by Your Name
    Luca Guadagnino
41. I Am Not Your Negro
    Raoul Peck
42. Elena
    Andrey Zvyagintsev
43. Amour
    Michael Haneke
44. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
45. Black Coal, Thin Ice
    Diao Yinan
46. Personal Shopper
    Olivier Assayas
47. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
48. The Tribe
    Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
49. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
    Quentin Tarantino
50. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler

Emily St. James: The 21 TV Shows that Explained the 2010s, as published by Vox

[see also 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Nathan for You
2. BoJack Horseman
3. The Leftovers
4. The Americans
5. Halt and Catch Fire
6. Enlightened
7. Orange is the New Black
8. Adventure Time
9. Atlanta
10. Bob’s Burgers
11. Hannibal
12. Fleabag
13. Girls
13. Better Things
14. Mr. Robot
15. The Magicians
16. The Good Place
16. Superstore
17. One Day at a Time
18. Parenthood
19. American Crime Story
20. The Handmaid’s Tale
21. Game of Thrones

Honorable mentions

• 12 Monkeys
• Barry
• Bates Motel
• Better Call Saul
• Black-ish
• The Carmichael Show
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Hbomberguy
• Homeland
• Jane the Virgin
• Justified
• Key and Peele
• Manhattan
• Mom
• New Girl
• Person of Interest
• Rectify
• Sense8
• Silicon Valley
• Succession
• You’re the Worst

Associated Press: Best 10 Films of the 2010s, compiled by Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr

1. The Tree of Life
   Terrence Malick
2. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Margaret
   Kenneth Lonergan
4. Lady Bird
   Greta Gerwig
5. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
6. Somewhere
   Sofia Coppola
7. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
8. Certified Copy
   Abbas Kiarostami
9. Inside Llewyn Davis
   Joel & Ethan Coen
10. The Grand Budapest Hotel
    Wes Anderson

Also

• Dawson City: Frozen Time
  Bill Morrison
• Melancholia
  Lars von Trier
• The Florida Project
  Sean Baker
• The Social Network
  David Fincher
• Timbuktu
  Abderrahmane Sissako
• Cameraperson
  Kirsten Johnson
• The Immigrant
  James Gray
• A Separation
  Asghar Farhadi
• I Am Love
  Luca Guadagnino
• Burning
  Lee Chang-dong
• Senna
  Asif Kapadia
• Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
  Quentin Tarantino
• Phoenix
  Christian Petzold
• Mad Max: Fury Road
  George Miller
• Faces Places
  Agnès Varda and JR
• At Berkeley
  Frederick Wiseman
• The Deep Blue Sea
  Terence Davies

Rolling Stone: 100 Best Albums of the 2010s

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
   Kanye West
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
4. Red
   Taylor Swift
5. Blackstar
   David Bowie
6. Take Care
   Drake
7. Melodrama
   Lorde
8. 21
   Adele
9. Interstate Gospel
   Pistol Annies
10. This Is Happening
    LCD Soundsystem
11. Golden Hour
    Kacey Musgraves
12. Blond
    Frank Ocean
13. Yeezus
    Kanye West
14. Brothers
    The Black Keys
15. Vibras
    J Balvin
16. Light Up Gold
    Parquet Courts
17. Acid Rap
    Chance The Rapper
18. So Beautiful or So What
    Paul Simon
19. 1989
    Taylor Swift
20. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
21. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
    Courtney Barnett
22. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
23. Body Talk
    Robyn
24. Modern Vampires of the City
    Vampire Weekend
25. Anti
    Rihanna
26. Beyoncé
    Beyoncé
27. DAMN.
    Kendrick Lamar
28. Southeastern
    Jason Isbell
29. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
30. thank u, next
    Ariana Grande
31. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
    Billie Eilish
32. Norman Fucking Rockwell!
    Lana Del Rey
33. Be the Cowboy
    Mitski
34. Invasion of Privacy
    Cardi B
35. Black Messiah
    D’Angelo and The Vanguard
36. Dark Matter
    Randy Newman
37. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
38. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
39. El Mal Querer
    Rosalía
40. Ctrl
    SZA
41. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
42. Platinum
    Miranda Lambert
43. Tempest
    Bob Dylan
44. Days Are Gone
    Haim
45. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
    Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Original Broadway Cast
46. Wrecking Ball
    Bruce Springsteen
47. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
48. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
49. Watch the Throne
    Jay-Z and Kanye West
50. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
51. The Suburbs
    Arcade Fire
52. American Teen
    Khalid
53. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
54. Celebration Rock
    Japandroids
55. Random Access Memories
    Daft Punk
56. Night Time, My Time
    Sky Ferreira
57. Boys & Girls
    Alabama Shakes
58. The Weight of These Wings
    Miranda Lambert
59. Harry Styles
    Harry Styles
60. The Pinkprint
    Nicki Minaj
61. Cerulean Salt
    Waxahatchee
62. Egypt Station
    Paul McCartney
63. Dirty Computer
    Janelle Monáe
64. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten
65. St. Vincent
    St. Vincent
66. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
67. X 100PRE
    Bad Bunny
68. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    Florence + The Machine
69. Cuz I Love You
    Lizzo
70. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
71. Art Angels
    Grimes
72. Blunderbuss
    Jack White
73. On the Line
    Jenny Lewis
74. Daytona
    Pusha T
75. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
76. Nostalgia, Ultra
    Frank Ocean
77. The Highwomen
    The Highwomen
78. Clean
    Soccer Mommy
79. Rainbow
    Ke$ha
80. Mirror Traffic
    Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
81. By The Way, I Forgive You
    Brandi Carlile
82. The Epic
    Kamasi Washington
83. Chief
    Eric Church
84. In Colour
    Jamie xx
85. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
    Metallica
86. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
87. Ghosteen
    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
88. AM
    Arctic Monkeys
89. Have One On Me
    Joanna Newsom
90. Psychedelic Pill
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
91. Whack World
    Tierra Whack
92. Father of the Bride
    Vampire Weekend
93. Songs of Innocence
    U2
94. Need to Feel Your Love
    Sheer Mag
95. Monster
    Future
96. Call Me Sylvia
    Low Cut Connie
97. Tha Tour Part 1
    Rich Gang
98. The Tree of Forgiveness
    John Prine
99. Ultraviolence
    Lana Del Rey
100. A Deeper Understanding
     The War on Drugs

Amanda Petrusich: The Best Music of the Decade, as published by The New Yorker

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

• Blond
  Frank Ocean
• 22, A Million
  Bon Iver
• Have One On Me
  Joanna Newsom
• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Black Messiah
  D’Angelo and The Vanguard
• Morning Phase
  Beck
• MITH
  Lonnie Holley
• Yeezus
  Kanye West
• Vulnicura
  Björk
• Bad Debt
  Hiss Golden Messenger
• Modern Vampires of the City
  Vampire Weekend
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange

Kristen Baldwin: The Best TV Shows of the Decade, as published by Entertainment Weekly

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

1. The Leftovers
2. The Good Fight
3. Mad Men
4. American Crime Story
5. Better Things
6. Veep
7. Orange is the New Black
8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9. The Fall
10. The Comeback
11. Better Call Saul
12. Key and Peele
13. Rectify
14. Parks and Recreation
15. Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath