Year-End Lists

Pitchfork: Top 50 Albums of 2015

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
2. In Colour
   Jamie xx
3. Art Angels
   Grimes
4. Summertime ’06
   Vince Staples
5. Currents
   Tame Impala
6. Carrie & Lowell
   Sufjan Stevens
7. Black Messiah
   D’Angelo and The Vanguard
8. Wildheart
   Miguel
9. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
10. The Epic
    Kamasi Washington
11. Garden of Delete
    Oneohtrix Point Never
12. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
13. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
14. Barter 6
    Young Thug
15. Vulnicura
    Björk
16. M3LL155X
    FKA twigs
17. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
18. Have You In My Wilderness
    Julia Holter
19. Dirty Sprite 2
    Future
20. Elaenia
    Floating Points
21. Surf
    Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
22. Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
    Panda Bear
23. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…
    Kurt Vile
24. The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
    Thundercat
25. I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album
    Earl Sweatshirt
26. New Bermuda
    Deafheaven
27. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
28. Depression Cherry
    Beach House
29. SremmLife
    Rae Sremmurd
30. Fading Frontier
    Deerhunter
31. Hallucinogen
    Kelela
32. Compton
    Dr. Dre
33. A New Place 2 Drown
    Archy Marshall
34. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
35. VEGA INTL. Night School
    Neon Indian
36. Unbreakable
    Janet Jackson
37. Me
    Empress Of
38. Mutant
    Arca
39. Platform
    Holly Herndon
40. Dark Energy
    Jlin
41. Late Nights: The Album
    Jeremih
42. Apocalypse, Girl
    Jenny Hval
43. Poison Season
    Destroyer
44. Reality Show
    Jazmine Sullivan
45. Simple Songs
    Jim O’Rourke
46. Goon
    Tobias Jesso Jr.
47. DJ-Kicks
    DJ Koze
48. Ratchet
    Shamir
49. Natalie Prass
    Natalie Prass
50. Blackheart
    Dawn Richard

Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015 (as published in The Village Voice, comprised of votes from over 125 critics)

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

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
4. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
5. Tangerine
   Sean Baker
6. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
7. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
8. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
9. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
10. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
11. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
12. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
13. Creed
    Ryan Coogler
14. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
15. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
16. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
17. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
18. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
19. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
20. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
21. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson
22. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
23. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
24. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
25. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
26. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
27. In Jackson Heights
    Frederick Wiseman
28. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
29. Chi-Raq
    Spike Lee
30. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
31. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
32. Sicario
    Denis Villeneuve
33. The End of the Tour
    James Ponsoldt
34. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
35. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
36. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
37. Heart of a Dog
    Laurie Anderson
38. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
39. The Tribe
    Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
40. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
    Jafar Panahi
41. The Hateful Eight
    Quentin Tarantino
42. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad
43. It Follows
    David Robert Mitchell
44. Arabian Nights
    Miguel Gomes
45. About Elly
    Asghar Farhadi
46. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
47. Maps to the Stars
    David Cronenberg
48. The Mend
    John Magary
49. Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
    Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz
50. The Wonders
    Alice Rohrwacher

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• A.V. Club: Nick Schager: The Best Films of 2015
• Village Voice Film Poll: Miriam Bale: Top 10 Films of 2015

Sasha Frere-Jones: 89 Favorite Albums of 2015 (listed chronologically within three tiers)

[see also 2022 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

holy cats / is best

• SremmLife
  Rae Sremmurd
• Xe
  ZS
• If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
  Drake
• Program
  NHK
• Pomegranates
  Nicolas Jaar
• Live Knots
  Oren Ambarchi
• Headache
  Trupa Trupa
• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album
  Earl Sweatshirt
• Dark Energy
  Jlin
• Ivy Tripp
  Waxahatchee
• Cascade
  William Basinski
• II
  METZ
• The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
  Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus
• Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes African Mystic Music
  Raphael Rogiński
• Summertime ’06
  Vince Staples
• Piteous Gate
  M.E.S.H.
• Another One
  Mac DeMarco
• E•MO•TION
  Carly Rae Jepsen
• Circular Forms
  Abul Mogard
• Indians & Cowboys
  Den Sorte Skole
• Vertigo
  The Necks
• AE_LIVE
  Autechre
• Nothing
  Kode9
• Garden of Delete
  Oneohtrix Point Never
• Lil Me
  Wiki
• Steamroom 20
  Jim O’Rourke

oh man / is excellent

• In Colour
  Jamie xx
• CR5
  Chinx
• Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2
  Aphex Twin
• 15
  Og Maco
• Sour Soul
  BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah
• Behold
  Oren Ambarchi & Jim O’Rourke
• The Firewatcher’s Daughter
  Brandi Carlile
• Eat Pray Thug
  Heems
• The Free Fall Inspirations
  12z
• Fantasy Empire
  Lightning Bolt
• Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  Courtney Barnett
• Crown
  The-Dream
• Also
  Also
• Ex Machina (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow
• Foil Deer
  Speedy Ortiz
• Wire
  Wire
• Days
  Triac
• Sound & Color
  Alabama Shakes
• The Epic
  Kamasi Washington
• Dumb Flesh
  Blanck Mass
• Why Make Sense?
  Hot Chip
• Platform
  Holly Herndon
• The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
  Thundercat
• Wildheart
  Miguel
• Innocent Country
  Quelle Chris
• Instrumentals 2015
  Flying Saucer Attack
• DAZE
  Brood Ma
• M3LL155X
  FKA twigs
• L.A. Takedown
  L.A. Takedown
• Depression Cherry
  Beach House
• Poison Season
  Destroyer
• La Di Da Di
  Battles
• Honeymoon
  Lana Del Rey
• Edition 1
  King Midas Sound & Fennesz
• Ornamente (zwischen Null und Eins)
  Asmus Tietchens
• Peace, Love & Music
  Swindle
• Age Of Transparency
  Autre Ne Veut
• Vanishing Land
  Mirt
• Teens of Style
  Car Seat Headrest
• Slime Season 2
  Young Thug
• Art Angels
  Grimes
• Sold Out
  DJ Paypal
• Thirteen
  Norman Westberg
• Mette Henriette
  Mette Henriette
• Junun
  Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
• Hard Hold
  Jaala
• But You Caint Use My Phone
  Erykah Badu
• Technoself
  Deantoni Parks
• Murder
  Miss Red
• Late Nights: The Album
  Jeremih
• King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
  Pusha T

wow / so good

• #1Epic EP
  D.R.A.M.
• Amethyst
  Tinashe
• FRKWYS, Vol. 12 – We Know Each Other Somehow
  Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe & Ariel Kalma
• Reflekzionz
  Ekoplekz
• Olympic Mess
  Helm
• Yung Rich Nation
  Migos
• Ones and Sixes
  Low
• Wald
  Pole
• Fetty Wap
  Fetty Wap
• Cuz
  Cuz Lightyear
• Mutant
  Arca

John Powers: Top 11 Films of 2015, as published by Vogue

[see also 2018 • 2017]

1. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
3. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
4. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
5. The Martian
   Ridley Scott
6. The Big Short
   Adam McKay
7. The Walk
   Robert Zemeckis
8. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. The End of the Tour
   James Ponsoldt
9. Mustang
   Deniz Gamze Ergüven
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker

Inkoo Kang: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2015, as published by The Village Voice

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2014]

1. Transparent
2. Catastrophe
3. Jane the Virgin
4. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
5. Broad City
6. Mad Men
7. Another Period
8. Orange is the New Black
9. Survivor’s Remorse
10. Scandal

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2015

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

1. Dark Energy
   Jlin
2. Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee
   Matana Roberts
3. Magnetoception
   Joshua Abrams
4. Have You In My Wilderness
   Julia Holter
5. I Abused Animal
   Heather Leigh
6. Platform
   Holly Herndon
7. Simple Songs
   Jim O’Rourke
8. The Epic
   Kamasi Washington
9. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
10. Vertigo
    The Necks
11. We Are Not the First
    Hieroglyphic Being
12. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
13. Vulnicura
    Björk
14. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
15. Schwarze Riesenfalter
    Graham Lambkin / Michael Pisaro
16. Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes African Mystic Music
    Raphael Rogiński
17. Beneath Swooping Talons
    Laura Cannell
18. Garden of Delete
    Oneohtrix Point Never
19. DS2
    Future
20. Olympic Mess
    Helm
21. Key Markets
    Sleaford Mods
22. Chiltern
    Hour House
23. From Kinshasa
    Mbongwana Star
24. Sauchiehall Enthrall
    Golden Teacher
25. Still
    Richard Thompson
26. Comme ça
    Domenique Dumont
27. Safe
    Visionist
28. Hexadic
    Six Organs of Admittance
29. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2
    Aphex Twin
30. Danger
    Nidia Minaj
31. Edition 1
    King Midas Sound & Fennesz
32. Cardinal
    Philip Jeck
33. 56 Nights
    DJ Esco & Future
34. Infinity Machines
    Gnod
35. Seymour Writes Back
    Seymour Wright
36. Much Less Normal
    LNRDCROY
37. Grizzana and other pieces 2009-2014
    Jürg Frey
38. Demo
    Guttersnipe
39. If He Dies, If If If If If If
    Jerusalem in My Heart
40. Allison Cameron: A Gossamer Bit
    Contact
41. F (X)
    Carter Tutti Void
42. One man and a fly
    Radu Malfatti
43. The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
    Thundercat
44. Work
    Uwe Oberg
45. Good Sad Happy Bad
    Micachu & The Shapes
46. Elaenia
    Floating Points
47. Enough still not to know
    Keith Rowe / John Tilbury
48. Dream a Garden
    Jam City
49. Instrumentals 2015
    Flying Saucer Attack
50. The Deluge
    William Basinski

Billboard: 25 Best Albums of 2015 (as voted by Billboard staff)

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

1. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
2. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
   Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Original Broadway Cast
3. Art Angels
   Grimes
4. Summertime ’06
   Vince Staples
5. 25
   Adele
6. In Colour
   Jamie xx
7. Sound & Color
   Alabama Shakes
8. Black Messiah
   D’Angelo and The Vanguard
9. I Love You, Honeybear
   Father John Misty
10. Something More Than Free
    Jason Isbell
11. DS2
    Future
12. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
13. Traveller
    Chris Stapleton
14. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
15. Dark Sky Paradise
    Big Sean
16. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
    Courtney Barnett
17. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    Florence + The Machine
18. Beauty Behind the Madness
    The Weeknd
19. Amanecer
    Bomba Estéreo
20. Days Gone By
    Bob Moses
21. Honeymoon
    Lana Del Rey
22. Surf
    Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
23. Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
    Skrillex & Diplo
24. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
25. Hasta la Raíz
    Natalia Lafourcade

Film Comment: 20 Best Films of 2015 (as voted by “over 100 North American colleagues”)

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

1. Carol
   Todd Haynes
2. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
5. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
6. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
7. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
9. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
10. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
11. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
12. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
13. In Jackson Heights
    Frederick Wiseman
14. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
15. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
16. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
17. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
18. Brooklyn
    John Crowley
19. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
20. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg

IndieWire Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015 (as voted by 204 critics)

NOTE: Although the scores indicate a tie for the 49th film, IndieWire presents them in this order, with no ties.

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

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
4. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
5. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
6. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
7. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
8. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
9. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
10. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
11. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
12. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas
13. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
14. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
15. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson
16. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
17. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
18. Arabian Nights
    Miguel Gomes
19. Creed
    Ryan Coogler
20. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
21. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
    Jafar Panahi
22. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
23. It Follows
    David Robert Mitchell
24. The Tribe
    Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
25. Sicario
    Denis Villeneuve
26. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
27. In Jackson Heights
    Frederick Wiseman
28. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
29. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
30. Steve Jobs
    Danny Boyle
31. The Mend
    John Magary
32. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
33. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
34. Chi-Raq
    Spike Lee
35. Heart of a Dog
    Laurie Anderson
36. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
37. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
38. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
39. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
40. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
41. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
42. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
43. About Elly
    Asghar Farhadi
44. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
45. The End of the Tour
    James Ponsoldt
46. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
47. Queen of Earth
    Alex Ross Perry
48. Li’l Quinquin
    Bruno Dumont
49. Mustang
    Deniz Gamze Ergüven
50. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad

Greg Kot: Top 20 Albums of 2015, as published by The Chicago Tribune and aired on Sound Opinions

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

• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  Courtney Barnett
• The Agent Intellect
  Protomartyr
• Ratchet
  Shamir
• Summertime ’06
  Vince Staples
• The Most Lamentable Tragedy
  Titus Andronicus
• Surf
  Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
• Art Angels
  Grimes
• Sprinter
  TORRES
• Silver Bullets
  The Chills

The next 10

• The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets
  Van Hunt
• Works For Tomorrow
  Eleventh Dream Day
• Hi Honey
  Low Cut Connie
• Imani, Vol. 1
  Blackalicious
• Currents
  Tame Impala
• Wildheart
  Miguel
• No Cities To Love
  Sleater-Kinney
• Divers
  Joanna Newsom
• Pretend
  Seinabo Sey
• Wire
  Wire