Year-End Lists

John Waters: 10 Best Films of 2015, as published by Artforum

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

1. Helmut Berger, Actor
   Andreas Horvath
2. Cinderella
   Kenneth Branagh
3. The Forbidden Room
   Guy Maddin
4. Tom at the Farm
   Xavier Dolan
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
6. Carol
   Todd Haynes
7. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
   Marielle Heller
8. Tangerine
   Sean Baker
9. Fly Colt Fly
   Adam Gray and Andrew Gray
10. Love
    Gaspar Noé

Uncut Magazine: 75 Best Albums of 2015

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

1. Have You In My Wilderness
   Julia Holter
2. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
3. Carrie & Lowell
   Sufjan Stevens
4. Primrose Green
   Ryley Walker
5. I Love You, Honeybear
   Father John Misty
6. Currents
   Tame Impala
7. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
8. Natalie Prass
   Natalie Prass
9. Key Markets
   Sleaford Mods
10. Music Complete
    New Order
11. Vulnicura
    Björk
12. Multi-Love
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra
13. Simple Songs
    Jim O’Rourke
14. Songs To Play
    Robert Forster
15. Something More Than Free
    Jason Isbell
16. Loyalty
    The Weather Station
17. The Magic Whip
    Blur
18. Star Wars
    Wilco
19. From Kinshasa
    Mbongwana Star
20. Platform
    Holly Herndon
21. Sound & Color
    Alabama Shakes
22. Y Dydd Olaf
    Gwenno
23. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
24. Still
    Richard Thompson
25. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
    John Grant
26. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
27. In Colour
    Jamie xx
28. Ba Power
    Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
29. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…
    Kurt Vile
30. The Epic
    Kamasi Washington
31. Morning / Evening
    Four Tet
32. Universal Themes
    Sun Kil Moon
33. Fresh Blood
    Matthew E. White
34. FFS
    FFS
35. White Men Are Black Men Too
    Young Fathers
36. Poison Season
    Destroyer
37. Ones and Sixes
    Low
38. Nashville Obsolete
    Dave Rawlings Machine
39. Saturns Pattern
    Paul Weller
40. Shadows In The Night
    Bob Dylan
41. On Your Own Love Again
    Jessica Pratt
42. Let the Good Times Roll
    J.D. McPherson
43. Perpetual Motion People
    Ezra Furman
44. Short Movie
    Laura Marling
45. Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
    Panda Bear
46. The Longest River
    Olivia Chaney
47. Wildheart
    Miguel
48. The Waterfall
    My Morning Jacket
49. Music In Exile
    Songhoy Blues
50. Stuff Like That There
    Yo La Tengo
51. Algiers
    Algiers
52. In the Pink of Condition
    H. Hawkline
53. Hairless Toys
    Róisín Murphy
54. Israel Nash’s Silver Season
    Israel Nash
55. The Monsanto Years
    Neil Young & Promise of the Real
56. Fading Frontier
    Deerhunter
57. Honeymoon
    Lana Del Rey
58. Fuzz II
    Fuzz
59. From Here
    Stick in the Wheel
60. The Little Prayers Trilogy
    Chip Taylor
61. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
62. The Most Lamentable Tragedy
    Titus Andronicus
63. Sour Soul
    BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah
64. What the World Needs Now…
    Public Image Ltd.
65. Constant Bop
    Bop English
66. No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal
    The Apartments
67. Good Sad Happy Bad
    Micachu & The Shapes
68. Lost Time
    Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin
69. Strangers to Ourselves
    Modest Mouse
70. Man It Feels Like Space Again
    Pond
71. Hermits On Holiday
    Drinks
72. Pylon
    Killing Joke
73. Southland Mission
    Phil Cook
74. Crosseyed Heart
    Keith Richards
75. Loin Des Hommes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
    Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Sight & Sound Poll: Top 35 Films of 2015 (a poll of 168 critics, published by Sight & Sound Magazine)

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

1. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
4. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
5. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
7. 45 Years
   Andrew Haigh
8. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
8. Amy
   Asif Kapadia
8. Inherent Vice
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
8. It Follows
   David Robert Mitchell
13. Phoenix
    Christian Petzold
14. Girlhood
    Céline Sciamma
14. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
14. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
14. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
14. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
    Jafar Panahi
19. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
19. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
21. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas
21. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
21. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
21. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
21. My Golden Days
    Arnaud Desplechin
26. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
26. Blackhat
    Michael Mann
26. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
26. Evolution
    Lucile Hadzihalilovic
26. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
26. Heart of a Dog
    Laurie Anderson
26. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos
26. Right Now, Wrong Then
    Hong Sang-soo
26. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson
26. Sunset Song
    Terence Davies

Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Films of 2015

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

1. Mia Madre
   Nanni Moretti
2. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. In the Shadow of Women
   Philippe Garrel
4. The Smell of Us
   Larry Clark
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
6. Jauja
   Lisandro Alonso
7. Inherent Vice
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
9. The Summer of Sangaile
   Alanté Kavaïté
10. Journey to the Shore
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Q Magazine: Top 50 Albums Of 2015

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

1. Currents
   Tame Impala
2. Have You In My Wilderness
   Julia Holter
3. In Colour
   Jamie xx
4. The Magic Whip
   Blur
5. Music Complete
   New Order
6. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
7. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…
   Kurt Vile
8. Short Movie
   Laura Marling
9. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
10. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    Florence + The Machine
11. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
12. What Went Down
    Foals
13. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
14. Key Markets
    Sleaford Mods
15. Born Under Saturn
    Django Django
16. Wildheart
    Miguel
17. Chasing Yesterday
    Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
18. Morning / Evening
    Four Tet
19. Compton
    Dr. Dre
20. Get To Heaven
    Everything Everything
21. Sub-Lingual Tablet
    The Fall
22. Matador
    Gaz Coombes
23. Hinterland
    LoneLady
24. Universal Themes
    Sun Kil Moon
25. Saturns Pattern
    Paul Weller
26. Born in the Echoes
    The Chemical Brothers
27. Marks to Prove It
    The Maccabees
28. Every Open Eye
    Chvrches
29. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
    John Grant
30. Perpetual Motion People
    Ezra Furman
31. Wire
    Wire
32. Drones
    Muse
33. Natalie Prass
    Natalie Prass
34. FFS
    FFS
35. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
36. On Your Own Love Again
    Jessica Pratt
37. West Kirby County Primary
    Bill Ryder-Jones
38. Coming Home
    Leon Bridges
39. Hairless Toys
    Róisín Murphy
40. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
41. Star Wars
    Wilco
42. Are You Satisfied?
    Slaves
43. Communion
    Years & Years
44. My Love Is Cool
    Wolf Alice
45. The Day Is My Enemy
    The Prodigy
46. Danger in the Club
    Palma Violets
47. Y Dydd Olaf
    Gwenno
48. From Kinshasa
    Mbongwana Star
49. Highest Point in Cliff Town
    Hooton Tennis Club
50. Another One
    Mac DeMarco

American Songwriter: Top 50 Albums of 2015

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

1. Traveller
   Chris Stapleton
2. Sprinter
   TORRES
3. Something More Than Free
   Jason Isbell
4. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
5. Complicated Game
   James McMurtry
6. High on Tulsa Heat
   John Moreland
7. Star Wars
   Wilco
8. Faith In the Future
   Craig Finn
9. Natalie Prass
   Natalie Prass
10. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
11. To Pimp A Butterfly
    Kendrick Lamar
12. Every Open Eye
    Chvrches
13. Little Neon Limelight
    Houndmouth
14. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…
    Kurt Vile
15. Imaginary Man
    Rayland Baxter
16. Pageant Material
    Kacey Musgraves
17. All Your Favorite Bands
    Dawes
18. The Blade
    Ashley Monroe
19. Servant of Love
    Patty Griffin
20. Sermon on the Rocks
    Josh Ritter
21. Sound & Color
    Alabama Shakes
22. All These Dreams
    Andrew Combs
23. Nashville Obsolete
    Dave Rawlings Machine
24. The Most Lamentable Tragedy
    Titus Andronicus
25. Terraplane
    Steve Earle & The Dukes
26. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
27. The Deslondes
    The Deslondes
28. The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
    Beach Slang
29. All a Man Should Do
    Lucero
30. Coming Home
    Leon Bridges
31. Second Hand Heart
    Dwight Yoakam
32. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    Florence + The Machine
33. Untethered Moon
    Built to Spill
34. Fading Frontier
    Deerhunter
35. Honeymoon
    Lana Del Rey
36. On Your Own Love Again
    Jessica Pratt
37. The Traveling Kind
    Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
38. The Waterfall
    My Morning Jacket
39. For Use and Delight
    Promised Land Sound
40. Feels Like
    Bully
41. In The Blazes
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
42. 25
    Adele
43. Pacific Surf Line
    GospelbeacH
44. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
45. Wake
    Nora Jane Struthers
46. The Phosphorescent Blues
    Punch Brothers
47. The Trackless Woods
    Iris DeMent
48. Didn’t He Ramble
    Glen Hansard
49. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
50. Create Your Own Mythology
    Kristin Diable

Mojo Magazine: 50 Best Albums of 2015

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

1. Have You In My Wilderness
   Julia Holter
2. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
3. Music Complete
   New Order
4. Currents
   Tame Impala
5. Simple Songs
   Jim O’Rourke
6. West Kirby County Primary
   Bill Ryder-Jones
7. Music In Exile
   Songhoy Blues
8. From Kinshasa
   Mbongwana Star
9. Key Markets
   Sleaford Mods
10. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
11. Shadows In The Night
    Bob Dylan
12. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
    Courtney Barnett
13. Ones and Sixes
    Low
14. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
15. Nothing Important
    Richard Dawson
16. Black Messiah
    D’Angelo and The Vanguard
17. Highest Point in Cliff Town
    Hooton Tennis Club
18. The Magic Whip
    Blur
19. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
20. Allas sak
    Dungen
21. Still
    Richard Thompson
22. White Men Are Black Men Too
    Young Fathers
23. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
    John Grant
24. Matador
    Gaz Coombes
25. Saturns Pattern
    Paul Weller
26. Star Wars
    Wilco
27. Coming Home
    Leon Bridges
28. Fresh Blood
    Matthew E. White
29. I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album
    Earl Sweatshirt
30. Who Is The Sender?
    Bill Fay
31. Perpetual Motion People
    Ezra Furman
32. In Colour
    Jamie xx
33. Chasing Yesterday
    Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
34. Something More Than Free
    Jason Isbell
35. Anthems For Doomed Youth
    The Libertines
36. I Love You, Honeybear
    Father John Misty
37. For Use and Delight
    Promised Land Sound
38. Hinterland
    LoneLady
39. Crosseyed Heart
    Keith Richards
40. Sound & Color
    Alabama Shakes
41. The Epic
    Kamasi Washington
42. A Fool To Care
    Boz Scaggs
43. Uptown Special
    Mark Ronson
44. Primrose Green
    Ryley Walker
45. Beauty Behind the Madness
    The Weeknd
46. Goon
    Tobias Jesso Jr.
47. Fading Frontier
    Deerhunter
48. Rattle That Lock
    David Gilmour
49. Ibeyi
    Ibeyi
50. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…
    Kurt Vile

Kirkus Prize: Nonfiction 2015, awarded by Kirkus Reviews

[see also Fiction 2023 • Nonfiction 2023 • Nonfiction 2022 • Fiction 2022 • Nonfiction 2021 • Fiction 2021 • Nonfiction 2020 • Fiction 2020 • Nonfiction 2019 • Fiction 2019 • Nonfiction 2018 • Fiction 2018 • Nonfiction 2017 • Fiction 2017 • Nonfiction 2016 • Fiction 2016 • Fiction 2015 • Nonfiction 2014 • Fiction 2014]

Winner

• Between the World and Me
  Ta-Nehisi Coates

Finalists

• Whirlwind

  The American Revolution and the War That Won It
  John Ferling
• H Is for Hawk
  Helen Macdonald
• The Deluge

  The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931
  Adam Tooze
• Pacific

  Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
  Simon Winchester
• The Invention of Nature

  Alexander von Humboldt’s New World
  Andrea Wulf

Kirkus Prize: Fiction 2015, awarded by Kirkus Reviews

[see also Fiction 2023 • Nonfiction 2023 • Nonfiction 2022 • Fiction 2022 • Nonfiction 2021 • Fiction 2021 • Nonfiction 2020 • Fiction 2020 • Nonfiction 2019 • Fiction 2019 • Nonfiction 2018 • Fiction 2018 • Nonfiction 2017 • Fiction 2017 • Nonfiction 2016 • Fiction 2016 • Nonfiction 2015 • Nonfiction 2014 • Fiction 2014]

Winner

• A Little Life
  Hanya Yanagihara

Finalists

• The Incarnations
  Susan Barker
• A Manual for Cleaning Women

  Selected Stories
  Lucia Berlin
• Fates and Furies
  Lauren Groff
• The Story of My Teeth
  Valeria Luiselli
• The Book of Aron
  Jim Shepard

The Booker Prize: Best Fiction of 2015

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

Winner

• A Brief History of Seven Killings
  Marlon James

Shortlist

• Satin Island
  Tom McCarthy
• The Fishermen
  Chigozie Obioma
• The Year of the Runaways
  Sunjeev Sahota
• A Spool of Blue Thread
  Anne Tyler
• A Little Life
  Hanya Yanagihara

Longlist

• Did You Ever Have a Family
  Bill Clegg
• The Green Road
  Anne Enright
• The Moor's Account
  Laila Lalami
• The Illuminations
  Andrew O'Hagan
• Lila
  Marilynne Robinson
• Sleeping on Jupiter
  Anuradha Roy
• The Chimes
  Anna Smaill