Year-End Lists

Mara Reinstein: Top 10 Movies of 2015, as published by Us Weekly

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

1. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
2. Room
   Lenny Abrahamson
3. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
4. The Martian
   Ridley Scott
5. Joy
   David O. Russell
6. The Big Short
   Adam McKay
7. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
8. Straight Outta Compton
   F. Gary Gray
9. Ex Machina
   Alex Garland
10. Inside Out
    Pete Docter

The A.V. Club: 20 Best Films of 2015

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

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
3. It Follows
   David Robert Mitchell
4. The Duke of Burgundy
   Peter Strickland
5. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
6. Sicario
   Denis Villeneuve
7. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
8. Carol
   Todd Haynes
9. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
10. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
11. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
12. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
13. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
14. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
15. Crimson Peak
    Guillermo del Toro
16. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
17. Approaching the Elephant
    Amanda Wilder
18. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
19. Mustang
    Deniz Gamze Ergüven
20. James White
    Josh Mond

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• A.V. Club: A.A. Dowd: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Adam Nayman: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Ignatiy Vishnevetsky: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Jesse Hassenger: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Katie Rife: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Mike D’Angelo: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Nick Schager: The Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: Noel Murray: The Best Films of 2015

The A.V. Club: 20 Favorite Books of 2015

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017]

• Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl
  Carrie Brownstein
• So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
  Jon Ronson
• Modern Romance
  Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
• Notorious RBG
  Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
• Between the World and Me
  Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The First Bad Man
  Miranda July
• The Rabbit Back Literature Society
  Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
• The Girl On The Train
  Paula Hawkins
• Made To Kill
  Adam Christopher
• Yes!
  Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello
• West Of Sunset
  Stewart O’Nan
• Sick In The Head
  Judd Apatow
• Collected Fiction
  Leena Krohn
• The Children’s Crusade
  Ann Packer
• The Folded Clock

  A Diary
  Heidi Julavits
• 1965

  The Most Revolutionary Year In Music
  Andrew Grant Jackson
• A Head Full Of Ghosts
  Paul Tremblay
• The Good, The Bad, And The Furry
  Tom Cox
• Love And Lies

  An Essay On Truthfulness, Deceit, And The Growth And Care Of Erotic Love
  Clancy Martin
• The Wright Brothers
  David McCullough

Jake Coyle: Top 10 Movies of 2015, as published by Associated Press

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

1. Carol
   Todd Haynes
2. About Elly
   Asghar Farhadi
3. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
4. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
5. Chi-Raq
   Spike Lee
5. 99 Homes
   Ramin Bahrani
6. Stray Dogs
   Tsai Ming-liang
7. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
8. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
   JJ Abrams
9. 45 Years
   Andrew Haigh
10. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
10. Testament of Youth
    James Kent

Honorable mentions

• Heart of a Dog
  Laurie Anderson
• Bridge of Spies
  Steven Spielberg
• ’71
  Yann Demange
• Mad Max: Fury Road
  George Miller
• Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
  David Zellner
• Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
  Alex Gibney
• Inside Out
  Pete Docter
• It Follows
  David Robert Mitchell
• The Salt of the Earth
  Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado

Lindsey Bahr: Top 10 Movies of 2015, as published by Associated Press

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

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
3. Ex Machina
   Alex Garland
4. Tangerine
   Sean Baker
5. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
   David Zellner
6. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
7. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
   Marielle Heller
8. Carol
   Todd Haynes
9. The Big Short
   Adam McKay
10. Spy
    Paul Feig

Honorable Mentions

• The Hateful Eight
  Quentin Tarantino
• Steve Jobs
  Danny Boyle
• Spotlight
  Tom McCarthy
• The Mend
  John Magary
• Love & Mercy
  Bill Pohlad
• Sicario
  Denis Villeneuve
• I’ll See You in My Dreams
  Brett Haley
• 45 Years
  Andrew Haigh

Matt Singer: The Best Movies of 2015, as published by ScreenCrush

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

1. Carol
   Todd Haynes
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
3. Beasts of No Nation
   Cary Joji Fukunaga
4. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
5. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
6. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
7. Victoria
   Sebastian Schipper
8. It Follows
   David Robert Mitchell
9. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
10. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

• Creed
  Ryan Coogler
• The Danish Girl
  Tom Hooper
• The Duke of Burgundy
  Peter Strickland
• Ex Machina
  Alex Garland
• Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
  Alex Gibney
• Phoenix
  Christian Petzold
• The Revenant
  Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Room
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Son of Saul
  László Nemes
• Tangerine
  Sean Baker

Miriam Bale: Top 10 Films of 2015, as submitted to Village Voice Film Poll

[see also 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Carol
   Todd Haynes
2. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
3. Heaven Knows What
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
4. Bitch Better Have My Money
   Rihanna and Megaforce
5. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
6. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
7. Eden
   Mia Hansen-Løve
8. The Wonders
   Alice Rohrwacher
9. By the Sea
   Angelina Jolie
10. A Thousand Suns
    Mati Diop

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015

The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books of 2015, as published by The New York Times

[see also The 10 Best Books of 2023 • 100 Notable Books of 2023 • The 10 Best Books of 2022 • 100 Notable Books of 2022 • The 10 Best Books of 2021 • 100 Notable Books of 2021 • The 10 Best Books of 2020 • 100 Notable Books of 2020 • 100 Notable Books of 2019 • The 10 Best Books of 2019 • 10 Best Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2017 • 10 Best Books of 2017 • 10 Best Books of 2016 • The 10 Best Books of 2014 • The 10 Best Books of 2013 • 100 Notable Books of 2012 • 10 Best Books of 2012 • 100 Notable Books of 2011 • Ten Best Books of 2011]

Fiction

• The Door
  Magda Szabo
• A Manual for Cleaning Women

  Selected Stories
  Lucia Berlin
• Outline
  Rachel Cusk
• The Sellout
  Paul Beatty
• The Story of the Lost Child
  Elena Ferrante

Nonfiction

• Between the World and Me
  Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Empire of Cotton

  A Global History
  Sven Beckert
• H Is for Hawk
  Helen Macdonald
• The Invention of Nature

  Alexander von Humboldt’s New World
  Andrea Wulf
• One of Us

  The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway
  Asne Seierstad

Powell's Books: Best Nonfiction Books of 2015

[see also Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction of 2016 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014 • Best Nonfiction of 2014]

• All the Things We Never Knew

  Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness
  Sheila Hamilton
• Underground in Berlin

  A Young Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of Nazi Germany
  Marie Jalowicz Simon
• The Edge of the World

  A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe
  Michael Pye
• Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl
  Carrie Brownstein
• Street Poison

  The Biography of Iceberg Slim
  Justin Gifford
• The Oregon Trail

  A New American Journey
  Rinker Buck
• Spinster

  Making a Life of One's Own
  Kate Bolick
• Dead Wake

  The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
  Erik Larson

Carl Wilson: Top 25 Albums of 2015, in alphabetical order by artist, published by Slate in their 2015 edition of The Music Club

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

• Africa Express Presents… Terry Riley’s In C Mali
  Africa Express & Andre de Ridder
• Mutant
  Arca
• AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP
  A$AP Rocky
• Vulnicura
  Björk
• Skullsplitter
  Eric Chenaux
• The Trackless Woods
  Iris DeMent
• Poison Season
  Destroyer
• Surf
  Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
• new alhambra
  elvis depressedly
• Pickpocket's Locket
  Frog Eyes
• Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Original Broadway Cast
• Apocalypse, Girl
  Jenny Hval
• E•MO•TION
  Carly Rae Jepsen
• The Other Side of Desire
  Rickie Lee Jones
• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Escape From Evil
  Lower Dens
• Start Here
  Maddie & Tae
• Of
  Scott Merritt
• Divers
  Joanna Newsom
• Sleep
  Max Richter
• Power in the Blood
  Buffy Sainte-Marie
• Zamknęły się oczy ziemi
  Stara Rzeka
• Sprinter
  TORRES
• Ivy Tripp
  Waxahatchee
• White Men Are Black Men Too
  Young Fathers