Year-End Lists

James Poniewozik: 10 Best TV Shows of 2016, as published by The New York Times

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

• The Americans
• Atlanta
• BoJack Horseman
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• High Maintenance
• Horace and Pete
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• Rectify
• Transparent

Richard Brody: 35 Best Movies of 2016, as published by The New Yorker

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Little Sister
   Zach Clark
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Sully
   Clint Eastwood
4. Viktoria
   Maya Vitkova
5. Love & Friendship
   Whit Stillman
6. Men Go to Battle
   Zachary Treitz
7. Wiener-Dog
   Todd Solondz
8. Kate Plays Christine
   Robert Greene
9. Happy Hour
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. Knight of Cups
    Terrence Malick
11. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
12. Everybody Wants Some!!
    Richard Linklater
13. The Love Witch
    Anna Biller
14. Krisha
    Trey Edward Shults
15. Pete’s Dragon
    David Lowery
16. Mountains May Depart
    Jia Zhang-ke
17. For the Plasma
    Bingham Bryant and Kyle Molzan
18. 13th
    Ava DuVernay
19. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
20. No Home Movie
    Chantal Akerman
21. The Witness
    James D. Solomon
22. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt
23. Sunset Song
    Terence Davies
24. Dog Eat Dog
    Paul Schrader
25. The Treasure
    Corneliu Porumboiu
26. Tower
    Keith Maitland
27. Nuts!
    Penny Lane
28. Mia Madre
    Nanni Moretti
29. Southside with You
    Richard Tanne
30. Michael Moore in TrumpLand
    Michael Moore
31. The Birth of a Nation
    Nate Parker
32. Right Now, Wrong Then
    Hong Sang-soo
33. Embrace of the Serpent
    Ciro Guerra
34. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
35. Hidden Figures
    Theodore Melfi

David Edelstein: 20 Best Movies of 2016, as published by New York Magazine’s Vulture

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
2. Hell or High Water
   David Mackenzie
3. 20th Century Women
   Mike Mills
4. Krisha
   Trey Edward Shults
5. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
6. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
7. The Witness
   James D. Solomon
8. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
9. Tower
   Keith Maitland
10. Zero Days
    Alex Gibney
11. Loving
    Jeff Nichols
12. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
13. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
14. Don’t Think Twice
    Mike Birbiglia
15. The Fits
    Anna Rose Holmer
16. Little Men
    Ira Sachs

And let’s not forget

• Creative Control
  Benjamin Dickinson
• Indignation
  James Schamus
• Hacksaw Ridge
  Mel Gibson
• Weiner
  Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

Jim DeRogatis: Best Albums of 2016, as aired on Sound Opinions

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

1. Adore Life
   Savages
2. Love Yes
   TEEN
3. Mystère
   La Femme
4. Gymnastics
   Sneaks
5. Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic
   The Gotobeds
6. Babes Never Die
   Honeyblood
7. Blood Bitch
   Jenny Hval
8. American Band
   Drive-By Truckers
9. Unseen
   The Handsome Family
10. A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
    Beach Slang

Entertainment Weekly: 50 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Blackstar
   David Bowie
3. Anti
   Rihanna
4. 99.9%
   KAYTRANADA
5. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
   Sturgill Simpson
6. Puberty 2
   Mitski
7. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
8. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
9. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
10. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
11. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
12. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
13. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
14. Blond
    Frank Ocean
15. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
16. The Weight of These Wings
    Miranda Lambert
17. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
18. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
19. SVIIB
    School Of Seven Bells
20. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
21. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
22. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
23. Stranger to Stranger
    Paul Simon
24. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
25. Day Breaks
    Norah Jones
26. Matter
    St. Lucia
27. Dangerous Woman
    Ariana Grande
28. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
29. For All We Know
    NAO
30. Long Way Home
    Låpsley
31. Lady Wood
    Tove Lo
32. Schmilco
    Wilco
33. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
34. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
35. Ouroboros
    Ray LaMontagne
36. Jeffery
    Young Thug
37. Paradise
    White Lung
38. Black America Again
    Common
39. A Good Night in the Ghetto
    Kamaiyah
40. Human Ceremony
    Sunflower Bean
41. Tkay
    Tkay Maidza
42. Full Circle
    Loretta Lynn
43. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
44. Telefone
    Noname
45. I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
    Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
46. Shape Shift With Me
    Against Me!
47. Day of the Dead
    various artists
48. Talk To You Soon
    Ricky Eat Acid
49. Standards
    Into It. Over It.
50. RMX/RBN
    Robyn

Matt Zoller Seitz: 11 Best TV Shows of 2016, as published by New York Magazine’s Vulture

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

1. Atlanta
2. The Girlfriend Experience
3. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
3. O.J.: Made in America
4. BoJack Horseman
5. The Americans
6. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
7. Stranger Things
8. Rectify
9. Horace and Pete
10. Search Party

AllMusic: 48 Best Albums of 2016 (roughly alphabetical by artist)

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

• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest
• Citizen of Glass
  Agnes Obel
• Burn Something Beautiful
  Alejandro Escovedo
• Spirit
  Amos Lee
• Malibu
  Anderson .Paak
• Too Many Voices
  Andy Stott
• My Woman
  Angel Olsen
• Air
  Astronoid
• New City Blues
  Aubrie Sellers
• Lemonade
  Beyoncé
• Big Day in a Small Town
  Brandy Clark
• Teens of Denial
  Car Seat Headrest
• Changes
  Charles Bradley
• Atrocity Exhibition
  Danny Brown
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Beyond Now
  Donny McCaslin
• American Band
  Drive-By Truckers
• Emily’s D+Evolution
  Esperanza Spalding
• Post Pop Depression
  Iggy Pop
• Blood Bitch
  Jenny Hval
• Oh No
  Jessy Lanza
• Orphée
  Jóhann Jóhannsson
• EARS
  Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
• 99.9%
  KAYTRANADA
• Untitled Unmastered
  Kendrick Lamar
• We Are King
  KING
• Nonagon Infinity
  King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
• Nattesferd
  Kvelertak
• Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
  Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
• Canto América
  Michael Spiro, Wayne Wallace & La Orquestra Sinfonietta
• You Want It Darker
  Leonard Cohen
• Hero
  Maren Morris
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
  Margo Price
• The Weight of These Wings
  Miranda Lambert
• Puberty 2
  Mitski
• Skeleton Tree
  Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
• Deluxe
  Omni
• Stranger to Stranger
  Paul Simon
• A Moon Shaped Pool
  Radiohead
• Day to Day
  Sarathy Korwar
• Adore Life
  Savages
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
  Sturgill Simpson
• Love You to Death
  Tegan and Sara
• Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
  The Dear Hunter
• Blue & Lonesome
  The Rolling Stones
• Modern Country
  William Tyler
• Black Focus
  Yussef Kamaal

Eric Kohn: 16 Best Movies of 2016, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012]

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. Jackie
   Pablo Larraín
3. Weiner
   Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
4. Everybody Wants Some!!
   Richard Linklater
5. Creative Control
   Benjamin Dickinson
6. Cameraperson
   Kirsten Johnson
7. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
8. Swiss Army Man
   Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
9. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
10. Neruda
    Pablo Larraín
11. The Academy of Muses
    José Luis Guerín
12. The Fits
    Anna Rose Holmer
13. Uncle Kent 2
    Todd Rohal
14. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
15. The Witch
    Robert Eggers
16. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt

Mara Reinstein: Top 10 Movies of 2016, as published by Us Weekly

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

1. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
2. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
3. Arrival
   Denis Villeneuve
4. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
5. Patriots Day
   Peter Berg
6. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
7. Zootopia
   Byron Howard and Rich Moore
8. Hell or High Water
   David Mackenzie
9. Nocturnal Animals
   Tom Ford
10. Bad Moms
    Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

Rest of the Best

• Captain Fantastic
  Matt Ross
• Toni Erdmann
  Maren Ade
• Fences
  Denzel Washington
• The Nice Guys
  Shane Black
• 10 Cloverfield Lane
  Dan Trachtenberg
• Moana
  Ron Clements and John Musker
• Gleason
  Clay Tweel
• The Edge of Seventeen
  Kelly Fremon Craig
• Don’t Think Twice
  Mike Birbiglia
• Deadpool
  Tim Miller

Slant Magazine: 25 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. A Moon Shaped Pool
   Radiohead
2. The Life of Pablo
   Kanye West
3. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
4. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
5. Blackstar
   David Bowie
6. Blond
   Frank Ocean
7. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
8. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
9. You Want It Darker
   Leonard Cohen
10. Glory
    Britney Spears
11. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
12. The Ghosts of Highway 20
    Lucinda Williams
13. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
14. Strange Little Birds
    Garbage
15. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
16. Will
    Julianna Barwick
17. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
18. Lady Wood
    Tove Lo
19. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
20. American Tunes
    Allen Toussaint
21. Trágame Tierra
    Big Black Delta
22. This Is What the Truth Feels Like
    Gwen Stefani
23. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
24. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
25. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval