Year-End Lists

Richard Lawson: The 10 Best Movies of 2016, as published by Vanity Fair

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. The Meddler
   Lorene Scafaria
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Fire at Sea
   Gianfranco Rosi
4. Things to Come
   Mia Hansen-Løve
5. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
6. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
7. Jackie
   Pablo Larraín
8. The Edge of Seventeen
   Kelly Fremon Craig
9. Mountains May Depart
   Jia Zhang-ke
10. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos

The Center for Fiction: 2016 First Novel Prize

[see also 2015]

Winner

• The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter
  Kia Corthron

Shortlist

• The Girls
  Emma Cline
• Here Comes the Sun
  Nicole Dennis-Benn
• Homegoing
  Yaa Gyasi
• How I Became a North Korean
  Krys Lee
• We Love You, Charlie Freeman
  Kaitlyn Greenidge
• What Belongs to You
  Garth Greenwell

Longlist

• The Alaskan Laundry
  Brendan Jones
• All Joe Knight
  Kevin Morris
• Another Place You've Never Been
  Rebecca Kauffman
• As Close to Us as Breathing
  Elizabeth Poliner
• Dodgers
  Bill Beverly
• Girl Through Glass
  Sari Wilson
• Hurt People
  Cote Smith
• The Lightkeepers
  Abby Geni
• The Longest Night
  Andria Williams
• The Mirror Thief
  Martin Seay
• The Regional Office is Under Attack!
  Manuel Gonzales
• Shelter
  Jung Yun
• Stork Mountain
  Miroslav Penkov
• Sweetgirl
  Travis Mulhauser
• Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings
  Stephen O'Connor
• Tuesday Nights in 1980
  Molly Prentiss
• Work Like Any Other
  Virginia Reeves
• Wreck and Order
  Hannah Tennant-Moore

Matt Singer: The Best Movies of 2016, as published by ScreenCrush

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
2. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
3. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
4. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
5. Sing Street
   John Carney
6. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
7. Krisha
   Trey Edward Shults
8. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
9. Demon
   Marcin Wrona
10. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen

Honorable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)

• 20th Century Women
  Mike Mills
• Arrival
  Denis Villeneuve
• The Boy and the Beast
  Mamoru Hosoda
• Everybody Wants Some!!
  Richard Linklater
• Fences
  Denzel Washington
• Green Room
  Jeremy Saulnier
• Hell or High Water
  David Mackenzie
• Paterson
  Jim Jarmusch
• Star Trek Beyond
  Justin Lin
• The Witch
  Robert Eggers

This year’s installment of David Ehrlich’s always enjoyable video countdown: 25 Best Films of 2016.

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

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. Sunset Song
   Terence Davies
3. Jackie
   Pablo Larraín
4. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
5. A Bigger Splash
   Luca Guadagnino
6. Kubo and the Two Strings
   Travis Knight
7. The Fits
   Anna Rose Holmer
8. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
9. The Lobster
   Yorgos Lanthimos
10. The Love Witch
    Anna Biller
11. The Handmaiden
    Park Chan-wook
12. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
13. Indignation
    James Schamus
14. American Honey
    Andrea Arnold
15. The Witch
    Robert Eggers
16. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
17. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
18. Swiss Army Man
    Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
19. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
20. Always Shine
    Sophia Takal
21. Things to Come
    Mia Hansen-Løve
22. Kate Plays Christine
    Robert Greene
23. Lemonade
    Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Kahlil Joseph with Jonas Åkerlund, Melina Matsoukas, Dikayl Rimmasch, Mark Romanek and Tod Tourso
24. High-Rise
    Ben Wheatley
25. Weiner
    Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

B. Ruby Rich: Best Films of 2016, as submitted to the IndieWire Poll

[see also 2019]

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. I Am Not Your Negro
   Raoul Peck
3. Certain Women
   Kelly Reichardt
4. Spa Night
   Andrew Ahn
5. Paterson
   Jim Jarmusch
6. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
7. Neon Bull
   Gabriel Mascaro
8. The Fits
   Anna Rose Holmer
9. Julieta
   Pedro Almodóvar
10. Jackie
    Pablo Larraín

NPR Music: Best 50 Albums of 2016

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

1. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
6. H. Abrahamsen: Let Me Tell You
   Barbara Hannigan, Andris Nelsons & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
7. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
8. Teens of Denial
   Car Seat Headrest
9. The Weight of These Wings
   Miranda Lambert
10. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
11. Black Terry Cat
    Xenia Rubinos
12. Anti
    Rihanna
13. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
14. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
15. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
16. Lola
    Carrie Rodriguez
17. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
18. The Dreaming Room
    Laura Mvula
19. David T. Little: Dog Days
    James Bobick, Marnie Breckenridge, Cherry Duke, John Kelly, Michael Marcotte, Newspeak, Alan Pierson, Peter Tantsits & Lauren Worsham
20. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. Telefone
    Noname
23. Habib Galbi
    A-Wa
24. Jeffery
    Young Thug
25. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
26. Arbina
    Noura Mint Seymali
27. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
28. Emily’s D+Evolution
    Esperanza Spalding
29. Puberty 2
    Mitski
30. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
31. Masterpiece
    Big Thief
32. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
33. Shift
    Logan Richardson
34. The Bird & the Rifle
    Lori McKenna
35. Chopin: Mazurkas
    Pavel Kolesnikov
36. Hero
    Maren Morris
37. Sound of Red
    René Marie
38. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
39. Charlene
    Tweet
40. Silver Tears
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
41. Darraje
    Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy
42. Pure Disgust
    Pure Disgust
43. The Very Last Day
    Parker Millsap
44. Christopher Rouse: Odna Zhizn, Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 and Prospero’s Rooms
    New York Philharmonic & Alan Gilbert
45. Kiid
    Mal Devisa
46. Fallen
    Steven Julien
47. Ojos Del Sol
    Y La Bamba
48. Genesis
    Domo Genesis
49. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
50. Harlem on My Mind
    Catherine Russell

Kitty Empire: Top 10 Albums of 2016, as published by The Observer

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

• You Want It Darker
  Leonard Cohen
• Lemonade
  Beyoncé
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
  Margo Price
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Chaleur Humaine
  Christine and the Queens
• Not to Disappear
  Daughter
• Couch Baby
  Jamie Isaac
• 25 25
  Factory Floor
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest

Mark Kermode: Best Films of 2016, as published by The Observer

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

• Under the Shadow
  Babak Anvari
• Notes on Blindness
  Peter Middleton and James Spinney
• Embrace of the Serpent
  Ciro Guerra
• Son of Saul
  László Nemes
• 13th
  Ava DuVernay
• Room
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Julieta
  Pedro Almodóvar
• I, Daniel Blake
  Ken Loach
• Your Name
  Makoto Shinkai
• A United Kingdom
  Amma Asante
• Things to Come
  Mia Hansen-Løve

Consequence: Top 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
6. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
9. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
10. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
11. Puberty 2
    Mitski
12. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
13. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
14. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
15. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
16. Schmilco
    Wilco
17. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
18. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
19. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
20. Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
    Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
21. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
22. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
23. One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache
    The Body & Full of Hell
24. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
25. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
26. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
27. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
28. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
29. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
30. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
31. Metal Resistance
    BABYMETAL
32. The Wilderness
    Explosions in the Sky
33. Magma
    Gojira
34. Rot Forever
    Sioux Falls
35. Standards
    Into It. Over It.
36. Telefone
    Noname
37. Potential
    The Range
38. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
39. Adore Life
    Savages
40. Gore
    Deftones
41. When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired
    Mothers
42. Islah
    Kevin Gates
43. Goodness
    The Hotelier
44. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
45. Jeffery
    Young Thug
46. Blisters In the Pit of My Heart
    Martha
47. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
48. Paradise
    White Lung
49. Weaves
    Weaves
50. Post Pop Depression
    Iggy Pop

Time Out London: 25 Best Films of 2016

[see also 2021 • 2018 • 2015]

1. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
2. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
3. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
4. Mustang
   Deniz Gamze Ergüven
5. I, Daniel Blake
   Ken Loach
6. The Nice Guys
   Shane Black
7. Embrace of the Serpent
   Ciro Guerra
8. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
9. A Bigger Splash
   Luca Guadagnino
10. Love & Friendship
    Whit Stillman
11. Driving with Selvi
    Elisa Paloschi
12. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
13. Julieta
    Pedro Almodóvar
14. High-Rise
    Ben Wheatley
15. Fire at Sea
    Gianfranco Rosi
16. Bone Tomahawk
    S. Craig Zahler
17. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    David Yates
18. The Pearl Button
    Patricio Guzmán
19. Under the Shadow
    Babak Anvari
20. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
21. Our Little Sister
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
22. Tale of Tales
    Matteo Garrone
23. Captain America: Civil War
    Anthony and Joe Russo
24. Queen of Katwe
    Mira Nair
25. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson