Year-End Lists

Sheila O’Malley: Top Ten Films of 2020, as published by RogerEbert.com

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

• Bacurau
  Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Beanpole
  Kantemir Balagov
• Collective
  Alexander Nanau
• Da 5 Bloods
  Spike Lee
• Minari
  Lee Isaac Chung
• The Nest
  Sean Durkin
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always
  Eliza Hittman
• Small Axe: Lovers Rock
  Steve McQueen
• Time
  Garrett Bradley
• The Vast of Night
  Andrew Patterson

This list contributes to:

• RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2020

David Morgan: The 10 Best Films of 2020, as posted by CBS News

[see also 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

1. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
2. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
4. 76 days
   Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
5. Beanpole
   Kantemir Balagov
6. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   George C. Wolfe
7. Wolfwalkers
   Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
8. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
9. Soul
   Pete Docter
10. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
    Steve McQueen

Special Mention

• Hamilton
  Thomas Kail

Hanif Abdurraqib: 93 Favorite Albums Of 2020, posted with links to good writing and a list of favorite EPs

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

1. The Passion Of
   Special Interest
2. Whatever, Man
   Blackstarkids
3. May Our Chambers Be Full
   Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
4. There's Only Being Yourself
   Radiant Children
5. Girlhood
   Girlhood
6. The Great Dismal
   Nothing
7. Forever, Ya Girl
   KeiyaA
8. Muthaland
   Bbymutha
9. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
10. Positions
    Ariana Grande
11. Morning Matters
    Yazmin Lacey
12. Who Are the Girls?
    Nova Twins
13. Ultra Mono
    Idles
14. El Dorado
    Marcus King
15. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
    Fiona Apple
16. Jaguar
    Victoria Monét
17. Lianne La Havas
    Lianne La Havas
18. Græ
    Moses Sumney
19. SOURCE
    Nubya Garcia
20. Untitled (Black Is)
    Sault
21. Giver Taker
    Anjimile
22. The Sharecropper's Daughter
    Sa-Roc
23. Live Forever
    Bartees Strange
24. What We Drew
    yaeji
25. What's Your Pleasure?
    Jessie Ware
26. Alphabetland
    X
27. Ungodly Hour
    Chloe x Halle
28. FlySiifu's
    Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin
29. Ideal Corners
    Candace
30. Do You Wonder About Me?
    Diet Cig
31. Mama, You Can Bet!
    Jyoti
32. City on Lock
    City Girls
33. Home for Now
    Babehoven
34. Tough Love
    Chief State
35. Mandala of Fear
    Huntsmen
36. Heavy Light
    U.S. Girls
37. Alfredo
    Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
38. Madison Tapes
    yaya bey
39. Jazz Is Dead 001
    Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad
40. Beyond Bulletproof
    Mozzy
41. Spider Tales
    Jake Blount
42. Life Works Out... Usually
    Demae
43. FREE I.H: This Is Not The One You've Been Waiting For
    illuminati hotties
44. Shrines
    Armand Hammer
45. I'm Your Empress Of
    Empress Of
46. Brave Faces Everyone
    Spanish Love Songs
47. Sad Girls Club
    Veda Black
48. Wunna
    Gunna
49. Moe Dert
    Moe Dirdee & Dert Beats
50. Sleepless
    Palm Reader
51. how I'm feeling now
    Charli XCX
52. I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone
    Wednesday
53. The World Is in Your Way
    Dragged Under
54. Ho, Why Is You Here?
    Flo Milli
55. Underneath
    Code Orange
56. Honey For Wounds
    Ego Ella May
57. Just Look At That Sky
    Ganser
58. Rocket to Nebula
    Killah Priest
59. Fantasize Your Ghost
    Finom
60. Good News
    Megan Thee Stallion
61. Gaslighter
    The Chicks
62. Eleventh Wind
    AKAI SOLO
63. Personalia
    Locate S,1
64. Pass Like Pollen
    Cartalk
65. Time Out
    Blaque Dynamite
66. Self Worth
    Mourn
67. Oakland Nights
    Kamaiyah & Capolow
68. Gentrifried Chicken
    The Muslims
69. Burden of Proof
    Benny the Butcher
70. Forgotten Days
    Pallbearer
71. songs
    Adrianne Lenker
72. Shamir
    Shamir
73. Jp4
    Junglepussy
74. KIND
    Thanya Iyer
75. The Caretaker
    Half Waif
76. Serpentine Prison
    Matt Berninger
77. Send Them to Coventry
    Pa Salieu
78. Expectations
    Katie Pruitt
79. Descendants of Cain
    Ka
80. All The Good Times Are Past & Gone
    Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
81. I Let It in and It Took Everything
    Loathe
82. Mordechai
    Khruangbin
83. Innocent Country 2
    Quelle Chris & Chris Keys
84. color theory
    Soccer Mommy
85. Stygian
    Atramentus
86. Thank You for Using GTL
    Drakeo the Ruler
87. Sawayama
    Rina Sawayama
88. The Price of Tea in China
    Boldy James & The Alchemist
89. Keep Everything Your Self
    Jerreau
90. Ballet Of Apes
    Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network
91. Every Bad
    Porridge Radio
92. Anime, Trauma and Divorce
    Open Mike Eagle
93. I Love You Say it Back
    Mungbean

Peter Travers: 10 Best Movies of 2020, as aired on ABC News’s Good Morning America

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

1. Da 5 Bloods
   Spike Lee
2. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
3. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
4. The Trial of the Chicago 7
   Aaron Sorkin
5. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
6. Mank
   David Fincher
7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
8. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
9. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   George C. Wolfe
10. Tenet
    Christopher Nolan

BookPage: Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction

[see also The Best Nonfiction of 2023 • The Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • Best Books of 2020: Fiction • Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 • Best Fiction Books of 2019]

1. Notes on a Silencing
   Lacy Crawford
2. Caste

   The Origins of Our Discontents
   Isabel Wilkerson
3. Fathoms

   The World in the Whale
   Rebecca Giggs
4. Memorial Drive

   A Daughter's Memoir
   Natasha Trethewey
5. The Dead Are Arising

   The Life of Malcolm X
   Les Payne and Tamara Payne
6. Hidden Valley Road

   Inside the Mind of an American Family
   Robert Kolker
7. Is Rape a Crime?

   A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto
   Michelle Bowdler
8. Conditional Citizens

   On Belonging in America
   Laila Lalami
9. Children of the Land
   Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
10. World of Wonders

    In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
    Aimee Nezhukumatathil
11. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

    A true (as told to me) story
    Bess Kalb
12. Vesper Flights
    Helen Macdonald
13. To Start a War

    How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq
    Robert Draper
14. Inferno

    A Memoir of Motherhood and Madness
    Catherine Cho
15. Wow, No Thank You.
    Samantha Irby
16. Just Us

    An American Conversation
    Claudia Rankine
17. Once I Was You

    A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America
    Maria Hinojosa
18. Wilmington's Lie

    The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy
    David Zucchino
19. Minor Feelings

    An Asian American Reckoning
    Cathy Park Hong
20. The Splendid and the Vile

    A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
    Erik Larson

BookPage: Best Books of 2020: Fiction

[see also The Best Nonfiction of 2023 • The Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction • Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 • Best Fiction Books of 2019]

1. The Vanishing Half
   Brit Bennett
2. Transcendent Kingdom
   Yaa Gyasi
3. Piranesi
   Susanna Clarke
4. Such a Fun Age
   Kiley Reid
5. The Glass Hotel
   Emily St. John Mandel
6. Afterlife
   Julia Alvarez
7. Hamnet
   Maggie O'Farrell
8. Memorial
   Bryan Washington
9. Deacon King Kong
   James McBride
10. The Mirror & the Light
    Hilary Mantel
11. Leave the World Behind
    Rumaan Alam
12. The Death of Vivek Oji
    Akwaeke Emezi
13. How Much of These Hills Is Gold
    C Pam Zhang
14. Monogamy
    Sue Miller
15. The Lying Life of Adults
    Elena Ferrante
16. Valentine
    Elizabeth Wetmore
17. Sisters
    Daisy Johnson
18. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau
    Michael Zapata
19. Code Name Hélène
    Ariel Lawhon
20. Happy and You Know It
    Laura Hankin

Jordan Cronk: The Top 30 Albums of 2020 as posted to Patreon

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Saint Cloud
   Waxahatchee
2. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
3. Microphones in 2020
   The Microphones
4. Marigold
   Pinegrove
5. Lament
   Touché Amoré
6. Women in Music Pt. III
   Haim
7. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
   Perfume Genius
8. Miss Anthropocene
   Grimes
9. Welcome to Conceptual Beach
   Young Jesus
10. Notes on a Conditional Form
    The 1975
11. Because of a Flower
    Ana Roxanne
12. What's Tonight To Eternity
    Cindy Lee
13. 7G
    A.G. Cook
13. Apple
    A.G. Cook
14. Every Bad
    Porridge Radio
15. Viewing
    Stay Inside
16. Lost in the Country
    Trace Mountains
17. Have We Met
    Destroyer
18. The Passion Of
    Special Interest
19. Youth Pastoral
    Ben Seretan
20. Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?
    The Soft Pink Truth
21. Inlet
    Hum
22. Both
    Bill Nace
23. Suddenly
    Caribou
24. Sign
    Autechre
24. Plus
    Autechre
25. We Will Always Love You
    The Avalanches
26. Workaround
    Beatrice Dillon
27. Peel
    KMRU
28. Empty Country
    Empty Country
29. Fountain
    Lyra Pramuk
30. Ultimate Success Today
    Protomartyr

Thrillist: The Best Books of 2020

[see also 2021]

• Abigail
  Magda Szabo
• Above Us the Milky Way
  Fowzia Karimi
• All My Mother's Lovers
  Ilana Masad
• And I Do Not Forgive You
  Amber Sparks
• The Anthill
  Julianne Pachico
• August
  Callan Wink
• The Big Book of Modern Fantasy
  Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
• The Black Cathedral
  Marcial Gala
• The Book of Eels

  Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World
  Patrik Svensson
• Breasts and Eggs
  Mieko Kawakami
• Cleanness
  Garth Greenwell
• Death in Her Hands
  Ottessa Moshfegh
• Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear
  Matthew Salesses
• Entangled Life

  How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
  Merlin Sheldrake
• Fangs
  Sarah Andersen
• Follow Me To Ground
  Sue Rainsford
• The Glass Hotel
  Emily St. John Mandel
• The Heap
  Sean Adams
• Hex
  Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
• How Much of These Hills Is Gold
  C Pam Zhang
• I Hold a Wolf by the Ears
  Laura van den Berg
• If I Had Your Face
  Frances Cha
• Interior Chinatown
  Charles Yu
• Jack
  Marilynne Robinson
• Leave the World Behind
  Rumaan Alam
• Little Eyes
  Samanta Schweblin
• Migrations
  Charlotte McConaghy
• Owls of the Eastern Ice

  A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl
  Jonathan C. Slaght
• A Peculiar Peril
  Jeff VanderMeer
• Pew
  Catherine Lacey
• Piranesi
  Susanna Clarke
• Real Life
  Brandon Taylor
• Red Dust
  Yoss
• A Registry of My Passage upon the Earth
  Daniel Mason
• Run Me to Earth
  Paul Yoon
• Temporary
  Hilary Leichter
• Then the Fish Swallowed Him
  Amir Ahmadi Arian
• The Town
  Shaun Prescott
• Tyll
  Daniel Kahneman
• The Unreality of Memory
  Elisa Gabbert
• Weather
  Jenny Offill
• We Ride Upon Sticks
  Quan Barry
• The Vanished Birds
  Simon Jimenez

Paste Magazine: The 50 Best Movies of 2020

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2015]

1. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
2. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
3. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
4. Soul
   Pete Docter
5. Martin Eden
   Pietro Marcello
6. Wolfwalkers
   Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
7. The Vast of Night
   Andrew Patterson
8. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
   Steve McQueen
9. His House
   Remi Weekes
10. Time
    Garrett Bradley
11. Palm Springs
    Max Barbakow
12. Bacurau
    Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
13. Emma.
    Autumn de Wilde
14. The Painter and the Thief
    Benjamin Ree
15. Possessor
    Brandon Cronenberg
16. Dick Johnson Is Dead
    Kirsten Johnson
17. Vitalina Varela
    Pedro Costa
18. Another Round
    Thomas Vinterberg
19. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
    Charlie Kaufman
20. The Assistant
    Kitty Green
21. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
    Eliza Hittman
22. David Byrne's American Utopia
    Spike Lee
23. The Wolf House
    Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña
24. The Nest
    Sean Durkin
25. Da 5 Bloods
    Spike Lee
26. Yes, God, Yes
    Karen Maine
27. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
    Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
28. One Night in Miami
    Regina King
29. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
30. Family Romance, LLC
    Werner Herzog
31. Tenet
    Christopher Nolan
32. The Wild Goose Lake
    Diao Yinan
33. The Whistlers
    Corneliu Porumboiu
34. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
    George C. Wolfe
35. Driveways
    Andrew Ahn
36. The History of the Seattle Mariners
    Jon Bois
37. She Dies Tomorrow
    Amy Seimetz
38. Koko-di Koko-da
    Johannes Nyholm
39. Sorry We Missed You
    Ken Loach
40. Premature
    Rashaad Ernesto Green
41. City Hall
    Frederick Wiseman
42. Freaky
    Christopher Landon
43. Small Axe: Mangrove
    Steve McQueen
44. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
    Richard Phelan and Will Becher
45. La Llorona
    Jayro Bustamante
46. Beanpole
    Kantemir Balagov
47. News of the World
    Paul Greengrass
48. On the Rocks
    Sofia Coppola
49. Zombi Child
    Bertrand Bonello
50. Banana Split
    Benjamin Kasulke

Harper’s Bazaar: The Best Books of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

• The Lying Life of Adults
  Elena Ferrante
• Rodham
  Curtis Sittenfeld
• Transcendent Kingdom
  Yaa Gyasi
• The Glass Hotel
  Emily St. John Mandel
• My Dark Vanessa
  Kate Elizabeth Russell
• The Death of Vivek Oji
  Akwaeke Emezi
• Real Life
  Brandon Taylor
• Wow, No Thank You.
  Samantha Irby
• Death in Her Hands
  Ottessa Moshfegh
• It's Not All Downhill From Here
  Terry McMillan
• The Vanishing Half
  Brit Bennett
• Hood Feminism

  Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
  Mikki Kendall
• Fairest
  Meredith Talusan
• Can't Even

  How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation
  Anne Helen Petersen
• The Resisters
  Gish Jen
• Drifts
  Kate Zambreno
• Chosen Ones
  Veronica Roth
• I Hold a Wolf by the Ears
  Laura van den Berg
• Just Like You
  Nick Hornby
• Perfect Tunes
  Emily Gould
• The Disaster Tourist
  Yun Ko-eun
• It Is Wood, It Is Stone
  Gabriella Burnham
• Empire of Wild
  Cherie Dimaline
• Lakewood
  Megan Giddings
• How Much of These Hills Is Gold
  C Pam Zhang
• These Women
  Ivy Pochoda
• Here for It

  Or, How to Save Your Soul in America
  R. Eric Thomas
• You Exist Too Much
  Zaina Arafat
• Luster
  Raven Leilani
• The Office of Historical Corrections
  Danielle Evans
• Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.
  Joyce Carol Oates
• Plain Bad Heroines
  Emily M. Danforth
• White Tears/Brown Scars

  How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color
  Ruby Hamad
• Sisters in Hate

  American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism
  Seyward Darby
• Memorial
  Bryan Washington
• Beach Read
  Emily Henry
• The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
  Elissa R. Sloan
• When No One Is Watching
  Alyssa Cole
• The Comeback
  Ella Berman
• The Talented Miss Farwell
  Emily Gray Tedrowe
• What Are You Going Through
  Sigrid Nunez
• Sleep Donation
  Karen Russell
• Nights When Nothing Happened
  Simon Han
• Dearly
  Margaret Atwood
• Daddy
  Emma Cline
• Untamed
  Glennon Doyle
• Caste

  The Origins of Our Discontents
  Isabel Wilkerson
• Cleanness
  Garth Greenwell
• Leave the World Behind
  Rumaan Alam
• Memorial Drive

  A Daughter's Memoir
  Natasha Trethewey
• White Ivy
  Susie Yang
• The Majesties
  Tiffany Tsao
• Ring Shout
  P. Djèlí Clark
• All Adults Here
  Emma Straub
• My Mother's House
  Francesca Momplaisir
• The Space Between Worlds
  Micaiah Johnson
• Like a Bird
  Fariha Róisín
• If I Had Your Face
  Frances Cha