Year-End Lists

The New York Times: The Best New Podcasts of 2020

• Wind of Change
• Into the Zone
• Floodlines
• Passenger List
• Appearances
• Octavia's Parables
• Goodbye to All This
• My Year in Mensa

XXL: Best Hip-Hop Projects of 2020

[see also 2019]

• My Turn (Deluxe)
  Lil Baby
• Ho, Why Is You Here?
  Flo Milli
• Burden of Proof
  Benny the Butcher
• Legends Never Die
  Juice WRLD
• The Imperfect Storm
  Wale
• City on Lock
  City Girls
• Blame It on Baby
  DaBaby
• Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
  Pop Smoke
• Featuring Ty Dolla Sign
  Ty Dolla $ign
• Pegasus
  Trippie Redd
• The Goat
  Polo G
• Queen of Da Souf
  Mulatto
• Eternal Atake
  Lil Uzi Vert
• Music to Be Murdered By
  Eminem
• Trapped on Cleveland 3
  Lil Keed
• So Help Me God!
  2 Chainz
• Alfredo
  Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
• Circles
  Mac Miller
• Everything is Beautiful
  Princess Nokia
• Everything Sucks
  Princess Nokia
• RTJ4
  Run the Jewels
• Just Cause Y'all Waited 2
  Lil Durk
• Dark Lane Demo Tapes
  Drake
• Pray for Paris
  Westside Gunn
• Funeral
  Lil Wayne
• Yellow Tape
  Key Glock
• Pray 4 Love
  Rod Wave
• Descendants of Cain
  Ka
• Wunna
  Gunna
• Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn)
  Jay Electronica
• PTSD
  G Herbo
• Artist 2.0
  A Boogie wit da Hoodie
• Long Live The Kings
  Calboy
• The Price of Tea in China
  Boldy James & The Alchemist
• The Allegory
  Royce da 5'9"
• Industry Games
  Chika
• Lil Boat 3
  Lil Yachty
• High Off Life
  Future
• Spilligion
  Spillage Village
• Good News
  Megan Thee Stallion
• Savage Mode II
  21 Savage & Metro Boomin
• Detroit 2
  Big Sean
• Limbo
  Aminé
• Rich Slave
  Young Dolph
• Nightmare Vacation
  Rico Nasty
• Top Shotta
  NLE Choppa
• Top
  YoungBoy Never Broke Again
• King's Disease
  Nas
• From King to a God
  Conway the Machine
• SuperGood
  Duckwrth
• Jackboy
  Jackboy

Albumism: The 100 Best Albums of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Róisín Machine
   Róisín Murphy
2. Lianne La Havas
   Lianne La Havas
3. Untitled (Black Is)
   Sault
4. What's Your Pleasure?
   Jessie Ware
5. Folklore
   Taylor Swift
6. Untitled (Rise)
   Sault
7. DISCO
   Kylie Minogue
8. Hotspot
   Pet Shop Boys
9. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
10. The Universal Want
    Doves
11. Future Nostalgia
    Dua Lipa
12. B7
    Brandy
13. Punisher
    Phoebe Bridgers
14. All Blessed
    Faithless
15. Such Pretty Forks in the Road
    Alanis Morissette
16. RTJ4
    Run the Jewels
17. Silver Landings
    Mandy Moore
18. Græ
    Moses Sumney
19. color theory
    Soccer Mommy
20. Notes on a Conditional Form
    The 1975
21. Love is an Art
    Vanessa Carlton
22. Don't Look Too Close
    Natalie Schlabs
23. Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able
    Black Thought
24. Honey For Wounds
    Ego Ella May
25. Old Time Feeling
    S.G. Goodman
26. Djesse Vol. 3
    Jacob Collier
27. Truth or Consequences
    Yumi Zouma
28. Fun City
    Bright Light Bright Light
29. Seeking Thrils
    Georgia
30. Making a Door Less Open
    Car Seat Headrest
31. Boombox Eternal
    Sam Sparro
32. Album No. 8
    Katie Melua
33. Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God
    Busta Rhymes
34. Circles
    Mac Miller
35. In Waves
    The Dirty Clergy
36. Dedicated Side B
    Carly Rae Jepsen
37. Country Westerns
    Country Westerns
38. Together
    The Vapors
39. Song for Our Daughter
    Laura Marling
40. Black Country Disco
    Tom Aspaul
41. Listen
    Kyshona
42. to feel love/d
    Luke James
43. Myopia
    Agnes Obel
44. Through Water
    Låpsley
45. A Written Testimony
    Jay Electronica
46. Apart
    Léon
47. Melanie C
    Melanie C
48. What Kinda Music
    Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes
49. Storm Damage
    Ben Watt
50. Superstar
    Caroline Rose
51. Chromatica
    Lady Gaga
52. Blue Hearts
    Bob Mould
53. All the Space That There Is
    The Adobe Collective
54. Brazil305
    Gloria Estefan
55. Die Midwestern
    Arlo Mckinley
56. New Me, Same Us
    Little Dragon
57. HIGHTIDE
    Leven Kali
58. Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In​-​Between
    Man Man
59. Rough and Rowdy Ways
    Bob Dylan
60. Ignatius
    Jadakiss
61. Shine
    the Danberrys
62. What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?
    Public Enemy
63. Heartbreaker Please
    Teddy Thompson
64. How I'm Feeling
    Lauv
65. The Women Who Raised Me
    Kandace Springs
66. XOXO
    The Jayhawks
67. Pick Me Up Off the Floor
    Norah Jones
68. King's Disease
    Nas
69. A Simple Trick to Happiness
    Lisa Loeb
70. Shore
    Fleet Foxes
71. Saint Cloud
    Waxahatchee
72. The Slow Rush
    Tame Impala
73. Old Flowers
    Courtney Marie Andrews
74. SOURCE
    Nubya Garcia
75. A Hero's Death
    Fontaines D.C.
76. Anime, Trauma and Divorce
    Open Mike Eagle
77. After Hours
    The Weeknd
78. Reunions
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
79. Shamir
    Shamir
80. American Head
    The Flaming Lips
81. Good Souls Better Angels
    Lucinda Williams
82. Alicia
    Alicia Keys
83. Imploding the Mirage
    The Killers
84. Gaslighter
    The Chicks
85. The New Abnormal
    The Strokes
86. Suddenly
    Caribou
87. Television's Golden Age
    P.J. O'Connor
88. Dark Hearts
    Annie
89. Unfollow the Rules
    Rufus Wainwright
90. A Beautiful Revolution (Pt 1)
    Common
91. Kitchen Sink
    Nadine Shah
92. The Sharecropper's Daughter
    Sa-Roc
93. Only Child
    Sasha Sloan
94. Gigaton
    Pearl Jam
95. Warnings
    I Break Horses
96. Shelby Lynne
    Shelby Lynne
97. Things We Do For Love
    The Sounds
98. Dinner Party
    Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder
99. Loud Is Not Enough
    Enemy Radio
100. Energy
     Disclosure

Sight & Sound Magazine: The Best Television Series of 2020, the results of the Sight & Sound TV Poll

[see also 2021 • 2019]

1. I May Destroy You
2. Normal People
3. The Queen's Gambit
4. Devs
5. I Hate Suzie
6. Ozark
7. Des
8. The Plot Against America
9. Quiz
10. Unorthodox
11. Mrs. America
12. Lovecraft Country
13. Little Fires Everywhere
14. Better Call Saul
15. Adult Material
16. The Salisbury Poisonings
17. The Beach
18. Staged
19. The Outsider
20. Isolation Stories

Refinery29: Best Books of 2020

1. Memorial
   Bryan Washington
2. Transcendent Kingdom
   Yaa Gyasi
3. Leave the World Behind
   Rumaan Alam
4. Homeland Elegies
   Ayad Akhtar
5. Likes
   Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
6. The Vanishing Half
   Brit Bennett
7. A Burning
   Megha Majumdar
8. Parakeet
   Marie-Helene Bertino
9. Deacon King Kong
   James McBride
10. You Exist Too Much
    Zaina Arafat
11. Temporary
    Hilary Leichter
12. Pizza Girl
    Jean Kyoung Frazier
13. Perfect Tunes
    Emily Gould
14. The Lightness
    Emily Temple
15. Drifts
    Kate Zambreno
16. How Much of These Hills Is Gold
    C Pam Zhang
17. Heaven
    Emerson Whitney
18. Alice Knott
    Blake Butler
19. Want
    Lynn Steger Strong
20. Memorial Drive

    A Daughter's Memoir
    Natasha Trethewey
21. True Love
    Sarah Gerard
22. Little Gods
    Meng Jin
23. The Knockout Queen
    Rufi Thorpe
24. Little Eyes
    Samanta Schweblin
25. Pew
    Catherine Lacey
26. A Children's Bible
    Lydia Millet
27. Weather
    Jenny Offill
28. Luster
    Raven Leilani
29. Uncanny Valley
    Anna Wiener
30. The Disaster Tourist
    Yun Ko-eun
31. What Happens at Night
    Peter Cameron
32. Wow, No Thank You.
    Samantha Irby
33. Homie
    Danez Smith
34. If I Had Your Face
    Frances Cha
35. The New Wilderness
    Diane Cook
36. Topics of Conversation
    Miranda Popkey
37. My Baby First Birthday
    Jenny Zhang
38. The Office of Historical Corrections
    Danielle Evans
39. Thresholes
    Lara Mimosa Montes
40. Cleanness
    Garth Greenwell
41. Writers & Lovers
    Lily King
42. Days of Distraction
    Alexandra Chang
43. Real Life
    Brandon Taylor
44. Such a Fun Age
    Kiley Reid
45. The Mercies
    Kirin Millwood Hargrave
46. Piranesi
    Susanna Clarke
47. Interior Chinatown
    Charles Yu
48. Rest and Be Thankful
    Emma Glass
49. We Keep the Dead Close

    A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
    Becky Cooper
50. Death in Her Hands
    Ottessa Moshfegh

The Boston Globe: Best Poetry of 2020

[see also 2021]

• Be Holding
  Ross Gay
• (Dis)placement
  Esteban Rodriguez
• Ensō
  Shin Yu Pai
• Guillotine
  Eduardo C. Corral
• I Was Waiting to See What You Would Do First
  Angie Mazakis
• Love Child's Hotbed of Occasional Poetry

  Poems & Artifacts
  Nikky Finney
• The More Extravagant Feast
  Leah Naomi Green
• Obit
  Victoria Chang
• Rift Zone
  Tess Taylor
• Savage Pageant
  Jessica Q. Stark
• Thrown in the Throat
  Benjamin Garcia
• The Tilt Torn Away from the Seasons
  Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers

The Boston Globe: Best Books of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2021]

Fiction

• The Awkward Black Man
  Walter Mosley
• The Cold Millions
  Jess Walter
• Deacon King Kong
  James McBride
• The Death of Vivek Oji
  Akwaeke Emezi
• Leave the World Behind
  Rumaan Alam
• Luster
  Raven Leilani
• Memorial
  Bryan Washington
• The Office of Historical Corrections
  Danielle Evans
• Sharks in the Time of Saviors
  Kawai Strong Washburn
• The Vanishing Half
  Brit Bennett

Nonfiction

• Caste

  The Origins of Our Discontents
  Isabel Wilkerson
• Having and Being Had
  Eula Biss
• Hidden Valley Road

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

  A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto
  Michelle Bowdler
• Just Us

  An American Conversation
  Claudia Rankine
• Memorial Drive

  A Daughter's Memoir
  Natasha Trethewey
• Minor Feelings

  An Asian American Reckoning
  Cathy Park Hong
• Uncanny Valley
  Anna Wiener
• Unworthy Republic

  The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
  Claudio Saunt
• Wilmington's Lie

  The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy
  David Zucchino
• Wintering

  The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
  Katherine May

Sean Burns: The 10 Best Films from 2020, as published by WBUR’s The ARTery

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

• Bacurau
  Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Collective
  Alexander Nanau
• First Cow
  Kelly Reichardt
• Beanpole
  Kantemir Balagov
• City Hall
  Frederick Wiseman
• Small Axe: Lovers Rock
  Steve McQueen
• I'm Thinking of Ending Things
  Charlie Kaufman
• Vitalina Varela
  Pedro Costa
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always
  Eliza Hittman
• David Byrne's American Utopia
  Spike Lee

Honorable Mentions

• Another Round
  Thomas Vinterberg
• Da 5 Bloods
  Spike Lee
• Lingua Franca
  Isabel Sandoval
• On the Rocks
  Sofia Coppola
• The Painted Bird
  Václav Marhoul

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2020

Little White Lies: The 30 Best Films of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012]

1. Small Axe
   Steve McQueen
2. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
3. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
4. Promising Young Woman
   Emerald Fennell
5. About Endlessness
   Roy Andersson
6. Shirley
   Josephine Decker
7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
   Eliza Hittman
8. Time
   Garrett Bradley
9. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
   Charlie Kaufman
10. Rocks
    Sarah Gavron
11. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
12. Mank
    David Fincher
13. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
14. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
    Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
15. The Assistant
    Kitty Green
16. Babyteeth
    Shannon Murphy
17. Martin Eden
    Pietro Marcello
18. Dick Johnson Is Dead
    Kirsten Johnson
19. Liberty
    Albert Serra
20. Birds of Prey
    Cathy Yan
21. Bad Education
    Cory Finley
22. Bacurau
    Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
23. David Byrne's American Utopia
    Spike Lee
24. His House
    Remi Weekes
25. Isadora's Children
    Damien Manivel
26. Wolfwalkers
    Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
27. Mogul Mowgli
    Bassam Tariq
28. Da 5 Bloods
    Spike Lee
29. And Then We Danced
    Levan Akin
30. She Dies Tomorrow
    Amy Seimetz

Matt Singer: The Best Movies of 2020, as published by ScreenCrush

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Da 5 Bloods
   Spike Lee
2. David Byrne's American Utopia
   Spike Lee
3. Soul
   Pete Docter
4. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
5. Nomadland
   Chloé Zhao
6. The Invisible Man
   Leigh Whannell
7. First Cow
   Kelly Reichardt
8. Collective
   Alexander Nanau
9. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
10. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
    Steve McQueen

Honorable Mentions (In Order of Preference)

• Another Round
  Thomas Vinterberg
• Dick Johnson Is Dead
  Kirsten Johnson
• The Trip to Greece
  Michael Winterbottom
• The Assistant
  Kitty Green
• Crazy World
  Nabwana I.G.G.
• Palm Springs
  Max Barbakow
• Bad Education
  Cory Finley
• Bacurau
  Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
• Eurovision
  David Dobkin
• The Nest
  Sean Durkin