Year-End Lists

Inkoo Kang: Best of TV 2021, as published by The Washington Post

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2015 • 2014]

1. The Lady and the Dale
2. It's a Sin
3. Bo Burnham: Inside
4. Oprah with Meghan and Harry
5. Succession
6. Maid
7. Hacks
8. Reservation Dogs
9. Nuclear Family
10. You

Honorable mentions

• Girls5eva
• The Other Two
• Call My Agent!
• Chad
• PEN15
• Philly D.A.
• Exterminate All the Brutes
• Physical
• Tuca & Bertie
• Evil
• FBoy Island
• High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
• The Underground Railroad

Ann Hornaday: Best Movies of 2021, as published by The Washington Post

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

• Parallel Mothers
  Pedro Almodóvar
• I Carry You with Me
  Heidi Ewing
• Zola
  Janicza Bravo
• The Water Man
  David Oyelowo
• CODA
  Sian Heder
• Candyman
  Nia DaCosta
• Mass
  Fran Kranz
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• Cyrano
  Joe Wright

PopMatters: The 75 Best Albums of 2021

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

1. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
   Little Simz
2. Promises
   Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / London Symphony Orchestra
3. Seventeen Going Under
   Sam Fender
4. Collapsed in Sunbeams
   Arlo Parks
5. Second Line
   Dawn Richard
6. Spare Ribs
   Sleaford Mods
7. Star-Crossed
   Kacey Musgraves
8. We're All Alone in This Together
   Dave
9. Montero
   Lil Nas X
10. Play With the Changes
    Rochelle Jordan
11. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
    Injury Reserve
12. Infinite Granite
    Deafheaven
13. Afrique Victime
    Mdou Moctar
14. For the First Time
    Black Country, New Road
15. Sour
    Olivia Rodrigo
16. Daddy's Home
    St. Vincent
17. Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1
    Pepe Deluxé
18. In These Silent Days
    Brandi Carlile
19. Fire
    The Bug
20. Mercurial World
    Magdalena Bay
21. Reflection
    Loraine James
22. Blue Weekend
    Wolf Alice
23. Sinner Get Ready
    Lingua Ignota
24. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows
    Damon Albarn
25. Bright Magic
    Public Service Broadcasting
26. Valentine
    Snail Mail
27. The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers
    Valerie June
28. Ignorance
    The Weather Station
29. Smiling with No Teeth
    Genesis Owusu
30. Jubilee
    Japanese Breakfast
31. Flying Dream 1
    Elbow
32. Black Encyclopedia of the Air
    Moor Mother
33. Too Loyal for My Own Good
    Headie One
34. Chemtrails over the Country Club
    Lana Del Rey
35. Urban Driftwood
    Yasmin Williams
36. They're Calling Me Home
    Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi
37. Wary + Strange
    Amythyst Kiah
38. Little Oblivions
    Julien Baker
39. Far In
    Helado Negro
40. Long Time Coming
    Sierra Ferrell
41. I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses
    Backxwash
42. Home Video
    Lucy Dacus
43. Prioritise Pleasure
    Self Esteem
44. Stand For Myself
    Yola
45. Happier Than Ever
    Billie Eilish
46. I Don’t Live Here Anymore
    The War on Drugs
47. You Signed Up For This
    Maisie Peters
48. An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
    Cassandra Jenkins
49. G_d's Pee at State's End!
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
50. Screen Violence
    Chvrches
51. On All Fours
    Goat Girl
52. You Get It All
    Hayes Carll
53. Vince Staples
    Vince Staples
54. Mood Valiant
    Hiatus Kaiyote
55. Loving In Stereo
    Jungle
56. Glow On
    Turnstile
57. Flock
    Jane Weaver
58. Colors II
    Between the Buried and Me
59. Boy from Michigan
    John Grant
60. Things Take Time, Take Time
    Courtney Barnett
61. All Hours
    Anz
62. Hushed and Grim
    Mastodon
63. In the Meantime
    Alessia Cara
64. Natten
    Bremer McCoy
65. Celestial Blues
    King Woman
66. Leftover Feelings
    John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas
67. Music For Psychedelic Therapy
    Jon Hopkins
68. Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
    Low Cut Connie
69. Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
70. Senjutsu
    Iron Maiden
71. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
    Halsey
72. Terrain
    Portico Quartet
73. Cavalcade
    black midi
74. Yol
    Altın Gün
75. As The Love Continues
    Mogwai

Adam Nayman: The Best Movies of 2021, as published by The Ringer where it is presented head-to-head with a list by Sean Fennessey. See the source for the dialogue between the two.

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2015]

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
1. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Azor
   Andreas Fontana
4. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
5. The Inheritance
   Ephraim Asili
6. Annette
   Leos Carax
7. Old
   M. Night Shyamalan
8. Wife of a Spy
   Kiyoshi Kurosawa
9. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
10. Saint Maud
    Rose Glass

Sean Fennessey: The Best Movies of 2021, as published by The Ringer where it is presented head-to-head with a list by Adam Nayman. See the source for the dialogue between the two.

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2010s]

1. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
3. Dune
   Denis Villeneuve
4. Can't Get You Out of My Head
   Adam Curtis
5. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
6. The Velvet Underground
   Todd Haynes
6. The Beatles: Get Back
   Peter Jackson
7. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
8. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
9. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
10. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills

Loud And Quiet: Albums of the Year 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022]

1. For the First Time
   Black Country, New Road
2. SHILOH: Lost For Words
   John Glacier
3. Prioritise Pleasure
   Self Esteem
4. An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
   Cassandra Jenkins
5. Astro Tough
   Audiobooks
6. Promises
   Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / London Symphony Orchestra
7. A Common Turn
   Anna B Savage
8. Intra-I
   Theon Cross
9. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
   Little Simz
10. New Long Leg
    Dry Cleaning
11. Spare Ribs
    Sleaford Mods
12. Great Spans of Muddy Time
    William Doyle
13. Bright Green Field
    Squid
14. Colourgrade
    Tirzah
15. Black Metal 2
    Dean Blunt
16. For Those I Love
    For Those I Love
17. private LIFE
    Virginia Wing
18. Lei Line Eon
    Iglooghost
19. Space 1.8
    Nala Sinephro
20. Hey What
    Low
21. Conflict of Interest
    Ghetts
22. Honest Labour
    Space Afrika
23. Fire
    The Bug
24. The Changing Account
    G.S. Schray
25. Heart Ego
    Sassy 009
26. Cavalcade
    black midi
27. Deacon
    serpentwithfeet
28. Jubilee
    Japanese Breakfast
29. Gas Lit
    Divide and Dissolve
30. Call Me If You Get Lost
    Tyler, The Creator
31. Harlecore
    Danny L Harle
32. We're All Alone in This Together
    Dave
33. Painful Enlightenment
    Jana Rush
34. Boy Anonymous
    Paris Texas
35. WINK
    CHAI
36. Será que ahora podremos entendernos
    Mabe Fratti
37. Terrain
    Portico Quartet
38. Shade
    Grouper
39. MiiRROR
    BABii
40. Lee "Scratch" Perry's Guide to the Universe
    New Age Doom & Lee "Scratch" Perry

Laura Miller: The Best Books of 2021, as published by Slate

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

• The Sentence
  Louise Erdrich
• Crossroads
  Jonathan Franzen
• Empire of Pain

  The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
  Patrick Radden Keefe
• No One Is Talking About This
  Patricia Lockwood
• All That She Carried

  The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake
  Tiya Miles
• Things I Have Withheld
  Kei Miller
• The Committed
  Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Light Perpetual
  Francis Spufford
• Harlem Shuffle
  Colson Whitehead
• Crying in H Mart
  Michelle Zauner

Entertainment Weekly: The 10 Best Movies of 2021

[see also 2023]

1. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
3. Flee
   Jonas Poher Rasmussen
4. The Lost Daughter
   Maggie Gyllenhaal
5. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
6. Spencer
   Pablo Larraín
7. Riders of Justice
   Anders Thomas Jensen
8. C'mon C'mon
   Mike Mills
9. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
10. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker

And if you want to keep watching, also check out

• Val
  Aaron Fradkin
• Zola
  Janicza Bravo
• Titane
  Julia Ducournau
• King Richard
  Reinaldo Marcus Green
• CODA
  Sian Heder
• Moffie
  Oliver Hermanus
• I'm Your Man
  Maria Schrader
• Lamb
  Valdimar Jóhannsson
• The Hand of God
  Paolo Sorrentino
• The Souvenir Part II
  Joanna Hogg
• Luca
  Enrico Casarosa
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• No Sudden Move
  Steven Soderbergh

Kristen Baldwin: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2021, as published by Entertainment Weekly

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018]

1. Reservation Dogs
2. The Good Fight
3. Hacks
4. Succession
5. The Other Two
6. Midnight Mass
7. Chad
8. Squid Game
9. Dopesick
10. Dr. Death

Honorable Mentions

• Evil
• What We Do in the Shadows
• Heels
• Ultra City Smiths

Entertainment Weekly: The 10 Best Albums of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Heaux Tales
   Jazmine Sullivan
2. I Don’t Live Here Anymore
   The War on Drugs
3. Jubilee
   Japanese Breakfast
4. Call Me If You Get Lost
   Tyler, The Creator
5. 30
   Adele
6. Valentine
   Snail Mail
7. Lindsey Buckingham
   Lindsey Buckingham
8. Montero
   Lil Nas X
9. Weight of the World
   Maxo Kream
10. Sour
    Olivia Rodrigo