Year-End Lists

Caroline Framke: Best TV Shows of 2021, as published by Variety

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2018]

1. High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
2. The Underground Railroad
3. Succession
4. Reservation Dogs
5. The Other Two
6. Hacks
7. Love Life
8. Saved by the Bell
9. Yellowjackets
10. Top Chef

Honorable mentions

• Ted Lasso
• Girls5eva
• PEN15
• We Are Lady Parts
• The White Lotus
• Only Murders in the Building

Daniel D’Addario: Best TV Shows of 2021, as published by Variety

[see also 2022 • 2018 • 2016]

1. The Investigation
2. Mare of Easttown
3. The Underground Railroad
4. Exterminate All the Brutes
5. Hacks
6. Philly D.A.
7. Succession
8. Pose
9. Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
10. Framing Britney Spears

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order)

• Dopesick
• How To with John Wilson
• The Other Two
• Reservation Dogs
• The White Lotus

Margaret Lyons: Best Shows That Ended in 2021, as published by The New York Times

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

• Betty
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Infinity Train
• Insecure
• Kim's Convenience
• Mom
• Pose
• Shrill
• Wynonna Earp
• Younger

Honorable mentions

• PEN15
• On My Block
• Goliath
• Conan

Elena Lazic: Best Films of 2021, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. Happening
   Audrey Diwan
2. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
3. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
   Kier-La Janisse
5. Skies of Lebanon
   Chloé Mazlo
6. Vortex
   Gaspar Noé
7. Mr. Bachmann and His Class
   Maria Speth
8. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
9. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
10. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021

Rolling Stone: 50 Best Albums of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Sour
   Olivia Rodrigo
2. 30
   Adele
3. Vice Versa
   Rauw Alejandro
4. Call Me If You Get Lost
   Tyler, The Creator
5. Home Video
   Lucy Dacus
6. Montero
   Lil Nas X
7. Heaux Tales
   Jazmine Sullivan
8. Glow On
   Turnstile
9. El Madrileño
   C. Tangana
10. Jubilee
    Japanese Breakfast
11. Whole Lotta Red
    Playboi Carti
12. to hell with it
    PinkPantheress
13. Reckless
    Morgan Wade
14. Hall of Fame
    Polo G
15. Happier Than Ever
    Billie Eilish
16. Hey What
    Low
17. If Orange Was a Place
    Tems
18. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
    Halsey
19. Collapsed in Sunbeams
    Arlo Parks
20. Gold-Diggers Sound
    Leon Bridges
21. Planet Her
    Doja Cat
22. Second Line
    Dawn Richard
23. El Alimento
    Cimafunk
24. New Long Leg
    Dry Cleaning
25. 29: Written In Stone
    Carly Pearce
26. Afrique Victime
    Mdou Moctar
27. Ignorance
    The Weather Station
28. Niñxs Rotxs
    Mabiland
29. Punk
    Young Thug
30. When Smoke Rises
    Mustafa
31. Sound Ancestors
    Madlib
32. Valentine
    Snail Mail
33. Still Over It
    Summer Walker
34. Driver
    Adult Mom
35. An Evening with Silk Sonic
    Silk Sonic
36. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
    Little Simz
37. Shiesty Season
    Pooh Shiesty
38. Stand For Myself
    Yola
39. Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma
    Topaz Jones
40. Medicine at Midnight
    Foo Fighters
41. Remember Her Name
    Mickey Guyton
42. Let Me Do One More
    illuminati hotties
43. Lyke Mike
    Myke Towers
44. Senjutsu
    Iron Maiden
45. Bo Jackson
    Boldy James & The Alchemist
46. Chaos Chapter: Fight Or Escape
    Tomorrow X Together
47. Timelezz
    Jhay Cortez
48. Certified Lover Boy
    Drake
49. The Horses and the Hounds
    James McMurtry
50. Daddy's Home
    St. Vincent

James Poniewozik: Best TV Shows of 2021, as published by The New York Times

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

• Bo Burnham: Inside
• Dickinson
• The Good Fight
• Hacks
• Reservation Dogs
• It's a Sin
• Philly D.A.
• Station Eleven
• Succession
• The Underground Railroad
• The White Lotus

On the list last year, so let’s give someone else a chance

• PEN15
• What We Do in the Shadows

Honorable mentions

• City of Ghosts
• Couples Therapy
• Dave
• For All Mankind
• The Great
• Infinity Train
• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
• WandaVision
• We Are Lady Parts
• Yellowjackets

Flawed but fascinating

• David Makes Man
• Kevin Can F**k Himself
• Made for Love
• Rutherford Falls

Judy Berman: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2021, as published by Time Magazine

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

1. The Underground Railroad
2. The White Lotus
3. Work in Progress
4. Exterminate All the Brutes
5. Reservation Dogs
6. Yellowjackets
7. Succession
8. We Are Lady Parts
9. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
10. You

Honorable mentions

• Betty
• Call My Agent!
• Dickinson
• It's a Sin
• Losing Alice
• PEN15
• Philly D.A.
• Search Party
• Sort Of
• Squid Game

Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021, a poll of more than 100 critics and contributors, published by Sight & Sound Magazine

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
2. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
6. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
7. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
8. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
9. Annette
   Leos Carax
10. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
11. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
12. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
13. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
14. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve
15. Spencer
    Pablo Larraín
16. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
17. First Cow
    Kelly Reichardt
18. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond
19. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
20. Il Buco
    Michelangelo Frammartino
21. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
22. Nomadland
    Chloé Zhao
23. The French Dispatch
    Wes Anderson
24. Azor
    Andreas Fontana
25. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
26. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
27. Benedetta
    Paul Verhoeven
28. The Father
    Florian Zeller
29. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
30. Hit the Road
    Panah Panahi
31. Ear for Eye
    debbie tucker green
32. Benediction
    Terence Davies
33. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
34. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
35. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder
36. Judas and the Black Messiah
    Shaka King
37. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker
38. Compartment Number 6
    Juho Kuosmanen
39. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
40. Playground
    Laura Wandel
41. The Tsugua Diaries
    Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
42. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
43. Undine
    Christian Petzold
44. Belle
    Mamoru Hosoda
45. Limbo
    Ben Sharrock
46. Friends and Strangers
    James Vaughan
47. The Hand of God
    Paolo Sorrentino
48. After Love
    Aleem Khan
49. Cry Macho
    Clint Eastwood
50. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Caitlin Quinlan: Best Films of 2021
• Jonathan Rosenbaum: Ten Best Films of 2021
• Jordan Cronk: Top Ten Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Christina Newland: Best Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Elena Lazic: Best Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Vadim Rizov: Best Films of 2021

Richard Brody: The Best Movies of 2021, as published by The New Yorker

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The French Dispatch
   Wes Anderson
2. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Zola
   Janicza Bravo
4. I Was a Simple Man
   Christopher Makoto Yogi
5. In the Same Breath
   Nanfu Wang
6. C'mon C'mon
   Mike Mills
7. Passing
   Rebecca Hall
8. Koozhangal
   P.S. Vinothraj
9. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
10. Procession
    Robert Greene
11. The Woman Who Ran
    Hong Sang-soo
12. The Disciple
    Chaitanya Tamhane
13. Being the Ricardos
    Aaron Sorkin
14. Parallel Mothers
    Pedro Almodóvar
15. The American Sector
    Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez
16. All Light, Everywhere
    Theo Anthony
17. A Cop Movie
    Alonso Ruizpalacios
18. Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
    Jia Zhang-ke
19. Listening to Kenny G
    Penny Lane
20. Drive My Car
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
21. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
22. Uppercase Print
    Radu Jude
23. Little Girl
    Sébastien Lifshitz
24. Cry Macho
    Clint Eastwood
25. Exterminate All the Brutes
    Raoul Peck
26. Paris Calligrammes
    Ulrike Ottinger
27. The Year of the Everlasting Storm
    various artists
28. You Will Die at Twenty
    Amjad Abu Alala
29. France
    Bruno Dumont
30. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
31. Test Pattern
    Shatara Michelle Ford
32. No Ordinary Man
    Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt
33. Isabella
    Matías Piñeiro
34. There Is No Evil
    Mohammad Rasoulof
35. Wojnarowicz
    Chris McKim

Steven Hyden: Favorite Albums of 2021, as published by Uproxx

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019]

1. I Don’t Live Here Anymore
   The War on Drugs
2. Hey What
   Low
3. Petunia
   Tonstartssbandht
4. No Medium
   Rosali
5. A Billion Little Lights
   Wild Pink
6. Afrique Victime
   Mdou Moctar
7. New Long Leg
   Dry Cleaning
8. Superwolves
   Matt Sweeney & Bonnie "Prince" Billy
9. A Color of the Sky
   Lightning Bug
10. Jubilee
    Japanese Breakfast
11. Home Video
    Lucy Dacus
12. House of Confusion
    Trace Mountains
13. Pressure Machine
    The Killers
14. A Way Forward
    Nation of Language
15. Don't Know What I Am
    Alien Boy
16. Uncommon Weather
    The Reds, Pinks & Purples
17. Course In Fable
    Ryley Walker
18. Glow On
    Turnstile
19. Casual Use
    Jimmy Montague
20. Urban Driftwood
    Yasmin Williams