Year-End Lists

K. Austin Collins: Top 25 Movies of 2021, as published by Rolling Stone

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
2. Hidden
   Jafar Panahi
3. Days
   Tsai Ming-liang
4. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
5. Passing
   Rebecca Hall
6. France
   Bruno Dumont
7. Procession
   Robert Greene
8. Test Pattern
   Shatara Michelle Ford
9. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
10. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
11. North by Current
    Angelo Madsen Minax
12. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
13. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
14. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg
15. The Disciple
    Chaitanya Tamhane
16. Memoria
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
17. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
17. Wojnarowicz
    Chris McKim
18. Isabella
    Matías Piñeiro
19. The French Dispatch
    Wes Anderson
20. West Side Story
    Steven Spielberg
21. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
22. Wild Indian
    Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
23. Zeros and Ones
    Abel Ferrara
24. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
25. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills

Jason Parham: The 8 Best Albums of 2021, as published by Wired

[see also 2022 • 2019]

1. Heaux Tales
   Jazmine Sullivan
2. Fatigue
   L'Rain
3. If Orange Was a Place
   Tems
4. Talk Memory
   BADBADNOTGOOD
5. Still Over It
   Summer Walker
6. Vince Staples
   Vince Staples
7. Colourgrade
   Tirzah
8. 30
   Adele

Honorable Mentions

• Second Line
  Dawn Richard
• Call Me If You Get Lost
  Tyler, The Creator
• Planet Her
  Doja Cat
• Navy’s Reprise
  Navy Blue
• Far In
  Helado Negro
• Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
  Little Simz

Brittany Spanos: Top 10 Albums of 2021, as published by Rolling Stone

[see also 2022 • 2020]

1. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
   Halsey
2. Inside (The Songs)
   Bo Burnham
3. 30
   Adele
4. Sour
   Olivia Rodrigo
5. to hell with it
   PinkPantheress
6. Happier Than Ever
   Billie Eilish
7. Red (Taylor's Version)
   Taylor Swift
8. Heaux Tales
   Jazmine Sullivan
9. Death of a Cheerleader
   Pom Pom Squad
10. Lately I Feel Everything
    Willow

The A.V. Club: The 25 Best TV Shows of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Succession
2. Only Murders in the Building
3. The Underground Railroad
4. Mare of Easttown
5. Hacks
6. Reservation Dogs
7. What We Do in the Shadows
8. WandaVision
9. The Other Two
10. For All Mankind
11. We Are Lady Parts
12. The White Lotus
13. Dickinson
14. Squid Game
15. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
16. Girls5eva
17. Starstruck
18. Mythic Quest
19. Maid
20. Pose
21. Yellowjackets
22. Love Life
23. Insecure
24. It's a Sin
25. Never Have I Ever

ScreenCrush: The Best TV Shows of 2021

[see also 2022]

1. Succession
2. Squid Game
3. The Underground Railroad
4. Ted Lasso
5. WandaVision
6. Reservation Dogs
7. Sweet Tooth
8. Mare of Easttown
9. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
10. Hacks

Matt Singer: The Best Movies of 2021, as published by ScreenCrush

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

1. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
   Josh Greenbaum
2. Dune
   Denis Villeneuve
3. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
4. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
5. The Last Duel
   Ridley Scott
6. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
   Mike Rianda
7. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
8. Bad Trip
   Kitao Sakurai
9. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
10. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion

Honorable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• The Harder They Fall
  Jeymes Samuel
• Judas and the Black Messiah
  Shaka King
• Licorice Pizza
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• The Lost Daughter
  Maggie Gyllenhaal
• PG: Psycho Goreman
  Steven Kostanski
• Shiva Baby
  Emma Seligman
• tick, tick... BOOM!
  Lin-Manuel Miranda

The Guardian: The 50 Best TV Shows of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019]

1. It's a Sin
2. The White Lotus
3. Mare of Easttown
4. Succession
5. Squid Game
6. Feel Good
7. Time
8. Alma's Not Normal
9. Starstruck
10. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
11. Stath Lets Flats
12. Uprising
13. The Underground Railroad
14. Ted Lasso
15. We Are Lady Parts
16. WandaVision
17. This Way Up
18. Back to Life
19. Line of Duty
20. Can't Get You Out of My Head
21. Maid
22. Inside No. 9
23. Vigil
24. Call My Agent!
25. Only Murders in the Building
26. Reservation Dogs
27. The Beatles: Get Back
28. Marc Munden
29. Guilt
30. Master of None
31. Unforgotten
32. The Cleaner
33. Insecure
34. Ghosts
35. Motherland
36. Gods of Snooker
37. Blair & Brown: The new Labour revolution
38. Clarkson's Farm
39. Pose
40. Bo Burnham: Inside
41. The Hunt for a Killer
42. Hellbound
43. The Flight Attendant
44. The Pursuit of Love
45. Lupin
46. Together
47. US Open (women's final)
48. The North Water
49. Four Hours at the Capitol
50. Ladhood

The Guardian: The 50 Best Films of 2021, drawing from films released in the US in 2021

[see also 2023 • 2017 • 2015]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
3. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
4. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
5. Flee
   Jonas Poher Rasmussen
6. Dune
   Denis Villeneuve
7. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. The Humans
   Stephen Karam
9. Azor
   Andreas Fontana
10. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
11. Belfast
    Kenneth Branagh
11. West Side Story
    Steven Spielberg
12. Mass
    Fran Kranz
13. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg
14. The French Dispatch
    Wes Anderson
16. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić
15. No Time to Die
    Cary Joji Fukunaga
17. Getting Away with Murder(s)
    David Wilkinson
18. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
    Questlove
19. Limbo
    Ben Sharrock
20. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker
21. A Cop Movie
    Alonso Ruizpalacios
22. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
23. Identifying Features
    Fernanda Valadez
24. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
25. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
26. The Killing of Two Lovers
    Robert Machoian
27. The World to Come
    Mona Fastvold
28. tick, tick... BOOM!
    Lin-Manuel Miranda
29. Procession
    Robert Greene
30. Rose Plays Julie
    Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
31. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
32. I Care a Lot
    J Blakeson
33. House of Gucci
    Ridley Scott
34. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
35. About Endlessness
    Roy Andersson
36. Never Gonna Snow Again
    Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert
37. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond
38. Annette
    Leos Carax
39. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
40. New Order
    Michel Franco
41. The Reason I Jump
    Jerry Rothwell
42. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills
43. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
44. State Funeral
    Sergei Loznitsa
45. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
46. Last Night in Soho
    Edgar Wright
47. Boiling Point
    Philip Barantini
48. Worth
    Sara Colangelo
49. Sabaya
    Hogir Hirori
50. The First Wave
    Matthew Heineman

Ultimate Classic Rock: Top 40 Rock Albums of 2021

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019]

1. Raise The Roof
   Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
2. Lindsey Buckingham
   Lindsey Buckingham
3. Barn
   Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4. Delta Kream
   The Black Keys
5. For Free
   David Crosby
6. Medicine at Midnight
   Foo Fighters
7. Mammoth WVH
   Mammoth WVH
8. Senjutsu
   Iron Maiden
9. McCartney III Imagined
   Paul McCartney
10. Hardware
    Billy F Gibbons
11. Detroit Stories
    Alice Cooper
12. In Another World
    Cheap Trick
13. Future Past
    Duran Duran
14. You Hear Georgia
    Blackberry Smoke
15. Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan
    Chrissie Hynde
16. The Battle at Garden's Gate
    Greta Van Fleet
17. The Lockdown Sessions
    Elton John
18. Downhill From Everywhere
    Jackson Browne
19. Brighten
    Jerry Cantrell
20. When You See Yourself
    Kings of Leon
21. Path of Wellness
    Sleater-Kinney
22. Georgia Blue
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
23. Frampton Forgets the Words
    Peter Frampton
24. Typhoons
    Royal Blood
25. Dirty Honey
    Dirty Honey
26. Motorheart
    The Darkness
27. Doom Crew Inc.
    Black Label Society
28. OK Human
    Weezer
29. Sermons of the Sinner
    KK's Priest
30. Hushed and Grim
    Mastodon
31. Checkered Past
    L.A. Guns
32. I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico
    various artists
33. Working With God
    Melvins
34. A Better Dystopia
    Monster Magnet
35. Van Weezer
    Weezer
36. The Metallica Blacklist
    various artists
37. The Quest
    Yes
38. Tonic Immobility
    Tomahawk
39. Zoom In
    Ringo Starr
40. Spanish Model
    Elvis Costello

Rachel Cooke: The Best TV of 2021, as published by New Statesman

• Succession
• Blair & Brown: The new Labour revolution
• Marc Munden
• The White Lotus
• Hemingway
• Time
• Gods of Snooker
• Motherland
• Mare of Easttown
• It's a Sin