Year-End Lists

A hand-curated, browsable index of notable year-end lists. Follow the link for each list to see essential commentary from its author, at the source.
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Highlights

2010s Movies

Paste: The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s

14 November 2019

Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller

Paste Magazine: The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015]

  1. Mad Max: Fury Road
    George Miller
  2. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  3. Get Out
    Jordan Peele
  4. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
  5. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
  6. Under the Skin
    Jonathan Glazer
  7. Annihilation
    Alex Garland
  8. The Babadook
    Jennifer Kent
  9. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos
  10. Cameraperson
    Kirsten Johnson
  11. O.J.: Made in America
    Ezra Edelman
  12. The Wind Rises
    Hayao Miyazaki
  13. Boyhood
    Richard Linklater
  14. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
  15. Inside Llewyn Davis
    Joel & Ethan Coen
  16. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt
  17. The Florida Project
    Sean Baker
  18. Blade Runner 2049
    Denis Villeneuve
  19. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
  20. The Master
    Paul Thomas Anderson
  21. It’s Such a Beautiful Day
    Don Hertzfeldt
  22. Gone Girl
    David Fincher
  23. Frances Ha
    Noah Baumbach
  24. The Raid: Redemption
    Gareth Evans
  25. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
  26. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos
  27. The Act of Killing
    Joshua Oppenheimer
  28. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
  29. Swiss Army Man
    Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
  30. The Tribe
    Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
  31. Zama
    Lucrecia Martel
  32. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
  33. John Wick
    Chad Stahelski
  34. Lady Bird
    Greta Gerwig
  35. You Were Never Really Here
    Lynne Ramsay
  36. Edge of Tomorrow
    Doug Liman
  37. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler
  38. Her
    Spike Jonze
  39. Dunkirk
    Christopher Nolan
  40. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
    Brad Bird
  41. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
  42. The Tree of Life
    Terrence Malick
  43. Paddington 2
    Paul King
  44. Personal Shopper
    Olivier Assayas
  45. The Turin Horse
    Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
  46. Ida
    Pawel Pawlikowski
  47. Weekend
    Andrew Haigh
  48. Melancholia
    Lars von Trier
  49. Phantom Thread
    Paul Thomas Anderson
  50. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
  51. It Follows
    David Robert Mitchell
  52. Drive
    Nicolas Winding Refn
  53. At Berkeley
    Frederick Wiseman
  54. Your Name
    Makoto Shinkai
  55. Raw
    Julia Ducournau
  56. Faces Places
    Agnès Varda and JR
  57. Evolution
    Lucile Hadzihalilovic
  58. The Handmaiden
    Park Chan-wook
  59. Certified Copy
    Abbas Kiarostami
  60. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
  61. 12 Years a Slave
    Steve McQueen
  62. The Beach Bum
    Harmony Korine
  63. Green Room
    Jeremy Saulnier
  64. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
  65. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
  66. Krisha
    Trey Edward Shults
  67. Elle
    Paul Verhoeven
  68. The Souvenir
    Joanna Hogg
  69. The Fits
    Anna Rose Holmer
  70. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
    Rian Johnson
  71. Pariah
    Dee Rees
  72. 13 Assassins
    Takashi Miike
  73. Drug War
    Johnnie To
  74. Mirai
    Mamoru Hosoda
  75. Stories We Tell
    Sarah Polley
  76. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
    RaMell Ross
  77. The Avengers
    Joss Whedon
  78. The Wolf of Wall Street
    Martin Scorsese
  79. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
  80. Call Me by Your Name
    Luca Guadagnino
  81. Lemonade
    Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Kahlil Joseph with Jonas Åkerlund, Melina Matsoukas, Dikayl Rimmasch, Mark Romanek and Tod Tourso
  82. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
  83. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
  84. Coco
    Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina
  85. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
  86. High Life
    Claire Denis
  87. We Are the Best!
    Lukas Moodysson
  88. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Marielle Heller
  89. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan
  90. Shin Godzilla
    Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi
  91. The Grand Bizarre
    Jodie Mack
  92. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    Anthony and Joe Russo
  93. The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
    Brett Story
  94. Sorry to Bother You
    Boots Riley
  95. No Home Movie
    Chantal Akerman
  96. Bisbee '17
    Robert Greene
  97. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
    Edgar Wright
  98. Attenberg
    Athina Rachel Tsangari
  99. A Field in England
    Ben Wheatley
  100. Thor: Ragnarok
    Taika Waititi
  101. The Bling Ring
    Sofia Coppola
2010s Books

Time: The 10 Best Fiction Books of the 2010s

13 November 2019

Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward

Time Magazine: The 10 Best Fiction Books of the 2010s

[see also The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2020 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 • The 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 • The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the 2010s • The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2019 • Best Books of 2018 • Top 20 Books of 2017]

2010s Movies

Time: Stephanie Zacharek: The 10 Best Movies of the 2010s

13 November 2019

Stephanie Zacharek: The 10 Best Movies of the 2010s, as published by Time Magazine

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

2010s Movies

Film School Rejects: The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s

13 November 2019

Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller

Film School Rejects: The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s

[see also 2018 • 2017]

  1. Mad Max: Fury Road
    George Miller
  2. Get Out
    Jordan Peele
  3. Parasite
    Bong Joon-ho
  4. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  5. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
  6. The Social Network
    David Fincher
  7. The Master
    Paul Thomas Anderson
  8. What We Do in the Shadows
    Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
  9. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos
  10. Inside Llewyn Davis
    Joel & Ethan Coen
  11. Call Me by Your Name
    Luca Guadagnino
  12. Gone Girl
    David Fincher
  13. The Farewell
    Lulu Wang
  14. Phantom Thread
    Paul Thomas Anderson
  15. Annihilation
    Alex Garland
  16. Paddington 2
    Paul King
  17. The Florida Project
    Sean Baker
  18. The Witch
    Robert Eggers
  19. Arrival
    Denis Villeneuve
  20. Logan
    James Mangold
  21. Let the Sunshine In
    Claire Denis
  22. Take Shelter
    Jeff Nichols
  23. Lady Bird
    Greta Gerwig
  24. Phoenix
    Christian Petzold
  25. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
    Rian Johnson
  26. Whiplash
    Damien Chazelle
  27. Certified Copy
    Abbas Kiarostami
  28. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
  29. The Wolf of Wall Street
    Martin Scorsese
  30. True Grit
    Joel & Ethan Coen
  31. 20th Century Women
    Mike Mills
  32. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
    Brad Bird
  33. Nightcrawler
    Dan Gilroy
  34. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
  35. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
    Taika Waititi
  36. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
  37. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
  38. Green Room
    Jeremy Saulnier
  39. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
  40. Eighth Grade
    Bo Burnham
  41. No Home Movie
    Chantal Akerman
  42. The Handmaiden
    Park Chan-wook
  43. Cold War
    Pawel Pawlikowski
  44. Inception
    Christopher Nolan
  45. Frances Ha
    Noah Baumbach
  46. Faces Places
    Agnès Varda and JR
  47. The Nice Guys
    Shane Black
  48. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos
  49. Foxtrot
    Samuel Maoz
  50. Upstream Color
    Shane Carruth
  51. The Cabin in the Woods
    Drew Goddard
  52. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler
  53. Wonder Woman
    Patty Jenkins
  54. Oslo, August 31st
    Joachim Trier
  55. Only Lovers Left Alive
    Jim Jarmusch
  56. Under the Skin
    Jonathan Glazer
  57. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
  58. Swiss Army Man
    Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
  59. You Were Never Really Here
    Lynne Ramsay
  60. Inherent Vice
    Paul Thomas Anderson
  61. The Tree of Life
    Terrence Malick
  62. Elle
    Paul Verhoeven
  63. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    Anthony and Joe Russo
  64. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
  65. Young Adult
    Jason Reitman
  66. Stories We Tell
    Sarah Polley
  67. The Grey
    Joe Carnahan
  68. Goodbye First Love
    Mia Hansen-Løve
  69. Carol
    Todd Haynes
  70. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
  71. Attack the Block
    Joe Cornish
  72. Blue Valentine
    Derek Cianfrance
  73. The Raid: Redemption
    Gareth Evans
  74. Thelma
    Joachim Trier
  75. Her
    Spike Jonze
  76. Gravity
    Alfonso Cuaron
  77. Melancholia
    Lars von Trier
  78. Exit Through the Gift Shop
    Banksy
  79. Blindspotting
    Carlos López Estrada
  80. Blade Runner 2049
    Denis Villeneuve
  81. John Wick
    Chad Stahelski
  82. I Saw the Devil
    Kim Ji-woon
  83. Interstellar
    Christopher Nolan
  84. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
  85. Revenge
    Coralie Fargeat
  86. Margaret
    Kenneth Lonergan
  87. Goodnight Mommy
    Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
  88. The Grand Budapest Hotel
    Wes Anderson
  89. Shin Godzilla
    Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi
  90. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
  91. American Honey
    Andrea Arnold
  92. The Invitation
    Karyn Kusama
  93. Kill List
    Ben Wheatley
  94. High Life
    Claire Denis
  95. Mustang
    Deniz Gamze Ergüven
  96. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
    Edgar Wright
  97. A Ghost Story
    David Lowery
  98. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
  99. Borg vs. McEnroe
    Janus Metz
  100. Bone Tomahawk
    S. Craig Zahler
2010s Music

Loudwire: The 66 Best Metal Albums of the 2010s

13 November 2019

The Satanist - Behemoth

Loudwire: The 66 Best Metal Albums of the 2010s

[see also 2022]

  1. The Satanist
    Behemoth
  2. Meliora
    Ghost B.C.
  3. L’Enfant Sauvage
    Gojira
  4. The Great Mass
    Septicflesh
  5. Surgical Steel
    Carcass
  6. Nightmare Logic
    Power Trip
  7. The Book of Souls
    Iron Maiden
  8. The Parallax II: Future Sequence
    Between the Buried and Me
  9. Fear Inoculum
    Tool
  10. Transcendence
    Devin Townsend Project
  11. Opus Eponymous
    Ghost
  12. Sempiternal
    Bring Me the Horizon
  13. Emperor of Sand
    Mastodon
  14. Monolith Of Inhumanity
    Cattle Decapitation
  15. Forever
    Code Orange
  16. Colored Sands
    Gorguts
  17. Nightmare
    Avenged Sevenfold
  18. Firepower
    Judas Priest
  19. Sunbather
    Deafheaven
  20. Rammstein
    Rammstein
  21. Deep Blue
    Parkway Drive
  22. Holy Hell
    Architects
  23. One of Us Is the Killer
    The Dillinger Escape Plan
  24. The Sciences
    Sleep
  25. We Are Not Your Kind
    Slipknot
  26. Where Owls Know My Name
    Rivers of Nihil
  27. Magma
    Gojira
  28. The Violent Sleep of Reason
    Meshuggah
  29. Utiltarian
    Napalm Death
  30. Clearing the Path to Ascend
    YOB
  31. A Different Shade of Blue
    Knocked Loose
  32. Axioma Ethica Odini
    Enslaved
  33. For All Kings
    Anthrax
  34. Marrow of the Spirit
    Agalloch
  35. Low Teens
    Every Time I Die
  36. The Children of the Night
    Tribulation
  37. Pelagial
    The Ocean
  38. In Waves
    Trivium
  39. Ritual
    Black Dahlia Murder
  40. Dead Throne
    The Devil Wears Prada
  41. Babymetal
    BABYMETAL
  42. Periphery II: This Time It's Personal
    Periphery
  43. All We Love We Leave Behind
    Converge
  44. Infestissumam
    Ghost
  45. Bloodlust
    Body Count
  46. Foundations of Burden
    Pallbearer
  47. Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light
    Woods of Ypres
  48. Stranger Fruit
    Zeal & Ardor
  49. Écailles de lune
    Alcest
  50. Wasteland
    Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats
  51. Luminiferous
    High On Fire
  52. Absolute Hope Absolute Hell
    Fit for An Autopsy
  53. Wrong One to Fuck With
    Dying Fetus
  54. The Quantum Enigma
    Epica
  55. Errorzone
    Vein
  56. Carolus Rex
    Sabaton
  57. Hate
    Thy Art Is Murder
  58. Dystopia
    Megadeth
  59. Found in Far Away Places
    August Burns Red
  60. Altered State
    TesseracT
  61. After
    Ihsahn
  62. Deceiver of the Gods
    Amon Amarth
  63. Volition
    Protest the Hero
  64. The Valley
    Whitechapel
  65. The Discovery
    Born of Osiris
  66. In Cauda Venenum
    Opeth
2019 Music

Decibel: The Top 40 Albums of 2019

13 November 2019

Hidden History of the Human Race - Blood Incantation

Decibel Magazine: The Top 40 Albums of 2019

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2012]

  1. Hidden History of the Human Race
    Blood Incantation
  2. Caligula
    Lingua Ignota
  3. Deserted
    Gatecreeper
  4. The Ruins of Fading Light
    Crypt Sermon
  5. Planetary Clairvoyance
    Tomb Mold
  6. Revelations of Oblivion
    Possessed
  7. Hallucinogen
    Blut Aus Nord
  8. Divided by Darkness
    Spirit Adrift
  9. Awakening
    Sacred Reich
  10. Portent
    False
  11. Weeping Choir
    Full of Hell
  12. Daemon
    Mayhem
  13. Cairn
    Mizmor
  14. Empath
    Devin Townsend
  15. Samsara
    Venom Prison
  16. The Palms of Sorrowed Kings
    Obsequiae
  17. If Icarus Could Fly
    Haunt
  18. Old Star
    Darkthrone
  19. Achatius
    Funereal Presence
  20. Death Atlas
    Cattle Decapitation
  21. Mana
    Idle Hands
  22. IV
    Die Choking
  23. Patterns in Mythology
    Falls of Rauros
  24. Sulphur English
    Inter Arma
  25. No One Knows What the Dead Think
    No One Knows What The Dead Think
  26. In Cauda Venenum
    Opeth
  27. Hearts of No Light
    Schammasch
  28. Departed Souls
    magic circle
  29. Algleymi
    Misþyrming
  30. Gold & Grey
    Baroness
  31. Odious Descent Into Decay
    Cerebral Rot
  32. Outstrider
    Abbath
  33. Primal Future: 2019
    Toxic Holocaust
  34. The Door to Doom
    Candlemass
  35. Orificial Purge
    Vastum
  36. Rituals of Power
    Misery Index
  37. Nocebo
    Elizabeth Colour Wheel
  38. Paradox
    Nocturnus AD
  39. Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring
    Smoulder
  40. Satan Spits on Children of Light
    Devil Master
2019 Music

Rough Trade: Albums of the Year 2019

13 November 2019

Dogrel - Fontaines D.C.

Rough Trade: Albums of the Year 2019

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020]

  1. Dogrel
    Fontaines D.C.
  2. Titanic Rising
    Weyes Blood
  3. All Mirrors
    Angel Olsen
  4. GREY Area
    Little Simz
  5. Schlagenheim
    black midi
  6. Eton Alive
    Sleaford Mods
  7. Reward
    Cate Le Bon
  8. The Age of Immunology
    Vanishing Twin
  9. Ex:Re
    Ex:Re
  10. Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery
    The Comet Is Coming
  11. Hyperspace
    Beck
  12. Anak Ko
    Jay Som
  13. Free
    Iggy Pop
  14. Mantra Moderne
    Kit Sebastian
  15. The Imperial
    The Delines
  16. Jinx
    Crumb
  17. American Love Call
    Durand Jones & The Indications
  18. Purple Mountains
    Purple Mountains
  19. leaving meaning.
    Swans
  20. Any Human Friend
    Marika Hackman
  21. Lost Girls
    Bat for Lashes
  22. Deceiver
    DIIV
  23. Blume
    Nérija
  24. Pony
    Orville Peck
  25. Two Hands
    Big Thief
  26. Ghosteen
    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
  27. Part 2 Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost
    Foals
  28. Amyl and The Sniffers
    Amyl and The Sniffers
  29. Cry
    Cigarettes After Sex
  30. Remind Me Tomorrow
    Sharon Van Etten
  31. When I Have Fears
    The Murder Capital
  32. Fongola
    KOKOKO!
  33. Serfs Up!
    The Fat White Family
  34. Magdalene
    FKA twigs
  35. Lux Prima
    Karen O & Danger Mouse
  36. It Won/t Be like This All the Time
    The Twilight Sad
  37. Sound & Fury
    Sturgill Simpson
  38. Outer Peace
    Toro y Moi
  39. Cancel the Sun
    The Rails
  40. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
    Billie Eilish
  41. Here Comes the Cowboy
    Mac DeMarco
  42. Tasmania
    Pond
  43. Designer
    Aldous Harding
  44. Happy to Be Here
    Barrie
  45. The Book of Traps and Lessons
    Kate Tempest
  46. Cross Record
    Cross Record
  47. forevher
    Shura
  48. Turn to Clear View
    Joe Armon-Jones
  49. Hot Motion
    Temples
  50. Handfuls of Night
    Penguin Cafe
  51. Boat
    Pip Blom
  52. Dawn Chorus
    Jacques Greene
  53. Spiritual Instinct
    Alcest
  54. Altogether
    Turnover
  55. 5
    Sault
  56. Nothing Great About Britain
    slowthai
  57. Origin
    Jordan Rakei
  58. Ode to Joy
    Wilco
  59. Curve of Earth
    Ohtis
  60. Without Fear
    Dermot Kennedy
  61. IGOR
    Tyler, The Creator
  62. Flamagra
    Flying Lotus
  63. Inferno
    Robert Forster
  64. This Is How You Smile
    Helado Negro
  65. Girl
    Girl Ray
  66. Satis Factory
    Mattiel
  67. Tallies
    Tallies
  68. Useless Coordinates
    Drahla
  69. I Am Easy to Find
    The National
  70. Dizzy Spells
    Patience
  71. Happy in the Hollow
    TOY
  72. No Treasure But Hope
    Tindersticks
  73. Norman Fucking Rockwell!
    Lana Del Rey
  74. More Arriving
    Sarathy Korwar
  75. Quiet Signs
    Jessica Pratt
  76. Country Squire
    Tyler Childers
  77. Stubborn Heart
    Ratso
  78. 2020
    Richard Dawson
  79. Crushing
    Julia Jacklin
  80. Jaime
    Brittany Howard
  81. End of Suffering
    Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
  82. Cuz I Love You
    Lizzo
  83. Face Stabber
    Oh Sees
  84. Stunning Luxury
    Snapped Ankles
  85. Pony
    Rex Orange County
  86. Modern Mirror
    Drab Majesty
  87. Anima
    Thom Yorke
  88. The Talkies
    Girl Band
  89. Veils of Winter
    Blackwater Holylight
  90. Water
    Dehd
  91. Enderness
    A.A. Bondy
  92. Jade Bird
    Jade Bird
  93. Why Me? Why Not.
    Liam Gallagher
  94. Fear Inoculum
    Tool
2019 Books

O Magazine: The Best Books of 2019

12 November 2019

The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates

O, The Oprah Magazine: The Best Books of 2019

[see also 2020 • 2018 • 2017]

  1. The Water Dancer
    Ta-Nehisi Coates
  2. Maggie Brown & Others
    Peter Orner
  3. The Dutch House
    Ann Patchett
  4. Dreyer's English
    An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style
    Benjamin Dreyer
  5. The Need
    Helen Phillips
  6. Sontag
    Her Life and Work
    Benjamin Moser
  7. Patsy
    Nicole Dennis-Benn
  8. Doxology
    Nell Zink
  9. Lost Children Archive
    Valeria Luiselli
  10. Grand Union
    Zadie Smith
  11. Normal People
    Sally Rooney
  12. Red at the Bone
    Jacqueline Woodson
  13. Rules for Visiting
    Jessica Francis Kane
  14. Olive, Again
    Elizabeth Strout
2019 Books

She Reads: The Best Books of 2019

11 November 2019

The Most Fun We Ever Had - Claire Lombardo

She Reads: The Best Books of 2019

Literary Fiction

Thrillers

Historical Fiction

Fantasy

Romance

Science Fiction

Horror

Nonfiction

2010s Books

Time: The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the 2010s

11 November 2019

Time Magazine: The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the 2010s

[see also The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2020 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 • The 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of the 2010s • The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2019 • Best Books of 2018 • Top 20 Books of 2017]

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Year-end lists are fingerprints; aggregate statistics are smudges. Therefore, I make no tallies.