Year-End Lists

Albumism: The 110 Best Albums of the 2010s

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

• 21
  Adele
• Everyday Robots
  Damon Albarn
• Testament
  All Saints
• The Suburbs
  Arcade Fire
• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest
• Turn Out the Lights
  Julien Baker
• Goddess
  Banks
• The Bride
  Bat for Lashes
• Morning Phase
  Beck
• El Camino
  The Black Keys
• The Colour in Anything
  James Blake
• 22, A Million
  Bon Iver
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Stranger in the Alps
  Phoebe Bridgers
• All the Beauty in This Whole Life
  Brother Ali
• Dice GAme
  Guilty Simpson & Apollo Brown
• case/lang/veirs
  case/lang/veirs
• Kill for Love
  Chromatics
• The Bones Of What You Believe
  Chvrches
• Every Hero Needs a Villain
  Czarface
• Black Messiah
  D’Angelo and The Vanguard
• Rome
  Danger Mouse & Daniel Luppi
• Cheers to the Fall
  Andra Day
• and the Anonymous Nobody…
  De La Soul
• Settle
  Disclosure
• Rosecrans
  DJ Quik & Problem
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
  Billie Eilish
• The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
  Elbow
• Wanderlust
  Sophie Ellis Bextor
• Similes
  Eluvium
• Introducin'
  Willie Evans Jr.
• Pure Comedy
  Father John Misty
• Stay Gold
  First Aid Kit
• Piñata
  Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
• Black Radio
  Robert Glasper Experiment
• thank u, next
  Ariana Grande
• Let England Shake
  PJ Harvey
• Bones + Longing
  Gemma Hayes
• H.E.R.
  H.E.R.
• Choose Your Weapon
  Hiatus Kaiyote
• Hozier
  Hozier
• Ego Death
  The Internet
• Interpol
  Interpol
• 4:44
  JAY-Z
• E•MO•TION
  Carly Rae Jepsen
• Khrysis & Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson
  Jericho Jackson
• Integrity Blues
  Jimmy Eat World
• Doubleback: Evolution of R&B
  Joe
• Grief Pedigree
  Ka
• Food
  Kelis
• From the Westside With Love, II
  Dom Kennedy
• R.A.P. Music
  Killer Mike
• Vows
  Kimbra
• Born This Way
  Lady Gaga
• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Gravity
  Lecrae
• The Voyager
  Jenny Lewis
• In the Days of Jupiter
  Lights Out Asia
• A Thousand Suns
  Linkin Park
• Nabuma Rubberband
  Little Dragon
• If You Wait
  London Grammar
• Melodrama
  Lorde
• YU
  Rosie Lowe
• Tetsuo & Youth
  Lupe Fiasco
• Wounded Rhymes
  Lykke Li
• Madame X
  Madonna
• Ella Mai
  Ella Mai
• A Breukelen Story
  Masta Ace & Marco Polo
• Beat Tape 2
  Tom Misch
• The Electric Lady
  Janelle Monáe
• Golden Hour
  Kacey Musgraves
• Life Is Good
  Nas
• High Violet
  The National
• A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
  The 1975
• Victory Lap
  Nipsey Hussle
• Beneath The Skin
  Of Monsters and Men
• Malibu
  Anderson .Paak
• Stay Lucky
  Nerina Pallot
• Animal Heart
  Nina Persson
• Electric
  Pet Shop Boys
• PRhyme
  PRhyme
• Voicenotes
  Charlie Puth
• A Moon Shaped Pool
  Radiohead
• Laila’s Wisdom
  Rapsody
• Reloaded
  Roc Marciano
• How I Got Over
  The Roots
• Something’s Changing
  Lucy Rose
• Run the Jewels
  Run the Jewels
• Stone Rollin’
  Raphael Saadiq
• Soldier of Love
  Sade
• Home Counties
  Saint Etienne
• In the Blue Light
  Paul Simon
• In the Lonely Hour
  Sam Smith
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• Glory
  Britney Spears
• St. Vincent
  St. Vincent
• One True Vine
  Mavis Staples
• Love Me Back
  Jazmine Sullivan
• Cape Verde
  Super Chron Flight Brothers
• 1989
  Taylor Swift
• Ctrl
  SZA
• Currents
  Tame Impala
• Three Kings
  TGT
• Underneath the Pine
  Toro y Moi
• While I'm Livin'
  Tanya Tucker
• Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave
  The Twilight Sad
• Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future
  Underworld
• Tough Love
  Jessie Ware
• Flygod
  Westside Gunn
• Coexist
  The xx

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Ten Best Films of 2019, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Vitalina Varela
   Pedro Costa
2. Transit
   Christian Petzold
3. It Must Be Heaven
   Elia Suleiman
4. Flannery
   Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco
5. Foxtrot
   Samuel Maoz
6. Conrad Veidt: My Life
   Mark Rappaport
7. Where's My Roy Cohn?
   Matt Tyrnauer
8. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
9. Ad Astra
   James Gray
10. The Souvenir
    Joanna Hogg

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2019

BuzzFeed: Here Are The 55 Best TV Shows Of The Decade

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

1. Game of Thrones
2. Fleabag
3. Breaking Bad
4. Stranger Things
5. The Office (US)
6. Veep
7. Orange is the New Black
8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9. How to Get Away with Murder
10. Chernobyl
11. Pose
12. The Big Bang Theory
13. Parks and Recreation
14. Schitt's Creek
15. Scandal
16. The Good Place
17. Mad Men
18. Friday Night Lights
19. How I Met Your Mother
20. Parenthood
21. Barry
22. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
23. American Horror Story
24. 30 Rock
25. The Americans
26. Downton Abbey
27. Grey's Anatomy
28. Modern Family
29. The Handmaid’s Tale
30. One Day at a Time
31. Sherlock
32. Black-ish
33. Killing Eve
34. Glee
35. This Is Us
36. Atlanta
37. Broad City
38. Euphoria
39. BoJack Horseman
40. When They See Us
41. Jane the Virgin
42. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
43. The Haunting of Hill House
44. Grace and Frankie
45. Orphan Black
46. Westworld
47. The Crown
48. Big Little Lies
49. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
50. The Walking Dead
51. Dead to Me
52. Outlander
53. Black Mirror
54. Jessica Jones
55. Succession

IndieWire: The Best TV Shows of the Decade, Ranked

[see also 2022 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Leftovers
2. Fleabag
3. Breaking Bad
4. BoJack Horseman
5. Hannibal
6. Veep
7. 30 Rock
8. The Americans
9. Parks and Recreation
10. Atlanta
11. Better Things
12. Bob’s Burgers
13. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
14. Halt and Catch Fire
15. You’re the Worst
16. The Good Place
17. Key and Peele
18. Russian Doll
19. Broad City
20. Tuca & Bertie
21. The Crown
22. Review
23. American Crime Story
24. Barry
25. Big Mouth
26. Catastrophe
27. Better Call Saul
28. Dear White People
29. Nathan for You
30. Party Down
31. Terriers
32. Twin Peaks: The Return
33. Speechless
34. The Handmaid’s Tale
35. Rectify
36. Looking
37. Olive Kitteridge
38. Sharp Objects
39. Killing Eve
40. Fargo
41. Master of None
42. Archer
43. Homecoming
44. Big Little Lies
45. Justified
46. The Good Fight
47. One Day at a Time
48. Superstore
49. True Detective
50. The Terror

Kirkus Prize: Nonfiction 2019, awarded by Kirkus Reviews

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

Winner

• How We Fight for Our Lives
  Saeed Jones

Nonfiction

• Go Ahead in the Rain

  Notes to A Tribe Called Quest
  Hanif Abdurraqib
• When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back
  Naja Marie Aidt
• Say Nothing

  A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
  Patrick Radden Keefe
• The Ungrateful Refugee

  What Immigrants Never Tell You
  Dina Nayeri
• No Visible Bruises

  What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
  Rachel Louise Snyder

Kirkus Prize: Fiction 2019, awarded by Kirkus Reviews

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

Winner

• The Nickel Boys
  Colson Whitehead

Finalists

• Cantoras
  Carolina De Robertis
• The Other Americans
  Laila Lalami
• Lost Children Archive
  Valeria Luiselli
• Territory of Light
  Yuko Tsushima
• On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
  Ocean Vuong

Matt Singer: The Best Movies of the 2010s, as published by ScreenCrush

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
3. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
5. Lady Bird
   Greta Gerwig
6. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
7. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
8. The Social Network
   David Fincher
9. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
10. Inside Llewyn Davis
    Joel & Ethan Coen
11. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
12. Short Term 12
    Destin Cretton
13. Exit Through the Gift Shop
    Banksy
14. Bad Black
    Nabwana I.G.G.
15. Sing Street
    John Carney
16. Take Shelter
    Jeff Nichols
17. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
18. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
19. Uncut Gems
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
20. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
    Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone

Honorable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)

• Annihilation
  Alex Garland
• Anomalisa
  Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
• The Cabin in the Woods
  Drew Goddard
• Certified Copy
  Abbas Kiarostami
• A Ghost Story
  David Lowery
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
  Wes Anderson
• Her
  Spike Jonze
• The Interrupters
  Steve James
• I Saw the Devil
  Kim Ji-woon
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  Christopher McQuarrie
• Moonlight
  Barry Jenkins
• Mother
  Bong Joon-ho
• Phantom Thread
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Private Life
  Tamara Jenkins
• Roma
  Alfonso Cuaron
• A Separation
  Asghar Farhadi
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  Martin McDonagh
• Toni Erdmann
  Maren Ade
• Under the Skin
  Jonathan Glazer
• Zero Dark Thirty
  Kathryn Bigelow

Literary Hub: The 10 Best Poetry Collections of the Decade

[see also 2017]

• Nox
  Anne Carson
• Lighthead
  Terrance Hayes
• Life on Mars
  Tracy K. Smith
• When My Brother Was an Aztec
  Natalie Diaz
• Thrall
  Natasha Trethewey
• Incarnadine
  Mary Szybist
• Citizen

  An American Lyric
  Claudia Rankine
• Voyage of the Sable Venus

  and Other Poems
  Robin Coste Lewis
• Night Sky With Exit Wounds
  Ocean Vuong
• Don’t Call Us Dead
  Danez Smith

Dissenting Opinions

• One With Others
  C.D. Wright
• Beauty Was the Case That They Gave Me
  Mark Leidner
• Engine Empire
  Cathy Park Hong
• Slow Lightning
  Eduardo C. Corral
• Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals
  Patricia Lockwood
• Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
  Ross Gay
• Bright Dead Things
  Ada Limón
• Bestiary
  Donika Kelly
• Good Stock Strange Blood
  Dawn Lundy Martin
• Wild Is the Wind
  Carl Phillips
• Soft Science
  Franny Choi

Honorable Mentions

• The Best of It
  Kay Ryan
• Every Riven Thing
  Christian Wiman
• Space, in Chains
  Laura Kasischke
• Head Off & Split
  Nikky Finney
• Water Puppets
  Quan Barry
• not merely because of the unknown that was stalking toward them
  Jenny Boully
• Stag's Leap
  Sharon Olds
• Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys
  D.A. Powell
• Bewilderment

  New Poems and Translations
  David Ferry
• My Poems Won't Change the World
  Patrizia Cavalli
• Vow
  Rebecca Hazelton
• Black Aperture
  Matt Rasmussen
• Antidote
  Corey Van Landingham
• Metaphysical Dog
  Frank Bidart
• 3 Sections
  Vijay Seshadri
• White Blight
  Athena Farrokhzad
• Digest
  Gregory Pardlo
• Prelude to Bruise
  Saeed Jones
• Gabriel
  Edward Hirsch
• Faithful and Virtuous Night
  Louise Glück
• How to Be Drawn
  Terrance Hayes
• Wishing for Birds
  Elisabeth Hewer
• Girl-King
  Brittany Cavallaro
• War of the Foxes
  Richard Siken
• Ozone Journal
  Peter Balakian
• I Must Be Living Twice

  New and Selected Poems 1975 – 2014
  Eileen Myles
• House of Lords and Commons
  Ishion Hutchinson
• Look
  Solmaz Sharif
• Olio
  Tyehimba Jess
• The Performance of Becoming Human
  Daniel Borzutzky
• Electric Arches
  Eve L. Ewing
• WHEREAS
  Layli Long Soldier
• Good Bones
  Maggie Smith
• Calling a Wolf a Wolf
  Kaveh Akbar
• Half-Light

  Collected Poems 1965-2016
  Frank Bidart
• So Where Are We?
  Lawrence Joseph
• American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
  Terrance Hayes
• The Carrying
  Ada Limón
• Ghost Of
  Diana Khoi Nguyen
• Virgin
  Analicia Sotelo
• Indecency
  Justin Phillip Reed
• Tropic of Squalor
  Mary Karr
• Deaf Republic
  Ilya Kaminsky
• The Tradition
  Jericho Brown
• Unhistorical
  Brittany Cavallaro
• Magical Negro
  Morgan Parker
• Gloss
  Rebecca Hazelton

Paste Magazine: The 40 Best Novels of the 2010s

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2018 • 2017]

1. The Underground Railroad
   Colson Whitehead
2. Circe
   Madeline Miller
3. Homegoing
   Yaa Gyasi
4. Fates and Furies
   Lauren Groff
5. Lincoln in the Bardo
   George Saunders
6. Swamplandia!
   Karen Russell
7. The Fifth Season
   N.K. Jemisin
8. The Leavers
   Lisa Ko
9. Station Eleven
   Emily St. John Mandel
10. Sing, Unburied, Sing
    Jesmyn Ward
11. The Way of Kings
    Brandon Sanderson
12. Wolf in White Van
    John Darnielle
13. Little Fires Everywhere
    Celeste Ng
14. The Water Dancer
    Ta-Nehisi Coates
15. The Goldfinch
    Donna Tartt
16. The Night Circus
    Erin Morgenstern
17. Family Life
    Akhil Sharma
18. Swing Time
    Zadie Smith
19. The Wise Man's Fear
    Patrick Rothfuss
20. Life After Life
    Kate Atkinson
21. The Destroyers
    Christopher Bollen
22. Boy, Snow, Bird
    Helen Oyeyemi
23. The Lesser Bohemians
    Eimear McBride
24. Red at the Bone
    Jacqueline Woodson
25. The Sympathizer
    Viet Thanh Nguyen
26. Eileen
    Ottessa Moshfegh
27. The Poppy War
    R.F. Kuang
28. Americanah
    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
29. The Incendiaries
    R.O. Kwon
30. Bowlaway
    Elizabeth McCracken
31. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
    Hank Green
32. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
    Hannah Tinti
33. What Belongs to You
    Garth Greenwell
34. Who Fears Death
    Nnedi Okorafor
35. An Untamed State
    Roxane Gay
36. The Martian
    Andy Weir
37. Exit West
    Mohsin Hamid
38. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
    Neil Gaiman
39. Sudden Death
    Álvaro Enrigue. Translated by Natasha Wimmer
40. Flight Behavior
    Barbara Kingsolver

The Booker Prize: Best Fiction of 2019

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

Winner

• The Testaments
  Margaret Atwood
• Girl, Woman, Other
  Bernardine Evaristo

Shortlist

• Ducks, Newburyport
  Lucy Ellmann
• An Orchestra of Minorities
  Chigozie Obioma
• Quichotte
  Salman Rushdie
• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World
  Elif Shafak

Longlist

• Night Boat to Tangier
  Kevin Barry
• My Sister, the Serial Killer
  Oyinkan Braithwaite
• The Wall
  John Lanchester
• The Man Who Saw Everything
  Deborah Levy
• Lost Children Archive
  Valeria Luiselli
• Lanny
  Max Porter
• Frankissstein

  A Love Story
  Jeanette Winterson