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

2016 Movies

RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2016

16 December 2016

Moonlight - Barry Jenkins

RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2016, a survey of the site's ten regular film critics and two assistant editors

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

  1. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  2. Paterson
    Jim Jarmusch
  3. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
  4. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
  5. Elle
    Paul Verhoeven
  6. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
  7. 13th
    Ava DuVernay
  8. Cameraperson
    Kirsten Johnson
  9. Love & Friendship
    Whit Stillman
  10. I, Daniel Blake
    Ken Loach

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

2016 Music

Clash: Albums of the Year 2016

16 December 2016

A Seat at the Table - Solange

Clash Magazine: Albums of the Year 2016

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

  1. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
  2. Blond
    Frank Ocean
  3. Konnichiwa
    Skepta
  4. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
  5. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
  6. Blackstar
    David Bowie
  7. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
  8. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
  9. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
  10. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
  11. 1-800 Dinosaur Presents Trim
    Trim
  12. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
  13. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
  14. Made in the Manor
    Kano
  15. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
  16. Love & Hate
    Michael Kiwanuka
  17. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
  18. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
  19. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
  20. Do Hollywood
    The Lemon Twigs
  21. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
  22. Awaken, My Love!
    Childish Gambino
  23. Human Energy
    Machinedrum
  24. Black Focus
    Yussef Kamaal
  25. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
    Travis Scott
  26. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
  27. Control
    Rosie Lowe
  28. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
  29. Open Your Eyes
    DJ Earl
  30. For All We Know
    NAO
  31. Dangerous Woman
    Ariana Grande
  32. I, Gemini
    Let’s Eat Grandma
  33. Infinite Summer
    NZCA Lines
  34. Bonito Generation
    Kero Kero Bonito
  35. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
  36. Redemption
    Dawn Richard
  37. Project Nautilus
    Yamaneko
  38. Anti
    Rihanna
  39. The Getaway
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
  40. Oh No
    Jessy Lanza
2016 Books

Powell's Books: Best Fiction of 2016

16 December 2016

All That Man Is - David Szalay

Powell's Books: Best Fiction of 2016

[see also Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Nonfiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014 • Best Nonfiction of 2014]

2016 Music

Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2016

16 December 2016

Blackstar - David Bowie

Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2016

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

  1. Blackstar
    David Bowie
  2. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
  3. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
  4. Junk
    M83
  5. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
  6. Human Performance
    Parquet Courts
  7. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
  8. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
  9. Front Row Seat to Earth
    Weyes Blood
  10. Eternally Even
    Jim James
  11. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  12. Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future
    Underworld
  13. Tween
    Wye Oak
  14. The Bride
    Bat for Lashes
  15. Blind Spot
    Lush
  16. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
  17. Running out of Love
    The Radio Dept.
  18. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
  19. Is the Is Are
    DIIV
  20. Wildflower
    The Avalanches
  21. Amen & Goodbye
    Yeasayer
  22. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
  23. Palana
    Charlie Hilton
  24. Boy King
    Wild Beasts
  25. How to Be a Human Being
    Glass Animals
  26. Puberty 2
    Mitski
  27. Luck or Magic
    Britta Phillips
  28. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
  29. SVIIB
    School Of Seven Bells
  30. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
  31. Otero War
    Caveman
  32. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
  33. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
  34. Human Ceremony
    Sunflower Bean
  35. Blond
    Frank Ocean
  36. The Midnight Sun
    C Duncan
  37. Life of Pause
    Wild Nothing
  38. If You See Me, Say Yes
    Flock of Dimes
  39. Total Depravity
    The Veils
  40. Chaosmosis
    Primal Scream
  41. Adore Life
    Savages
  42. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
  43. Take It, It's Yours
    Katy Goodman & Greta Morgan
  44. Singing Saw
    Kevin Morby
  45. Building a Beginning
    Jamie Lidell
  46. Minor Victories
    Minor Victories
  47. Fading Lines
    Amber Arcades
  48. No Burden
    Lucy Dacus
  49. Melt
    Boxed In
  50. Do Hollywood
    The Lemon Twigs
  51. Nonagon Infinity
    King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
  52. Infinite Summer
    NZCA Lines
  53. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
  54. The Hope Six Demolition Project
    PJ Harvey
  55. Pretty Years
    Cymbals Eat Guitars
  56. A Hand Through The Cellar Door
    Luke Temple
  57. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
  58. Midnight Room
    Springtime Carnivore
  59. Every Now & Then
    Jagwar Ma
  60. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
  61. Moth
    Chairlift
  62. Mass Gothic
    Mass Gothic
  63. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
  64. Soft Hair
    Soft Hair
  65. Foreverland
    The Divine Comedy
  66. Plays the Music of Twin Peaks
    Xiu Xiu
  67. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
  68. Love Yes
    TEEN
  69. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
  70. Jet Plane and Oxbow
    Shearwater
  71. Heads Up
    Warpaint
  72. Strange Diary
    Psychic Twin
  73. Dead Blue
    Still Corners
  74. Bloom Forever
    Thomas Cohen
  75. Schmilco
    Wilco
  76. A Corpse Wired For Sound
    Merchandise
  77. Here
    Teenage Fanclub
  78. City Sun Eater in the River of Light
    Woods
  79. Summer 08
    Metronomy
  80. IV
    Black Mountain
  81. Marlon Williams
    Marlon Williams
  82. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
  83. Preoccupations
    Preoccupations
  84. Commontime
    Field Music
  85. Painting of a Panic Attack
    Frightened Rabbit
  86. Brilliant Sanity
    Teleman
  87. EUSA
    Yann Tiersen
  88. Post Pop Depression
    Iggy Pop
  89. Plaza
    Quilt
  90. Patience
    The Invisible
  91. Innocence Reaches
    of Montreal
  92. Night Thoughts
    Suede
  93. Luxury Alone
    Weird Dreams
  94. Fall Forever
    Fear of Men
  95. One Day All Of This Won't Matter Any More
    Slow Club
  96. Will
    Julianna Barwick
  97. Eyes on the Lines
    Steve Gunn
  98. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
  99. Waltzed in from the Rumbling
    Plants and Animals
  100. Treasure House
    Cat’s Eyes
2016 Music

Pretty Much Amazing: 60 Best Albums of 2016

16 December 2016

Lemonade - Beyoncé

Pretty Much Amazing: 60 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

  1. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
  2. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
  3. Blond
    Frank Ocean
  4. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
  5. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
  6. Blackstar
    David Bowie
  7. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
  8. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
  9. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
  10. Wildflower
    The Avalanches
  11. Jeffery
    Young Thug
  12. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
  13. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
  14. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
  15. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
  16. Anti
    Rihanna
  17. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
  18. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
  19. Human Performance
    Parquet Courts
  20. Junk
    M83
  21. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
  22. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
  23. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
  24. Bottomless Pit
    Death Grips
  25. E•MO•TION: Side B
    Carly Rae Jepsen
  26. AIM
    M.I.A.
  27. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
  28. The Glowing Man
    Swans
  29. Cheetah
    Aphex Twin
  30. Sleep Cycle
    Deakin
  31. Puberty 2
    Mitski
  32. and the Anonymous Nobody…
    De La Soul
  33. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
  34. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
  35. Moth
    Chairlift
  36. Preoccupations
    Preoccupations
  37. Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future
    Underworld
  38. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
  39. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
  40. Nonagon Infinity
    King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
  41. The Hope Six Demolition Project
    PJ Harvey
  42. RR7349
    S U R V I V E
  43. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
  44. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  45. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
  46. The Impossible Kid
    Aesop Rock
  47. Stranger to Stranger
    Paul Simon
  48. Rojus (Designed to Dance)
    Leon Vynehall
  49. Joanne
    Lady Gaga
  50. Tempo
    Olga Bell
  51. Singing Saw
    Kevin Morby
  52. SEPT. 5TH
    dvsn
  53. Endless
    Frank Ocean
  54. I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
    Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
  55. Roosevelt
    Roosevelt
  56. Gore
    Deftones
  57. Trans Day of Revenge
    G.L.O.S.S.
  58. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
  59. Paradise
    White Lung
  60. The Follower
    The Field
2016 Movies

AP: Lindsey Bahr: Top 10 Movies of 2016

15 December 2016

La La Land - Damien Chazelle

Lindsey Bahr: Top 10 Movies of 2016, as published by Associated Press

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

  1. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
  2. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
  3. Jackie
    Pablo Larraín
  4. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  5. The Red Turtle
    Michael Dudok de Wit
  6. 20th Century Women
    Mike Mills
  7. I Am Not Your Negro
    Raoul Peck
  8. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
  9. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt
  10. Sausage Party
    Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon
2016 Movies

AP: Jake Coyle: Top 10 Movies of 2016

15 December 2016

Moonlight - Barry Jenkins

Jake Coyle: Top 10 Movies of 2016, as published by Associated Press

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

  1. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  2. Cameraperson
    Kirsten Johnson
  3. La La Land
    Damien Chazelle
  4. I Am Not Your Negro
    Raoul Peck
  5. Sunset Song
    Terence Davies
  6. American Honey
    Andrea Arnold
  7. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
  8. O.J.: Made in America
    Ezra Edelman
  9. Hell or High Water
    David Mackenzie
  10. The Edge of Seventeen
    Kelly Fremon Craig
2016 Movies

Los Angeles Times: Justin Chang: Top 25 Movies of 2016

15 December 2016

Silence - Martin Scorsese

Justin Chang: Top 25 Movies of 2016, as published by The Los Angeles Times

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

  1. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
  2. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
  3. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
  4. O.J.: Made in America
    Ezra Edelman
  5. Everybody Wants Some!!
    Richard Linklater
  6. My Golden Days
    Arnaud Desplechin
  7. Paterson
    Jim Jarmusch
  8. I Am Not Your Negro
    Raoul Peck
  9. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
  10. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt

And 15 honorable mentions (in alphabetical order)

2016 Music

Quietus: Top 100 Albums of 2016

15 December 2016

The Gospel - Årabrot

The Quietus: Top 100 Albums of 2016

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

  1. The Gospel
    Årabrot
  2. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
  3. III
    Innercity Ensemble
  4. Oh No
    Jessy Lanza
  5. Lodestar
    Shirley Collins
  6. Songs for Our Mothers
    The Fat White Family
  7. Blackstar
    David Bowie
  8. Centres
    Ian William Craig
  9. Redemption
    Dawn Richard
  10. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
  11. Blond
    Frank Ocean
  12. Simultaneous Flight Movement
    Laura Cannell
  13. Ultimate Care II
    Matmos
  14. Too
    Klara Lewis
  15. Konnichiwa
    Skepta
  16. Everywhere at the End of Time
    The Caretaker
  17. Värähtelijä
    Oranssi Pazuzu
  18. Devotional Songs
    Shackleton with Ernesto Tomasini
  19. Controlling Body
    Peder Mannerfelt
  20. Strangers
    Marissa Nadler
  21. Hardcore Sounds From Tehran
    Sote
  22. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  23. Color
    Katie Gately
  24. Sex Swing
    Sex Swing
  25. The Ship
    Brian Eno
  26. We Are King
    KING
  27. Mirror
    Gnod
  28. Be One
    Wolfgang Buttress & Bees
  29. Perdurance
    Jute Gyte
  30. For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)
    Huerco S
  31. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
  32. Remoteness Of Light
    The Stargazer’s Assistant
  33. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
  34. Will
    Julianna Barwick
  35. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
  36. Night Thoughts
    Suede
  37. A Hermitage
    Jambinai
  38. 2845
    Convextion
  39. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
  40. Toll
    Kemper Norton
  41. The Spiral
    Puce Mary
  42. Hipnotik Tradisi
    Black Merlin
  43. I, Sun
    Daniel Patrick Quinn
  44. Butterflies
    Lord Tang
  45. Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future
    Underworld
  46. FRKWYS Vol. 13: Sunergy
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani
  47. We Be All Africans
    Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
  48. Bird Sound Power
    Equiknoxx
  49. Varmints
    Anna Meredith
  50. 25 25
    Factory Floor
  51. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
  52. Defy a Thing to Be
    Bully Fae
  53. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
  54. Made in the Manor
    Kano
  55. Human Condition
    Bruxa Maria
  56. Furfour
    Grumbling Fur
  57. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
  58. Shred
    Skee Mask
  59. Hubris
    Oren Ambarchi
  60. Channel the Spirits
    The Comet Is Coming
  61. “BBF” Hosted By DJ Escrow
    Babyfather
  62. No One Deserves Happiness
    The Body
  63. Housebound Demigod
    G.H.
  64. Thankful Villages, Vol. 1
    Darren Hayman
  65. A Pot of Powdered Nettles
    Laniakea
  66. Lines
    Waclaw Zimpel
  67. Third Law
    Roly Porter
  68. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
  69. Atlantikwall
    Atlantikwall
  70. SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs
    SHXCXCHCXSH
  71. Adieux Au Dancefloor
    Marie Davidson
  72. Pattern Man
    Pattern Man
  73. Insight II
    Julien Marchal
  74. Lagos Sessions
    Billy Bao
  75. Epicycle
    Gyða Valtýsdottir
  76. Arbina
    Noura Mint Seymali
  77. Remain Calm
    Mica Levi & Oliver Coates
  78. Bronze
    Hen Ogledd
  79. Disclosure
    Kassem Mosse
  80. The Black Meat
    Kristoffer Lo
  81. Awake but Always Dreaming
    Hannah Peel
  82. Isis and Osiris
    Sam Shalabi
  83. In Drum Play
    Pangaea
  84. PYR
    Ghold
  85. From Patterns to Details
    FIS
  86. You Know What It’s Like
    Carla dal Forno
  87. The Glowing Man
    Swans
  88. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
  89. The Best
    Omar S
  90. Bottled out of Eden
    Knifeworld
  91. Hymns for the Broken, Swollen And Silent
    Gnaw Their Tongues
  92. M:FANS
    John Cale
  93. Patience
    The Invisible
  94. Nocturnal Koreans
    Wire
  95. Jackie Lynn
    Circuit Des Yeux
  96. Bes
    The Dwarfs of East Agouza
  97. Treasure House
    Cat’s Eyes
  98. Ahrkh Wagner
    Ahrkh Wagner
  99. Last Evenings on Earth
    Melt Yourself Down
  100. Strandebarm
    Stein Urheim
2016 Books

Powell's Books: Best Nonfiction of 2016

15 December 2016

Shrill - Lindy West

Powell's Books: Best Nonfiction of 2016

[see also Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014 • Best Nonfiction of 2014]

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