Year-End Lists

A.O. Scott: 10 Best Movies of 2016, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
3. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
4. Cameraperson
   Kirsten Johnson
5. Aferim!
   Radu Jude
6. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
7. Aquarius
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
8. Sausage Party
   Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon
9. A Bigger Splash
   Luca Guadagnino
10. Elle
    Paul Verhoeven
10. Things to Come
    Mia Hansen-Løve

Stephen Holden: 20 Best Movies of 2016, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
2. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
3. American Honey
   Andrea Arnold
4. Embrace of the Serpent
   Ciro Guerra
5. Manchester by the Sea
   Kenneth Lonergan
6. Neon Bull
   Gabriel Mascaro
7. Fire at Sea
   Gianfranco Rosi
8. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
9. Aquarius
   Kleber Mendonça Filho

Runners-up

• Fireworks Wednesday
  Asghar Farhadi
• Krisha
  Trey Edward Shults
• Sunset Song
  Terence Davies
• Wiener-Dog
  Todd Solondz
• The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
  Ron Howard
• Chronic
  Michel Franco
• Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened…
  Lonny Price
• 20th Century Women
  Mike Mills
• 13th
  Ava DuVernay
• Paterson
  Jim Jarmusch
• Things to Come
  Mia Hansen-Løve

Manohla Dargis: 28 Best Movies of 2016, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
2. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
3. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
4. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
5. My Golden Days
   Arnaud Desplechin
6. I Am Not Your Negro
   Raoul Peck
7. Arrival
   Denis Villeneuve
8. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
9. 13th
   Ava DuVernay
10. From the Notebook of…
    Robert Beavers

Other Loves

• Aquarius
  Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Autumn
  Nathaniel Dorsky
• The Dreamer
  Nathaniel Dorsky
• Bagatelle II
  Jerome Hiler
• Certain Women
  Kelly Reichardt
• Creepy
  Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• The Fits
  Anna Rose Holmer
• The Illinois Parables
  Deborah Stratman
• Into the Inferno
  Werner Herzog
• Jackie
  Pablo Larraín
• Neruda
  Pablo Larraín
• Krisha
  Trey Edward Shults
• La La Land
  Damien Chazelle
• Loving
  Jeff Nichols
• Mountains May Depart
  Jia Zhang-ke
• Paterson
  Jim Jarmusch
• Sunset Song
  Terence Davies
• 20th Century Women
  Mike Mills

The Skinny: Top 50 Albums of 2016

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

1. Blond
   Frank Ocean
2. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
3. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
4. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
5. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
6. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
7. Blackstar
   David Bowie
8. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
9. Human Performance
   Parquet Courts
10. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
11. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
12. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
13. Lost Time
    Tacocat
14. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
15. Puberty 2
    Mitski
16. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
17. Varmints
    Anna Meredith
18. For All We Know
    NAO
19. Nothing’s Real
    Shura
20. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. Rojus (Designed to Dance)
    Leon Vynehall
23. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
24. Adore Life
    Savages
25. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
26. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
27. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
28. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
29. Telefone
    Noname
30. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
31. Boy King
    Wild Beasts
32. Will
    Julianna Barwick
33. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
34. Don’t Let the Kids Win
    Julia Jacklin
35. Fetish Bones
    Moor Mother
36. How to Be a Human Being
    Glass Animals
37. Painting of a Panic Attack
    Frightened Rabbit
38. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
39. Darwîś
    Parra for Cuva
40. Good Luck And Do Your Best
    Gold Panda
41. Here
    Teenage Fanclub
42. Mirror Breathing
    Shield Patterns
43. Babes Never Die
    Honeyblood
44. Singing Saw
    Kevin Morby
45. American Football (LP2)
    American Football
46. City
    Law Holt
47. Meet the Humans
    Steve Mason
48. Weem
    De Rosa
49. E•MO•TION: Side B
    Carly Rae Jepsen
50. Not to Disappear
    Daughter

Alison Willmore: 11 Best Movies of 2016, as published by BuzzFeed

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

1. Toni Erdmann
   Maren Ade
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Weiner
   Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
4. Mountains May Depart
   Jia Zhang-ke
5. Hell or High Water
   David Mackenzie
6. Elle
   Paul Verhoeven
6. Things to Come
   Mia Hansen-Løve
8. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
9. The Edge of Seventeen
   Kelly Fremon Craig
10. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
11. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
    Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone

James Poniewozik: 10 Best TV Shows of 2016, as published by The New York Times

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

• The Americans
• Atlanta
• BoJack Horseman
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• High Maintenance
• Horace and Pete
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• Rectify
• Transparent

Richard Brody: 35 Best Movies of 2016, as published by The New Yorker

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Little Sister
   Zach Clark
2. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
3. Sully
   Clint Eastwood
4. Viktoria
   Maya Vitkova
5. Love & Friendship
   Whit Stillman
6. Men Go to Battle
   Zachary Treitz
7. Wiener-Dog
   Todd Solondz
8. Kate Plays Christine
   Robert Greene
9. Happy Hour
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. Knight of Cups
    Terrence Malick
11. Hail, Caesar!
    Joel & Ethan Coen
12. Everybody Wants Some!!
    Richard Linklater
13. The Love Witch
    Anna Biller
14. Krisha
    Trey Edward Shults
15. Pete’s Dragon
    David Lowery
16. Mountains May Depart
    Jia Zhang-ke
17. For the Plasma
    Bingham Bryant and Kyle Molzan
18. 13th
    Ava DuVernay
19. Manchester by the Sea
    Kenneth Lonergan
20. No Home Movie
    Chantal Akerman
21. The Witness
    James D. Solomon
22. Certain Women
    Kelly Reichardt
23. Sunset Song
    Terence Davies
24. Dog Eat Dog
    Paul Schrader
25. The Treasure
    Corneliu Porumboiu
26. Tower
    Keith Maitland
27. Nuts!
    Penny Lane
28. Mia Madre
    Nanni Moretti
29. Southside with You
    Richard Tanne
30. Michael Moore in TrumpLand
    Michael Moore
31. The Birth of a Nation
    Nate Parker
32. Right Now, Wrong Then
    Hong Sang-soo
33. Embrace of the Serpent
    Ciro Guerra
34. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
35. Hidden Figures
    Theodore Melfi

David Edelstein: 20 Best Movies of 2016, as published by New York Magazine’s Vulture

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

1. La La Land
   Damien Chazelle
2. Hell or High Water
   David Mackenzie
3. 20th Century Women
   Mike Mills
4. Krisha
   Trey Edward Shults
5. O.J.: Made in America
   Ezra Edelman
6. Moonlight
   Barry Jenkins
7. The Witness
   James D. Solomon
8. The Handmaiden
   Park Chan-wook
9. Tower
   Keith Maitland
10. Zero Days
    Alex Gibney
11. Loving
    Jeff Nichols
12. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
13. Silence
    Martin Scorsese
14. Don’t Think Twice
    Mike Birbiglia
15. The Fits
    Anna Rose Holmer
16. Little Men
    Ira Sachs

And let’s not forget

• Creative Control
  Benjamin Dickinson
• Indignation
  James Schamus
• Hacksaw Ridge
  Mel Gibson
• Weiner
  Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

Jim DeRogatis: Best Albums of 2016, as aired on Sound Opinions

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

1. Adore Life
   Savages
2. Love Yes
   TEEN
3. Mystère
   La Femme
4. Gymnastics
   Sneaks
5. Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic
   The Gotobeds
6. Babes Never Die
   Honeyblood
7. Blood Bitch
   Jenny Hval
8. American Band
   Drive-By Truckers
9. Unseen
   The Handsome Family
10. A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
    Beach Slang

Entertainment Weekly: 50 Best Albums of 2016

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

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Blackstar
   David Bowie
3. Anti
   Rihanna
4. 99.9%
   KAYTRANADA
5. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
   Sturgill Simpson
6. Puberty 2
   Mitski
7. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
8. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
9. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
10. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
11. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
12. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
13. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
14. Blond
    Frank Ocean
15. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
16. The Weight of These Wings
    Miranda Lambert
17. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
18. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
19. SVIIB
    School Of Seven Bells
20. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
21. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
22. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
23. Stranger to Stranger
    Paul Simon
24. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
25. Day Breaks
    Norah Jones
26. Matter
    St. Lucia
27. Dangerous Woman
    Ariana Grande
28. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
29. For All We Know
    NAO
30. Long Way Home
    Låpsley
31. Lady Wood
    Tove Lo
32. Schmilco
    Wilco
33. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
34. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
35. Ouroboros
    Ray LaMontagne
36. Jeffery
    Young Thug
37. Paradise
    White Lung
38. Black America Again
    Common
39. A Good Night in the Ghetto
    Kamaiyah
40. Human Ceremony
    Sunflower Bean
41. Tkay
    Tkay Maidza
42. Full Circle
    Loretta Lynn
43. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
44. Telefone
    Noname
45. I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
    Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
46. Shape Shift With Me
    Against Me!
47. Day of the Dead
    various artists
48. Talk To You Soon
    Ricky Eat Acid
49. Standards
    Into It. Over It.
50. RMX/RBN
    Robyn