Year-End Lists

John Powers: Top 11 Films of 2015, as published by Vogue

[see also 2018 • 2017]

1. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
3. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
4. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
5. The Martian
   Ridley Scott
6. The Big Short
   Adam McKay
7. The Walk
   Robert Zemeckis
8. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. The End of the Tour
   James Ponsoldt
9. Mustang
   Deniz Gamze Ergüven
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker

Inkoo Kang: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2015, as published by The Village Voice

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2014]

1. Transparent
2. Catastrophe
3. Jane the Virgin
4. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
5. Broad City
6. Mad Men
7. Another Period
8. Orange is the New Black
9. Survivor’s Remorse
10. Scandal

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2015

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

1. Dark Energy
   Jlin
2. Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee
   Matana Roberts
3. Magnetoception
   Joshua Abrams
4. Have You In My Wilderness
   Julia Holter
5. I Abused Animal
   Heather Leigh
6. Platform
   Holly Herndon
7. Simple Songs
   Jim O’Rourke
8. The Epic
   Kamasi Washington
9. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
10. Vertigo
    The Necks
11. We Are Not the First
    Hieroglyphic Being
12. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
13. Vulnicura
    Björk
14. Divers
    Joanna Newsom
15. Schwarze Riesenfalter
    Graham Lambkin / Michael Pisaro
16. Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes African Mystic Music
    Raphael Rogiński
17. Beneath Swooping Talons
    Laura Cannell
18. Garden of Delete
    Oneohtrix Point Never
19. DS2
    Future
20. Olympic Mess
    Helm
21. Key Markets
    Sleaford Mods
22. Chiltern
    Hour House
23. From Kinshasa
    Mbongwana Star
24. Sauchiehall Enthrall
    Golden Teacher
25. Still
    Richard Thompson
26. Comme ça
    Domenique Dumont
27. Safe
    Visionist
28. Hexadic
    Six Organs of Admittance
29. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2
    Aphex Twin
30. Danger
    Nidia Minaj
31. Edition 1
    King Midas Sound & Fennesz
32. Cardinal
    Philip Jeck
33. 56 Nights
    DJ Esco & Future
34. Infinity Machines
    Gnod
35. Seymour Writes Back
    Seymour Wright
36. Much Less Normal
    LNRDCROY
37. Grizzana and other pieces 2009-2014
    Jürg Frey
38. Demo
    Guttersnipe
39. If He Dies, If If If If If If
    Jerusalem in My Heart
40. Allison Cameron: A Gossamer Bit
    Contact
41. F (X)
    Carter Tutti Void
42. One man and a fly
    Radu Malfatti
43. The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
    Thundercat
44. Work
    Uwe Oberg
45. Good Sad Happy Bad
    Micachu & The Shapes
46. Elaenia
    Floating Points
47. Enough still not to know
    Keith Rowe / John Tilbury
48. Dream a Garden
    Jam City
49. Instrumentals 2015
    Flying Saucer Attack
50. The Deluge
    William Basinski

Billboard: 25 Best Albums of 2015 (as voted by Billboard staff)

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

1. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
2. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
   Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Original Broadway Cast
3. Art Angels
   Grimes
4. Summertime ’06
   Vince Staples
5. 25
   Adele
6. In Colour
   Jamie xx
7. Sound & Color
   Alabama Shakes
8. Black Messiah
   D’Angelo and The Vanguard
9. I Love You, Honeybear
   Father John Misty
10. Something More Than Free
    Jason Isbell
11. DS2
    Future
12. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Drake
13. Traveller
    Chris Stapleton
14. No Cities To Love
    Sleater-Kinney
15. Dark Sky Paradise
    Big Sean
16. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
    Courtney Barnett
17. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    Florence + The Machine
18. Beauty Behind the Madness
    The Weeknd
19. Amanecer
    Bomba Estéreo
20. Days Gone By
    Bob Moses
21. Honeymoon
    Lana Del Rey
22. Surf
    Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
23. Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
    Skrillex & Diplo
24. E•MO•TION
    Carly Rae Jepsen
25. Hasta la Raíz
    Natalia Lafourcade

Film Comment: 20 Best Films of 2015 (as voted by “over 100 North American colleagues”)

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

1. Carol
   Todd Haynes
2. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
5. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
6. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
7. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
9. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
10. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
11. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
12. Anomalisa
    Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
13. In Jackson Heights
    Frederick Wiseman
14. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
15. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
16. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
17. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
18. Brooklyn
    John Crowley
19. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
20. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg

IndieWire Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015 (as voted by 204 critics)

NOTE: Although the scores indicate a tie for the 49th film, IndieWire presents them in this order, with no ties.

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

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
4. Inside Out
   Pete Docter
5. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
6. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
7. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
8. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
9. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
10. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
11. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
12. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas
13. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
14. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
15. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson
16. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
17. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
18. Arabian Nights
    Miguel Gomes
19. Creed
    Ryan Coogler
20. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
21. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
    Jafar Panahi
22. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
23. It Follows
    David Robert Mitchell
24. The Tribe
    Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
25. Sicario
    Denis Villeneuve
26. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
27. In Jackson Heights
    Frederick Wiseman
28. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
29. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
30. Steve Jobs
    Danny Boyle
31. The Mend
    John Magary
32. Jauja
    Lisandro Alonso
33. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller
34. Chi-Raq
    Spike Lee
35. Heart of a Dog
    Laurie Anderson
36. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa
37. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
38. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
39. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
40. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
41. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
42. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
43. About Elly
    Asghar Farhadi
44. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
45. The End of the Tour
    James Ponsoldt
46. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
47. Queen of Earth
    Alex Ross Perry
48. Li’l Quinquin
    Bruno Dumont
49. Mustang
    Deniz Gamze Ergüven
50. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad

Greg Kot: Top 20 Albums of 2015, as published by The Chicago Tribune and aired on Sound Opinions

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

• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  Courtney Barnett
• The Agent Intellect
  Protomartyr
• Ratchet
  Shamir
• Summertime ’06
  Vince Staples
• The Most Lamentable Tragedy
  Titus Andronicus
• Surf
  Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
• Art Angels
  Grimes
• Sprinter
  TORRES
• Silver Bullets
  The Chills

The next 10

• The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets
  Van Hunt
• Works For Tomorrow
  Eleventh Dream Day
• Hi Honey
  Low Cut Connie
• Imani, Vol. 1
  Blackalicious
• Currents
  Tame Impala
• Wildheart
  Miguel
• No Cities To Love
  Sleater-Kinney
• Divers
  Joanna Newsom
• Pretend
  Seinabo Sey
• Wire
  Wire

Jim DeRogatis: 40 Favorite Albums of 2015, as published by WBEZ and aired on Sound Opinions

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

1. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
   Courtney Barnett
2. Hi Honey
   Low Cut Connie
3. To Pimp A Butterfly
   Kendrick Lamar
4. Feels Like
   Bully
5. The Most Lamentable Tragedy
   Titus Andronicus
6. A Raw Youth
   Le Butcherettes
7. Wire
   Wire
8. Stuff Like That There
   Yo La Tengo
9. Sprinter
   TORRES
10. Visions
    Grimes
11. Star Wars
    Wilco
12. Sound & Color
    Alabama Shakes
13. Ratchet
    Shamir
14. Ones and Sixes
    Low
15. Surf
    Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
16. The Agent Intellect
    Protomartyr
17. Dodge and Burn
    The Dead Weather
18. Rose Mountain
    Screaming Females
19. Snooty Garbagemen
    Snooty Garbagemen
20. Still
    Richard Thompson
21. Wildheart
    Miguel
22. Summertime ’06
    Vince Staples
23. Hawkdope
    Black Rainbows
24. Instrumentals 2015
    Flying Saucer Attack
25. Currents
    Tame Impala
26. Our Toast
    The Sandwitches
27. The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets
    Van Hunt
28. Hey, Killer
    Local H
29. Show Us Your Mind
    Summer Cannibals
30. Tetsuo & Youth
    Lupe Fiasco
31. Incidental Hum
    Glenn Mercer
32. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
    The Decemberists
33. Silver Bullets
    The Chills
34. Imani, Vol. 1
    Blackalicious
35. Gates of Gold
    Los Lobos
36. Universal Road
    Robin Guthrie & Mark Gardener
37. Viet Cong
    Viet Cong
38. The Magic Whip
    Blur
39. Kindred
    Passion Pit
40. Slow Gum
    Fraser A. Gorman

Amy Nicholson: Top 10 Films of 2015, as published by LA Weekly

1. Chi-Raq
   Spike Lee
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. The Hateful Eight
   Quentin Tarantino
4. American Ultra
   Nima Nourizadeh
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
6. Room
   Lenny Abrahamson
7. Victoria
   Sebastian Schipper
8. Spy
   Paul Feig
9. The Second Mother
   Anna Muylaert
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker

Kitty Empire: Top 10 Albums of 2015, as published by The Observer

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

• To Pimp A Butterfly
  Kendrick Lamar
• Divers
  Joanna Newsom
• Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  Courtney Barnett
• Carrie & Lowell
  Sufjan Stevens
• Sound & Color
  Alabama Shakes
• I Love You, Honeybear
  Father John Misty
• Ones and Sixes
  Low
• From Kinshasa
  Mbongwana Star
• Natalie Prass
  Natalie Prass
• Currents
  Tame Impala