With each year, the arts writers face the challenge of limiting the best in entertainment to a near impossible 10 rankings. 2013 was a particularly broad and diverse year for entertainment — whether it be mainstream or independent, comedy or drama, 2013 was explosive in the quality and range of its pop culture offerings.
These lists represent the combined efforts of the film, entertainment and music desks to determine the peaks of artistic expression in the last 12 month. For explanations of each choice, check out our arts-dedicated blog, The Highlighter, and leave your own choices in the comments below each article. Here are the full lists.
1. “Gravity”
2. “Her”
3. “12 Years a Slave”
4. “Inside Llewyn Davis”
5. “Before Midnight”
6. “The Wolf of Wall Street”
7. “Spring Breakers”
8. “Blue is the Warmest Color”
9. “Frances Ha”
10. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
1. “Breaking Bad”
2. “Game of Thrones”
3. “Orange Is the New Black”
4. “Mad Men”
5. “Girls”
6. “House of Cards”
7. “Arrested Development”
8. “Enlightened”
9. “New Girl”
10. “The Mindy Project”
1. Vampire Weekend, “Modern Vampires of the City”
2. Kanye West, “Yeezus”
3. Arcade Fire, “Reflektor”
4. Sky Ferreira, “Night Time, My Time”
5. Drake, “Nothing Was the Same”
6. Beyonce, “Beyonce”
7. Haim, “Days Are Gone”
8. Lorde, “Pure Heroine”
9. Daft Punk, “Random Access Memories”
10. David Bowie, “The Next Day”
John Francis Fox • Jan 17, 2014 at 2:48 pm
I liked reading your list of the 10 Best Films, but how could you overlook “The Butler,” “Blue Jasmine,” “Junction,” and “Camille Claudel: 1915”? They were the best films of last year.