I found over 25 lists of “Best Documentary Films of All Time” on the Internet and combined them into one meta-list. Here are the results, organized chronologically. This list includes every documentary on at least three of the original source lists. If I’ve seen the documentary, I’ve included my 1-10 rating. I’ve also indicated the number of original source lists that the film is on. For a version of this list organized by rank (i.e., with the films on the most lists at the top) with photos, go here.

FORMAT: Title (Country, Year) Director (my 1-10 rating, if I’ve seen it) (number of lists)

1. Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (France, 1896) Dir: Auguste Lumière & Louis Lumière (6) (on 3 lists)
2. Nanook of the North (US, 1922) Dir: Robert J. Flaherty (8) (on 13 lists)
3. Man with a Movie Camera (USSR, 1929) Dir: Dziga Vertov (10) (on 16 lists)
4. Land Without Bread (Spain, 1933) Dir: Luis Buñuel (on 3 lists)
5. Triumph of the Will (Germany, 1934) Dir: Leni Riefenstahl (8) (on 5 lists)
6. Night and Fog (Nuit et brouillard) (France, 1955) Dir: Alain Resnais (10) (on 14 lists)
7. Primary (US, 1960) Dir: Robert Drew (on 3 lists)
8. Chronicle of a Summer (France, 1961) Dir: Jean Rouch (on 6 lists)
9. The Up Series: Seven-Up (UK, 1964) Dir: Paul Almond (on 17 lists)
10. The War Game (UK, 1965) Dir: Peter Watkins (8) (on 6 lists)
11. Tokyo Olympiad (Japan, 1965) Dir: Kon Ichikawa (on 3 lists)
12. Dont Look Back (US, 1967) Dir: D.A. Pennebaker (8) (on 15 lists)
13. Titicut Follies (US, 1967) Dir: Frederick Wiseman (on 10 lists)
14. Portrait of Jason (US, 1967) Dir: Shirley Clarke (on 3 lists)
15. Salesman (US, 1968) Dir: Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin (on 13 lists)
16. High School (US, 1968) Dir: Frederick Wiseman (on 6 lists)
17. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (US, 1968) Dir: William Greaves (10) (on 6 lists)
18. Monterey Pop (US, 1968) Dir: D.A. Pennebaker (8) (on 5 lists)
19. In the Year of the Pig (US, 1968) Dir: Emile de Antonio (8) (on 5 lists)
20. The Hour of the Furnaces (Argentina, 1968) Dir: Octavio Getino & Fernando Solanas (on 3 lists)
21. The Sorrow and the Pity (France, 1969) Dir: Marcel Ophüls (on 9 lists)
22. The Up Series: 14-Up (UK, 1970) Dir: Michael Apted (on 17 lists)
23. Gimme Shelter (US, 1970) Dir: Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin (9) (on 16 lists)
24. Woodstock (US, 1970) Dir: Michael Wadleigh (8) (on 11 lists)
25. Original Cast Album: Company (US, 1970) Dir: D.A. Pennebaker (on 3 lists)
26. F for Fake (France/Iran/West Germany, 1973) Dir: Orson Welles (on 14 lists)
27. Hearts and Minds (US, 1974) Dir: Peter Davis (on 8 lists)
28. Grey Gardens (UK, 1975) Dir: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde & Muffie Meyer (9) (on 20 lists)
29. Welfare (US, 1975) Dir: Frederick Wiseman (on 6 lists)
30. Harlan County, USA (US, 1976) Dir: Barbara Kopple (on 16 lists)
31. The Up Series: 21-Up (UK, 1977) Dir: Michael Apted (on 17 lists)
32. A Grin Without a Cat (France, 1977) Dir: Chris Marker (on 5 lists)
33. The Last Waltz (US, 1978) Dir: Martin Scorsese (9) (on 14 lists)
34. Gates of Heaven (US, 1978) Dir: Errol Morris (on 4 lists)
35. The Battle of Chile (Chile, 1975, 1976, 1979) Dir: Patricio Guzman (on 11 lists)
36. Koyaanisqatsi (US, 1982) Dir: Godfrey Reggio (9) (on 15 lists)
37. Burden of Dreams (US, 1982) Dir: Les Blank (7) (on 9 lists)
38. Sans Soleil (France, 1983) Dir: Chris Marker (9) (on 12 lists)
39. Style Wars (US, 1983) Dir: Tony Silver (on 4 lists)
40. The Up Series: 28-Up (UK, 1984) Dir: Michael Apted (9) (on 17 lists)
41. The Times of Harvey Milk (US, 1984) Dir: Rob Epstein (9) (on 13 lists)
42. Stop Making Sense (US, 1984) Dir: Jonathan Demme (9) (on 10 lists)
43. Streetwise (US, 1984) Dir: Martin Bell (9) (on 4 lists)
44. Shoah (France, 1985) Dir: Claude Lanzmann (on 18 lists)
45. Sherman’s March (US, 1986) Dir: Ross McElwee (9) (on 9 lists)
46. Handsworth Songs (UK, 1986) Dir: John Akomfrah (on 3 lists)
47. The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (Japan, 1987) Dir: Kazuo Hara (on 3 lists)
48. The Thin Blue Line (US, 1988) Dir: Errol Morris (10) (on 24 lists)
49. Roger & Me (US, 1989) Dir: Michael Moore (8) (on 10 lists)
50. For All Mankind (US, 1989) Dir: Al Reinert (on 3 lists)
51. Paris is Burning (US, 1990) Dir: Jennie Livingston (8) (on 12 lists)
52. Close-Up (Iran, 1990) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami (10) (on 4 lists)
53. The Up Series: 35-Up (UK, 1991) Dir: Michael Apted (8) (on 17 lists)
54. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (US, 1991) Dir: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola (9) (on 14 lists)
55. Lessons of Darkness (Germany/France/UK, 1992) Dir: Werner Herzog (on 6 lists)
56. Brother’s Keeper (US, 1992) Dir: Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (9) (on 3 lists)
57. Baraka (US, 1992) Dir: Ron Fricke (on 3 lists)
58. D’Est (From the East) (Belgium/France/Portugal, 1993) Dir: Chantal Akerman (on 4 lists)
59. The War Room (US, 1993) Dir: Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker (8) (on 3 lists)
60. Hoop Dreams (US, 1994) Dir: Steve James (9) (on 21 lists)
61. Crumb (US, 1994) Dir: Terry Zwigoff (9) (on 16 lists)
62. When We Were Kings (US, 1996) Dir: Leon Gast (8) (on 13 lists)
63. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (US, 1996) Dir: Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (on 7 lists)
64. Microcosmos (France/Switzerland/Italy/UK, 1996) Dir: Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou (10) (on 3 lists)
65. The Up Series: 42-Up (UK, 1998) Dir: Michael Apted (8) (on 17 lists)
66. Buena Vista Social Club (Germany/US/UK/France/Cuba, 1998) Dir: Wim Wenders (8) (on 9 lists)
67. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Germany/UK/France, 1998) Dir: Werner Herzog (9) (on 5 lists)
68. Histoire(s) du cinéma (France/Switzerland, 1998) Dir: Jean-Luc Godard (on 5 lists)
69. American Movie (US, 1999) Dir: Chris Smith (8) (on 9 lists)
70. The Gleaners & I (France, 2000) Dir: Agnès Varda (on 12 lists)
71. Dark Days (US, 2000) Dir: Marc Singer (on 7 lists)
72. Bowling for Columbine (US, 2002) Dir: Michael Moore (7) (on 17 lists)
73. Spellbound (US, 2002) Dir: Jeffrey Blitz (9) (on 13 lists)
74. Bus 174 (Brazil, 2002) Dir: José Padilha & Felipe Lacerda (8) (on 7 lists)
75. Winged Migration (France/Italy/Germany/Switzerland, 2002) Dir: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud & Michel Debats (8) (on 4 lists)
76. The Kid Stays in the Picture (US, 2002) Dir: Nanette Burstein & Brett Morgen (8) (on 3 lists)
77. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (US, 2003) Dir: Errol Morris (9) (on 18 lists)
78. Capturing the Friedmans (US, 2003) Dir: Andrew Jarecki (10) (on 13 lists)
79. Touching the Void (UK, 2003) Dir: Kevin Macdonald (9) (on 6 lists)
80. Tarnation (US, 2003) Dir: Jonathan Caouette (10) (on 6 lists)
81. To Be and to Have (Être et avoir) (France, 2003) Dir: Nicolas Philibert (8) (on 4 lists)
82. Los Angeles Plays Itself (US, 2003) Dir: Thom Andersen (9) (on 4 lists)
83. The Corporation (US, 2003) Dir: Jennifer Abbott & Mark Achbar (8) (on 3 lists)
84. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (US, 2003) Dir: Judy Irving (6) (on 3 lists)
85. Rivers and Tides (Germany/Finland/UK, 2003) Dir: Thomas Riedelsheimer (on 3 lists)
86. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (China, 2003) Dir: Wang Bing (on 3 lists)
87. Fahrenheit 9/11 (US, 2004) Dir: Michael Moore (10) (on 11 lists)
88. Super Size Me (US, 2004) Dir: Morgan Spurlock (8) (on 10 lists)
89. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (US, 2004) Dir: Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (on 8 lists)
90. Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (US/India, 2004) Dir: Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman (10) (on 7 lists)
91. Dig! (US, 2004) Dir: Ondi Timoner (on 5 lists)
92. Grizzly Man (US, 2005) Dir: Werner Herzog (10) (on 23 lists)
93. The Up Series: 49-Up (UK, 2005) Dir: Michael Apted (8) (on 17 lists)
94. Murderball (US, 2005) Dir: Henry Alex Rubin & Dana Adam Shapiro (on 8 lists)
95. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (US, 2005) Dir: Alex Gibney (on 8 lists)
96. March of the Penguins (France, 2005) Dir: Luc Jacquet (9) (on 6 lists)
97. The Devil & Daniel Johnston (US, 2005) Dir: Jeff Feuerzeig (on 4 lists)
98. An Inconvenient Truth (US, 2006) Dir: Davis Guggenheim (on 11 lists)
99. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (US, 2006) Dir: Spike Lee (on 5 lists)
100. Planet Earth (UK, 2006) (TV series) Dir: Alastair Fothergill (9) (on 3 lists)
101. Deliver Us From Evil (US, 2006) Dir: Amy Berg (on 3 lists)
102. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (US, 2006) Dir: Kirby Dick (7) (on 3 lists)
103. Jesus Camp (US, 2006) Dir: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady (8) (on 3 lists)
104. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (US, 2007) Dir: Seth Gordon (on 9 lists)
105. Taxi to the Dark Side (US, 2007) Dir: Alex Gibney (on 8 lists)
106. Helvetica (US, 2007) Dir: Gary Hustwit (on 4 lists)
107. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (US, 2007) Dir: Sacha Gervasi (on 4 lists)
108. Sicko (US, 2007) Dir: Michael Moore (8) (on 4 lists)
109. Encounters at the End of the World (US, 2007) Dir: Werner Herzog (9) (on 3 lists)
110. Man on Wire (UK, 2008) Dir: James Marsh (8) (on 22 lists)
111. Waltz with Bashir (Israel, 2008) Dir: Ari Folman (9) (on 15 lists)
112. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father (US, 2008) Dir: Kurt Kuenne (8) (on 7 lists)
113. Food, Inc. (US, 2008) Dir: Robert Kenner (9) (on 6 lists)
114. The Beaches of Agnès (France, 2008) Dir: Agnès Varda (on 4 lists)
115. Last Train Home (Canada, 2009) Dir: Lixin Fan (on 4 lists)
116. The Cove (US, 2009) Dir: Louie Psihoyos (on 3 lists)
117. The September Issue (US, 2009) Dir: R.J. Cutler (on 3 lists)
118. Exit Through the Gift Shop (UK, 2010) Dir: Banksy (7) (on 15 lists)
119. Inside Job (US, 2010) Dir: Charles Ferguson (9) (on 11 lists)
120. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Canada/US/France/Germany/UK, 2010) Dir: Werner Herzog (10) (on 9 lists)
121. Marwencol (US, 2010) Dir: Jeff Malmberg (9) (on 8 lists)
122. Senna (UK/France, 2010) Dir: Asif Kapadia (on 7 lists)
123. Nostalgia for the Light (France/Chile/Germany/Spain/US, 2010) Dir: Patricio Guzmán (on 7 lists)
124. Bill Cunningham New York (US, 2010) Dir: Richard Press (7) (on 6 lists)
125. Catfish (US, 2010) Dir: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman (7) (on 4 lists)
126. Restrepo (US, 2010) Dir: Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger (8) (on 4 lists)
127. Gasland (US, 2010) Dir: Josh Fox (on 3 lists)
128. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (US, 2011) Dir: David Gelb (on 10 lists)
129. Project Nim (UK/US 2011) Dir: James Marsh (on 4 lists)
130. Pina (Germany, 2011) Dir: Wim Wenders (8) (on 4 lists)
131. The Interrupters (US, 2011) Dir: Steve James (on 3 lists)
132. The Up Series: 56-Up (UK, 2012) Dir: Michael Apted (on 17 lists)
133. The Act of Killing (Norway/Denmark/UK, 2012) Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer (10) (on 10 lists)
134. How to Survive a Plague (US, 2012) Dir: David France (7) (on 8 lists)
135. This Is Not a Film (Iran, 2012) Dir: Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (7) (on 7 lists)
136. Stories We Tell (Canada, 2012) Dir: Sarah Polley (on 7 lists)
137. Searching For Sugar Man (Sweden/UK/Finland 2012) Dir: Malik Bendjelloul (on 6 lists)
138. West of Memphis (New Zealand/US, 2012) Dir: Amy Berg (on 4 lists)
139. The Queen of Versailles (US, 2012) Dir: Lauren Greenfield (on 4 lists)
140. Room 237 (US, 2012) Dir: Rodney Ascher (on 3 lists)
141. Leviathan (US, 2012) Dir: Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor (on 3 lists)
142. The Imposter (UK/US, 2012) Dir: Burt Layton (on 3 lists)
143. Blackfish (US, 2013) Dir: Gabriela Cowperthwaite (7) (on 7 lists)
144. Twenty Feet from Stardom (US, 2013) Dir: Morgan Neville (7) (on 4 lists)
145. The Square (Egypt/US, 2013) Dir: Jehane Noujaim (on 3 lis ts)
146. Citizenfour (US/Germany, 2014) Dir: Laura Poitras (on 7 lists)
147. The Overnighters (US, 2014) Dir: Jesse Moss (on 4 lists)
148. Life Itself (US, 2014) Dir: Steve James (7) (on 4 lists)
149. Actress (US, 2014) Dir: Robert Greene (on 3 lists)
150. Amy (UK, 2015) Dir: Asif Kapadia (8) (on 11 lists)
151. The Look of Silence (Denmark/Finland/France/Germany, et al., 2015) Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer (on 10 lists)
152. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (US, 2015) Dir: Alex Gibney (8) (on 3 lists)
153. I Am Not Your Negro (France/US/Belgium/Switzerland, 2016) Dir: Raoul Peck (8) (on 8 lists)
154. O.J.: Made in America (US, 2016) Dir: Ezra Edelman (10) (on 8 lists)
155. 13th (US, 2016) Dir: Ava DuVernay (8) (on 6 lists)
156. Kedi (Turkey, 2016) Dir: Ceyda Torun (on 5 lists)
157. Weiner (US, 2016) Dir: Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg (8) (on 4 lists)
158. Cameraperson (US, 2016) Dir: Kirsten Johnson (on 4 lists)
159. Jane (US, 2017) Dir: Brett Morgen (on 3 lists)
160. Faces Places (France, 2017) Dir: Agnès Varda & JR (8) (on 3 lists)
161. Free Solo (US, 2018) Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin (8) (on 4 lists)
162. Shirkers (Singapore/US/UK, 2018) Dir: Sandi Tan (9) (on 3 lists)
163. For Sama (Syria/UK/US 2019) Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts (on 4 lists)
164. The Up Series: 63-Up (UK, 2019) Dir: Michael Apted (on 17 lists)
165. Time (US, 2020) Garrett Bradley (on 3 lists)
166. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) Dir: Questlove (on 5 lists)
167. The Rescue (US/UK, 2021) Dir: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin (on 3 lists)
168. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (US, 2022) Laura Poitras (9) (on 4 lists)
169. Fire of Love (US/Canada, 2022) Dir: Sara Dosa (on 3 lists)
170. No Other Land (Palestine/Norway, 2024) Dir: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (on 3 lists)