I’ve published meta-lists of the best films, albums, TV shows, and books of 2021.  I made these lists by combining numerous “best of” lists I found online.  Here are the links:

Best Films of 2021
Best TV Shows of 2021
Best Music of 2021
Best Books of 2021

The most popular and the most critically-acclaimed rarely line up and 2021 was no exception.  There was very little overlap between the bestselling films, books and music and the critics’ favorites.  An exception was television, where the critics and audiences seemed to appreciate the same shows.

For example, the top grossing movies globally were:

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home (US, Jon Watts)
2. The Battle at Lake Changjin (China, Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark & Dante Lam)
3. Hi, Mom (China, Jia Ling)
4. No Time to Die (UK/US, Cary Joji Fukunaga)
5. F9 (US, Justin Lin)
6. Detective Chinatown 3 (China, Chen Sicheng)
7. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (US, Andy Serkis)
8. Godzilla vs. Kong (US, Adam Wingard)
9. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (US, Destin Daniel Cretton)
10. Eternals (US, Chloé Zhao)

But the top critically-acclaimed films were:

1. Licorice Pizza (US, Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Drive My Car (Japan, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke)
3. The Power of the Dog (UK/US/New Zealand, Jane Campion)
4. Dune (US, Denis Villeneuve)
5. The Souvenir Part II (UK, Joanna Hogg)
6. The French Dispatch (US, Wes Anderson)
7. Summer of Soul (US, Ahmir Khalib Thompson)
8. The Worst Person in the World (Norway, Joachim Trier)
9. Petite Maman (France, Céline Sciamma)
10. The Velvet Underground (US, Todd Haynes)
11. The Card Counter (US, Paul Schrader)
12. Annette (France, Leos Carax)
13. The Green Knight (US/Canada, David Lowery)
14. The Lost Daughter (US, Maggie Gyllenhaal)

The most popular songs of the year were:

1. Save Your Tears — The Weeknd ft. Ariana Grande
2. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) — Lil Nas X
3. Levitating — Dua Lipa feat. Da Baby
4. Blinding Lights — The Weeknd 
5. drivers license — Olivia Rodrigo
6. good 4 u — Olivia Rodrigo
7. Kiss Me More — Doja Cat ft. Sza 
8. Stay – The Kid Laroi ft. Justin Bieber
9. Positions – Ariana Grande
10. Peaches – Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon

But the most critically-acclaimed albums were:

1. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra – Promises
2. Tyler, the Creator – Call Me if You Get Lost
3. Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
4. Low – Hey What
5. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
6. Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
7. Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
8. The Weather Station – Ignorance
9. Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
10. Turnstile – Glow On

For books, the story was similar.  Here are the year’s bestsellers (book published in 2021):

1. Dog Man: Mothering Heights. By Dav Pilkey
2. The Four Winds. By Kristin Hannah
3. American Marxism. By Mark R. Levin
4. The Last Thing He Told Me. By Laura Dave
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. By Charlie Mackesy
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot. By Jeff Kinney
7. A Court of Silver Flames. By Sarah J. Maas
8. The Judge’s List. By John Grisham
9. Twelve and a Half. By Gary Vaynerchuk
10. The Real Anthony Fauci. By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The list of top critically-acclaimed books is very different:

1, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty.  By Patrick Radden Keefe
2. Harlem Shuffle. By Colson Whitehead
3. Detransition, Baby. By Torrey Peters
4. Great Circle. By Maggie Shipstead
5. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir.  By Michelle Zauner
6. How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.  By Clint Smith
7. A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance.  By Hanif Abdurraqib
8. Crossroads.  By Jonathan Franzen  
9. Hell of a Book. By Jason Mott
10. Cloud Cuckoo Land. By Anthony Doerr
11. No One Is Talking About This. By Patricia Lockwood
12. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.  By Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
13. Klara and the Sun.  By Kazuo Ishiguro
14. The Prophets.  By Robert Jones Jr.
15. Afterparties: Stories. By Anthony Veasna So