The Best List - 2020

Welcome to my sixth annual best of the year list. You can check out the prior five year's lists here: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.

Over the years, I've tried to ensure I'm surfacing the most evergreen content. So, I recommend checking out the full archive above if you tear through the 2020 selections and are looking for great stuff to consume over the holidays.

Typically, I round up all the best content—articles, books, videos, movies, newsletters, TV, podcasts—I consume each year. This year, I wanted to do something a little different. As an avid Matthew Berry reader for 10+ years, I've always been jealous of his annual 10 Lists Of 10 article. Lists are a fun way to communicate information. They're digestible. They're fun. Each year, when I read that post, I whisper to myself that I want to write something like it.

Time to make that wish a reality.

So, this year, I give you 12 lists of 10. I hope you all are staying happy, healthy, and sane in what has been an incredibly challenging year. One final note before we jump in: This list is meant to be collaborative. If you have additional items to share, please leave a comment.

Note: None of the lists below are ranked in preferential order.

List 1: Best Writing

1. George Floyd and the special hell reserved for black journalists covering his killing, LZ Granderson — A powerful account of the trauma Black journalists face when reporting on the racial justice protests from this summer.
2. Amy Coney Barrett’s Rise Is a Threat to Families Like Mine, Kara Swisher — The tough and untimely passing of RBG meant something different for everyone. For Kara, it caused her to question whether her family will soon be deemed illegal.
3. A Message from Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Brian Chesky — The template to use when laying off anyone from your workforce. Done with such grace and poise.
4. Questions Are Not Just For Asking, Malcolm Ocean — I found this article from David Perell’s mid-year review article, and it has helped focus the back half of my year… so much so that I made my own list of 12 favorite problems to help guide me.
5. Martha Graham on the Hidden Danger of Comparing Yourself to Others, James Clear — Reading more of James Clear in 2020 has helped ground me and caused me to stay positive. This piece has the quote of the year for me: “we are often terrible judges of our own work.”
6. Dust in the Light, Ben Thompson — A data-powered approach to looking at institutional racism and red-lining in Wisconsin and Minneapolis.
7. Why I Write, Tom White — The most spot-on piece of the year. Tom captures the mood and mindset of what it means to translate jumbled thoughts in your head to prose on paper.
8. Chadwick Boseman’s Death Brought Our Collective Grief to a Breaking Point, David Dennis, Jr. — As a massive MCU stan, Boseman’s surprise passing in late August hit me hard. I appreciated David’s perspective on what Boseman’s death means to him and his family.
9. Investment Recommendation: LinkedIn, Jeremy Levine — A fascinating look into LinkedIn’s business model back in 2006.
10. JoJo’s Juice, Ali Montag — A fascinating feature on an unassuming creator who is crushing it. Shout out to Packy McCormick for allowing Ali to guest-write about this incredibly successful business.

List 2: Best Movies I Watched This Year

1. Black is King — Beyoncé does it again with an absolute masterpiece. Between the music, costume design, and choreography, there’s nothing not to love about Beyoncé’s latest visual album. (Disney+)
2. The Invisible Man — My favorite thriller of the year with a fantastic ending. (HBO Max)
3. David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet — This was the documentary that finally did it for me. I’m now a pescatarian and have been for two-plus months. David Attenborough is an international treasure. (Netflix)
4. Just Mercy — Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan, and Brie Larson star in a movie about the early career of Bryan Stevenson and the beginnings of the Equal Justice Initiative.
5. Tenet — Another Christopher Nolan masterpiece. My one gripe is that I didn’t have the opportunity to see it in IMAX. Beyond excited for my second watch. (For purchase on Amazon)
6. Molly's Game — I’m late to the party on this one, but this is a fantastic movie about even crazier real-life events. Jessica Chastain puts on a heck of a performance. (Netflix)
7. 13th — An important documentary that further informed me of the deep injustices in the criminal justice system. (Netflix)
8. The Two Popes — Two fantastic performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce taught me a lot about a subject I didn’t know much about. (Netflix)
9. Snowpiercer — After loving Parasite, I needed more Bong Joon-ho. Starring Chris Evans, Snowpiercer is quite the apocalyptic thriller. (Netflix)
10. The Impossible — I unassumingly put this on at 9pm at night only to find myself crying an hour and a half later. The movie about a family’s experience during the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand features a performance by a 16-year-old Tom Holland (he crushes it). (Netflix)

List 3: Best Online Videos

We've all been there. There's something looming that needs to get done, but you just can't bring yourself to do it. Have no fear: it's a job for future you!

May we all find the magic in our own lives. This kid has a chance of getting into Hogwarts.

The national election week mood (mine especially after having CNN playing for 40+ hours).

This video makes me laugh. Every. Single. Time.

When Kobe Bryant inexplicably died on my birthday this year, it felt like a punch in the throat. May we all be able to channel the #MambaMentality in all that we do.

The Olympic content we deserved in 2020.

Thoughts on storytelling from folks who know it best.

Emmanuel Acho created an important series for everyone to watch, learn, and discuss what it means to be Black in America. I've found many of these conversations to be eye-opening and informative. This is just the first in a great series of content.

Guillermo created two #30in30 series at the start of quarantine. This, his second, is based on mental models—powerful tools that can help you think through tough problems and challenges. This video is one of my favorites in the series, but you should check out them all here.

I love Disclosure. My Spotify Wrapped for 2020 told me I listened to Disclosure for 1,700+ mins (about the equivalent of watching a Lord of the Rings movie 8.5 times). Aside from releasing a killer third album, they also created a Twitch channel where they show you how the sausage is made. Here's a 2-hour video of Guy Lawrence (half of Disclosure) mixing together a certified cool Prince remix.

List 4: Best TV Shows I Watch This Year

1. Unorthodox — The incredible story (based on real life) of an orthodox Jewish woman who escapes her life in Brooklyn and tries to start anew in Berlin. (Netflix)
2. The Undoing — Big Little Lies meets The Night Of in another fantastic miniseries starring Nicole Kidman. (HBO Max)
3. The Night Manager – A show starring some of my favorites (Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Noah Jupe, and Tom Hiddleston) that somehow slipped through the cracks. It’s just six episodes and is quite addicting. (Amazon Prime)
4. Insecure — I was also late to the party in watching Insecure. A down-to-earth look at trying to find love and make it in LA. (HBO Max)
5. The Last Dance — This documentary solved one of my biggest Achilles Heels: not knowing much about truly how awesome Michael Jordan was at basketball. (Netflix)
6. Survivor: Winners at War — As a long time Survivor fanboy, this season of champions was more than I could have ever asked for. (CBS All Access)
7. Better Call Saul, Season 5 — As we inch closer to meeting the Breaking Bad timeline, the stakes get increasingly high for Saul Goodman. (AMC)
8. Ozark, Season 3 — Woof! Do things get insane for the Byrd family as they dig a deeper and deeper hole for themselves. While amazing, this show is the only one I find completely un-bingeable—I had a strict one-episode-at-a-time policy. (Netflix)
9. The Queen's Gambit — #MakeChessCool (Netflix)
10. Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 10 — More hilarious, and cringe-worthy shenanigans from Larry David. (HBO Max)

List 5: Best Dog Content

Becoming a dog owner this year has been a very special thing. This Frank Bruni opinion speaks to the beauty that is being a dog owner in NYC.

And now, 9 premium pieces of doggo content:

Instagrams and TikToks don't embed on Linkedin, but here are three more.

And of course, check out my pup, Murray, on his more-famous-than-me Instagram.

List 6: Best Products

1. Manta — I started using the Manta sleep mask over the summer and haven’t looked back. Pitch black. Insanely comfortable. Worth every penny.
2. YouTube TV — Cut the cord this year and moved over to YouTube TV. Perfect for everyone who doesn’t care about being 14 seconds behind in a live sporting event. The unlimited DVR and price point is a huge 
3. Wealthfront — Mindless and easy way to invest. I started using it this year and it’s made saving and investing painless. (Use my link to get your first $5k managed for free).
4. Notion — My replacement for Apple Notes, emails to myself, random Google docs, and post-it notes. Your own personal wiki and so much more. I made my personal website on Notion, too.
5. Outdoor Voices — The softest and best sweatpants in the game. Enough said.
6. Figma — A fantastic (and free) Adobe Illustrator replacement. All of my graphics for Gridology were made using Figma.
7. Capsule — It took not having Capsule for a few months to realize how awesome it is. There’s no enjoyment going to the pharmacy. It’s solely a time killer. Get your time back by switching to Capsule.
8. Blueland — Props to my fiancé, Casey, for finding this fantastic product. Stop buying disposable laundry detergent, hand soap, dish soap, and cleaning supplies. Every time you need a refill, it shouldn’t lead to more plastic waste being created.
9. Sounder — Shameless plug to this fantastic podcasting management and hosting startup that’s focused on monetization and growth for audio creators of all sizes.
10. Letterboxd — A seamless way to track all of the viewing content you’ve both watched and want to watch. 

List 7: Best New Yorker Cartoons

All images below are from New Yorker Cartoons Instagram.

List 8: Best Performances

1. Lexi Underwood, Little Fires Everywhere
2. Noma Dumezweni, The Undoing
3. Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
4. Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit
5. Donald Sutherland, The Undoing
6. Shira Haas, Unorthodox
7. Aaron Paul, Westworld
8. Issa Rae, Insecure
9. Pete Davidson, King of Staten Island
10. John Mulaney, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch

List 9: Best Gridology Posts

For those of you who missed it, I started a newsletter this year called Gridology. Each week, I share my process for solving challenges or exploring issues that are top of mind—be it from topics such as careers, relationships, growth, and business. To do so, I use a 2x2 grid. Here’s a selection of my favorite and most popular posts.

1. What do my headphone habits say about me?
2. How do I deal with adversity?
3. How can I accelerate my career growth?
4. How can I become more resilient?
5. What does the future of journalism look like?
6. How do I maintain my relationships?
7. How can I be more self-compassionate?
8. How can I be more discerning of others?
9. How can I leverage the power of compounding?
10. How do I write a great resume?

List 10: Best New Songs

1. Lavender - Disclosure
2. Don't Start Now - Dua Lupa
3. Douha (Mali Mali) - Disclosure
4. Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake
5. Tequila Shots - Kid Cudi
6. Tangerine - Glass Animals
7. Life is Good - Future, Drake
8. Too Late - The Weeknd
9. Rain On Me - Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande
10. POPSTAR - DJ Khaled, Drake

List 11: Best Newsletters

1. Not Boring — Smart business strategy briefings delivered twice a week by Packy McCormick.
2. Axios AM/PM — The best way to stay informed about current events by Mike Allen.
3. Platformer — Technology (mostly social media) commentary Monday through Thursday by Casey Newton.
4. Sunday Snapshots — Weekly roundups on books, biographies, papers, business news, and more by Sid Jha.
5. 3-2-1 — Thursday goodness from James Clear, one of my favorite subscribes of the year.
6. White Noise — Fantastic writing, often fiction, by the incredible Tom White.
7. Product Solving — Distilled product learnings by Tyler Wince.
8. Li's Newsletter — A well-researched and written newsletter by Li Jin about the creator economy, technology, and everything of the sort.
9. Axios Sports — How I stay current on sports news by not watching ESPN by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.
10. Complexity Condensed — Quick distillations in 500 words by Louis Pereira.

List 12: Best Tweets