Who’s ready to quickly browse through my Top 21 albums of 2021? Ready to see if my biases about the current state of the music industry complement yours? Anxious to see what I might have forgotten and/or didn’t match up to what you like?
Yes, it’s the time of year again. It’s that when music writers and fans across the world compare notes and examine each other’s lists. It is essential that we collectively calculate our specific intersection in the following Venn diagram:
- The albums I personally liked A LOT
- Albums enjoyed by writers I really respect
- Other albums that seem to be on every major list, so I guess I shouldn’t ignore them
What? You think this music writing business runs solely on the objective analysis of a specific piece of art on its own merits without any thought of its place in the wider artistic milieu? That’s cute.
All cynicism aside, I’ve long believed that we should use more of December to create an end-of-year music list. Not all of us write for major publications with multimedia presentations prepped for the first week of the month.
Sure, I keep track of what I listen to and what I like throughout the year so that making a list is simpler. I also like to keep my options open. Not only do I like listening to music, but I also enjoy talking about it AND reevaluating my opinions.
With that in mind, here’s my list of the top 21 albums of 2021. As usual, everything is in alphabetical order because I refuse to nitpick my recommendations any further.
The Armed – Ultrapop
Noisy electro-clash meets brash punk fury. Absolutely brain-rattling music in the best possible way.
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
The heir apparent to the David Bazan tradition of storytelling, these heartbreaking tunes are thoughtfully rendered and deliver maximum emotional impact with every listen.
Big Brave – Vital
Gorgeous, brooding instrumental rock that’s the perfect backdrop for a stormy day or the soundtrack to an indie horror flick.
Black Country, New Road – For the First Time
I lived through the post-punk revival in the early ‘00s, and that stuff got shiny and happy really quickly. This outfit is part of a vanguard of new bands revisiting the gloomier, more macabre aspects of that era, and the results are astounding. This album rips.
The Bug – Fire
Combining growling electro, indie hip-hop, terrifying sound effects, and a post-apocalyptic production aesthetic, few albums captured my overall mood in 2021 with such power and creeping malevolence.
Circuit Des Yeux – -io
Standing firmly upon the shoulders of Bjork, Joanna Newsom, and Tori Amos, this music will haunt your dreams in the best possible way. Powerhouse vocals with tremulous chamber-rock that needs to be heard by more people.
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
Oh look – another stellar entry in the ‘20s post-punk revival. Imagine if Florence Welch fronted The Fall and managed not to send each track bubbling over the top. Yes, it’s that good.
Floating Points / Pharaoh Sanders – Promises
Top-notch ambient electro featuring a 80-year-old jazz saxophone legend. Few things calmed me down and helped me breathe like this album did.
Fucked Up – Year of the Horse
One of the low-key best bands of the millennium, they took their art up several notches by delivering a four-part rock opera about a girl and her horse. Yup. You read that correctly.
Armand Hammer – Haram
The psychological twin to Fire, this album delivers furious sociopolitical commentary about the fractured state of the world atop spectral beats that feel unmoored from reality.
Boldy James & The Alchemist – Bo Jackson
The stylistic twin to Haram (since The Alchemist produced both albums), these two artists joined forces to deliver one of the most forward-thinking hip-hop projects of this young decade. I predict that this album will be cited as a major influence in the underground rap community for the next several years.
Loraine James – Reflection
I love everything about this music, from the downbeat R&B flow in the vocal delivery and moody post-midnight ambiance to the skittering beats and rhythms that keep you on edge. Simply magical. James now stands as the leading light of the Hyperdub universe.
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Speaking of magic, this album effortlessly distills the best concepts from the last 10 years in indie-pop into a lush, catchy, and impeccable whole. It deserves all the accolades and more. You should also read Michelle Zauner’s stellar new memoir, Crying in H Mart.
Low – HEYWHAT
Bristling noise rock with a profound appreciation for dynamic tension. This duo keeps cranking out amazing art on such a consistent basis. They manage to up-end their own ideas with each new release, while also remaining true to their artistic integrity.
Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime
Holy crap. This album rocked my world from the very first moment it touched my ears. Combining Fela Kuti, Tinariwen, and Can, it delivers danceable grooves a plenty while also offering up heaps of meditative sensations.
Claire Rousay – a softer focus
Sure, this album has plenty of sweeping, rootless swathes of ambient sound, but it also possesses this resolute heart in its percussive underpinnings. Instead of encouraging you to sit still, it propels you into motion – not to dance or move aimlessly, but to take one step at a time into what lies ahead.
serpentwithfeet – DEACON
Glorious R&B goodness mixed with a healthy dose of genre-bending delights. His voice is impeccable, oozing with a heady sensuality that is breathtaking in its scope and intimacy. Pure aural excellence.
SPELLLING – The Turning Wheel
Serving as the inverse to DEACON, this album delivers divine R&B grooves underneath an enchanting soprano that alternately lilts, squawks, and coos. I have recommended this to so many people.
Tunic – Quitter
This Canadian post-hardcore act pummels you over the head with a tumult of emotions and fury. And yet, the music provides me with ample catharsis in how each song seems ties up so many of my feelings about the past several years into a tidy package. It makes me want to both jump headlong into a mosh pit and close my eyes as the tension drains from my body.
Turnstile – Glow On
Who knew hardcore could be so fun? One of the more celebrated rock albums of the year happens to be effusive with wry humor and overflowing with heart. It’s an endless pleasure I listened on repeat during obnoxious days at work.
The World is a Beautiful Place – Illusory Walls
One of the more under-appreciated bands in modern indie rock just happened to drop a new album rooted in fourth-wave emo and dripping with ambitious musicality. Aching vocals, shimmering synths, and keening guitars join forces to create prog-rock tour de force that I hope I can see performed live in 2022.