The Top Albums of 2021

The Music That Defined a Year of Transitions

In 2021, I moved across the country, bought a house, and got a new job. Amidst all of these traditional external landmarks of transition, I also feel like I transitioned a lot in terms of my visioning for the short- and long-term future—what kind of world I’d like to live in, the importance of family (biological and chosen), how making money fits in, and just generally moving deeper into my 30s and figuring out what kinds of things I say yes to and what kind of things merit a no.

I listened to about 250 new albums and EPs in 2021—a lot less than last year—and honestly this number felt like I finally found a sweet spot. I am aware it probably sounds ridiculous that this number actually felt moderate in a new and refreshing way for me. This amount of new music actually allowed space for deepening my relationship with music from previous years, and probably space for important silences too.

The list below contains the albums that I feel defined my year. They are not the “best” albums—I do not believe that is a thing—but they are my favorite albums in this particular moment, and that means something special to me. These are the albums I spent the most time with. They resonated with me the most deeply, they helped me practice empathy or spontaneity, or they provided a joyful respite that reset my resilience on some level to deal with real life.

Rather than choose a nice round but arbitrary number like 100, I tried to define the scope of the list by two questions: 1) did this album have an important role in my year? and 2) is this album good as a full artistic unit? Based on those criteria, I ended up with 80 albums and 17 EPs (the latter of which I defined for convenience as collections under 25 minutes long, and which will be posted separately). I ranked them in rough order of preference but truly have a soft spot for all of them.

There are numerous (y’all! sooo many!) albums that didn’t make the cut because they have two to three of my favorite songs of the year, but the rest of the songs don’t do it for me. Others didn’t make the cut even though I like the artist a ton, because this year’s release basically just made me want to listen to their other albums. My hope is that you’ll find one or nineteen new albums to love in this list, and to that end I’ve provided one sample song per album—it might be my favorite, or it might just be one that stuck with me as a good example of what the collection sounds like as a whole. Enjoy, and remember: if you like the music, consider supporting these artists on Bandcamp or by purchasing concert tickets or merch. I’ve linked the album on Bandcamp whenever posssible. Much love. Thank you.

80. Baby Keem — The Melodic Blue

79. Courtney Barnett — Things Take Time, Take Time (Support on Bandcamp)

78. Sleater-Kinney — Path of Wellness (Support on Bandcamp)

77. Lord Apex — Smoke Sessions 3 (Support on Bandcamp)

76. Maxo Kream — Weight of the World

75. Shannon Lay — Geist (Support on Bandcamp)

74. Lana Del Rey — Chemtrails Over The Country Club

73. Lala Lala — I Want the Door To Open (Support on Bandcamp)

72. Illuminati Hotties — Let Me Do One More (Support on Bandcamp)

71. Pell — global wrmng vol. 1

70. J. Cole — The Off-Season

69. Arca — kick ii

68. Ada Lea — one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden (Support on Bandcamp)

67. Dijon — Absolutely

66. BERWYN — Tape 2/FOMALHAUT

65. Chynna — Drug Opera

64. CHAI — WINK (Support on Bandcamp)

63. Cloud Nothings — The Shadow I Remember (Support on Bandcamp)

62. Hana Vu — Public Storage (Support on Bandcamp)

61. Adult Mom — Driver (Support on Bandcamp)

60. Modest Mouse — The Golden Casket

59. Sun June — Somewhere (Support on Bandcamp)

58. Danielle Durack — No Place (Support on Bandcamp)

57. Bedouine — Waysides (Support on Bandcamp)

56. Tasha — Tell Me What You Miss The Most (Support on Bandcamp)

55. Leon Bridges — Gold-Diggers Sound

54. Arlo Parks — Collapsed in Sunbeams (Support on Bandcamp)

53. Bachelor — Doomin’ Sun (Support on Bandcamp)

52. Helado Negro — Far In (Support on Bandcamp)

51. Orla Gartland — Woman on the Internet (Support on Bandcamp)

50. Clairo — Sling

49. Magdalena Bay — Mercurial World (Support on Bandcamp)

48. Sydney Sprague — maybe i will see you at the end of the world (Support on Bandcamp)

47. Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

46. José González — Local Valley (Support on Bandcamp)

45. James Blake — Friends That Break Your Heart

44. Laura Stevenson — Laura Stevenson (Support on Bandcamp)

43. Andy Shauf — Wilds (Support on Bandcamp)

42. The Antlers — Green to Gold (Support on Bandcamp)

41. Brockhampton — Roadrunner: New Light New Machine

40. Cautious Clay — Deadpan Love (Support on Bandcamp)

39. Half Waif — Mythopoetics (Support on Bandcamp)

38. Altin Gün — Yol (Support on Bandcamp)

37. Hovvdy — True Love (Support on Bandcamp)

36. Mariah the Scientist — Ry Ry World

35. Indigo De Souza — Any Shape You Take (Support on Bandcamp)

34. Minor Moon — Tethers (Support on Bandcamp)

33. Lunar Vacation — Inside Every Fig Is a Dead Wasp (Support on Bandcamp)

32. Trace Mountains — House of Confusion (Support on Bandcamp)

31. Porches — All Day Gentle Hold ! (Support on Bandcamp)

30. The Weather Station — Ignorance (Support on Bandcamp)

29. Julien Baker — Little Oblivions (Support on Bandcamp)

28. Lazerbeak — Cameron (Support on Bandcamp)

27. Turnstile — Glow On

26. Lydia Ainsworth — Sparkles & Debris (Support on Bandcamp)

25. Valley Maker — When the Day Leaves (Support on Bandcamp)

24. Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee (Support on Bandcamp)

23. Yasmin Williams — Urban Driftwood (Support on Bandcamp)

22. Young Thug — Punk

21. Wiki — Half God (Support on Bandcamp)

20. The War on Drugs — I Don’t Live Here Anymore

19. slowthai — TYRON (Support on Bandcamp)

18. Mdou Moctar — Afrique Victime (Support on Bandcamp)

17. Lucy Dacus — Home Video (Support on Bandcamp)

16. Snail Mail — Valentine (Support on Bandcamp)

15. Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

14. Hand Habits — Fun House (Support on Bandcamp)

13. Lakeyah — My Time (Gangsta Grillz: Special Edition)

12. Lil Nas X — Montero

11. Big Red Machine — How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? (Support on Bandcamp)

10. Tyler, The Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

9. Chvrches — Screen Violence (Support on Bandcamp)

8. Snoh Aalegra — Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies

7. Claud — Super Monster (Support on Bandcamp)

6. serpentwithfeet — DEACON (Support on Bandcamp)

5. Squirrel Flower — Planet (i) (Support on Bandcamp)

4. Katy Kirby — Cool Dry Place (Support on Bandcamp)

3. Bad Bad Hats — Walkman (Support on Bandcamp)

2. Topaz Jones — Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Mama

1. Faye Webster — I Know I’m Funny haha (Support on Bandcamp)