2021 Best Albums Lists
My last podcast episode discussed the top 25 albums of 2021, and this is a corresponding post. I include every album I gave 5 stars, several that just missed, the best in several genres or conditions, and the worst of the year. I was liberal with the genres so several albums were eligible across multiple geners.
All images are per Wikipedia unless otherwise noted.
5 Star albums
The albums listed below are all the 92 albums I gave 5-stars, in order from best to worst.
1. Montero, Lil Nas X
2. King’s Disease II, Nas
3. We Are, Jon Batiste
4. The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings, The Besnard Lakes
5. Infinite Granite, Deafheaven
6. 30, Adele
7. Call Me if You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
8. Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
9. Ignorance, The Weather Station
10. Not Your Muse, Celeste
11. Conflict of Interest, Ghetts
12. Flux, Poppy
13. An Evening with Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic
14. Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab
15. They’re Calling Me Home, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi
16. The Voice of the Heroes, Lil Durk & Lil Baby
17. For Those I Love, For Those I Love
18. We’re All Alone in This Together
19. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
20. Valentine, Snail Mail
21. Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote
22. Violence Unimagined, Cannibal Corpse
23. A Beginner’s Mind, Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine
24. Vice Versa, Rauw Alejandro
25. Dawn, Yebba
26. Henki, Richard Dawson & Circle
27. The Myth of Happily Ever After, Biffy Clyro
28. Still Over It, Summer Walker
29. Strawberry Mansion, Langhorne Slim
30. New Fragility, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
31. Black Metal 2, Dean Blunt
32. El Dorado, 24kGoldn
33. New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning
34. Sling, Clairo
35. Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast
36. Remember Her Name, Mickey Guyton
37. Dream Weapon, Genghis Tron
38. Solar Power, Lorde
39. Hall of Fame, Polo G
40. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
41. Iridescent, Silent Planet
42. Glow On, Turnstile
43. Blue Weekend
44. Planet Her, Doja Cat
45. Deacon, serpentwithfeet
46. I've Seen All I Need to See, The Body
47. Blue Banisters, Lana Del Rey
48. For the First Time, Black Country, New Road
49. Lilac, IU
50. Stand for Myself, Yola
51. Geist, Shannon Lay
52. Ok Human, Weezer
53. Wallflowers, Jinjer
54. Wild West, Central Cee
55. In These Silent Days, Brandi Carlile
56. Mirror Mirror, Eliane Elias with Chick Corea & Chucho Valdes
57. The Melodic Blue, Baby Keem
58. Senjutsu, Iron Maiden
59. F*ck Art, The Dirty Nil
60. Home Video, Lucy Dacus
61. Soulfly, Rod Wave
62. Sour, Olivia Rodrigo
63. Long Lost, Lord Huron
64. Off the Yak, Young M.A.
65. Little Oblivions, Julien Baker
66. Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish
67. Let Me Do One More, Illuminati Hotties
68. J.T., Steve Earle
69. Pelago, Ryan Hurd
70. Illusory Walls, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die
71. Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over, Demi Lovato
72. Versatile, Pop Evil
73. A View from the Top of the World, Dream Theater
74. Shottaz 4Eva, MO3
75. Carnage, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
76. The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, Sturgill Simpson
77. Sleeps Society, While She Sleeps
78. Van Weezer, Weezer
79. Tyron, Slowthai
80. Shade, Grouper
81. Sketchy, Tune-Yards
82. I Don't Live Here Anymore, The War on Drugs
83. The Marfa Tapes, Miranda Lambert, John Randall, & Jack Ingram
84. Eternal Blue, Spiritbox
85. Long Term Effects of Suffering, Suicideboys
86. Don’t Call Me, Shinee
87. Big Mess, Danny Elfman
88. Hushed and Grim, Mastodon
89. Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2, Ice Nine Kills
90. Time, Tequila, & Therapy, Old Dominion
91. Vince Staples, Vince Staples
92. Convocations, Sufjan Stevens
Close Calls
These albums receive 4.5 stars and narrowly missed receiving
5 stars.
1. All Yours, Astro
2. Seventeen Going Under, Sam Fender
3. Fragments of a Bitter History, Dying Wish
4. Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted, Passenger
5. Afrique Victime, Mdou Moctar
6. El Madrileno, C. Tangana
7. Colors II, Between the Buried and Me
8. Life of a Don, Don Tolliver
9. Super What?, Czarface and MF Doom
10. Fat Pop (Volume 1), Paul Weller
11. Cavalcade, Black Midi
12. Voyage, ABBA
13. Hey What, Low
14. Talk Memory, BadBadNotGood
15. Uppers, TV Priest
16. Downhill from Everywhere, Jackson Browne
Rock
1. The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings, The Besnard Lakes
2. Infinite Granite, Deafheaven
3. Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
4. Ignorance, The Weather Station
5. Flux, Poppy
6. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, Halsey
7. Valentine, Snail Mail
8. Violence Unimagined, Cannibal Corpse
9. A Beginner’s Mind, Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine
10. The Myth of Happily Ever After, Biffy Clyro
Pop
1. Montero, Lil Nas X
2. 30, Adele
3. Vice Versa, Rauw Alejandro
4. Dawn, Yebba
5. Sling, Clairo
6. Solar Power, Lorde
7. Planet Her, Doja Cat
8. Blue Banisters, Lana Del Rey
9. Lilac, IU
10. Sour, Olivia Rodrigo
Rap/Hip-Hop
1. Montero, Lil Nas X
2. King’s Disease II, Nas
3. Call Me if You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
4. Conflict of Interest, Ghetts
5. The Voice of the Heroes, Lil Durk & Lil Baby
6. We’re All Alone in This Together, Dave
7. El Dorado, 24kGoldn
8. Hall of Fame, Polo G
9. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz
10. Planet Her, Doja Cat
R&B/Soul
1. We Are, Jon Batiste
2. 30, Adele
3. Not Your Muse, Celeste
4. An Evening with Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic
5. Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote
6. Dawn, Yebba
7. Still Over It, Summer Walker
8. Planet Her, Doja Cat
9. Deacon, serpentwithfeet
10. Lilac, IU
Country/Americana
This includes country, country pop, bluegrass, Americana,
etc.
1. Strawberry Mansion, Langhorne Slim
2. Remember Her Name, Mickey Guyton
3. Stand for Myself, Yola
4. In These Silent Days, Brandi Carlile
5. J.T., Steve Earle
6. Pelago, Ryan Hurd
7. The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, Sturgill Simpson
8. The Marfa Tapes, Miranda Lambert, John Randall, & Jack Ingram
9. Time, Tequila, & Therapy, Old Dominion
10. What a Song Can Do, Lady A
Electronic
1. For Those I Love, For Those I Love
2. I've Seen All I Need to See, The Body
3. Angel Tears in Sunlight, Pauline Anna Strom
4. Promises, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, & the London Symphony Orchestra
5. Friends That Break Your Heart, James Blake
6. Fire, The Bug
7. Mechanical Soul, Front Line Assembly
8. Intruder, Gary Numan
9. Come Down Dawn, The KLF
10. Sound Ancestors, Madlib
Heavy
This includes metal, hard rock, hardcore punk, etc.
1. Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
2. Violence Unimagined, Cannibal Corpse
3. Iridescent, Silent Planet
4. Glow On, Turnstile
5. Wallflowers, Jinjer
6. Senjutsu, Iron Maiden
7. Versatile, Pop Evil
8. A View from the Top of the World, Dream Theater
9. Sleeps Society, While She Sleeps
10. Eternal Blue, Spiritbox
Warped Tour Style
This includes artists who perform a style of music similar
to that found at a Warped Tour, including emo, punk, pop punk, and metalcore.
1. Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
2. New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning
3. Iridescent, Silent Planet
4. Glow On, Turnstile
5.
Wallflowers, Jinjer
6.
Illusory Walls, The World is a Beautiful
Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die
7.
Sleeps Society, While She Sleeps
8.
Eternal Blue, Spiritbox
9.
Long Term Effects of Suffering,
Suicideboys
10.
Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2, Ice Nine Kills
Foreign Language
These albums were predominantly performed in a foreign
language.
1. Vice Versa, Rauw Alejandro
2. Lilac, IU
3. Don’t Call Me, Shinee
4. All Yours, Astro
5. Afrique Victime, Mdou Moctar
6. El Madrileno, C. Tangana
7. Los Dioses, Anuel AA & Ozuna
8. Seis, Mon Lafarte
9. KG0516, Karol G
10. Cor, Anavitoria
Eclectic
These albums are those which are either weird musically or
are genres that are considered by many (not necessarily me) to be unusual or
strange.
1. The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings, The Besnard Lakes
2. Infinite Granite, Deafheaven
3. Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
4. Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab
5. They’re Calling Me Home, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi
6. For Those I Love, For Those I Love
7. Henki, Richard Dawson & Circle
8. Black Metal 2, Dean Blunt
9. Dream Weapon, Genghis Tron
10. Deacon, serpentwithfeet
Debut
These are the best debut studio albums. I considered any artist who released their
first studio album, even if they released prior mixtapes or EPs.
1. Montero, Lil Nas X
2. Not Your Muse, Celeste
3.
For Those I Love, For Those I Love
4.
Dawn, Yebba
5.
El Dorado, 24kGoldn
6.
New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning
7.
Remember Her Name, Mickey Guyton
8.
For the First Time, Black Country, New
Road
9.
Wild West, Central Cee
10.
The Melodic Blue, Baby Keem
Number 1 Albums
These are the top albums that hit number one on the Billboard
200 in the U.S.
1. 30, Adele
2. Call Me if You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
3. The Voice of the Heroes, Lil Durk & Lil Baby
4. Still Over It, Summer Walker
5. Hall of Fame, Polo G
6. Soulfly, Rod Wave
7. Sour, Olivia Rodrigo
8. Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish
9. The Off-Season, J. Cole
10. A Gangsta’s Pain, Moneybagg Yo
Albums that Didn’t Chart
None of these albums charted on the Billboard 200 in the
U.S.
1.
The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great
Thunderstorm Warnings, The Besnard Lakes
2.
Bloodmoon I, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe
3.
Ignorance, The Weather Station
4.
Not Your Muse, Celeste
5.
Conflict of Interest, Ghetts
6.
Flux, Poppy
7.
Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab
8.
They’re Calling Me Home, Rhiannon Giddens
and Francesco Turrisi
9.
For Those I Love, For Those I Love
10.
We’re All Alone in This Together, Dave
Grammy Nominated
Due to the cutoff, only albums released prior to October
were considered. Only albums that were
nominated were considered; albums that weren’t nominated but contain nominated
songs were not.
1. Montero, Lil Nas X
2. King’s Disease II, Nas
3. We Are, Jon Batiste
4. Call Me if You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
5.
They’re Calling Me Home, Rhiannon Giddens
and Francesco Turrisi
6.
If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power,
Halsey
7.
Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote
8.
Dawn, Yebba
9.
Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast
10.
Remember Her Name, Mickey Guyton
Most Surprising
These were albums I did not expect to enjoy as much as I
did. In some cases, it was an artist who
doesn’t usually release good music (such as the first album), artists who I don’t
like, or artists who I didn’t enjoy some of their recent albums, though in some
cases the album just blew me away.
1. Still Sucks, Limp Bizkit
2. Flux, Poppy
3. Montero, Lil Nas X
4. Versatile, Pop Evil
5. Long Term Effects of Suffering, Suicideboys
6. Big Mess, Danny Elfman
7. =, Ed Sheeran
8. Time, Tequila, & Therapy, Old Dominion
9. Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted, Passenger
10. King’s Disease II, Nas
Most Disappointing
These were albums that I thought would be better and was surprised by how let down I felt.
1.
Donda, Kanye West
2.
Fallen Embers, Illenium
3.
Mammoth WVH, Mammoth WVH
4.
Music of the Spheres, Coldplay
5.
Medicine at Midnight, Foo Fighters
6.
The Golden Casket, Modest Mouse
7.
The Ides of March, Myles Kennedy
8.
The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse
Conspiracy, Rob Zombie
9.
The Future Bites, Steven Wilson
10.
Life by Misadventure, Rag’n’Bone Man
Worst Albums
These are ranked where number 1 is the worst and number 10
is…I guess least bad
1. Latest Record Project, Volume 1, Van Morrison
2. Jordi, Maroon 5
3. Khaled Khaled, DJ Khaled
4. Donda, Kanye West
5. Mercury – Act 1, Imagine Dragons
6. The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, Rob Zombie
7. Certified Lover Boy, Drake
8. Greensfield, Barry Gibb
9. Shockwave, Marshmello
10. Too Mean to Die, Accept
What were some of your favorite albums of the year? Any you disagree with my grade on? Let me know in the comments!
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