YEAR END MEGALIST 2021!!!!!!

For me this year was deep but there wasn't anything at the top that really blew me away. I had a hard time picking a favorite because I felt like the top 4 or 5 were all great, but not on the level of my usual albums of the year. There were a lot of albums I felt were really good, but not many I felt were incredible. Here's my full list, but only the top 16 earned points.

Best Albums of 2021:​

  1. Yola - Stand For Myself (10)
  2. Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR (10)
  3. Celeste - Not Your Muse (10)
  4. Leon Bridges - Gold-Diggers Sound (10)
  5. Aaron Frazer - Introducing… (5)
  6. Justin Bieber - Justice (5)
  7. The Black Keys - Delta Kream (5)
  8. Pink Sweat$ - PINK PLANET (5)
  9. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - The Future (5)
  10. Jade Bird - Different Kinds of Light (5)
  11. Jeremiah Fraites - Piano Piano (5)
  12. Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space (5)
  13. Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic (5)
  14. Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed (5)
  15. Curtis Harding - If Words Were Flowers (5)
  16. Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams (5)
  17. True Loves - Sunday Afternoon
  18. Adele - 30
  19. Jungle - Loving In Stereo
  20. Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
  21. Surfaces - Pacifico
  22. El Michels Affair Meets Liam Bailey ‎– Ekundayo Inversions
  23. Lil Nas X - MONTERO
  24. Lake Street Dive - Obviously
  25. Adia Victoria - A Southern Gothic
  26. Yebba - Dawn
  27. Holy Hive - Holy Hive
  28. John Splithoff - All In
  29. Cedric Burnside - I Be Trying
  30. Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
  31. Amythyst Kiah - Wary + Strange
  32. Mat Kearney - January Flower
  33. Robert Finley - Sharecropper’s Son
  34. Anderson East - Maybe We Never Die
  35. Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood
  36. Solemn Brigham - South Sinner Street
  37. Kanye West - Donda
  38. Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
  39. Madlib - Sound Ancestors
  40. you, me and everyone we know - Something Heavy
  41. Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden's Gate
  42. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Told You So
  43. Ed Sheeran - =
  44. Lushlife - Redamancy
  45. Jane Weaver - Flock
  46. Dakota Jones - Black Light
  47. John Batiste - We Are
  48. Pino Palladino & Blake Mills - Notes with Attachments
  49. Langhorne Slim - Strawberry Mansion

2021 1-9.png
2021 10-26.png
2021 26-42.png
 
Here's my list. Thanks for doing this every year. Always a fun thing to do

Turnstile: GLOW ON - 8 Pts
Silk Sonic: An Evening With Silk Sonic - 7 Pts
Porter Robinson: Nurture - 7 Pts
Backxwash: I LIE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES - 7 Pts
JPEGMAFIA: LP! - 7 Pts
Little Simz: Sometimes I Might Be Introvert - 7 Pts
Knocked Loose: A Tear in the Fabric of Life - 6 Pts
black midi: Cavalcade - 6 Pts
Magdalena Bay: Mercurial World - 5 Pts
Lucy Dacus: Home Video - 5 Pts
Archspire: Bleed the Future - 5 Pts
St. Vincent: Daddy's Home - 5 Pts
Matt Sweeney, Bonnie Prince Billy: Superwolves - 4 Pts
IDLES: CRAWLER - 4 Pts
Armand Hammer: Haram - 4 Pts
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever - 3 Pts
Genesis Owusu: Smiling with No Teeth - 3 Pts
Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee - 3 Pts
Gojira: Fortitude - 2 Pts
Faye Webster: I Know I'm Funny haha - 2 Pts
 
Last edited:
My yearly top 20 here! A pretty great year in my opinion, this was my easiest list to make in a long time.

 
My yearly top 20 here! A pretty great year in my opinion, this was my easiest list to make in a long time.

55% overlap, which I consider excellent.
Digging it.
 
Billy Strings - Renewal 15
IDLES - Crawler 10
Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams 10
Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming 10
Snail Mail - Valentine 10
Lucy Dacus – Home Video 10
The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore 5
Vincent Neil Emerson – Vincent Neil Emerson 5
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions 5
James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hounds 5
Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita 5
Strand of Oaks - In Heaven 5
Morgan Wade – Reckless 5
 
I'd say it wasn't my favorite year in music, but there's still a bunch of releases I enjoyed:

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince (15)

Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark (10)
Spellling - The Turning Wheel (10)
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature (10)
International Music - Ententraum (10)
Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (10)

Greentea Peng - Man Made (5)
Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under (5)
Men I Trust - Untourable Album (5)
The Weather Station - Ignorance (5)
Joan As Police Woman, Dave Okumu, Tony Allen - The Solution Is Restless (5)
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Haram (5)
Snoh Aalegra - Temporary Highs On Violet Skies (5)
 
Last edited:
I'm going to start adding this all up tonight, so you have about 7 hours left to get any edits in. How much I get done depends on how well my daughter sleeps through the night (pray for me)

If everything goes correctly I'll be posting the final results this Sunday night, so if you haven't voted yet you have until then
 
The Rock N Rollers
9 Steve Gunn - Other You
5 Jimmy Montague - Casual Use
3 The War On Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
2 Rosali - No Medium
1 Tonstartssbandht - Petunia
1 The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy

The Post Punkers
6
Black Country, New Road - For The First Time
5 Squid - Bright Green Field
3 Shame - Drunk Tank Pink
2 Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
1 Black MIDI - Cavalcade
1 Iceage -Seek Shelter

The Indie Kids
6
Ducks Ltd. - Modern Fiction
5 Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns
3 Smoke Bellow - Open For Business
2 Lucy Dacus - Home Movies

The Veterans
8
Low - HEY WHAT
5 Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space
3 Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Superwolves

The Honky Tonkers
6
Morgan Wade - Reckless
5 Charley Crockett - Music City, USA
3 Tobacco City - Tobacco City, USA
2 Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming

…And The Rest
6
Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders - Promises
5 Madlib - Sound Ancestors
2 Lil Ugly Mane - Volcanic Bird Enemy And The Voiced Concern

Finally got around to the Morgan Wade. It's great!
 
I’m late for almost everything, but here’s my list. Was very difficult this year. Lots I missed out on but these are my favorites from what I did hear…

(10) Armand Hammer x Alchemist - Haram
(10) Cities Aviv - The Crashing Sound of How it Goes
(10) L’Rain - Fatigue
(10) Westside Gunn - HWH8 (Side A + B)
(10) Boldy James x Alchemist - Bo Jackson
(8) HIDE - Interior Terror
(5) Tirzah - Colourgrade
(5) Skee Mask - Pool
(5) Lukah - Why Look Up? God is in the Mirror
(5) HTRK - Rhinestones
(5) Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2
(5) Hiatus Kayote - Mood Valiant
(3) Divide and Dissolve - Gas Lit
(3) Colleen - The Tunnel and the Clearing
(3) MIKE - Disco!
(3) Spellling - Turning Wheel
 
i guess here are 10 albums i would give on the list

(20) Bo Burnham - Inside
(20) Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
(15) The Armed - Ultrapop
(10) Porter Robinson - Nurture
(10) Spirit of the Beehive - Entertainment/death
(5) Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales
(5) Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World
(5) Low - HEY WHAT
(5) Noga Erez - Kids
(5) Slowthai - TYRON

Honorable mention to Vylet Ponys Cutiemarks (great album that i originally praised but i dunno if its a best of the year contender), and Lingua Ignotas SINNER GET READY (i am not ready to relisten)
 
20 - Japanese Breakfast “Jubilee”

15 - Chvrches “Screen Violence”
15 - Toad the Wet Sprocket “Starting Now”

10 - Taylor Swift “Red (Taylor’s Version)”
10 - Lord Huron “Long Lost”
10 - Arlo Parks “Collapsed in Sunbeams”

5 - Saint Etienne “I’ve Been Trying to Tell You”
5 - Aaron Frazer “IntroducIng”
5 - Kacey Musgraves - “Star Crossed“
5 - Durand Jones & the Indications “Private Space”
 
(20) Brandi Carlile - In these silent days
(15) Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden’s Gate
(15) Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters
(10) Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club
(10) Hard Feeling - Hard Feelings
(10) Elton John - The Lockdown Sessions
(10) Adele - 30
(5) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
(5) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
 
15 - Monolink - Darkening Skies
15 - Indigo de Souza - Any Shape You Take
15 - Ada Lea - one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden
10 - Sun June - Somewhere
10 - Hollie Kenniff - The Quiet Drift
10 - Alice Phoebe Lou - Glow
05 - Jane Weaver - Flock
05 - Oliver Koletzki - Made of Wood
05 - Danielle Durack - No Place
05 - Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
05 - girl in red - if I could make it go quiet
00 - Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
00 - Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite
00 - Modest Mouse - The Golden Casket
00 - Polo and Pan - Cyclorama

Couldn't even muster a top 20 this year.
 
My 20 favorite long-players of '21

01. Starflyer 59 - Vanity (15 pts)
02. The Connells - Steadman's Wake (10)
03. Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns (10)
04. The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy (10)
05. Christian Fitness - Hip Gone Gunslingers (10)
06. The Deathray Davies - Time Well Wasted (5)
07. UV-TV - Always Something (5)
08. Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future (5)
09. Mogwai - As Love Continues (5)
10. Desperate Journalist - Maximum Sorrow! (5)
11. W.H. Lung - Vanities (2)
12. Low - Hey What (2)
13. Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki (2)
14. Amyl and The Sniffers - Comfort to Me (2)
15. Manic Street Preachers - The Ultra Vivid Lament (2)
16. Snail Mail - Valentine (2)
17. The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Uncommon Weather (2)
18. Matthew Sweet - Catspaw (2)
19. Gustaf - Audio Drag for Ego Slobs (2)
20. Lord Huron - Long Lost (2)
 
So I've just seen on @Rip_City 's status that the deadline is earlier than I've thought. I hope this still counts. It was a year with so many great albums. For simplicity, I give 3 points to each of these 33 albums. 🙂

Celeste (Not your muse)

The Weather Station (Ignorance)

Aaron Frazer (Introducing)

Altin Gün (Yol)

Cassandra Jenkins (An Overview on...)

Kiwi Jr (Cooler returns)

Still Corners (The last exit)

Black Country, New Road (For the first time)

Japanese Breakfast (Jubilee)

Sons of Kemet (Black to the future)

Squid (Bright green field)

Francoiz Breut (Flux flou de la foule)

St Vincent (Daddy's home)

slayyyter (Troubled paradise)

Jane Weaver (Flock)

Erika de Casier (Sensational)

Billie Eilish (Happier than ever)

Durand Jones (Private space)

Lady Blackbird (Black Acid Soul)

Turnstile (Glow on)

Halsey (If I can't have love...)

Little Simz (Sometimes I might be introvert)

Soda Blonde (Small talk)

Orla Gartland (Woman on the Internet)

Gemma Cullingford (Let me speak)

Sleigh Bells (Texis)

Lingua Ignota (Sinner get ready)

Kanye West (Donda)

Lana Del Rey (Blue Banisters)

Damon Albarn (The nearer the fountain)

Lotic (Water)

Ray BLK (Access denied)

Irreversible Entanglements (Open the gates)

And 1 point to Ducks Ltd "Modern fiction" to make it 100.
 
Bobby Lee - Origin Myths (20 pts.)
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider (20 pts.)
André Ethier - Further Up Island (15 pts.)
Myriam Gendron - Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found (10 pts.)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee at State's End! (7 pts.)
King Buffalo - The Burden of Restlessness (4 pts.)
Lee Ranaldo - In Virus Times (4 pts.)
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson - Theory of Ice (4 pts.)
Jeff Parker - Forfolks (4 pts.)
Madlib - Sound Ancestors (3 pts.)
Low - HEY WHAT (3 pts.)
Tommy Guerrero - Sunshine Radio (3 pts.)
Marisa Anderson & William Tyler - Lost Futures (3 pts.)
 
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (12 pts)
Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams (10)
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound (10)
BADBADNOTGOOD – Talk Memory (10)
rum.gold – Thicker Than Water (9)
Cleo Sol – Mother (8)
Mick Jenkins – Elephant in the Room (8)
Bo Burnham – Inside (5)
Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic (5)
Genesis Owusu - Smiling With No Teeth (5)
Sault – Nine (5)
Joy Crookes – Skin (4)
Charlotte Day Wilson – ALPHA (1)
Serengeti – Have a Summer (1)
Celeste – Not Your Muse (Deluxe) (1)
Yasmin Williams – Urban Driftwood (1)
Serpentwithfeet – Deacon (1)
Adele – 30 (1)
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever (1)
Curtis Harding - If Words Were Flowers (1)
Madlib - Sound Ancestors (1)

Favorite songs of the year:
Serpentwithfeet – Fellowship
Madlib – Road of the Lonely Ones
Arlo Parks – Caroline
Lushlife – Depaysement
Noname – Rainforest
SilkSonic – Leave the Door Open
Charlotte Cardin – Anyone Who Loves Me
Emma-Jean Thackray – Golden Green
Jordan Rakei – Family
Knees – Injury Reserve
 
Back
Top