The 10 Best Albums of 2021

What a weird year. On almost every front, really. I started commuting to work again a few days a week in May and, barring something unforeseen (which, let's face it, unforeseen events are very on-brand for 2021), I'll have been on about 30 flights this year (even left the country once!!) 

What I'm saying is, in addition to music on while working from home, my traditional music sanctuaries of bus rides and flights were somewhat back this year. Speaking of... folks, can we talk about live music? I went to the Day In Day Out festival over Labor Day and barely knew how to handle myself. I saw Modest Mouse at Marymoor Park and even saw Coldplay indoors. Absolutely joyful.

A friend and I were talking this year about how we're also still glad that albums are a thing. Despite music mainly moving to streaming options, a lot of artists are still putting together 40-or-so minutes of music that is meant to go together as one piece of work. Sure, the singles stand out, but all those plane rides... it was nice to have a bunch of no-skips-needed albums this year. 

And it was a good music year! There were a bunch of albums in and out of rotation from artists like Liz Phair, The Weather Station, Marina, Lil Nas X, Rostam, Snail Mail, Foo Fighters, Adele... even Taylor Swift took advantage of not only regaining control of her masters for Red, but got all of us who loved folklore and evermore to listen to her old stuff ("State of Grace" is a BOP, friends. My 2012 self is so confused.) Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak as silk sonic made the music next year's babies were made to. That's a great list! But a few rose above, so let's dive in:

Honorable Mentions

Lorde - Solar Power - A more understated Lorde album (if such a thing is possible) than in the past, though her last two albums were "event" albums so anything less than that is understated. Definitely a lot of good moments on here.

Flag Day OST - So we got Glen Hansard, Eddie Vedder and Cat Power just mixing it up for a whole bunch of different tracks and it's just a super enjoyable listen. "Tender Mercies" checks all the needed boxes on its own. I didn't even know this was a thing until the day it came out and I'm glad Eddie's cover of R.E.M.'s "Drive" was brought yo my attention so I could find this soundtrack.

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever - There's a lot of schtick to Billie Eilish but at least it's good schtick meshed with even better music. I'm actually pretty excited because it feels like, at some point soon, Eilish is going to put out an absolutely transcendent album that fulfills all the promise of her first two albums.

Coldplay - Music of the Spheres - This one took a lot of flack in the reviews and, look, Coldplay is firmly in the enjoying-being-the-biggest-band-in-the-world phase rather than making music on a mission and, hey... I'd do that, too. And I cant stop listening to this one, so...

Still, the top 10 is, as usual a level above it all. As always, shared with a second opinion.

10) Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed 

Second opinion: Pitchfork

Among the things my 2012 self is very confused about is how music people call "country" is now part of my normal repertoire and, if that troubles you, be aware this is not the last album of such on this list so buckle up. The thing is, it comes down to the damn songs, right? And Musgraves is really good at songs. 

Much has been made that this is a divorce album, but relationship drama is hardly new fodder so songs like "hookup scene" work even for those of us partnered, split, single or whatever. Folks have been there. And that's what Musgraves does so very well is tap into the feelings we've all had at some juncture. While the title track is overtly focused on the schism of her breakup, it keeps the listener engaged. And closing with a song in Spanish is just a super nice touch. Musgraves is working it all out in front of us, guitar in hand and making us feel stuff. So whatever genre people want to call it, we'll call it what it is: great.

9) Girl in Red - If I Could Make it Go Quiet

Second opinion: The Guardian

You know what was cool about U2? They were making music that was absolutely Christian-themed but if that's not what you came for, you didn't need that part to enjoy the music. You know what's cool about Girl in Red? If you're looking for queer empowerment and songs that are about your life experience? Here you go. Oh you're a cis straight dude who just likes finding new music that's well written with the occasional bop thrown in and then you write a year-end wrap up blog of your favorites? You got it.

It's the songwriting, stupid. And Marie Ulven is clearly good at writing songs and, dare I say, having some fun with it. I heard "Serotonin" on Seattle's wonderful KEXP one day and was hooked. NPR has driveway moments and KEXP has get-home-and-stream-this-now moments. It was one of those immediately-good songs and I wanted to hear more.

More did not disappoint! The brattiness of "You Stupid Bitch" - absolutely the song title of the year - the candid lyrics and slow build of "Apartment 402" are masterstrokes with the pop/indie production to match. 

8) Torres - Thirstier

Second opinion: Paste

Holy shit, you guys. The other Mackenzie Scott decided to rock the hell out and it is MAGIC. From the very first chords. Torres has always been in my peripheral vision, checking out her albums here and there, but this one reaches through your earbuds and positively demands a place in your head. And you willingly submit because while Torres has always been good... I never knew it could be like this.

That first track, "Are You Sleepwalking?" propels us right into one of the most confident rock albums of the year and (recurring theme alert) the songwriting and lyrics are on equal footing with the soaring guitars of the choruses. The title track lives up to the unapologetic sauciness of the topic but also just swaggers. My favorite though is "Don't Go Puttin Wishes in My Head," which is about as great a rock song as we can ask for. 

The album is just a tremendous step by an established artist to go big and succeed (another recurring thing of this list, in fact...)

7) Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

Second Opinion: Spin

On "Bells in Santa Fe," I could really hear it. It was the Nine Inch Nails album I have actually been wanting since The Fragile came out way back when. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have done amazing work on so many projects, but Halsey enlisting them to produce this is not only a monster flex, it's exactly what she needed to take her music to another level and, plainly, the shot in the arm the NIN crew needed, too.

Pregnancy in America is treated as a holy event, celebrated with showers and all the consumerism to match. I've met pregnant women. They don't seem to like it, to be honest. Then add in post-partum depression, a new child that is both amazing and an amazing source of stress and all the relationship changes that come with it. Halsey's put that music and, let's just say when you choose Trent Reznor to produce it, it's not a trip to Babies R Us.

What it is, though, is a compelling listen that draws you in in all the right ways to look behind the curtain. And on "Bells..." it's not a pretty picture behind the curtain. Nor is the industrial rock crunch of "Easier Than Lying." But like the darkest club, there are lights and even when there is menace, you must dance. Such is the case on "I am not a woman, I'm a god" as the beat propels the song, you, the whole world you're in when it's booming into your ears.

It's great stuff and one really hopes this is a collaboration that will continue.

6) Lana del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Second Opinion: Rolling Stone

Born to Die came out in 2012. Lana has put out seven albums in nine years (four in the past four) and they have all been, at the baseline, fantastic. Prolific output matched with quality is pretty rare in music and at the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, I'm not going to list the other acts that have achieved the same sort of thing other than to say 1) it's a short list and 2) one of them rhymes with "eat Ls," but what I will say is that it is time to recognize that Lana del Rey is very likely one of the top recording artists of our lifetimes and it would probably be best if everyone got cozy with that.

Chemtrails was the Lana album we knew was coming (more on that in a second) and it find Lana comfortable in her own skin, still setting what I believe is called "whole damn moods" but seemingly finally lifting the curtain on herself, not the persona. The result? This is crazy, but a person with a lot of complex thoughts, many in conflict with another here in the modern, pandemic-y world. The title track invites us into Lana-land, quickly alluding to her sister, and sharing what seems to be the in-the-moment thoughts of a woman pausing to appreciate a moment in time and all that it entails, good and bad.

"Wild at Heart" is the sort of Lana song that sits really well next to "Ride" but again, dropping the persona, it's even more compelling. And my goodness the song... starting with sparse guitar and vocals, the song builds and to a full-on instrumental experience that cascades over you in a /3 beat.

But don't worry, if you're longing for moody Lana, just skip ahead to "Yosemite," which is practically begging to be part of a Tarantino soundtrack.

That Lana is able to put out such quality seemingly on demand is rare stuff. (Imagine if she did it twice in a year, though...)

5) Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

Second opinion: Pitchfork

Was reading something somewhere that Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and Sturgill Simpson are saving country music from itself by putting out good music. That's probably hyperbole as there are plenty of others out there and, truthfully, as far as I can gather as one that is far from a country music expert, the argument of what's real or good country has been going on ever since there was more than one country artist.

What I do know is that Simpson has built a wonderful story album from the 19th Century (somewhat based on family lore) and put it to irresistible bluegrass and country sounds. That it pairs well with today's rural existential questions and parallel pressures is not lost on the artist whatsoever.

It's an easy listen. Songs are chapters in the tale and, to quote the end of The Big Lebowski, it's a pretty story! Dood must search for his kidnapped wife, Juanita (yes, there are overt allusions to ethnicity... again, pairs well with today's America). The instrumentation sets the mood in each piece. We get an ode to "Shamrock" the horse and also to the dog on "Sam," which... it's a country song so let's just say Sam is chasing balls away from this mortal coil. The most "country" of the songs is "Played Out," which, I'll just go ahead and say would sound fantastic out of context at an outdoor venue in the summer with a beer in your hand.

But again, it's the songs. Simpson has spun quite a yarn here, but the key thing is that it transcends genres. It, perhaps, asks those of us without the ear for country to do a bit more work to get into it than Isbell's folksy rock does or Musgraves' door's-wide-open singer/songwriter stuff, but those that put in the work (in this case literally listening to it like three whole times) will be richly rewarded.

4) Lana del Rey - Blue Banisters

Second opinion: Rolling Stone

Remember when Taylor Swift put out two albums in 2020? Lana did it this year and, at least for a time in early summer, it seemed like she might do three. What's as remarkable as Taylor's double-dip last year is that Lana's is also exceptional. In fact, Blue Banisters ranks among the top of the Lana catalog. 

The first three songs are all fairly straightforward piano-and-vocals and a little extra. It's good straightforward, but then comes the bass drop on "Interlude - The Trio," which I can only describe as sexy and also a clear marker that, oh, we're going there on this album.

And boy howdy does it. "Black Bathing Suit" drops next and what starts as simple, almost music box-ish, gets much complex both in topic (life in the pandemic) to song composition (wait, is she crying?) "Dealer" ups the ante in that, if there's ever been an "emo" Lana song, this is it. But it's still her, whispering between the verse and chorus, moody overtones and more. "Thunder" is classic Lana, but with a twist, bringing in almost gospel choir sounds by the end and "Living Legend" is our girl at her cinematic best.

The capstone is "Wildflower Wildfire," though. In what some have oversimplified as Lana's "piano" album, the song is the album in microcosm, pairing a slow burn build (in this case, yes, with piano) with a drop that shows this is Lana's beats album. It's not to get you moving on the dance floor as much as to push your pulse, to bring you into the drama and tension and remind us all - we are alive. And one way or another, moving ahead, we have to live. Messy as it may look and feel for a bit... or has it always?

3) Chvrches - Screen Violence

Second opinion: NME

Over the past decade, something has happened. Someone you know, maybe even you, yourself, has thrown their phone, feeling attacked or angry by something they saw in Facebook or an article they read. If you're a woman, you've probably received nasty unsolicited comments in some corner of the internet you thought was safe. If you're a famous woman, you almost can't go online without it.

Lauren Mayberry will tell you all about it on "Final Girl," one of just so many standouts on this album. "I should quit, maybe go get married" and "I wonder if I should've changed my accent/tried to make myself more attractive" are lines absolutely ripped from Instagram comments and she pairs it with the horror of the "final girl" in a horror movie who is surviving but is obviously never going to be past the trauma in a real-life situation.

The horror movie/internet attack parallel anchors the album, though it's not fully a concept album as much a constant metaphor for how a woman has to navigate modern life. It sounds terrifying and it probably is. "Good Girls" comes in later to be the ultimate act of defiance to it all, with Mayberry singing how "I won't" to the expectations placed around her.

Relationship drama is here, most notably on opener and absolute stunner "Asking for a Friend" and "California" uses shimmery summer guitars to look at the downsides of trying to live the life as, perhaps not someone who gets recognized on the streets of LA, but certainly a torch-bearer for smart electro-pop. "Lullabies" captures the 1980s vibe while also lamenting that, sometimes, the horrors of real life necessitate the escapes of digital tech.

Speaking of, so much of what Chvrches does remains electronic, but they're using more live instruments than ever and, seeing them live this year, often a full band setup. And if this album is a return to form (I'd call it a step forward), the fact that the band is going to record after New Year's has me of a mind that the best is even yet to come.

2) Tyler the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST

Second opinion: Pitchfork

An homage to the mixtape. An introspective look at different sorts of privilege (or the lack thereof). Something of a love letter to travel. A gigantic flex.

This album is all of those things and, truly, a gift that has kept on giving since its June release. After an intro, "CORSO" threatens to absolutely shred your earbuds. The whole damn thing feels like a live performance and, while it obviously is not an album done in one take, it feels like it is and, in doing so, is the latest example of what makes rap music so good. Done right, there is nothing like it and this one feels like you have a seat on a bullet train.

Songs hop from one to another seamlessly and the listener is the one catching their breath trying to keep up. This is a good thing.

And the songs are simply all killer... the filler is just interspersed throughout, just as it would be live. "WUSYANAME" spools out of the opening triad with a synthed-up groove that made it feel like summer before Seattle weather cooperated (side note: it ended up cooperating too well in 2021. No more 109 degrees please.)

"MASSA" opens with the idea of how passport is a must-have (this is after DJ Drama flexes about being on a boat in Geneva) before segueing into a much more introspective song. "MANIFESTO" dives headfirst into the current narrative (read: the world, especially for people of color, isn't great right now), but in doing so, paints a more complicated picture than you're going to hear in most mainstream venues (e.g. when Tyler asks "Am I doin' enough or not doin' enough?")

It's a masterwork and not leaving my rotation any time soon.

1) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend

Second opinion: The Guardian

A conscious effort by one of the best bands in terms of putting out creative-but-accessible rock to take a step up has been massively achieved. Among my friends who are Wolf Alice fans, a constant topic this year, other than how ridiculously good this album is, is why it's not just gigantic.

Wolf Alice's first two albums were outstanding, but, my goodness. THIS is something else entirely.

"Delicious Things" shows that we're not messing around right out of the box. Ellie Roswell sings about all the trimmings of coming to LA in a band to try and become big (and maybe how the lifestyle isn't quite all its cracked up to be), but enneagram 7s everywhere and anyone who was ever in a new place in their 20s trying to stake their claim can relate to the "I won't say no, I'll give it a go" refrain (after all, don't all the best memories/worst nights of our lives start with that very thought?)

The entire album is threaded with relationship drama, including the platonic flavor of such. Little is made of the "mid-20s crisis" when all your friends are suddenly on entirely different life paths than you and all you thought you had in common is uprooted. That can affect more romantic ties, as is the case on "Lipstick on the Glass" where Roswell sings of taking back a lover, not the least of which because its familiarity might be better than ambiguity and unknowns without it. 

What sets this to the next level is the songs, from the chorus you don't expect on "Smile" to the slow build of "How Can I Make it OK?" which, it's 100% accurate to say is exactly how we've felt in whatever moment we've desperately and with increasing urgency wanted to make whatever thing or person OK. "The Last Man on Earth" was described elsewhere as slowly building into something epic and so I'm stealing that description. That said, it also is Wolf Alice's songwriting at its best, layering lyrics and sounds on top of one another to create something so much bigger than the sum of the parts.

And for all the high points on the way, it's the last two songs that tie it up and give and honest to god catharsis. "No Hard Feelings" isn't simply a statement of just not having the energy to fight with an ex anymore, it's the acceptance that, sometimes, things end and maybe moving forward knowing you had a piece of that person's growth is a good thing, hence the "we'll both take the win" line.

But "The Beach II" ties it all together, with Roswell telling of her toes in the sand, surrounded by the friends she knows she can count on and a feeling that, around them all is so many things they cannot control and so many things they'll have to face. But it's in those moments we find sanctuary and respite that we can be ourselves, safe from the tumult and know that, when we need, we can find that spot again. In 2021, it might be the thing we need to take away the most. And to have this album take us through the entire journey is all the more worthwhile. Literally drop what you're doing and go listen to this three times in a row.