Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 by 
babyBlueSedan 
My new year's resolution, besides stopping all the pollution, is to create a happy, positive 2021 year chart. Nice critiques only! Well, at least as far as I can without saying nice things about bad albums, because positivity without realism is worthless. But in a positive way!
Also putting more effort into nonsensical genres because what's more fun than that?!
May update: well so much for positivity - I feel like my rating has gotten even harsher. My optimistic side thinks it's because I've heard so much good music that it's harder for new things I hear to stand out, but my pessimistic side thinks it's because I'm too old and can no longer enjoy new music. I guess in both cases it just means I'm even pickier now.
- Chart updated: 02/12/2022 23:15
- (Created: 01/24/2021 03:31).
- Chart size: 88 albums.
There are 2 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 3 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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65/100
Emo hardcore
Treads the line between emo and hardcore similar to Dogleg's record from last year, which is probably the 2020 album I've listened to the most so far this year. Not nearly as full throttle as that one, but still has a lot of power behind it and some meaningful lyrics. Pretty short too, which is good, though it does still kind of drag by the end. Almost kept this at a 65 but Turnstile's new album made me to decide to bump it down to 65. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
Emo hardcore
Treads the line between emo and hardcore similar to Dogleg's record from last year, which is probably the 2020 album I've listened to the most so far this year. Not nearly as full throttle as that one, but still has a lot of power behind it and some meaningful lyrics. Pretty short too, which is good, though it does still kind of drag by the end. Almost kept this at a 65 but Turnstile's new album made me to decide to bump it down to 65. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
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65/100
Gentle folk
I can't make up my mind on how to feel about this album. On one hand I think I love it, Sufjan's voice is as tender as ever and these songs are gorgeous. It's pretty much impossible for the man to write an acoustic ballad that isn't great. On the other hand, this feels a bit like Sufjan going back to his most popular sound to appease the folks who didn't want him making ambient new age and bombastic synth pop albums. It's not at all the odyssey of Illinois or the emotional abyss of Seven Swans; it almost feels watered down by comparison. Maybe that's cynical, but I certainly don't feel the same way about this that I do his other folk albums.
A third listen pushes me over into the "not as substantial as his best work" side. After a couple songs I was wondering how I couldn't love this but as it went on I soured on it a bit. Undeniably beautiful but the majority of these songs play around with the same formula, and the majority of Sufjan's albums greatly benefit from extreme changes in sound. Carrie & Lowell is the exception, and probably the closest comparison to this, but the emotional weight of Carrie & Lowell isn't found here. [First added to this chart: 10/02/2021]
Gentle folk
I can't make up my mind on how to feel about this album. On one hand I think I love it, Sufjan's voice is as tender as ever and these songs are gorgeous. It's pretty much impossible for the man to write an acoustic ballad that isn't great. On the other hand, this feels a bit like Sufjan going back to his most popular sound to appease the folks who didn't want him making ambient new age and bombastic synth pop albums. It's not at all the odyssey of Illinois or the emotional abyss of Seven Swans; it almost feels watered down by comparison. Maybe that's cynical, but I certainly don't feel the same way about this that I do his other folk albums.
A third listen pushes me over into the "not as substantial as his best work" side. After a couple songs I was wondering how I couldn't love this but as it went on I soured on it a bit. Undeniably beautiful but the majority of these songs play around with the same formula, and the majority of Sufjan's albums greatly benefit from extreme changes in sound. Carrie & Lowell is the exception, and probably the closest comparison to this, but the emotional weight of Carrie & Lowell isn't found here. [First added to this chart: 10/02/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
742
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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65/100
Summer indie pop bops
Be Sweet is fairly easily my song of the year so far, the way it hits that pre-chorus into the soaring chorus is just delectable. There are some other good songs here too but after a few listens none that I love quite as much. Posing in Bondage is good and it presents a kind of opposite vibe, which is nice (but also "When the world divides into two people, those who have felt pain and those who have yet to" is a line that makes no sense grammatically even if I like the idea it throws out there). Elsewhere the closer has a really nice extended horn thing. But it's one of those album I kept listening to in the hopes I would like it and not because I wanted to hear it, so into 65 purgatory it goes. I've said this about like 300 albums but will try to revisit it come Listmas. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
Summer indie pop bops
Be Sweet is fairly easily my song of the year so far, the way it hits that pre-chorus into the soaring chorus is just delectable. There are some other good songs here too but after a few listens none that I love quite as much. Posing in Bondage is good and it presents a kind of opposite vibe, which is nice (but also "When the world divides into two people, those who have felt pain and those who have yet to" is a line that makes no sense grammatically even if I like the idea it throws out there). Elsewhere the closer has a really nice extended horn thing. But it's one of those album I kept listening to in the hopes I would like it and not because I wanted to hear it, so into 65 purgatory it goes. I've said this about like 300 albums but will try to revisit it come Listmas. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,420
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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65/100
Throwback rap
Flower Boy was a revelation for me, and while I like IGOR I also think it may be the most overrated album ever, and it's grown off me a bit in the years since it came out. Call Me If You Get Lost is much closer to Flower Boy in sound, so it's odd that I think I prefer IGOR to this one.
This album is pretty much just one immaculately produced rap song after another, and I really appreciate Tyler's return to rapping because I think his voice sounds much better here than through the processed singing on IGOR. The problem is that almost none of these songs stand out. The beats all sound great, but they all are cut from kind of the same cloth, and while there are a lot of stand-out bars there's no song that's full of them. This makes it hard to even pinpoint a song I like from this, despite being able to name quite a few moments I like on it. Another issue is that "Sweet" destroys the momentum the album has. It's a pretty good song, but I'm not sure it needs to be 9 minutes long, and I also can't help but feel like it's a lesser version of See You Again. Also it brings back the IGOR vocals. From there I think my attention is usually lost and it's hard to recover.
It's unfortunate because while I'd say I like Tyler as a rapper, again mostly because I think his voice is interesting to listen to, I've never bothered with his pre-Flower Boy stuff because of the lyrical content. It would be nice to hear another rap album from him that's as good as Flower Boy, so I really want to like this, but the length and anonymity of some of the songs overshadow what's probably the best produced album of the year. [First added to this chart: 08/21/2021]
Throwback rap
Flower Boy was a revelation for me, and while I like IGOR I also think it may be the most overrated album ever, and it's grown off me a bit in the years since it came out. Call Me If You Get Lost is much closer to Flower Boy in sound, so it's odd that I think I prefer IGOR to this one.
This album is pretty much just one immaculately produced rap song after another, and I really appreciate Tyler's return to rapping because I think his voice sounds much better here than through the processed singing on IGOR. The problem is that almost none of these songs stand out. The beats all sound great, but they all are cut from kind of the same cloth, and while there are a lot of stand-out bars there's no song that's full of them. This makes it hard to even pinpoint a song I like from this, despite being able to name quite a few moments I like on it. Another issue is that "Sweet" destroys the momentum the album has. It's a pretty good song, but I'm not sure it needs to be 9 minutes long, and I also can't help but feel like it's a lesser version of See You Again. Also it brings back the IGOR vocals. From there I think my attention is usually lost and it's hard to recover.
It's unfortunate because while I'd say I like Tyler as a rapper, again mostly because I think his voice is interesting to listen to, I've never bothered with his pre-Flower Boy stuff because of the lyrical content. It would be nice to hear another rap album from him that's as good as Flower Boy, so I really want to like this, but the length and anonymity of some of the songs overshadow what's probably the best produced album of the year. [First added to this chart: 08/21/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,374
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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65/100
Progremo rock
This year has featured a lot of albums but artists I used to like that released a mediocre last album but came back to put out an album I almost really love. I didn't care for TWIABPAIANLATD's last one, but Whenever if Ever is a top 5 emo album for me. This one manages to try out a new sound while still sounding truer to the band's original sounds than their last one did.
There's two main parts of this album. The first part is composed of normal length songs, including a couple that have hooks that are close to pop punk emo. The second song especially has some nice hooks. Unfortunately I think that for an emo band, their lyrics really aren't that great. They're really specific a lot of the time, and they end up feeling a bit impersonal, like you're reading an op-ed. There's one part where they say something about "a 500 dollar drug or one last of your mother's hugs" and it really works, but in general their social and political commentary sounds like nothing I haven't heard and just ends up bumming me out.
The second part of the album is two very long 15+ minute songs. I was worried these would be aimless post rock pieces, but they end up rocking pretty hard with these hypnotic twinkly guitars. I was really vibing to the closer the first time I heard and I thought "wow, they're really trying to remind people of Getting Sodas," and then they broke out into the Getting Sodas chorus! A pretty cool moment for fans, though it did kind of just remind me how much better Getting Sodas was than anything here...
Better than I expected and a fun listen, but I prefer the immaturity of their early stuff to the more pessimistic stuff here. [First added to this chart: 11/29/2021]
Progremo rock
This year has featured a lot of albums but artists I used to like that released a mediocre last album but came back to put out an album I almost really love. I didn't care for TWIABPAIANLATD's last one, but Whenever if Ever is a top 5 emo album for me. This one manages to try out a new sound while still sounding truer to the band's original sounds than their last one did.
There's two main parts of this album. The first part is composed of normal length songs, including a couple that have hooks that are close to pop punk emo. The second song especially has some nice hooks. Unfortunately I think that for an emo band, their lyrics really aren't that great. They're really specific a lot of the time, and they end up feeling a bit impersonal, like you're reading an op-ed. There's one part where they say something about "a 500 dollar drug or one last of your mother's hugs" and it really works, but in general their social and political commentary sounds like nothing I haven't heard and just ends up bumming me out.
The second part of the album is two very long 15+ minute songs. I was worried these would be aimless post rock pieces, but they end up rocking pretty hard with these hypnotic twinkly guitars. I was really vibing to the closer the first time I heard and I thought "wow, they're really trying to remind people of Getting Sodas," and then they broke out into the Getting Sodas chorus! A pretty cool moment for fans, though it did kind of just remind me how much better Getting Sodas was than anything here...
Better than I expected and a fun listen, but I prefer the immaturity of their early stuff to the more pessimistic stuff here. [First added to this chart: 11/29/2021]
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65/100
Downtempo indie
If you had told me Lil Ugly Mane had released a new album and the thing it reminded me most of was Eels, I would be...well, really confused. I really don't know how to classify this - it's got some samples and beats but it sounds mostly like indie rock in the end. It might just be Miller's cadence or voice, but Eels is the thing I'm reminded of here. Downtempo sad rock that's pretty bleak.
I really like VPN and a few other songs, but for as odd of a sound as it is for Miller I wish it tried a few more things. [First added to this chart: 11/29/2021]
Downtempo indie
If you had told me Lil Ugly Mane had released a new album and the thing it reminded me most of was Eels, I would be...well, really confused. I really don't know how to classify this - it's got some samples and beats but it sounds mostly like indie rock in the end. It might just be Miller's cadence or voice, but Eels is the thing I'm reminded of here. Downtempo sad rock that's pretty bleak.
I really like VPN and a few other songs, but for as odd of a sound as it is for Miller I wish it tried a few more things. [First added to this chart: 11/29/2021]
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65/100
Industrial trauma
I listened to this four times, twice on Bandcamp and twice on YouTube. I liked it a lot the two times on Bandcamp and could barely stand it the two times on YouTube. Is the album different in both places??
This is a group I've wanted to like, as I've enjoyed the way they blend abrasiveness and pop. But a lot of what they've done has been a bit too overwhelming so I actually skipped their last one. After listening to this I want to check that one out, because while this is still a very busy, loud album it tosses aside the hyper pop elements that turned me off. It still has some poppy hooks buried in the noise, which are my favorite part of the album, especially on the opening track and "Heaven."
The more difficult tracks for me are the more formless or completely noisy one. "Tiny Ball" is expendable and "We'll Figure it Out" has some really clunky, on the nose lyrics. Other than those there aren't really any tracks I don't like, just not a whole lot of them I love. [First added to this chart: 03/05/2021]
Industrial trauma
I listened to this four times, twice on Bandcamp and twice on YouTube. I liked it a lot the two times on Bandcamp and could barely stand it the two times on YouTube. Is the album different in both places??
This is a group I've wanted to like, as I've enjoyed the way they blend abrasiveness and pop. But a lot of what they've done has been a bit too overwhelming so I actually skipped their last one. After listening to this I want to check that one out, because while this is still a very busy, loud album it tosses aside the hyper pop elements that turned me off. It still has some poppy hooks buried in the noise, which are my favorite part of the album, especially on the opening track and "Heaven."
The more difficult tracks for me are the more formless or completely noisy one. "Tiny Ball" is expendable and "We'll Figure it Out" has some really clunky, on the nose lyrics. Other than those there aren't really any tracks I don't like, just not a whole lot of them I love. [First added to this chart: 03/05/2021]
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65/100
Abstract hip hop
First time listening to a Mach-Hommy album and was not disappointed. Beats are all incredible in different ways, and his rapping really draws you in even though I can't really point out anything unique about this flow.
Unfortunately this kind of got worse every listen. Some great lines on this (going from memory here so might get these wrong but loved "shot him two times like Moderna" and "have that pistol in your mouth and spit your Magnum opus") but the songs just aren't memorable or something. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
Abstract hip hop
First time listening to a Mach-Hommy album and was not disappointed. Beats are all incredible in different ways, and his rapping really draws you in even though I can't really point out anything unique about this flow.
Unfortunately this kind of got worse every listen. Some great lines on this (going from memory here so might get these wrong but loved "shot him two times like Moderna" and "have that pistol in your mouth and spit your Magnum opus") but the songs just aren't memorable or something. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
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65/100
Revamped turn of the millennium R&B
Smooth, nighttime R&B. Casier has a lot of personality and her lyrics are very specific and creative, which I like a lot. Production is restrained but still varied and detailed. First few tracks and the last two are great but the middle dips in quality so I'm lowering this to a 65 for now. Probably one I'll revisit again during list season. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
Revamped turn of the millennium R&B
Smooth, nighttime R&B. Casier has a lot of personality and her lyrics are very specific and creative, which I like a lot. Production is restrained but still varied and detailed. First few tracks and the last two are great but the middle dips in quality so I'm lowering this to a 65 for now. Probably one I'll revisit again during list season. [First added to this chart: 06/13/2021]
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65/100
Indie stuff
Nice mix of different indie styles - some slowcore, some rockers, some acoustic songs. First half is great but starts to feel less essential by the second have, maybe because by then it's already tried everything new. [First added to this chart: 08/21/2021]
Indie stuff
Nice mix of different indie styles - some slowcore, some rockers, some acoustic songs. First half is great but starts to feel less essential by the second have, maybe because by then it's already tried everything new. [First added to this chart: 08/21/2021]
Total albums: 88. Page 3 of 9
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Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| R.A.P. Ferreira | 2 | 2% | |
| Lana Del Rey | 2 | 2% | |
| Fiddlehead | 1 | 1% | |
| Viagra Boys | 1 | 1% | |
| Wolves In The Throne Room | 1 | 1% | |
| 파란노을 [Parannoul] | 1 | 1% | |
| Kacey Musgraves | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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55 | 63% | |
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14 | 16% | |
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3 | 3% | |
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3 | 3% | |
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2 | 2% | |
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2 | 2% | |
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2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 3 from 6th to 3rdInpariquipê by Kaatayra |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 3rd to 4th Glow On by Turnstile |
| Down 1 from 4th to 5th Seek Shelter by Iceage |
| Down 1 from 5th to 6th Nafs At Peace by جو بھی [Jaubi] |
Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 ratings
89/100 (from 3 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 3 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 100/100  | 02/09/2022 19:45 | DJENNY | | 100/100 |
| 100/100 | 06/06/2021 13:24 |  travelful | | 99/100 |
| 95/100 | 05/18/2021 08:34 |  Purplepash | | 88/100 |
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Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 comments
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From babyBlueSedan 06/13/2021 16:13
babyBlueSedan 06/13/2021 16:13
Thanks for the rec! I've definitely been out of the hip hop loop the past few years, I hadn't even heard of Mach-Hommy until he showed up on one of billy woods's albums in 2019. I think I knew about the album he released a single copy of before hearing about the new one but then I saw he's got a huge discography and wasn't sure where to go next. It's hard for me to find the time lately to spend digesting new hip hop albums to the extent they deserve but I'll try to give it a chance when I can.
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100/100
From travelful 06/06/2021 13:29
travelful 06/06/2021 13:29
Glad you liked Mach-Hommy! He's one of the most underrated rappers currently, and its primarily his fault for making his music so inaccessible. His best album in my opinion is "Haitian Body Odor" (HBO) and thankfully it's on SoundCloud. Similar to "Pray For Haiti" it released under Griselda Records. It was his Griselda debut back in 2016 before him and Westside Gunn had a falling out due to creative differences. I think it's a top 10 hip-hop album of the last decade, maybe it would interest you.
Always love following your charts.
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| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. The Velvet Underground | |
| 10. Nirvana | |
| 11. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 12. Neil Young | |
| 13. The Smiths | |
| 14. Miles Davis | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. Kanye West | |
| 17. Pixies | |
| 18. R.E.M. | |
| 19. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 20. Bruce Springsteen |