2021 outliers
by 
DommeDamian 
- Chart updated: 10/31/2025 17:45
- (Created: 05/24/2025 19:43).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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65/100
This is growing on me. What I appreciate and respect Lil Nas X for on this album is his fearless ways and how I got to see the hypocrisy in american culture and media. When the music video for Call Me By Your Name came out, he was pushing the buttons of all conspiracy theorists' that is (pretty much) obsessed with "exposing" satanic symbolism and everything. And the fact that people reacted the way they did, both the conspiracy theorists and the cringey entitled "christians" really made me realize how dumb most of these people are; both misinterpreting the video about him owning up to his sexuality of being gay, and taking their own gospel/sources out of context to make themselves look smarter. But enough of that let's get into the album.
Montero starts off with Call Me By Your Name which, despite the catchy as hell flute on the backend, has really never hit my radar of great - maybe it'll grow like some of the others. Dead Right Now is a very by-the-numbers slick trap-song with singing on it, nothing original but sticks to its gun decently. The first real banger is Industry Baby that contains a charismatic trumpet, a heavy bass-instrumental, a profuse delivery from Montero and a definitively nice feature from Jack Harlow. That's What I Want is even better, that is my JAM. "Cause it DON'T FEEL RIGHT when its LATE AT NIGHT and is JUST ME IN MY DREEEAAMS", whooo that shiii bangs!!!!!!! Been listening to this song alone at least thrice a day for the past few weeks. I can almost say nothing bad about this track, this is undoubtedly the favorite hit single of 2021 of mine.
After a confusing skit The Art of Realization, Scoop is a let-down, majorly. Not only does Montero sound less excited about his song, not only does Doja Cat perform a underwhelmingly misfire and overwhelmingly awkward verse (as usual), but the instrumental is so half-baked- yeah moving on. Thankfully, One of Me is a bright song with a bright production. In the middle of that and the modern trappy Dolla Sign Time (with a fine-enough Megan Thee Stallion feature), there is the song Lost In The Citadel, which sounds like indie rock music with pop vocals on top of it; the results is mediocre but nothing more (and cleaarly not as well-executed as some others in the same lane down the line). The more folk-inspired head bumper Tales of Dominica is leagues better and more sophisticated. There's another ballad-y song right after, Sun Goes Down, which is very clearly Kid Cudi-inspired with the singing. Meanwhile Void is a very well-done indie rock song, with live-heavy drums and the adventurous shape of the production. We get an alternative-R&B flavored joint in Life After Salem, just after Don't Want It which is one of the better trap songs across the record. We close out with a surprisingly acoustic cut Am I Dreaming that features a surprisingly fitting Miley Cyrus, capturing a surprisingly wonderful harmony with Lil Nas X. The sound of that song is also a good way to end one of the few mainstream releases this year that actually has bangers on it.
Many people were worried on his behalf after Old Town Road on where he would go after that: would he be a one-hit-wonder? Would he start making music that sounds and feels different? Would he ever be able to top that success? Would his debut full-length even have memorable songs?
Well that last question gets a certain Yes.
Also no gay stuff but he is one sexy mf'er gnaa'zayiin. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
This is growing on me. What I appreciate and respect Lil Nas X for on this album is his fearless ways and how I got to see the hypocrisy in american culture and media. When the music video for Call Me By Your Name came out, he was pushing the buttons of all conspiracy theorists' that is (pretty much) obsessed with "exposing" satanic symbolism and everything. And the fact that people reacted the way they did, both the conspiracy theorists and the cringey entitled "christians" really made me realize how dumb most of these people are; both misinterpreting the video about him owning up to his sexuality of being gay, and taking their own gospel/sources out of context to make themselves look smarter. But enough of that let's get into the album.
Montero starts off with Call Me By Your Name which, despite the catchy as hell flute on the backend, has really never hit my radar of great - maybe it'll grow like some of the others. Dead Right Now is a very by-the-numbers slick trap-song with singing on it, nothing original but sticks to its gun decently. The first real banger is Industry Baby that contains a charismatic trumpet, a heavy bass-instrumental, a profuse delivery from Montero and a definitively nice feature from Jack Harlow. That's What I Want is even better, that is my JAM. "Cause it DON'T FEEL RIGHT when its LATE AT NIGHT and is JUST ME IN MY DREEEAAMS", whooo that shiii bangs!!!!!!! Been listening to this song alone at least thrice a day for the past few weeks. I can almost say nothing bad about this track, this is undoubtedly the favorite hit single of 2021 of mine.
After a confusing skit The Art of Realization, Scoop is a let-down, majorly. Not only does Montero sound less excited about his song, not only does Doja Cat perform a underwhelmingly misfire and overwhelmingly awkward verse (as usual), but the instrumental is so half-baked- yeah moving on. Thankfully, One of Me is a bright song with a bright production. In the middle of that and the modern trappy Dolla Sign Time (with a fine-enough Megan Thee Stallion feature), there is the song Lost In The Citadel, which sounds like indie rock music with pop vocals on top of it; the results is mediocre but nothing more (and cleaarly not as well-executed as some others in the same lane down the line). The more folk-inspired head bumper Tales of Dominica is leagues better and more sophisticated. There's another ballad-y song right after, Sun Goes Down, which is very clearly Kid Cudi-inspired with the singing. Meanwhile Void is a very well-done indie rock song, with live-heavy drums and the adventurous shape of the production. We get an alternative-R&B flavored joint in Life After Salem, just after Don't Want It which is one of the better trap songs across the record. We close out with a surprisingly acoustic cut Am I Dreaming that features a surprisingly fitting Miley Cyrus, capturing a surprisingly wonderful harmony with Lil Nas X. The sound of that song is also a good way to end one of the few mainstream releases this year that actually has bangers on it.
Many people were worried on his behalf after Old Town Road on where he would go after that: would he be a one-hit-wonder? Would he start making music that sounds and feels different? Would he ever be able to top that success? Would his debut full-length even have memorable songs?
Well that last question gets a certain Yes.
Also no gay stuff but he is one sexy mf'er gnaa'zayiin. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
Originally, this was supposed to be forgettable stoner folk music that I just remember being a little pleasant while playing before moving on quickly. But no, Found In The Smoke stuck in my mind a bit so later I relistened and liked it a bit more. The best thing about it is how Joe Vann reeaally captures a hazy atmosphere with some of the best songs being some of the best laid-back (singer-songwriter) music in years. The lackluster thing about it is that 45-55% of the time, the crossover with folk and small tingles of not-nature-instrumentation can be so filling it overpowers the substance of the songs. But eh, the highlights are worth writing home about, those being Has To Go, Shuffle Around and Your Love (definitely the haziest, most spaced out song here); excellent detours of semi-dreamy aesthetics, almost equivalent to taking a inner-reflective walk alone but...optimistic instead of melancholic. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Originally, this was supposed to be forgettable stoner folk music that I just remember being a little pleasant while playing before moving on quickly. But no, Found In The Smoke stuck in my mind a bit so later I relistened and liked it a bit more. The best thing about it is how Joe Vann reeaally captures a hazy atmosphere with some of the best songs being some of the best laid-back (singer-songwriter) music in years. The lackluster thing about it is that 45-55% of the time, the crossover with folk and small tingles of not-nature-instrumentation can be so filling it overpowers the substance of the songs. But eh, the highlights are worth writing home about, those being Has To Go, Shuffle Around and Your Love (definitely the haziest, most spaced out song here); excellent detours of semi-dreamy aesthetics, almost equivalent to taking a inner-reflective walk alone but...optimistic instead of melancholic. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
Finally a rapper who both has an appropriate vocal technique, an ear for headbanging beats, and a conception that fits an entire album authentically.
It has to be a grower, cause there is something to behold here. I can feel it. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Finally a rapper who both has an appropriate vocal technique, an ear for headbanging beats, and a conception that fits an entire album authentically.
It has to be a grower, cause there is something to behold here. I can feel it. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
Something about HMT feels so... inviting, sweet, human. Some tunes are the musical parallel to walking down the evening city, semi-empty, with a person close to your heart. Although ms. Rose has a bit of a monotonous style in this country record, when it's best, it hits hard. She could've avoided Are You Out There, and Good Time, those are definite fillers (the well thought out lyrics doesn't save 'em). But it's just a sweet collection of country songs in the vein of old country legends, spiced up with some elements of more modern Americana sounds and genres like alt-country. The songs themselves are consistently well written, Esther voice matches the stripped down musicianship embracingly. When she sings pretty wholesome, the music follows with it, when she sounds half-hearted, the music follows with it. But every song is well-written, and the great tunes overcrowds the weaker. This is such a direct little album. Coyote Creek is a strict combination of a country ballad and a sincere lullaby. And maybe my favorite song here, Songs Remain, is musically, vocally, atmospherically, country in high class. It ain't meant to blow the listener away, but simply be there like a friend.
When I think of modern female country music, the ideal example in my mind is Lucinda Williams, and understandably so. Yet, Esther Rose has a lyricism that can - when it is complete - match LW's, and Rose's vocals are more and welcoming. How Many Times is absolutely not a Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, but Esther has the potential to write one [cause unlike the artists above her on the list who sound like they gave their all, she has greater potential than most of them] one day when she has slightly better focus on instrumentation, more awareness of her vocal charm, and catchier choruses. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Something about HMT feels so... inviting, sweet, human. Some tunes are the musical parallel to walking down the evening city, semi-empty, with a person close to your heart. Although ms. Rose has a bit of a monotonous style in this country record, when it's best, it hits hard. She could've avoided Are You Out There, and Good Time, those are definite fillers (the well thought out lyrics doesn't save 'em). But it's just a sweet collection of country songs in the vein of old country legends, spiced up with some elements of more modern Americana sounds and genres like alt-country. The songs themselves are consistently well written, Esther voice matches the stripped down musicianship embracingly. When she sings pretty wholesome, the music follows with it, when she sounds half-hearted, the music follows with it. But every song is well-written, and the great tunes overcrowds the weaker. This is such a direct little album. Coyote Creek is a strict combination of a country ballad and a sincere lullaby. And maybe my favorite song here, Songs Remain, is musically, vocally, atmospherically, country in high class. It ain't meant to blow the listener away, but simply be there like a friend.
When I think of modern female country music, the ideal example in my mind is Lucinda Williams, and understandably so. Yet, Esther Rose has a lyricism that can - when it is complete - match LW's, and Rose's vocals are more and welcoming. How Many Times is absolutely not a Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, but Esther has the potential to write one [cause unlike the artists above her on the list who sound like they gave their all, she has greater potential than most of them] one day when she has slightly better focus on instrumentation, more awareness of her vocal charm, and catchier choruses. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
So, from what I can tell, Aly & AJ apparently made a record when they were still teenagers, and release a follow up in their thirties; they certainly ain't focused on breaking through and I love it.
A half-fun, half-try hard beach album in 2021. It's good. Again an album you should just feel around you instead of analyze too deeply. Except when it gets intolerable. Like on the pretty annoying Break Yourself (with a very misplaced background guitar), or Symptom of Your Touch that has an unimaginatively thin synth over it, or Hold Out which is a fine ballad but without much meat, or the sketchy structure of Stomach.
On the other side of tracklisting, you get some of the most loving pop music of the year. Pretty Places is a focused pop sphere, uneasy not to let wash over you. The overblown pop on Paradise actually sounds good for once. Just like Lost Cause is one of the fewer songs of the whole 80s synth pop trend that I enjoy. As Break Yourself had a guitar that damaged the already mediocre rhythm even further, the next song on the album, Slow Dancing, has a guitar that dances around the bracing universe. And the bombastic one of Listen!!! takes Indie Pop/Rock in 2021 to a higher level. So yeah, if I skip/ignore the sucky songs, this is a valid well-build album. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
So, from what I can tell, Aly & AJ apparently made a record when they were still teenagers, and release a follow up in their thirties; they certainly ain't focused on breaking through and I love it.
A half-fun, half-try hard beach album in 2021. It's good. Again an album you should just feel around you instead of analyze too deeply. Except when it gets intolerable. Like on the pretty annoying Break Yourself (with a very misplaced background guitar), or Symptom of Your Touch that has an unimaginatively thin synth over it, or Hold Out which is a fine ballad but without much meat, or the sketchy structure of Stomach.
On the other side of tracklisting, you get some of the most loving pop music of the year. Pretty Places is a focused pop sphere, uneasy not to let wash over you. The overblown pop on Paradise actually sounds good for once. Just like Lost Cause is one of the fewer songs of the whole 80s synth pop trend that I enjoy. As Break Yourself had a guitar that damaged the already mediocre rhythm even further, the next song on the album, Slow Dancing, has a guitar that dances around the bracing universe. And the bombastic one of Listen!!! takes Indie Pop/Rock in 2021 to a higher level. So yeah, if I skip/ignore the sucky songs, this is a valid well-build album. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
Not the most memorable or clever or hardhitting folk record you will hear in 2021, but when it's on, your hand stays away from the skip-button like an order. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Not the most memorable or clever or hardhitting folk record you will hear in 2021, but when it's on, your hand stays away from the skip-button like an order. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
Man it sounds good when people take elements of nature and put it in their songs. That is the case for Cassandra Jenkins on this little album. Just listen to the closer, The Ramble, how can that not make you feel so amazing afterwards. No cap that the execution is on top, serene mellow music - at least in that track of course. Her voice isn't as long lasting as I would hope to be, but I still like it, in the way that she isn't trying too hard at all. But if you ask me, she needs to work on her songwriting, or least know how to pull off her more experimental efforts (like the half-hearted mixed and composed Michelangelo, alongside amateurish told Hard Drive). [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Man it sounds good when people take elements of nature and put it in their songs. That is the case for Cassandra Jenkins on this little album. Just listen to the closer, The Ramble, how can that not make you feel so amazing afterwards. No cap that the execution is on top, serene mellow music - at least in that track of course. Her voice isn't as long lasting as I would hope to be, but I still like it, in the way that she isn't trying too hard at all. But if you ask me, she needs to work on her songwriting, or least know how to pull off her more experimental efforts (like the half-hearted mixed and composed Michelangelo, alongside amateurish told Hard Drive). [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
537
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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65/100
Another album that is consistent, with neither a bad/mediocre song (besides some of the Rare Pleasure interludes) nor a tracklisting that gets me excited or intensifying (there the only track is the Medium Rare track, super laid back, psychedelic smooth, borderline interdimension gazing track). This time, we are in the psychedelic soul field. I aaactually think there's something there. And that is to its advantage, undoubtedly. Though the disadvantage is that the album isn't that varied at all and after listening to half of it, you'd expect to rest to sound alike. But, to anyone who likes the critically acclaimed creamy-hip hop music that has come out the last decade (TPAB, Flower Boy etc), here is an album with that genre alone, more fleshed out and smoother. Check it out. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Another album that is consistent, with neither a bad/mediocre song (besides some of the Rare Pleasure interludes) nor a tracklisting that gets me excited or intensifying (there the only track is the Medium Rare track, super laid back, psychedelic smooth, borderline interdimension gazing track). This time, we are in the psychedelic soul field. I aaactually think there's something there. And that is to its advantage, undoubtedly. Though the disadvantage is that the album isn't that varied at all and after listening to half of it, you'd expect to rest to sound alike. But, to anyone who likes the critically acclaimed creamy-hip hop music that has come out the last decade (TPAB, Flower Boy etc), here is an album with that genre alone, more fleshed out and smoother. Check it out. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
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65/100
The tender jazz-pop best-selling vocalist of the 2000s does a tender jazz-pop Christmas album, and it's one of the best holiday albums I have ever heard. I don't have much else to say, since there isn't much to say about Christmas music. You're Not Alone and A Holiday With You are the most heart-warming of the bunch. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
The tender jazz-pop best-selling vocalist of the 2000s does a tender jazz-pop Christmas album, and it's one of the best holiday albums I have ever heard. I don't have much else to say, since there isn't much to say about Christmas music. You're Not Alone and A Holiday With You are the most heart-warming of the bunch. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank in 2021:
None
Rank in 2020s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
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65/100
A nice 30min singer songwriter album that I can see myself coming back to. Katy's lyricism tops her singing, in nearly every way. What makes Cool Dry Place a lesser nice place is that in it, Katy Kirby seems a little unaware of her shortcomings. Like, she isn't even trying on the more band-y Traffic! with a mediocre melody and horrifically misplaced glitch vocal-parts. Or on Juniper where she juuuust undersells her vocal performance on the otherwise very well-put together musicianship she is singing on top of.
The other songs are of course greater. I would say the most supreme moments here including Tap Twice - extraordinary bedroom pop, beating Clairo and Lana Del Ray at their own game - and the clean spirited a la Microphones-esque Eyelids. The somewhat warm title track ain't far behind. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
A nice 30min singer songwriter album that I can see myself coming back to. Katy's lyricism tops her singing, in nearly every way. What makes Cool Dry Place a lesser nice place is that in it, Katy Kirby seems a little unaware of her shortcomings. Like, she isn't even trying on the more band-y Traffic! with a mediocre melody and horrifically misplaced glitch vocal-parts. Or on Juniper where she juuuust undersells her vocal performance on the otherwise very well-put together musicianship she is singing on top of.
The other songs are of course greater. I would say the most supreme moments here including Tap Twice - extraordinary bedroom pop, beating Clairo and Lana Del Ray at their own game - and the clean spirited a la Microphones-esque Eyelids. The somewhat warm title track ain't far behind. [First added to this chart: 05/26/2025]
Total albums: 47. Page 1 of 5
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2021 outliers composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Anavitória | 1 | 1% | |
| Tenue | 1 | 1% | |
| Little Simz | 1 | 1% | |
| Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine | 1 | 1% | |
| Iceage | 1 | 1% | |
| Wild Honey | 1 | 1% | |
| Bladee | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
47 | 47% | |
 |
20 | 20% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
| |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
2021 outliers chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 99th to 98th For Free by David Crosby |
| Up 1 from 98th to 97th Dohlmen by Dohlmen |
| Up 1 from 97th to 96th Love Will Be Reborn by Martha Wainwright |
| New entries |
|---|
| Shade by Grouper |
| Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro |
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| Top 88 Music Albums of 2021 |  babyBlueSedan | 2021 year chart | 2022 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2021 |  zags7000 | 2021 year chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2021 | juanr1096 | 2021 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2021 |  pjohnsongolf | 2021 year chart | 2022 |  |
2021 outliers similarity to your chart(s)
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