Best Albums of 2021

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Listed below are the best albums of 2021 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 6 hours ago).

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2021 year summaryThe best artists of 2021 were Little Simz, Black Country, New Road, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra, Tyler, The Creator, Squid (2020s), Japanese Breakfast, Low, Weezer, Black Midi and Magdalena Bay.

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121.

Magic

Nas

"Very loop heavy but clean production by Hit-Boy. I love the sound of this and it's under 30minutes. 9 tracks. Nas is definitely on a roll lately, and this one is my favorite." Reply

Larcx13 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

42 charts

Rank Score:

149

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

122.

Lei Line Eon

Iglooghost

"(Really unique, insanely creative, album by Iglooghost here. Has opened my eyes to some other new avenues of music listening going forward. I really liked it, and the only thing keeping me from loving it was feeling like the pay offs and peaks weren’t reached very often and the album’s flow was a...""(Really unique, insanely creative, album by Iglooghost here. Has opened my eyes to some other new avenues of music listening going forward. I really liked it, and the only thing keeping me from loving it was feeling like the pay offs and peaks weren’t reached very often and the album’s flow was a bit unchanging - if gorgeous.) I’ve been putting off writing my comment on this album. Wanted to give it another listen. Then once I’d done that I wanted another and another. And that wasn’t really because I absolutely adore the album, but because I hadn’t really been able to put my finger on what I had heard. I’m not familiar with Progressive Electronic, Wonky, UK Bass, Deconstructed House, etc - really I don’t have any context on any genre this is labeled as. I suppose the closest this comes to from my catalogue in my little mind is Flying Lotus. But it’s not a great fit. This is very unique. There is clearly a DEEP well of imagination and talent this artist has. They seem to be able to create intricate, crisp, alien yet soulful beats and tracks with ease (obviously it’s not easy, but he seems to have such a profound talent for such that it comes across as just a natural extension of his soul. Or something. Whatever). On the whole, the album is strikingly vibrant, loud yet not in a ridiculous way, but all the electronic sounds pop and the vocals, when they appear, come in hard and there are some really interesting climaxes that the artist takes his time to get to. After my listens I can’t say this is a true mind-blowing, game-changing album for me, and I think that the flow of the album is almost too methodical and restrained and slow building and, despite being a brilliantly unique sound, somewhat same-y. It’s not at all monotonous but based off how wild the individual parts are, the last thing in the world I thought I’d take away from this album is that it’s, idk, somewhat un-dynamic. Yet, I did feel at the end of each listen like there was something left on the table and that the peaks that are consistently hinted at are very rarely hit. Of course, those are the reasons I don’t personally feel this is a GREAT album. I do absolutely think it’s a good album, a damn fine one even. And it may be that my relatively lukewarm appreciation for it is due to how alien some of the sounds and certainly this combination of sounds is to my usual listening. I do think it’s opened up a few avenues of musical exploration that I didn’t know existed last week. And I look forward to checking out the Iglooghost debut as well as other similar stuff soon. " [+] Reply

Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

34 charts

Rank Score:

147

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

123.

We Had Good Times Together, Don't Forget That

Sewerslvt

"“Your feedback for We Had Good Times Together, Don't Forget That” feels more confident in its storytelling. Previous works by Sewerslvt relied on directed samples and shorter songs to convey the trademark sadness. “Don't Forget That” generates the melancholy through long atmospheric passages. Fad..." [+] Reply

- titansaurs28 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

147

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

124.

Justice

Justin Bieber

"Shortlisted for album of the year at the 2022 Grammys. The winner was We Are by Jon Batiste" Reply

- Johnnyo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

147

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

125.

Kick III

Arca

Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

44 charts

Rank Score:

147

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

126.

Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)

Fred Again..

Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

27 charts

Rank Score:

145

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

127.

How The Mighty Fall

Charles Wesley Godwin

Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

145

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

128.

A Way Forward

Nation Of Language

Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

44 charts

Rank Score:

145

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

129.

Radical

Every Time I Die

Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

23 charts

Rank Score:

144

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

130.

Isles

Bicep

"90 to 100/100 (Consistently gorgeous Future Garage/Ambient Techno album with lots of twists and turns and a consistent melodic and rhythmic beauty that I loved.) For me, anyway, this album is a revelation. I love almost every minute of it. The genres of this album are many per the music resources...""90 to 100/100 (Consistently gorgeous Future Garage/Ambient Techno album with lots of twists and turns and a consistent melodic and rhythmic beauty that I loved.) For me, anyway, this album is a revelation. I love almost every minute of it. The genres of this album are many per the music resources I use. And I can hear the variety, but also there is a nice flow and consistent vibe of the album. Even when the sound gets more rhythmic and less ambient (such as on the sublime "Sundial") there is something stitching it together with the mood of the mellower songs that make the shift less whiplash-inducing. In terms of tracks that really stand out to me as some of my fave songs this year, the opener "Atlas" is brilliant. Before this album came out and when only a few tracks were available for me to listen to, I listened to this opener many times. The gorgeous, intimate melody and the way the whole thing builds and shifts mercurially, as well the mood the song put me into as it progressed, made me just fall head over heels for this song. And this made this full length album one of the most anticipated for me in the early part of this year. In context of the whole album "Atlas" works just as well as it does as a standalone. Really, the first half of this album is head to toe great! "Cazenove", "Saku" and especially "Apricots" (personally love the recurring vocal part here and the way the song builds. The vocals may rub some the wrong way, but I don't know, I honestly love it.) The second half is a little more chiseled and less atmospheric I suppose. The album's second half is also dominated by a couple absilutely amazing songs - "X" is so cool I can't even convey. Its just awesome! And "Fir" is a standout, as is the previously mentioned "Sundial." Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm not super familiar or really at all familiar with Future Garage, or UK Bass, nor have I spent a lot of time delving into the earlier works by Bicep, so coming to this album with no previous exposure and just experiencing it as newbie over and over and over, I can say I think this is one of the best albums I've heard this year and it is consistently quite great. Even tracks that don't really amaze me (such as "Lido") are at least pretty and keep the album moving along a very intimate line." [+] Reply

Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2021

Appears in:

66 charts

Rank Score:

144

Rank in 2021:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 13 of 100

Best Albums of 2021 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	6	1%
Arca	4	0%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	3	0%
The Telescopes	2	0%
Dltzk	2	0%
Lana Del Rey	2	0%
Hawkwind	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	456	46%
	198	20%
	51	5%
	45	4%
	33	3%
	22	2%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	13	1%

Live?	Albums	%
No	974	97%
Yes	27	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	14	1%

« View best albums of 2020View best albums of 2022 »

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Recognised Decade Charts (2020s)
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