2021 in music.

Taylor Swift's Folklore won a close one for 2020. Let's see who wins 2021. We made it. The final year.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 2021:
Taylor Swift - Evermore (cont. from 2020)
Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red (cont. from 2020)
Racist piece of shit loser - Dangerous: I'm a racist piece of shit loser
Justin Bieber - Justice
Rod Wave - SoulFly
Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Young Thug - Slime Language 2
Moneybagg Yo - A Gangsta's Pain
DJ Khaled - Khaled Khaled
J. Cole - The Off-Season
Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
Lil Baby - The Voice of the Heroes
Polo G - Hall of Fame
Tyler, the Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost
Pop Smoke - Faith
The Kid Laroi - Fuck Love
Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
Kanye West - Donda
Drake - Certified Lover Boy
YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Sincerely, Kentrell
Young Thug - Punk
Ed Sheeran - =
Summer Walker - Still Over It
Taylor Swift - Red (Taylor's Version)
Adele - 30

Billboard chart-topping singles of 2021:
Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas is You (cont. from 1994 lol)
24kGoldn - Mood (cont. from 2020)
Olivia Rodrigo - Driver's License
Drake - What's Next
Cardi B - Up
Justin Bieber - Peaches
Lil Nas X - Montero
Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open
Polo G - Rapstar
The Weeknd - Save Your Tears
Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U
BTS - Butter
BTS - Permission to Dance
The Kid Laroi - Stay
Drake - Way 2 Sexy
Coldplay - My Universe
Lil Nas X - Industry Baby
Adele - Easy on Me
Taylor Swift - All To Well (Taylor's Version)
Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas is You (cont. from 1994 lol AGAIN)

What are your top three albums for 2021? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
1. Turnstile - Glow On
2. Low - Hey What
3. Fiddlehead - Between the Richness

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

remainder of the top 12:
4. Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
5. Ben Howard - Collections from the Whiteout
6. TWIABP - Illusory Walls
7. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
8. Aeon Station - Observatory
9. Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future
10. The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
11. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood and Juanita
12. Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders - Promises

honorable mentions:
Andy Shauf - Wilds
The Armed - Ultrapop
Between the Buried and Me - Colors II
Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
Blake Mills and Pino Palladino - Notes With Attachments
Bossk - Migration
Buck Meek - Two Saviors
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
Cloud Nothings - The Shadow I Remember
Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon I
Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time
Dazy - MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
Descendents - 9th & Walnut
Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep it into Space
Downhaul - Proof
Drug Church - Tawny
Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
Eric Church - Heart & Soul
Faye Webster - I Know I’m Funny haha
Flock of Dimes - Head of Roses
Full of Hell - Garden of Burning Apparitions
Gnawing - You Freak Me Out
Halsey - If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
Hovvdy - True Love
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Idles - Crawler
James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hounds
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Jimmy Montague - Casual Use
Kali Masi - [laughs]
The Killers - Pressure Machine
King Woman - Celestial Blues
Kowloon Walled City - Piecework
Liam Kazar - Due North
Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
Mo Troper - Dilletante
Mogwai - As the Love Continues
Mol - Diorama
The Mountain Goats - Dark in Here
My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - Carnage
Portrayal of Guilt - We Are Always Alone
Quicksand - Distant Populations
Ryley Walker - Course in Fable
Silk Sonic - An Evening with Silk Sonic
Sleater-Kinney - Path of Wellness
Snail Mail - Valentine
Spirit Was - Heaven’s Just a Cloud
Strand of Oaks - In Heaven
Thrice - Horizons/East
Tyler, the Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost
Vince Staples - Vince Staples
The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Weezer - OK Human
Weezer - Van Weezer
Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights
Will Oldham and Matt Sweeney - Superwolves
Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
Wolves in the Throne Room - Primordial Arcana

stuff to check out:
AFI - Bodies
Armand Hammer - Haram
Biffy Clyro - The Myth of Happily Ever After
Big Heet - Playing the Bug
Darkside - Spiral
Deerhoof - Actually, You Can
Garbage - No Gods No Masters
Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It
The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy
Isaiah Rashad - The House is Burning
Jackson Browne - Downhill from Everywhere
Laura Stevenson - Laura Stevenson
Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham
Mammoth WVH - Mammoth WVH
Matthew Sweet - Catspaw
Steve Gunn - Other You
Ty Segall - Harmonizer
The Weather Station - Ignorance

 

1. every time i die - radical
2. origami angel - gami gang
3. fiddlehead - between the richness


4. super american - sup
5. turnstile - glow on
6. worst party ever - dartland.
7. jail socks - coming down
8. middle kids - today we're the greatest
9. aesop rock and blockhead - garbology
10. allie - maybe next time
11. couplet - lp1
12. cake pop - cake pop 2
13. twiab - illusory walls
14. magdalena bay - mecurial world
15. hovvdy - true love

 

1. Rostam - Changephobia
2. Clairo - Sling
3. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

HM: Dijon - Absolutely, Turnstile - Glow On, Weezer - Van Weezer, Aeon Station - Observatory, Isaiah Rashad - The House is Burning, Bleachers - Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, Wednesday - Twin Plagues

 

1. Turnstile - GLOW ON
2. Foxing - DDTM
3. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

 

1. Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
2. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
3. Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend

4. The Maine - XOXO
5. Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
6. Kasey Musgraves - Star Crossed
7. Weezer - OK Human
8. Taylor Swift - Red (Taylor's Version)
9. Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams
10. Angels & Airwaves - Lifeforms

11. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
12. Silk Sonic - An Evening with Silk Sonic
13. Pale Waves - Who Am I?
14. Doja Cat - Planet Her
15. Hayley Williams - Flowers for Vases
16. Weezer - Van Weezer
17. Amy Shark - Cry Forever
18. Turnstile - Glow On
19. LOLO - Overkill
20. Willow - Lately I Feel Everything

 

1. Flatland Cavalry - Welcome to Countryland
2. Blue Stones - Hidden Gems
3. The Maine - XOXO

Loved but Just missed:
AGPOL - Pono
Grayscale - Umbra
Patrick Droney - State of the Heart

 

1. Spiritbox - Eternal Blue
2. Half Waif - Mythopoetics
3. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Blood Moon: I

Foxing - Draw Down the Moon
Rebecca Black - Rebecca Black Was Here
Chai - Wink
Chvrches - Screen Violence
Marina - Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Hannah Vu - Public Storage
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
The Armed - Ultra Pop

Plenty more I enjoyed, but this is the crux of what I still listen to.

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/ecirht/best-of-21/

 

1. Bo Burnham - Inside
2. Porter Robinson - Nurture
3. Chvrches - Screen Violence

4. Weezer - OK Human
5. As Everything Unfolds - Within Each Lies the Other
6. Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
7. Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
8. Grayscale - Umbra
9. Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version)
10. dltzk - Frailty
11. Poppy - EAT
12. Epica - Omega
13. The Night Game - Dog Years
14. John Mayer - Sob Rock
15. The Killers - Pressure Machine
16. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
17. Holding Absence - The Greatest Mistake of My Life
18. Rebecca Black - Rebecca Black Was Here
19. Glaswing - Like Water on a Glass Table
20. Knocked Loose - A Tear in the Fabric of Life
21. Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed
22. Eidola - The Architect
23. Every Time I Die - Radical
24. Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World
25. Thrice - Horizons/East
26. The Maine - XOXO: From Love and Anxiety in Real Time
27. If I Die First - They Drew Blood
28. Biffy Clyro - The Myth of The Happily Ever After
29. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita
30. Hail the Sun - New Age Filth

 

1. The Maine - XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time
2. John Mayer - Sob Rock
3. Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor's Version)


Aly & AJ – a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun
Aries – BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU
Arrows in Action – Be More.
Avenue Beat - the debut farewell album
Bad Suns - Wishing Fountains
Big Red Machine - How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?
Caroline Kingsbury - Heaven's Just A Flight
Chelsea Cutler - When I Close My Eyes
COIN - Rainbow Mixtape
Coldplay - Music Of The Spheres
Cold War Kids - New Age Norms 3
DAISY - S.O.M.E.
The Elovaters – Castles
Emily Wolfe – Outlier
Grayscale – Umbra
Jeremy Zucker – CRUSHER
JESSIA - How Are You?
joe p – Emily Can't Sing
John the Ghost - I Only Want to Live Once
Justin Bieber – Justice
Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed
The Kid LAROI - F*CK LOVE (SAVAGE)
Kings of Leon - When You See Yourself
Lake Street Dive – Obviously
LANY - gg bb xx
Limp Bizkit - STILL SUCKS
Maroon 5 – JORDI
Mat Kearney - January Flower
mike. - the highs.
Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
Patrick Droney - State of the Heart
PawPaw Rod - A PawPaw Rod EP
PinkPantheress - to hell with it
Push Baby - Wow, Big Legend
Remi Wolf – Juno
Roosevelt – Polydans
ROSIE - 20mg of Happiness
Ryan Hurd – Pelago
Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
Smallpools - LIFE IN A SIMULATION
Strawberry Guy - Sun Outside My Window
Surfaces – Pacifico
Vacation Manor - Vacation Manor
Valley – Last Birthday
The Wallflowers - Exit Wounds
Wallows – Remote
Wilderado – Wilderado
The Wldlfe - Repaint My Mind, 2021
Yeeba Dawn - Dawn

 

1. Turnstile - GLOW ON
2. Tyler, the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
3. Between the Buried & Me - Colors II

ALSO
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
Every Time I Die - Radical
Origami Angel - GAMI GANG
BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Butterfly 3000
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore
Hayley Williams - FLOWERS for VASES / descansos
Injury Reserve - By the Time I Get To Phoenix
JPEGMAFIA - LP!
Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Kanye West - Donda
Young Thug - Punk
Snail Mail - Valentine
Nas - King's Disease II
Jeff Rosenstock - SKA DREAM
Telethon - Swim Out Past the Breakers
Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
Foxing - Draw Down the Moon
Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
Bo Burnham - Inside (The Songs)
Porter Robinson - Nurture
Brand of Sacrafice - Lifeblood
The Killers - Pressure Machine
IDLES - CRAWLER
Clario - Sling
Grayscale - Umbra
Lil Ugly Mane - volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern

 

1. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
2. The Killers - Pressure Machine
3. CHVRCHES - Screen Violence

 

1. Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams
2. Turnstile - Glow On
3. Foxing - Draw Down the Moon

Aesop Rock and Blockhead - Garbology
The Armed - Ultrapop
Ben Howard - Collections from the Whiteout
Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
Bo Burnham - Inside
Every Time I Die - Radical
Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W
King Woman - Celestial Blues
Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Mogwai - As the Love Continues
Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood and Juanita
Thrice - Horizons/East
Tyler, the Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost
Vince Staples - Vince Staples
Weezer - OK Human

 

Feel like I already need to change my 2021 list because of the Noah Gundersen situation. Will have to think about this one.

 

1. Turnstile - Glow On
2. Every Time I Die - Radical
3. Foxing - Draw Down the Moon

 

Started working from home in 2021 and listened to more music than ever before, so leaving a bunch of pretty good stuff off of the below list. Sad this is coming to an end, it became a very welcome part of my Monday mornings.

1. Turnstile - Glow On

• Much digital ink has already been spilled on this very website about how deserving this band is of their success. This album not only got me into the band, but reconnected me with a style of music I largely left behind a few years prior.

2. Bo Burnham - Inside

• The theater kid energy of this has worn on me a bit and I didn't find the outtakes as brilliant as everyone else, but there's no denying that this is Bo's most cohesive and well-produced statement so far. The production and execution finally matches the ambition!

3. BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE

• Hopefully not their last album, this is perhaps the group's most splintered release. But it also has some of their best songs on it. I bought the CD and bumped it all summer long.

Honorable Mentions
Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend

• I'm glad "Smile" took off at alt radio, because this album rules.

The Night Game - Dog Years

• First half monster singles with a slightly less-good second half.

Foxing - Draw Down the Moon

• My first Foxing album! I like it a lot.

The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art

• My fav Dirty Nil album because I think the production matches some of the pop ambitions they've always flirted with.

Poppy - Flux

• An interesting pivot for Poppy. Sort of a logical progression, but also sort of a regression? Would love to see what she could do with Trent Reznor.

Origami Angel - GAMI GANG

• A bit overstuffed, but contains some of the catchiest and shreddingest pop punk the new generation has offered so far.

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

• Easily Halsey's most consistent release. Now do this but with Poppy!

No Rome - It's All Smiles

• This flew under the radar, which is a shame, because it's a really cool and succinct album that pushes into the more ambient pop sounds that it seems like The 1975 is largely done with.

CHVRCHES - Screen Violence

• I've always liked this band, but it wasn't until this release that a full album of theirs got me on board.

Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR

• The hype is real! The back half is a little slow for my tastes, but I'm very excited to hear what she releases next.

The Maine - XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time

• The Maine pushes further into the pop realm than ever before and largely succeeds.

Weezer - Van Weezer

• I like both Weezer albums released last year, but I prefer this one because it is more fun to listen to.

Others
Quicksand - Distant Populations

• Just jams.

Descendents - 9th & Walnut

• Some iffy lyrics and a lack of the current writing team's pop sensibilities, but still a fun curio.

Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic

• Just jams.

Low - Hey What

• An incredible album that is just a touch too aurally challenging for me to revisit super often.

girl in red - If I Could Make It Go Quiet

• Sad indie pop jams.

Noga Erez - KIDS

• Half absolute bangers, half songs I couldn't tell you what they sound like.

The Offspring - Let the Bad Times Roll

• Even the worst Offspring album has 5-6 fun tracks.

Chevelle - NIRATIAS

• Chevelle seems to capture my interest every other release and I'm glad this one did.

Weezer - OK Human

• Rivers' most confessional lyrics since Pinkerton maybe?

The Killers - Pressure Machine

• An incredible album from an unexpected band.

You, Me & Everyone We Know - Something Heavy

• Exactly what you'd expect and better for it.

Snail Mail - Valentine

• A level up from the budding singer/songwriter.

Disappointments
Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever

• This album is not bad, but I think it makes a better statement as a whole than any of the songs do on their own.

Foo Fighters - Medicine At Midnight

• I found myself bored by the 70s glam rock direction they took on this album. Hopefully not their last, but I understand if it is.

Kacey Musgraves - star-crossed

• No one has thought about this album since the week it was released.

Bleachers - Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night

• Half of this album is good songs sorta ruined by strange production and the other half is not good songs.

Lorde - Solar Power

• Boring. Also see Clairo - Sling.

 

turnstile is gonna run away with it lol. hard to remember a recent album being as universally loved as that one

 

1. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
2. Turnstile - GLOW ON
3. Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure

4. Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the Happily Ever After
5. Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
6. Press To MECO - Transmute
7. The Killers - Pressure Machine
8. Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
9. Every Time I Die - Radical
10. The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art

 

1. Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights

2. Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God

3. Foxing - Draw Down The Moon

Origami Angel - GAMI GANG
The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Ratboys - Happy Birthday Ratboy
Half Waif - Mythopoetics
The World Is - Illusory Walls
Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I-VI)
Bent Knee - Frosting
Low - HEY WHAT
CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
Cloud Nothings - The Shadow I Remember
Harmony Woods - Graceful Rage
Super American - SUP
Thrice - Horizons / East
Snail Mail - Valentine
The Joy Formidable - Into The Blue
Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Lightning Bug - A Color Of the Sky
Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
Taking Meds - Terrible News from Wonderful Men
Joe Vann - Found in the Smoke
Hovvdy - True Love

EPs
Prounoun - OMG I MADE IT
mofie - Black Hole
Gates - Here and Now
Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Thunder Gloss & Secret Crush Hero Worship - Halos Rearrangements
GLASWING EPs
Luminism - East Coast Emo
Valleyheart - Scenery
Home Is Where - I Became Birds

 

I thought people loved the Spiritbox album. Huh.

 

1. Hovvdy - True Love
2. Dijon - Absolutely
3. Arrange - The World is Racing

 

1. Lorde: Solar Power
2. The Dirty Nil: Fuck Art
3. Hayley Williams: Flowers For Vases / Descansos

4. Lana Del Rey: Blue Bannisters (prob should be top 3 but I've voted for enough Lana)
5. Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club
6. Porter Robinson: Nurture
7. Turnstile: Glow On
8. Halsey: If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
9. Vince Staples: Vince Staples
10. Polo & Pan: Cyclorama

Others:
Justin Courtney Pierre: An Anthropologist On Mars/Price of Salt/Ghost World - EPs
Citizen: Life In Your Glass World
Kacey Musgraves: star-crossed
San Holo: bb u ok?
Mannequin Pussy - Perfect EP
Manchester Orchestra: The Million Masks of God
Bleachers: Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
The Maine: XOXO: From Love and Anxiety In Real Time
Adult Mom: Driver
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever
Tyler, the Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost
Origami Angel: GAMI GANG
Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall: The Marfa Tapes
Laura Jane Grace: At War With the Silverfish
Lil Nas X: Montero
Lucy Dacus: Home Video
The Marias: Cinema

 

1. John R Miller - Depreciated
2. Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood
3. Bonnie Prince Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolves
4. Vincent Neil Emerson - S/T
5. Moor Mother - Black Encyclopedia of the Air
6. Scott Hirsch - Windless Days
7. Charlie Parr - Last of the Better Days Ahead
8. Margo Cilker - Pohorylle
9. Natalie Bergman - Mercy
10. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It
11. Rosali - No Medium
12. Rose City Band - Earth Trip
13. Buffalo Nichols - S/T
14. Modern Nature - Island of Noise
15. Tonstartssbandht - Petunia

 

1. The Killers - Pressure Machine
2. Kississippi - Mood Ring
3. Patrick Droney - State of the Heart

The asterisk: Noah Gundersen - A Pillar of Salt was by far my favorite album of last year, but I have not been able to listen to it since the allegation came out about him. Didn't want to give him any points.

The rest of my list: Craig Manning’s Top Albums of 2021

 

1. Turnstile - Glow On
2. Fiddlehead - Between The Richness
3. Sungaze - This Dream
   
   
4. Mick Jenkins - Elephant In The Room
5. Mini Trees - Always In Motion
6. Orchid Mantis - visitations
7. Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
8. The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore
9. cursetheknife - Thank You For Being Here
10. Cruelty - There Is No God Where I Am