The Best of 2021: Albums
“There’s one where we look so in love before we lost all the sun and I made you take it.”
In the past, this list would’ve been filled with some pretty mainstream choices. Before my musical horizons expanded to the present day around 2017 or so, I was willfully subsumed by Pandora’s guided exploration into all the influential music that was released long before I was born. While Taylor Swift and Adele were dominating the modern airwaves, I was discovering The Beatles, Everly Brothers, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, U2, Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, and more. Thankfully, though, I’ve been able to get more and more into the genres of today that really click for me. Pop, alternative, indie, folk, rock, combinations of the above. Music has been really good in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s thus far! Who knew? I hope I don’t come across sounding like a hipster. I’m really glad to be discovering newer music and I don’t think I was born in the wrong generation or anything stupid like that. I’m just glad I’ve moved beyond the canon, you know? And I’m happy to love the pop genre, too!
A decade ago, my list would’ve celebrated the new music from Maroon 5 or OneRepublic or Joshua Radin that came out this year. I probably would’ve squeezed in the In the Heights soundtrack or Brian Wilson’s album of piano-covered hits or Kelly Clarkson’s new Christmas album. It would’ve been a bizarre list. Now, though, my musical voyage (wink, wink) has taken me beyond the horizon. And while there’s merits to all of the above, my Year in Music piece is a bit more authentic to what the Year in Music actually was for me.
I do want to make sure I give some shoutouts, though. HAIM extended Women in Music Pt. III a bit this year, but not enough to make the list as a wholly original album. That’s why both Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) didn’t make the list even though the “(From the Vault)” tracks are probably my favorite new songs from the entire year. “Mr. Perfectly Fine”? “Forever Winter”? Easily the best in new music. But the albums aren’t really 2021 endeavors, as a whole. We’ll be more than happy to welcome TS10 to this list in the future, whenever it may arrive.
Finally, some honest-to-goodness honorable mentions. They include Nick Jonas’ Spaceman, Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Lindsey Buckingham’s Lindsey Buckingham, Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions, and Bleachers’ Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night. I thought about expanding the list to fifteen, like the books list was and the movies/television lists frequently lap. But there’s only so much new music I jam with and to go beyond ten would be to have a list solely of the new albums I heard without any discerning or culling. A top ten seems cleaner for the albums. I probably should be doing it for the other lists, too, but I just love too much. Plus, I basically rattled off ten extra albums in this intro anyway. So, win-win!
10. Charlotte by Charlotte Lawrence
When Charlotte Lawrence covered “Lavender’s Blue” a couple years ago, she seemed more like someone with a darling, idyllic voice who could craft quality music than someone who would eventually become pop’s most promising up-and-comer. But that’s exactly what her eponymous album from February revealed to all! The influence of artists like Billie Eilish and Lorde is palpable on tracks like “Talk You Down” and “Why Do You Love Me.” But tracks like “Slow Motion” and “You” show how Lawrence is capable of curating pop tapestries all her own.
9. Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish
Expectations were outer space-high for Billie Eilish’s second studio album, the follow-up to 2019’s breakout smash, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? It’s an album that swept through the Grammys after it was released and while the 2021 re-up doesn’t quite live up to the expectations set two years ago, it still has a solid identity all its own. The title track, for example, is easily one of the best songs from 2021. The tri-pronged musical approach to the anthem takes its influences from some of the greats: The Beatles, Queen, Fleetwood Mac. But it’s other jams on the album (“Goldwing,” “Halley’s Comet,” “Your Power,” “Male Fantasy”) that genuinely showcase Eilish as potentially being in their company one day.
8. The Million Masks of God by Manchester Orchestra
Typically, my favorite songs from albums are not the singles released from them. Too often the singles try to appease everyone while the deeper cuts are where true musical taste can be matched. This, however, is not the case with Manchester Orchestra’s spring-laden foray back into prog and indie rock. The lower-key, vibey band released three singles from The Million Masks of God over the course of the first four months of the year and all of them were gold. “Bed Head,” “Keel Timing,” and “Telepath” are each splendidly indicative of what the band’s sixth album stands for: simple storytelling and a cinematic sound.
7. How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine
Adding Taylor Swift to the makeshift, ever-evolving band that is Big Red Machine makes the entire group feel fuller. It’s impossible to say that a generational, all-time singer/songwriter is exactly what a band was missing because that could be true of any musical group in history. But when Taylor Swift joins up with Aaron Dessner’s and Justin Vernon’s side-venture (apart from The National and Bon Iver), it’s just too perfect. They’re such a perfect musical marriage and it was a delight to witness their collaboration continue from 2020’s musical peak, Folklore and Evermore. The Swift sounds on How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, the group’s second album, are easily my favorite (“Renegade” and “Birch”), but it’d be a mistake to think there’s no merit beyond her. “Phoenix,” “The Ghost of Cincinnati,” and “June’s a River” all stand out as contemplative, melancholic ballads with signature sounds. Plus, you can count Ben Howard, Fleet Foxes, Anaïs Mitchell, and more among the non-Swift collaborators.
6. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey
Halsey’s 2020 album, Manic, was in my top four of 2020 and now, her 2021 venture, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, cracks my top six! It’s time to start reckoning with Halsey as one of the most talented musicians we have working today. She’s perennially underrated! But to put out two crisp works of electropop with forceful vocals, emotional storytelling, and original sounds in just two years? That’s an astonishing feat we don’t often see in modern music unless your name is Taylor Swift. Fortunately, Halsey isn’t Taylor Swift. We already have her and we need stars like Halsey to balance out the pop scene better every day. There’s musical hooks and sonic decisions made on this album that I’ve just never heard in pop music before. Halsey’s album is really fucking good. Give it a go if you haven’t or if you were skeptical initially!
5. Solar Power by Lorde
While the world’s expectations were massive for Eilish’s aforementioned follow-up, my personal expectations were massive for Lorde’s third studio album, Solar Power, which was coming off of two immaculate works, Pure Heroine and Melodrama. (The latter was my favorite album of 2017 and probably in my top five for the decade.) I have to admit it: it didn’t meet those expectations. But I still loved the album and thought it had tons of great songs! It just wasn’t as cohesive as I was hoping for. From about “The Man with the Axe” to “Leader of a New Regime” (about a third of the album towards the back-half), I think Solar Power is fairly dull. But the first half of the album is a stunner and it ends magnificently, too! “Mood Ring” and “Oceanic Feeling” are a hell of a paired capper to Solar Power, for one. For another, each of the first six songs on the album hit and they hit hard. “The Path,” “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All),” and “Stoned at the Nail Salon” are among my favorites from Solar Power — and from the entire year. It’s not flawless like she’s been in the past, but it’s still high-quality music-making. Shoutout to Jack Antonoff, too!
4. 30 by Adele
Speaking of Lorde, you might recall that I wrote about her, Rihanna, and Adele back towards the end of 2019 because I was worried they’d release their long-awaited new albums before the end of the decade, but after I published my “Best of the Decade” series. Obviously, this didn’t happen. And it didn’t happen in 2020, either. But in 2021, we finally got new music from Lorde and Adele (still waiting on Rihanna) and it was such a welcomed relief! As for Adele’s new album, I do give 30 the edge over Solar Power because I think Adele was more daring. She could’ve easily sided with ballads and belting notes — what made her so successful on 19, 21, and 25. Instead, she pushed herself artistically and found herself on the right side of the most complicated vocal arrangement since “I Will Always Love You” and a jazzier bend to a career that has always leaned soulful. Come for the “yet another magical hit” of “Easy on Me,” stay for the euphoric dreamscape that resembles what the honeymoon phase of a relationship is like of “All Night Parking.”
3. Voyage by ABBA
I may have expected new music from Adele and Lorde, but I could have never guessed that there would be a new album from ABBA in the year of 2021. Forty years after they had last put out new music, it seemed like ABBA was taking the contented Billy Joel-blazed path of true retirement and basking in the hits of yore. Something different sparked for Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad this year, though. Whether it was the Mamma Mia!-driven resurgence of their art for a new generation or the ability to monetize TikTok, ABBA felt the call to come back in 2021. And they didn’t disappoint. This wasn’t some half-baked cash grab as we’ve heard from many artists who just aren’t at their peak anymore. This was an attempt at a reflective artistic statement that showed ABBA still has the creative spark that led them to become the Eurovision band all those years ago. “I Still Have Faith in You” might be the one with the Grammy love, but “Don’t Shut Me Down” is one that immediately cozied up in the echelon of ABBA’s best.
2. Star-Crossed by Kacey Musgraves
Three years ago, Kacey Musgraves released Golden Hour, one of the best albums of all-time. I came to it too late to rank it for that year, but rest assured, it would have placed highly. Since then, she’s only become more famous (a delightful Christmas special, anyone?), so it makes sense why many were anticipating Star-Crossed. It just makes less sense why so many forgot about it the second it was released. While it doesn’t reach Golden Hour heights, it’s still a fantastic creation all its own. The “breakup album” is almost mythologized now when considered from the perspective of so many of our best lovestruck, heartbroken artists. But Kacey went all the way with this “divorce album.” There are feelings not fully processed here, but Star-Crossed is a form of healing for her own role, even if it hasn’t healed everything yet. Some bigger swings (“Gracias a la Vida,” “Cherry Blossom,” “What Doesn’t Kill Me”) don’t quite work for me, but the ones that do (“Star-Crossed,” “Justified,” “Breadwinner,” “Camera Roll”) are emblematic of everything I love about Kacey Musgraves as a musician. A small-scale perspective, a modern angling on love, a detached perspective on tradition, and some truly groovy melodies. Star-Crossed works more and more on me with each passing day.
1. Sour by Olivia Rodrigo
The musical narrative of 2021 was decided in the first month. “Driver’s License” was the song of the year and there was never really a close second. I remember watching High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special last year and thinking, Wow, Olivia Rodrigo is just swimming talent circles around everyone. Her version of “River” for the special just made it so clear that she’d be the one to make the leap from the Disney realm, much in the same way that Zac Efron did during the original HSM trilogy. That much was made true a month later when “Driver’s License” took over the world on the heels of TikTok teens who were invested in the behind-the-scenes Rodrigo v. Joshua Bassett drama, Taylor Swift gassing up Rodrigo, and the general sense that the radio was yearning for a breakout, runaway success. “Driver’s License” fit it so perfectly that Rodrigo’s label immediately hustled through some of her previous songwriting output to capitalize on her enormous, overnight, global fame and develop a full album for her. Rodrigo’s debut, Sour, completed every pop fan’s wishlist with stunning bridges (“Traitor,” “Deja Vu”), undeniable bangers (“Good 4 U,” “Jealousy, Jealousy”), and more vocal-showcased, emotional endeavors (“Enough for You,” “Favorite Crime”). As the year began, Sour was certainly my favorite album. But I never expected it to stay that way. There was new Lorde! New Adele! New Kacey! There was fucking new ABBA! There was no chance that the eighteen-year-old upstart could hold on. But here we are and it just seems so undeniable at this point. Sour is the album of the year.
Who knows what 2022 will hold? Will Lorde race to her next era? Will Harry Styles keep his insane momentum rolling? Will Taylor Swift release twenty vault songs for her version of 1989? Will Rihanna finally come through? Will Coldplay actually retire from music this time? Will Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunite on the heels of Get Back? In a year when ABBA can reunite and Lorde and Adele can both return, anything seems possible going forward. But let’s just bask in all of the impossibilities from 2021 for now.
More from the Best of 2021 series:
See also:
(#1 was Melodrama by Lorde)
(#1 was Know by Jason Mraz)
(#1 was Happiness Begins by Jonas Brothers)
(#1 was Folklore and Evermore by Taylor Swift)
