Welcome! It's that time of the year again, hanging stockings, getting the Xmas tree ready, preparing for the coming of a new year...Wait, no that was almost half a year ago. This list isn't timely at all anymore...Between working 7 days a week and going to concerts and working, it's taken me a lot longer to put this together than I would have liked. Well, here it is anyway...
I like to compile a list of my favorite releases every year and share them with whoever stumbled across it. The rankings are semi-arbitrary as it's difficult to compare different kinds of music against each other, the order is mostly just my own gut reaction and a reflection of my many personal biases and favoritism, but I do try to elevate releases that I feel the most connection to and feel drawn back to time and time again. Every single album and artist on this list is worth checking out, so if you haven't heard of some of them, I hope you give them a chance. I've selected a track or two from each album to highlight as what I think best represents the album, or is just one of my favorite songs from it. I used to put links to Spotify for each album and make a playlist of my "Check Out" songs, but since that company is problematic and fascistic, I don't have any interest in that now. So feel free to search for these on your music platform of choice and give them a spin.
I wish I had the time and ability to write about what makes each of these albums special, but I don't and I'm not great at expressing what I love about music so I picked a few to write blurbs about.
Honorable Mentions
Check Out: "Spiral SZN"
Check Out: "Good 4 u"
Plush - "Plush"
Check Out: "Hate"
Spiritbox - "Eternal Blue"
Check Out: "Circle With Me"
The Top 20 Albums of 2021
19. Interloper - "Search Party"
Check Out: "Drift"
18. Rise Against - "Nowhere Generation"
Check Out: "Sudden Urge"
17. Steven Wilson - "The Future Bites"
Check Out: "Personal Shopper"
Check Out: "Shit Happens"
15. Eidola - "The Architect"
Check Out: "Counterfeit Shrines"
14. Ed Sheeran - "="
Check Out: "Stop the Rain"
13. Mastodon - "Hushed and Grim"
Check Out: "Teardrinker"
12. Iron Maiden - "Senjutsu"
Check Out: "The Writing on the Wall"
11. Foo Fighters - "Medicine at Midnight"
- Rest in power, Taylor. You will be forever missed.
Check Out: "No Son of Mine"
10. The Pretty Reckless - "Death by Rock and Roll"
Check Out: "And So It Went"
Check Out: "Adrift"
8. Concrete Castles - "Wish I Missed U"
- The debut album from Concrete Castles totally blew me away. I had liked what I had heard of them prior to the release, but I didn't anticipate it would crack my top 10 of the year. If this is where they're starting, I cannot wait to see where they go from here.
7. Madison Beer - "Life Support"
- Life Support is a truly exceptional effort from Madison Beer. This was released in early 2021, and for months I had considered it a frontrunner for album of the year. For more than a year prior to the release date, a myriad of singles from it were released which I had largely avoided listening to since I greatly prefer albums over singles. I was impressed by her debut EP As She Pleases and was looking forward to where she'd go from there, but I was entirely caught off guard by the sheer brilliance this album turned out to be from start to finish. There are a few choices here and there that I would have preferred gone differently, but nothing that detracts from your enjoyment of the record. My biggest complaint is that most of the songs feel too short, which is a good problem to have. At 17 tracks including an intro and a few interludes, "Life Support" feels like a journey, covering a wide gamut of emotions and styles. It's impossible to get bored while listening to this album because every track feels totally different than the previous one but it never has any sense of being disjointed. From the upbeat and dancy "Baby" and "Boyshit" to the emotional and heart-wrenching "Selfish" and "Effortlessly", Life Support sucks you in and takes you along for the ride. This is one of those albums that's nearly impossible to listen to only a portion of.
Check Out: "Selfish"
"Good in Goodbye"
"Effortlessly"
"Good in Goodbye"
"Effortlessly"
6. Thrice - "Horizons/East"
- What can I say? One of the greatest bands of all time continues to make great music. This album was definitely a 'grower' to me, I liked it at first but wasn't entirely sucked in until I listened to it a few more times, and especially after hearing many of the songs performed live. Once things started to click for me, I really got into it and gained a huge appreciation for Horizons/East. Whether you're a lifelong Thrice fan or aren't familiar with their music, give this album a few listens.
Check Out: "Scavengers"
5. Evanescence - "The Bitter Truth"
- Evanescence's first album of new songs in 10 years is a worthy addition to their legendary discography.
Check Out: "Blind Belief"
4. Bo Burnham - "Inside (The Songs)"
- I debated whether or not to include this on my list, and obviously I decided to do so. While I would strongly recommend experiencing all of these songs in the context of the masterpiece that is the Inside special first before listening to them on their own, Bo's songwriting and musical ability is so incredible that these definitely do hold up without the accompanying visuals. I don't really want to get too much into the special since this is about the music. The first half to two thirds features some excellent comedic songs, "Comedy" and "How the World Works" are brilliant. The second half especially stands on it's own, three of the last four tracks are perfection; "That Funny Feeling," "All Eyes on Me," and "Goodbye" are barely focused on comedy necessarily. "That Funny Feeling" features a number of memorable lyrics that really stick with you, notably 'The whole world at your fingertips, the ocean at your door,' the uniquely American 'A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall,' '20,000 years of this, seven more to go,' and 'the quiet comprehending of the ending of it all.'
The climax of the special is "All Eyes on Me," which does lose a little context when you are just listening to the song which is why I do strongly suggest watching the special first, directly deals with Bo's struggles with depression and anxiety using vocal effects to pitch down his voice. Despite the somber tone of the song, the melody is infectious and catchy.
"Goodbye" is essentially the closer of the special and album (the final track "Any Day Now" is the ending credits song), and reprises many of the songs from earlier in the special/album. It's so beautifully arranged, my only complaint is that I wished it were longer because it's so good.
Even though this isn't necessarily a standalone album and requires the viewing of the Inside special, the songs are so expertly crafted I felt the album more than deserved a place among the best music of 2021.
Check Out: "Welcome to the Internet"
"That Funny Feeling"
3. The Spill Canvas - "Conduit"
- Conduit marks the triumphant return of The Spill Canvas, their first full-length album since 2012's marvelous Gestalt. While they have been back together and touring for some time, and released the terrific 3-song EP Hivemind in 2018, it's great to finally have a new album, and what an album it is. The first phrase that came to mind when writing this was "back and better than ever." The opening track "Architecture" is quintessential Spill Canvas with its soaring guitars, chorus and superb lyrics. The production and arrangements on the album are incredible, which is on full display in "Architecture" with the perfectly placed strings and layered choral vocals in the verses rounding out the sonic texture beautifully.
Frontman Nick Thomas is no stranger to emotional vulnerability with his songs. If anything, it's kind of his 'thing.' "Gallon" is a moving song about the struggle of willing yourself to continue living, despite dark thoughts attempting to convince you otherwise. When I saw him perform the song for the first time live, I was brought to tears.
Whether you were a fan of The Spill Canvas back in the day or are just hearing about them for the first time right now, do yourself a favor and check out Conduit. Then go listen to all of the other stuff too.
Check Out: "Akathisia"
"Architecture"
1b. Leprous - "Aphelion"
1a. Between the Buried and Me - "Colors II"
1b. Leprous - "Aphelion"
- There isn't really much room between the top two spots this year. They could easily be switched depending on my mood, so I decided to do a joint #1. One word that comes to mind when I think of Aphelion is balance; balance between delicate and heavy, between slow and fast, there aren't really any moments where I felt a better choice could have been made. With this album, Leprous have cemented themselves as one of the greatest bands in the world. The opening track "Running Low" starts off very minimalistic, with some pounding chords followed by Einar Solberg's soaring, almost operatic vocals as the cello joins in before the band kicks everything emphatically into gear. It perfectly encapsulates the dramatic and cinematic journey Leprous has in store for you throughout the rest of the album. One of the things I love about their music, and they've damn near perfected it on Aphelion, is the restraint and knowing when to pull back. Seamlessly transitioning between powerful, heavy guitar riffs and crashing drums, to a stripped down section usually showcasing cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne. It adds emphasis to the bigger, louder moments and gives weight to the 'quieter' (for lack of a better word) sections. Everything is perfectly balanced. My words will never do this music justice, so I implore you to just take some time and give Aphelion your attention.
Check Out: "The Silent Revelation"
"Castaway Angels"
1a. Between the Buried and Me - "Colors II"
- I've long considered Between the Buried and Me to be one of the greatest bands of all time. Their 2007 album Colors is unquestionably one of the greatest albums ever made, featuring THE greatest song ever written "White Walls". When I saw that their newest album was going to be called Colors II, I was hesitant. I've loved every album they've released for the past decade and a half, but directly linking an album to their masterpiece from 15 years prior? I was skeptical that perhaps it was just a marketing gimmick to drum up interest, that putting that expectation onto a new album was an unfair burden. It's not like BTBAM hasn't made amazing music since the original Colors, they've released a number of albums I also consider to be masterpieces, but creating a direct sequel to their seminal album after so much time? I had no doubts Colors II would be great, but would it be worthy of the moniker? I went into my first listen of the album thinking about all of that. But you know what? They fucking did it. They definitely knocked it out of the park. I've read that members of the band said that the album kind of turned into a Colors sequel because their approach to creating both albums was very similar; a sense that their careers depended on crafting something exceptional and memorable.
Every BTBAM album has sounded unique and different from everything that came before it while still maintaining a sound that is distinctly BTBAM, which is one of the things that makes them such an incredible band. Colors II is no different in that regard, it is vastly different from their last several albums and even the original Colors. There are; however, a number of homages and nods to the 2007 masterpiece sprinkled throughout. There are references to lyrics and melodies, and even a few structural similarities. That's not to say anything on the album seems like a copy/paste, because that couldn't be further from the truth. There is one thing BTBAM could never be accused of being, and that's repetitive.
Breaking down and analyzing the technical aspects and the music theory involved in Colors II is way beyond my expertise so I won't even try, but I will say that it may very well be their most wholly consistent album of their career. I hope they're planning a tour where they perform it in its entirety. My words will never do any of the albums on this list justice, particularly this album. So just give it a listen from start to finish.
Check Out: "Human is Hell (Another One With Love)"
"Bad Habits"
There it is, my top albums of 2021! Do you agree? Disagree? Think I missed something? Let me know! Thank you so much for taking the time to check this out.
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