2021 Year In Review :: Favorite Albums
Here’s the dealio, my coolios.
Each year, I keep a running diary of sorts of all of the things I liked each year. If you’re interested (which I doubt you are), you can follow along with my real-time unedited yearly bookkeeping here.
At the end of each year I try to cull down the music section to what really defined my year musically. No ranking. Just great music. Here are 50 of my favorite 2021 albums in alphabetical order.
Albums In Visual Alphabetical Order:
Albums In Alphabetical Alphabetical Order:
Social Music at Troost Vol.1 by 75 Dollar Bill
Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders // Elixor of Life by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders
Khaira Arby in New York (Live in 2010) by Khaira Arby
House Music by Bell Orchestre
Valdez by Birds of Maya
Carnage by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
All These Years by Phil Cook
Home Video by Lucy Dacus
Kanawa by Nahawa Doumbia
The Golden Lag by Elkhorn
Admonitions by Endless Boogie
Drew Gardner by Drew Gardner
Ghost of Vroom 1 by Ghost of Vroom
Leap by Girls in Airports
Couleur by Dobet Gnahoré
G_d's Pee At States End! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Other You by Steve Gunn
Quietly Blowing It by Hiss Golden Messenger
The Dharma Wheel by Howlin’ Rain
Brian Jackson JID008 by Brian Jackson, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge
Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound by Kasai Allstars
Heavy Sun by Daniel Lanois
Now by Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble
Hey What by Low
Sound Ancestors by Madlib
Hope by Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog
Ghost Songs by Bachar Mar-Khalifé
Tezeta by Hailu Mergia
Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar
Dark In Here by the Mountain Goats
World What World by Mountain Movers
Tropicale Moon by Mouth Painter
Teenage Dreams by Native Soul
descension (Out of Our Constrictions) by Natural Information Society/Evan Parker
Another Side by Leo Nocentelli (1971)
Making and Then Unmaking by Derek Piotr
Earth Trip by Rose City Band
East Pakistan Sky by Ustad Saami
Nine by Sault
The Veiled Sea by Six Organs of Admittance
Black to the Future by Sons of Kemet
Renewal by Billy Strings
Superwolves by Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
Deep Fried Grandeur by Ryley Walker And Kikagaku Moyo
Course In Fable by Ryley Walker
Yaral Sa Doom by Wau Wau Collectif
Eau’d To A Fake Boogie Volume 4 by Wet Tuna
Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection by Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley
Urban Driftwood by Yasmin Williams
Way Down in the Rust Bucket by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Browse my favorite albums of the year
Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish
Browse my favorite books of 2021
Browse my favorite movies of 2021
Browse my favorite television of 2021
Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”