50 Favorite Albums of 2021
This is NOT a straight top-to-bottom list. There was just too much outstanding music this last year, so I did things a little differently. I have 7 over-arching "genres" (term used liberally), each with a top 3 albums + 2 honorable mentions. One of the "genres" is a Wild Card, meaning these were definitely favorite albums, but for whatever reason didn't fit into the other genres. (Whatever - my list, my rules!) And lastly, I have 15 honorable mentions, spanning all genres, ordered alphabetically by band. There are at least a dozen albums that could be swapped around with albums here, or even added on, but I had to draw the line somewhere. So much good music in 2021! Would love to know your thoughts. Enjoy!
Genres in Order
- Death Metal
- Doom / Sludge
- Cores (Aggressive)
- Cores (Heavy)
- Prog
- Black Metal
- Wild Card |
| 1 |  | First Fragment
Gloire Eternelle
Death 1 (tied) |
| 2 |  | Inferi (USA)
Vile Genesis
Death 1 (tied) |
| 3 |  | Aborted
ManiaCult
Death 3 |
| 4 |  | Abiotic
Ikigai
Death HM |
| 5 |  | Summoning the Lich
United in Chaos
Death HM |
| 6 |  | King Woman
Celestial Blues
Doom 1 |
| 7 |  | Converge
Bloodmoon: I
Doom 2 |
| 8 |  | Khemmis
Deceiver
Doom 3 |
| 9 |  | Lysjakt
Ethereal Palace
Doom HM |
| 10 |  | Somnuri
Nefarious Wave
Doom HM |
| 11 |  | Every Time I Die
Radical
Cores (Agg) 1 |
| 12 |  | Kaonashi
Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year
Cores (Agg) 2 |
| 13 |  | Employed To Serve
Conquering
Cores (Agg) 3 |
| 14 |  | Capra
In Transmission
Cores (Agg) HM |
| 15 |  | SeeYouSpaceCowboy
The Romance of Affliction
Cores (Agg) HM |
| 16 |  | Humanity's Last Breath
Välde
Cores (Heavy) 1 |
| 17 |  | Zao
The Crimson Corridor
Cores (Heavy) 2 |
| 18 |  | Dead World Reclamation
Aura of Iniquity
Cores (Heavy) 3 |
| 19 | | Dethrone the Corrupted
The Amygdaloid Decay
Cores (Heavy) HM |
| 20 |  | Lorna Shore
...And I Return To Nothingness
Cores (Heavy) HM |
| 21 |  | Burial in the Sky
The Consumed Self
Prog 1 |
| 22 |  | Dvne
Etemen Ænka
Prog 2 |
| 23 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Colors II
Prog 3 |
| 24 |  | Fractal Universe
The Impassable Horizon
Prog HM |
| 25 |  | The Lylat Continuum
Ephemeral
Prog HM |
| 26 |  | Presages
Pleurs
Black 1 |
| 27 |  | Ghost Bath
Self Loather
Black 2 |
| 28 |  | Les Chants de Nihil
Le Tyran Et L'esthète
Black 3 |
| 29 |  | Noctule
Wretched Abyss
Black HM |
| 30 |  | So Hideous
None But a Pure Heart can Sing
Black HM |
| 31 |  | Frequency Eater
Engulf
Wild Card 1 |
| 32 |  | Exanimis
Marionnettiste
Wild Card 2 |
| 33 |  | The Beast of Nod
Multiversal
Wild Card 3 |
| 34 |  | Dessiderium
Aria
Wild Card HM |
| 35 |  | URNE
Serpent and Spirit
Wild Card HM |
| 36 |  | Demon King
The Final Tyranny
Honorable Mention |
| 37 |  | Earth Groans
The Body
Honorable Mention |
| 38 |  | Hippotraktor
Meridian
Honorable Mention |
| 39 |  | Ophidian I
Desolate
Honorable Mention |
| 40 |  | Pale Ache
Sorrow Will Overcome Me
Honorable Mention |
| 41 |  | Pupil Slicer
Mirrors
Honorable Mention |
| 42 |  | Stortregn
Impermanence
Honorable Mention |
| 43 |  | Subnuba
Veneficus Aeternus
Honorable Mention |
| 44 |  | The Behest of Serpents
Disciples
Honorable Mention |
| 45 |  | The Mask of the Phantasm
New Axial Age
Honorable Mention |
| 46 |  | To Kill Achilles
Something to Remember Me By
Honorable Mention |
| 47 |  | Turbulence
Frontal
Honorable Mention |
| 48 |  | Vulvodynia
Praenuntius Infiniti
Honorable Mention |
| 49 |  | Wolf King
Path of Wrath
Honorable Mention |
| 50 |  | Yautja
The Lurch
Honorable Mention |
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