Butt's TOP 100!!! of 2021
Tasked myself with the daunting goal of 365 new albums this year, an album a day. Only albums that came out in 2021. From there I've narrowed down to my top 100. Zero chance I have time to write a blurb about all of them, so just added commentary on the top 10. Hope you find something new to enjoy here, happy 2022!! Hope it doesn't suck !! |
| 101 |  | Jeff Rosenstock
SKA DREAM
Starting off with an honorable mention for this beauty, one of the best things that happened this year tbh. But since it's an alternate version of an album that came out last year, I don't think I can count it in my true countdown. Ok onto the real list now. |
| 100 |  | Big Red Machine
How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? |
| 99 |  | Iron Maiden
Senjutsu |
| 98 |  | Little Simz
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert |
| 97 |  | Veilburner
Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull |
| 96 |  | Monobody
Comma |
| 95 |  | Grouper
Shade |
| 94 |  | Apparition
Feel |
| 93 |  | Snail Mail
Valentine |
| 92 |  | Pile of Love
Pile Of Love |
| 91 |  | Whitechapel
Kin |
| 90 |  | Green Lung
Black Harvest |
| 89 |  | Tigers Jaw
I Won't Care How You Remember Me |
| 88 |  | Intestinal Hex
The Exalted Chambers of Abhorrence |
| 87 |  | Boldy James and The Alchemist
Bo Jackson |
| 86 |  | Free Throw
Piecing It Together |
| 85 |  | Cory Hanson
Pale Horse Rider |
| 84 |  | Argo Nuff
annebolyn |
| 83 |  | Lucy Dacus
Home Video |
| 82 |  | Crypts of Despair
All Light Swallowed |
| 81 |  | Black Country, New Road
For the first time |
| 80 |  | Aenigmatum
Deconsecrate |
| 79 |  | Telethon
Swim Out Past The Breakers |
| 78 |  | The War On Drugs
I Don't Live Here Anymore |
| 77 |  | Dead and Dripping
Miasmic Eulogies Predicating an Eternal Nocturne |
| 76 |  | Chad VanGaalen
World's Most Stressed Out Gardener |
| 75 |  | Turris Eburnea
Turris Eburnea |
| 74 |  | The Plot In You
Swan Song |
| 73 |  | Same Side
In Place |
| 72 |  | Asphyx
Necroceros |
| 71 |  | Ben Howard
Collections from the Whiteout |
| 70 |  | Tribulation
Where the Gloom Becomes Sound |
| 69 |  | Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
A Beginner's Mind |
| 68 |  | Nunslaughter
Red Is The Color Of Ripping Death |
| 67 |  | Bruno Pernadas
Private Reasons |
| 66 |  | Drawn and Quartered
Congregation Pestilence |
| 65 |  | clairo
Sling |
| 64 |  | Mortiferum
Preserved in Torment |
| 63 |  | Cassandra Jenkins
An Overview on Phenomenal Nature |
| 62 |  | Coevality
Multiple Personalities |
| 61 |  | Wild Pink
A Billion Little Lights |
| 60 |  | The Body and Big|Brave
Leaving None But Small Birds |
| 59 |  | Manchester Orchestra
The Million Masks of God |
| 58 |  | Frontierer
Oxidized |
| 57 |  | Dan Campbell
Other People’s Lives |
| 56 |  | Bongzilla
Weedsconsin |
| 55 |  | Lightning Bug
A Color of the Sky |
| 54 |  | Joe Vann
Found in the Smoke |
| 53 |  | Narrow / Arrow
Asbestos Weak Hood |
| 52 |  | Blindfolded and Led to the Woods
Nightmare Withdrawals |
| 51 |  | Nas
Magic |
| 50 |  | Inoculation
Celestial Putridity |
| 49 |  | Cynic
Ascension Codes |
| 48 |  | Sturgill Simpson
The Ballad of Dood and Juanita |
| 47 |  | Deafheaven
Infinite Granite |
| 46 |  | Cerebral Rot
Excretion Of Mortality |
| 45 |  | Emma Ruth Rundle
Engine of Hell |
| 44 |  | Frozen Soul
Crypt Of Ice |
| 43 |  | The Physics House Band
Incident on 3rd |
| 42 |  | Typhoon (USA-OR)
Sympathetic Magic |
| 41 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Colors II |
| 40 |  | Every Time I Die
Radical |
| 39 |  | Dream Unending
Tide Turns Eternal |
| 38 |  | Brand of Sacrifice
Lifeblood |
| 37 |  | King Woman
Celestial Blues |
| 36 |  | Wode
Burn in Many Mirrors |
| 35 |  | Black Midi
Cavalcade |
| 34 |  | Sweet Trip
A Tiny House, In Secret Speeches, Polar Equals |
| 33 |  | Idles
Crawler |
| 32 |  | Wizardthrone
Hypercube Necrodimensions |
| 31 |  | The Dirty Nil
Fuck Art |
| 30 |  | Mefitis
Offscourings |
| 29 |  | Billy Strings
Home |
| 28 |  | Panopticon
...And Again into the Light |
| 27 |  | The Felice Brothers
From Dreams to Dust |
| 26 |  | Hooded Menace
The Tritonus Bell |
| 25 |  | Citizen
Life In Your Glass World |
| 24 |  | Foxing
Draw Down the Moon |
| 23 |  | Marissa Nadler
The Path of the Clouds |
| 22 |  | Alexis Marshall
House of Lull. House of When |
| 21 |  | Stress Angel
Bursting Church |
| 20 |  | Cold Moon (USA-CA)
What's The Rush? |
| 19 |  | Worm
Foreverglade |
| 18 |  | Turnstile
Glow On |
| 17 |  | Crumb
Ice Melt |
| 16 |  | Wharflurch
Psychedelic Realms ov Hell |
| 15 |  | Qrixkuor
Poison Palinopsia |
| 14 |  | Trophy Scars
Astral Pariah |
| 13 |  | Malignant Altar
Realms of Exquisite Morbidity |
| 12 |  | King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
Butterfly 3000 |
| 11 |  | Cannibal Corpse
Violence Unimagined |
| 10 |  | Tyler, the Creator
Call Me If You Get Lost
Tyler's growth has really been something to watch. Igor didn't sit super well with me, but this feels like the true successor to Flower Boy and he really flexes his songwriting muscles here. Probably my top hip hop record of the past couple years. |
| 9 |  | Converge
Bloodmoon: I
I guess we finally settled on this just being a Converge album, but the main reason I love it and was so stoked for it in the first place was Chelsea Wolfe. Chelsea is queen. This record was the next logical progression for both artists, and it's awesome hearing them achieving that next step together and in such a cohesive way. |
| 8 |  | Mild High Club
Going Going Gone
Jazzy and psychedelic, but also so catchy! Didn't expect to revisit this too much, but I just kept coming back to it. And at about 30 minutes, it's easy to spin repeatedly. |
| 7 |  | Hiatus Kaiyote
Mood Valiant
Had never heard of this band prior to this album coming out, and now I'm a fan. So many fantastic ideas and performances went into this, and the production was some of the coolest I heard all year. Check out All the Word We Don't Say and Chivalry is Not Dead |
| 6 |  | Lingua Ignota
SINNER GET READY
Crushingly sorrowful and intricate, she really poured herself into this record. Her recent 'tell-all' about her abusive relationship and where she was at mentally while writing and recording this adds so much more meaning and context. |
| 5 |  | Ad Nauseam
Imperative Imperceptible Impulse
Without a doubt the most challenging metal album I found this year. Not even sure how to describe this other than massive, dark, and chaotic. One of those albums that you need to hear a dozen times before it really starts to sink in...in a good way! |
| 4 |  | A Great Big Pile of Leaves
Pono
Just when I thought I was starting to outgrow this kind of stuff, I get sucked right back in! These guys took some of the best elements of math, emo, and indie rock and melded them together perfectly. The guitars and melodies here are absolutely lovely. |
| 3 |  | The Spirit Of The Beehive
Entertainment, Death
Such a weird trip. Some people found this album to be too "out there", and I totally get that, but that's why I love it. It tries so many different things and they all work for me. After the first 3-4 listens, I still didn't understand what I was hearing. I have no idea how people come up with stuff like this (also just look at the album art, it's awesome) |
| 2 |  | Lord Huron
Long Lost
I went back and forth between #1 and #2 for a while trying to figure out which one would take the AOTY spot, and it's virtually a tie. I had never listened to a Lord Huron prior to this, only ever heard a couple songs randomly. I had them pinned for a generic indie folk band but wow I was wrong. This album is really a ride, and it takes you lots of places. For the amount of variety here, the consistency is remarkable. The instruments and production are so warm and organic all throughout, and the songwriting is rock solid. I would highly recommend this to anyone regardless of music taste. I'm a metalhead and these songs were addicting. |
| 1 |  | The Killers
Pressure Machine
Never in a million years would have thought my AOTY could be The Killers - I'm literally not even a Killers fan - but I guess that's the exciting part of these annual music ventures. Never know what will really jump out at you and stick. This one is an emotional rollercoaster that dives deep into the good and evil that is small town USA. I grew up in a midwestern town with a population of 4,000, and I'm sure that has something to do with how this album resonated with me. You can tell everything here is 100% genuine and written from firsthand experience. Bravo. |
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