2021 Top 30 Albums
Top 10 got small writeups. |
| 30 |  | CHVRCHES
Screen Violence
Synthpop
Recommended track: Violent Delights |
| 29 |  | The Spirit Of The Beehive
Entertainment, Death
Noise Pop/Psychedelic
Recommended track: There's Nothing You Can't Do |
| 28 |  | Loathe (UK)
The Things They Believe
Ambient
Recommended track: The Rain Outside |
| 27 |  | Failure
Wild Type Droid
Alt Rock
Recommended track: Undecided |
| 26 |  | Grouper
Shade
Folk
Recommended track: Unclean mind |
| 25 |  | Pupil Slicer
Mirrors
Mathcore
Recommended track: Wounds Upon My Skin |
| 24 |  | Andy Stott
Never the Right Time
UK Bass
Recommended track: Hard to Tell |
| 23 |  | Lil Ugly Mane
Volcanic Bird Enemy...
Hypnagogic Pop/Dream Pop/Psychedelic
Recommended track: Cold in Here |
| 22 |  | Jon Hopkins
Music for Psychedelic Therapy
Ambient
Recommended track: Sit Around the Fire |
| 21 |  | Genghis Tron
Dream Weapon
Progressive Metal/Post-Metal/Electronic
Recommended track: Dream Weapon |
| 20 |  | BADBADNOTGOOD
Talk Memory
Jazz Fusion
Recommended track: Signal from the Noise |
| 19 |  | Black Midi
Cavalcade
Art Rock/Experimental
Recommended track: Slow |
| 18 |  | Blanket
Modern Escapism
Alt-Metal/Shoegaze
Recommended track: White Noise |
| 17 |  | Injury Reserve
By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Experimental Hip-hop
Recommended track: Superman That |
| 16 |  | Sugar Horse
The Live Long After
Post-Metal/Shoegaze
Recommended track: Phil Spector in Hell |
| 15 |  | Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The LSO
Promises
Minimal/Classical
Recommended track: Movement 1-9 |
| 14 |  | Slow Crush
Hush
Shoegaze, Dream Pop
Recommended track: Hush |
| 13 |  | Magdalena Bay
Mercurial World
Synthpop
Recommended track: Chaeri |
| 12 |  | Tyler, the Creator
Call Me If You Get Lost
Hip-hop
Recommended track: Hot Wind Blows |
| 11 |  | sonhos tomam conta
Hypnagogia
Blackgaze/Emo
Recommended track: Alprazolam vs. vinho barato vs. 6 da manhã |
| 10 |  | Porter Robinson
Nurture
Electropop/Synthpop
This album just hits a spot that evokes a lot of different emotions like melancholy, nostalgia, longing, and hope. The production is very lush and well executed, and I love the vocal melodies and effects Porter uses on his voice. You’ve gained a fan, Porter.
Recommended track: Get Your Wish |
| 9 |  | JPEGMAFIA
LP! (offline)
Experimental Hip-hop
Peggy somehow one ups himself every album. In some ways this album is all over the place, but it’s what I’ve come to expect and appreciate from Peggy at this point. The production is wild and you never know what you’re going to hear on the next track. The AEW references are also a great bonus. The Offline version is the way to listen to this album. Damn Peggy.
Recommended track: HAZARD DUTY PAY! |
| 8 |  | Lantlos
Wildhund
Alt-Metal/Post-Metal/Shoegaze
I wouldn’t have minded more of Melting Sun, but on this album Lantlos shifts from longform atmospheric songwriting to a more straightforward approach, and the result is a sonic experience that will take up all your personal space but is also warm and inviting.
Recommended track: Lake Fantasy |
| 7 |  | Deafheaven
Infinite Granite
Shoegaze
Deafheaven goes full shoegaze here, and unsurprisingly it ended up being something fans either loved or hated. My expectations coming into this were low because I did not enjoy OCHL, but they were pleasantly exceeded and this ended up being one of my most listened to albums of the year.
Recommended track: Villain |
| 6 |  | Skee Mask
Pool
Techno/Breakbeat/IDM
This guy really impressed me with Compro, and with this album he’s become my favorite producer. He combines a lot of different styles seamlessly and when I listen to this I forget it’s even 100 minutes because I just get so lost in it.
Recommended track: Testo BC Mashup |
| 5 |  | The World Is a Beautiful Place...
Illusory Walls
Post-Hardcore/Post-Rock/Emo
I was never a big fan of this band, but this album is a huge shift in sound from the albums I heard. I remember when I listened to this for the first I was skeptical of the length of the last two tracks, but my god are they both two gorgeous pieces of emo post-rock.
Recommended track: Trouble |
| 4 |  | Sweet Trip
A Tiny House, In Secret Speeches, Polar Equals
Dream Pop/Glitch Pop
First album in over 10 years and they haven’t missed a beat.
Recommended track: Chapters |
| 3 |  | BRUIT
The Machine Is Burning...
Post-Rock
This album is a cinematic experience in audible form. Each track offers something different, as it transitions from dark and gritty to bright and hopeful, to a contemplative ambient passage, and finally to the grand and triumphant climax.
Recommended track: The Machine is Burning |
| 2 |  | Parannoul / Asian Glow / sonhos tomam conta
Downfall of the Neon Youth
Shoegaze/Emo/Post-Hardcore
This album blew my mind. Three young talents (all of which I believe to be one-person projects) come together to make an otherworldly split LP. Dreamy, ethereal, and mesmerizing. “Colors” is my non-The Armed song of the year.
Recommended track: Colors |
| 1 |  | The Armed
Ultrapop
Noise Rock/Post-Hardcore/Ultrapop
Honestly, I don’t really love my review for this album. I tried doing something different instead of talking about the music, but might have been a bit too ambitious. Everything surrounding Ultrapop from the promotion to the live concert film made it larger than just an album. It’s a true art piece and it’s what makes The Armed so exciting. The music though, is really quite in a category of its own. Ultrapop took what Only Love set out to achieve and amplified everything tenfold. It’s a blender of beautiful melodies and violent aggression played with overwhelming intensity and lightning fast drumming. The production can definitely be an acquired taste. I personally think the production is exactly what it needs to be, and the more you listen the more layers you uncover within the music. Bob Mould (Husker Du) basically called this album a modern Loveless. Get on it. Refract.
Recommended track: An Iteration |
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