I haven’t been doing a lot of writing in 2021, and I think that’s something I’m liable to change in 2022. However, all that said, I have been keeping track of my favorite releases of 2021 (almost obsessively so), and I decided I would like to share them here.
This is my list in descending order and I have only written blurbs for the top 20 to make it easier on anyone who actually reads this. At the end, I have also included a list of 50 albums I really liked but ultimately, they didn’t make my top 50 albums for 2021. There were so many great albums that came out this year, and sadly, I don’t think I can really list them all.
Also, full disclosure: I didn’t include reissues, rerecordings, or deluxe versions of albums that weren’t initially released in 2021. There was enough new original music that came out this year that I didn’t consider those necessary to the best albums of the year list, but it doesn’t mean some great ones didn’t come out this year (anyone who knows me knows Taylor Swift is never far from my mind).
1. Magdalena Bay — Mercurial World
At the start of the year, Magdalena Bay felt like a best-kept secret to its cult of followers then — a group that knew exactly how to navigate the Internet and utilize their lexicon of pop knowledge as they carved out their own musical identity. Flash-forward to the end of the year, and it seems like ubiquitous knowledge that Magdalena Bay (or for short, Mag Bay) is one of the best pop duos out right now. To anyone who’s listened to their debut, this is a no-brainer. Mercurial World makes it undeniably obvious that Mica Tanenbaum and Matthew Lewin know their stuff. Mag Bay kicked off their album campaign with the simmering techno banger “Chaeri”, complete with 90s technological aesthetics both in the music video and on the duo’s website. However, Mag Bay’s synthpop never limits itself to just being one thing — it can incorporate shoegaze for the boisterous “You Lose!”, it can drop all of its edge and play its nostalgia straight for the glossy and saccharine “Hysterical Us”, or it can inject a stream of funk for the almost timeless feel of “Secrets (Your Fire)”. Everything here is immaculately produced and thematically consistent, as Mag Bay fools around with the concepts of space and time, even making it so the final track titled “The Beginning” loops back to the album’s intro “The End”. The best easter egg for those with a casual interest in pop music: vocalist Tanenbaum echoes the chorus line of Madonna’s “Material Girl” on the titular track, swapping in the album’s title to claim their space.
2. Jazmine Sullivan — Heaux Tales:
Heaux Tales is Jazmine Sullivan’s first album (some have categorized it as an EP) in six years, and even if you didn’t miss her in all that time, after listening to this project, you will feel every one of those years in your spirit and wonder how you could have spent all that time without hearing her voice. Not only does Sullivan not miss once across this record, but there’s a sense of great care and dedication put into this album’s composition, with spoken word interludes Sullivan elicited from other women that cover the themes of womanhood and female sexuality she expands on throughout the record — and of course, the songs themselves are just so good. There’s “Pick Up Your Feelings”, an impassioned and searing declaration to a traitorous ex to collect his feelings like a box of discarded mementos, a song that feels so timeless and assured you might wonder how you ever survived without it. “The Other Side” is Sullivan’s almost too timely consideration of financial struggle, intertwining her narrator’s fairytale desire for a man to sweep her off her feet to a better life with the desperate hunger for a provider to take care of her needs, filtered through the modern-day lens of becoming a rapper’s girlfriend. This doesn’t just feel like a landmark release for Sullivan, or even for R&B as a genre, but a musical capture of modern-day Black womanhood that deserves attention from listeners everywhere. As an addendum, Heaux Tales failed to pick up a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year (though it did pick up one for Best R&B Album) — let me assure you this is the most egregious snub of the year, and possibly in recent memory, because Sullivan’s name should already be etched on that trophy. Their loss.
3. Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever:
It’s often said that you have your entire life to create your debut album, and then just around a year to craft your second. Having released her worldwide blockbuster debut album at 16, one could argue Eilish was starting pretty young anyways, but her sophomore album took about half the time her debut did to craft. Good thing for Eilish (and Finneas) that they nailed the sophomore album without breaking a sweat. Where her debut largely dealt with teenage mental health and depression, Eilish and Finneas shift gears by largely centering Happier Than Ever around her relationship with becoming a superstar, relationship abuse, and a general sense of maturity. In doing so, Eilish expands her sound beyond gothic and trap influences to fold in jazzier elements. This album is not as bombastic as her debut, but this is by design, as Eilish finds depth in creating a more downtempo record. This not only gives her songwriting the bandwidth to delve into her array of topics with nuance but also allows the album to spotlight Eilish’s vocal ability. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than on the title track — undeniably the showstopper of the album — where Eilish’s vocal performance morphs from sorrowful jazz-inflected balladry to searing punk rocker, as she similarly shifts from casual disdain for her ex-partner’s callousness to excoriating them for their mistreatment of her and her loved ones. Happier Than Ever proves Eilish has the chops to stick around for a long time and does so with impeccable taste and panache.
4. Wolf Alice — Blue Weekend:
Wolf Alice’s reputation going into 2021 was pretty high, mostly because they were a contemporary British rock band showing signs of being consistently great: their debut album My Love Is Cool showed their promise to great fanfare (including a Mercury Prize nomination) and their sophomore album Visions of a Life showed they had the vision and tenacity to go the distance, earning them a Mercury Prize. Their latest record proves that not only will they be sticking around, but that they can continue to expand and diversify their sound while keeping their musical identity intact. Not only that but this album is just filled to the brim with some of the best hooks of the year, with songs ranging from the melodically ABBA reminiscent “Safe from Heartbreak (If You Never Fall In Love)” to the deliciously noisy and fevered thrashing of “Play the Greatest Hits”. On album highlight, the grandiose and haunting “Feeling Myself”, vocalist Rowsell sings “keep my name on your lips / let the double L feel like a kiss” before the song launches into a cinematic all-encompassing instrumental break. It’s the kind of moment that feels definitive for both band and listeners, and it’s hard to imagine at this rate that her name ever will.
5. Laura Mvula — Pink Noise:
Earlier this year, Laura Mvula lost the Mercury Prize for the third time, and she expressed some frustration with not being recognized for her efforts after all this time. Mvula’s previous two albums were released on RCA Victor, and though they received much praise, Mvula was unceremoniously dropped after her second album. Pink Noise serves as her debut on Atlantic Records, and with it, Mvula has changed her sound a tad to a more mainstream one — there’s a strong reliance on 80s nostalgia in the production here, though, unlike many contemporary interpretations, Mvula’s throwback sound is authentic and feels less like a modern adaptation, and more like the throwback sound directly influencing her current work. Underneath this album’s glossy sheen, however, Mvula deals with some serious themes and topics in her work. There’s “Remedy” which serves as an impassioned and heartfelt response to the recent discussions of anti-black violence, or “Unconditional”, where Mvula’s disappointment is palpable as she bemoans how easily she was discarded. It’s not enough that Mvula’s record has depth, but the songcraft is impeccable as well. “Got Me” allows Mvula to echo the heights of Michael Jackson and Billy Ocean without losing her unique voice, and “Magical” is one of the year’s most extravagant and lush ballads, with an intricate and romantic string arrangement that Mvula matches with stunning vocal harmonies. Pink Noise is another outstanding effort from an artist who delivers them with the appearance of ease and is often unfairly overlooked.
6. Pinkpantheress: To Hell With It:
Every now and then, an artist comes along with a sound so distinctive that resonates with audiences, especially for a specific generation. This year, that artist captured the zeitgeist on Tiktok and her name is Pinkpantheress. Pinkpantheress’s music isn’t wholly inventive of course, but it draws upon the early 2000s trends of UK garage and drum-and-bass, condensing it into dance-pop that sounds nostalgic yet feels futuristic. The music is like something you’ve heard before yet it’d be hard to say anything she’s done here is a direct analog to something else. Her music is also tailor-made for the streaming age: few, if any, of her songs cross the 2-minute mark (the current standard is nothing above 3 minutes) which means the 19-minute debut mixtape not only demands repeat listens and little of listeners’ time, but makes for pretty handy TikTok trends. Lest one grow cynical over her music being perfectly consumable for the current era, it’s hard to maintain that cynicism once one listens to the record. Pinkpantheress is succinctly charming and nothing here overstays its welcome, yet it also doesn’t feel at all like these songs have been truncated or inhibited in any way. The sonics chosen here are eclectic, meaning nothing sounds the same but there is a cohesion that doesn’t impede the project’s levity. The result is a project that establishes Pinkpantheress as a singular voice, deft at balancing nostalgia with authenticity, and one of the year’s most exciting new discoveries.
7. Adele — 30
There’s so much to say about Adele that’s pretty much already been covered. She’s one of the biggest female artists of all time, one of the rare few who still commands a dedicated legion of listeners and — more importantly to the music industry — buyers. It could be oh so easy for her to have come back this year after a long time away, with an album full of digestible power ballads akin to her previous record, 25. However, in all her promotion leading up to her new record, it became clear that aside from the fact the singer remains down-to-earth and enduringly charming, she is also one who prioritizes her artistry and talent. This means that rather than that radio-friendly slew of powerhouse ballads, Adele mined her inner turmoil over her divorce, what that meant for her and her son, and her introspective journey to deliver an album that unabashedly wears its heart on its sleeve. This is a record that is unafraid to show its author at her lowest and most private moments. She does so with enough experimentation to expand her usual musical palette, even if it means ballads unfurl in double the time the radios are willing to give an artist these days. This feels like another career-defining effort for Adele and boasts a bevy of reasons to fall in love with her writing and her voice all over again.
8. Arlo Parks — Collapsed in Sunbeams:
Few people have managed to exit the lugubrious year of 2021 with anything worth smiling about, but Arlo Parks had a breakthrough nobody could miss with an album that sounded like the perfect soundtrack for the year. Arlo’s sparse blend of bedroom pop with influences from trip-hop and a bit of r&b served as the deceptively simplistic and comforting sound many of us needed this year. Arlo is a poet foremost, which comes across in the thoughtful way she crafts her lyrics. When she approaches the topic of mental illness, the results are therapeutic without slipping into the territory of an afterschool special. When she approaches the topic of queerness and unrequited love, it’s naturalistic and highly relatable, even when she describes situations with particular attention to detail. Arlo has achieved a rare feat here, with an album that offers cheer and optimism if needed, but also wears its heart on its sleeve and shares its vulnerability with listeners as well. Parks has earned a few BRIT Awards, won the Mercury Prize, and picked up a few Grammy nominations for her efforts, and already has music critics bandying about the idea of her being the voice of a new generation. Arlo Parks’s music feels like a diary come to life, with a keen emotional sense and a mature observational tone that will endear her to anyone who listens in.
9. Halsey — If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power:
As soon as the billboard announcing Halsey’s new album was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, it was clear this album was going to be something special. Halsey’s journey through the music industry has been an unusual one. First emerging as an alternative pop figure of the Tumblr era, Halsey has slid up and down the scale of pop music ever since, but a proclivity towards rock and an angstier sound has been hinted at along the way. So of course, given their latest collaborators, Halsey’s latest record feels like they’ve been unleashed and given the chance to create their most ambitious project to date. This album largely centers around Halsey’s feelings following their discovery of their pregnancy and tackles their concerns about motherhood. Halsey also wrestles with their thoughts on the patriarchy, and the experiences of being a woman amidst this system. Halsey has always been one of their generation’s best — though often underrated — lyricists and this album allows them to push their talents to the extreme. Musically, Reznor and Ross also push Halsey into new areas, giving them a chance to fully explore their rock leanings and introducing industrial influences. However, even with the introduction of newer and different sonics from their previous work, Halsey always sounds right at home and their vocals have never sounded better either. This feels like the record Halsey has been working towards all along, and though it can be heavy at times, it sounds like their freedom as well.
10. Tinashe — 333:
Tinashe has spent a long time carving out her niche of alternative R&B and pop, at times stalled but never unencumbered by label troubles. 333 may be the fruit of her labors, as it stands at the crossroads of everything she has done. Her previous album, Songs For You laid the groundwork for this development, and though it was excellent on its own merit, you got the sense Tinashe still had some dust to shake off from escaping her previous entrapment of sorts — it was the moment she needed to rediscover the freedom releasing independently could give her. 333 benefits from Tinashe having settled into that freedom, confident in her musical abilities and experimentation, and having been able to sharpen her focus on her singular vision. Everything here may not be to everyone’s liking (why not!), but it’s apparent that Tinashe is firing on all cylinders throughout the project. Tinashe doesn’t miss a trick whether it’s with the insanely catchy “X” where she teams up with Jeremih, or “Undo (Back to My Heart)” where she switches gears to synthpop without losing hold of her sound. Even in the quieter moments, Tinashe is bold enough to mix it up like with the falsetto heavy “333” featuring British singer ABSOLUTELY, or when she chops and screws the joyous “Bouncin” into the smooth yet moody “Bouncin, Pt. 2”, where she has never sounded more seductive. It’s been great to see Tinashe fully come into her own this era & it’s also been good to see her be rewarded with the praise and attention she deserves, especially on her journey as an independent artist.
11. Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert:
Little Simz already had an excellent album with her last album Grey Area back in 2019, but this time around, she’s come out swinging in full force for her latest project. In elaborating on the title, Simz explained that sometimes she feels so introverted, she feels unable to express herself unless it’s within her music. In keeping with that, Simz gives us the full package and doesn’t shy away from running the gamut when it comes to her thoughts. She discusses Black womanhood, her thoughts on the government and the state of the world, her familial issues, and understanding her need to protect her mental wellbeing. Simz makes it easy to get drawn into her music and commands attention from listeners — she is a dynamic rapper and her verses are meaningful and captivating. Musically, this is a richly produced album that relies on jazz and soul to provide the near-cinematic background for Simz’s verses, even sampling Smokey Robinson on “Two Worlds Apart”. Simz has been praised and given her dues from Kendrick Lamar and Lauryn Hill, both of whom serve as major influences here, and it’s no surprise why — Little Simz is one of the best rappers out there right now & this album is a must-hear.
12. Doja Cat — Planet Her:
Much has been made of Doja Cat’s ability to withstand controversies back to back, with Planet Her being cited as the superstar era Hot Pink should have been. The thing people get right about this is that Doja has survived them based on sheer talent and star power. Planet Her serves as a testament to Doja having a finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist, with her unique marriage of rap laden with quirky punchlines and her sensibility for radio-ready melodies serving as a winning combination with mass appeal to audiences. It’s apparent from the album’s packaging that Doja has a vision and for the most part, it’s executed with finesse throughout the album. It’s fair to say that after being thwarted a couple of times (although not entirely, since Hot Pink was too catchy to fail), Doja showed up with her A-game for her latest project. Nearly every song on here is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hit potential, evidenced by the fact that nearly every song had its moment in the sun on Tiktok and/or streaming. Doja experiments with Afrobeats and reggaeton and continues her exploration into disco and dance-pop, yet nothing feels entirely out of place if only because Doja keeps things tight with the structures of her songs, giving herself time to spotlight her singing and rapping abilities. Perhaps previous records and the goings-on around them left room for people to second guess Doja, but this time around, there is no question: she’s a superstar.
13. Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee:
Japanese Breakfast was already set to have an amazing year before she dropped her third album Jubilee. Written under her real name, Michelle Zauner, her novel Crying in H Mart debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and went on to be lauded as one of the year’s best novels. That novel, much like her previous two albums, tackled the grief over losing her mother to pancreatic cancer. However, on Jubilee, things take a much more effervescent and buoyant tone, which is evident straight away with the opener “Paprika”. There’s “Be Sweet” which served as the album’s lead single, and with good reason, since it leaps out and demands to be listened to repeatedly, with its maximalist 80s throwback sounds and its hooky songwriting. This isn’t to suggest that everything’s coming up roses just yet, and there are moments that allude to troubles along the way such as “Posing in Bondage” where Zauner longs for connection. This makes for a more well-rounded project, as we can see Zauner’s journey as one of healing, and suggests happiness is something one has to work towards and doesn’t come lightly. This is a hard-won victory lap for Japanese Breakfast.
14. Yebba — Dawn:
Full disclosure, this album has been steadily creeping up on me with each listen. Yebba is a name that feels like it’s been everywhere, even before her album was released. She’s linked up with names such as Chance the Rapper, Drake, and Sam Smith, and she was at one point even signed by Ed Sheeran. It was very soon after she began receiving such attention that Yebba suffered a personal tragedy: the loss of her mother to suicide. With the help of star producer Mark Ronson, KAYTRANADA, and Thomas Brenneck of the Dap-Kings, she has crafted a debut album that allows her to spotlight her distinctive voice and share the vulnerable story she wants to. Yebba herself serves as the sole writer and producer on a handful of these songs, and it’s clear that great care has been put into composing and arranging these songs. Yebba’s vocal performance animates the life and pain put into these tracks, and the appearances of A$AP Rocky and Smino (particularly the latter) add some levity to the project. Much of the press surrounding Yebba has positioned her as this generation’s Adele, and while it is probably meant with good intentions, this does Yebba a great disservice as this does her voice and her efforts here a disservice. This is an album that stuns on first listen yet unfurls its beauty with multiple listens.
15: Jane Weaver — Flock
Flock is British singer-songwriter Jane Weaver’s eleventh album and serves as her most contemporary pop-leaning effort to date. Weaver herself has described this album as being “inspired by Lebanese torch songs, 1980s Russian Aerobics records, and Australian punk”, and there is surely a sense of nostalgia to the music — but there’s also a bracing aura to everything here. Weaver wrote and produced everything here by herself yet this isn’t a self-indulgent record and everything here sticks. It’s hard to resist the slick yet psychedelic synth number “Stages of Phases”, where Weaver gives Goldfrapp a run for their money. However, this album isn’t just all cool grooves — Weaver has her own thoughts on the patriarchy on “Modern Reputation”, and has questions about identity set to glossy glam-rock on “The Revolutions of Super Visions”. Weaver’s voice tends towards airiness, which buoys these songs with an easiness that makes them incredibly digestible. There are many moving parts on this album and enough for listeners to pick apart if they’re interested in that, but there’s a carefree vibe that makes it a great album to mindlessly jam along to as it plays in the background. Album closer “Solarised” sounds like the kind of bright nu-disco banger you’d expect from someone like Kylie Minogue in the 2000s (circa Fever obviously), but sounds wholly like Weaver — she has an interesting and unique vision that cannot be compromised.
16. Yola — Stand For Myself:
Stand For Myself arrived two years after her debut album, which received much praise including four Grammy nominations (one for Best New Artist) and recognition from legends such as Elton John. Signed to Dan Auerbach’s label and produced by The Black Keys guitarist and vocalist (also known for producing Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence), Yola’s latest album expands upon her soulful blend of country and rock, to include influences of disco and funk. This album feels instantly timeless, recalling the music from the 60s and 70s with ease, both in production and with Yola’s immense and sweeping vocals. Few could ever hope to capture the shimmering bittersweet moment of “Dancing Away in Tears”, where Yola asks her partner for one last dance, having accepted the relationship is ending. Musically, this album feels so comforting and though it is cohesive, it doesn’t stick to being just one thing. Not only that, but Yola’s personality really shines throughout this album, not just through her tour-de-force vocal performance but through her impassioned writing of heartbreak and perseverance. This album ends with the title track, where Yola sings of having to fight the urge to be complacent and having to break free in order to stand for her own perspective and morals — there is just a sense of freedom and comfort and warmth that runs through this album that feels like an arrow straight to the heart. This is an album built to stay in the hearts of people for years to come.
17. Lucy Dacus — Home Video:
Lucy Dacus is one of the buzziest names amidst the indie crowd right now, especially as part of a wave of new usually-white and usually-lgbtq female singer-songwriters in the indie rock and folk scene. Specifically, many have come to know Dacus thanks to her association with Phoebe Bridgers as part of supergroup Boygenius, alongside fellow singer-songwriter Julien Baker. However, none of this says anything about Dacus’s real talent for excoriating her past troubles and spinning them into detailed and relatable songs. Home Video serves as Dacus’s retrospective on troubled and queer youth, and Dacus is never afraid to go there with her songwriting. There’s “Thumbs”, where accompanying a friend to a meeting with their estranged father veers into an ominous and melancholy murder ballad, with Dacus expressing her percolating rage for the father’s callousness and her marvel at her friend’s ability to stay civil. On “VBS”, Dacus recounts attending bible camp and falling in love with a guy who isn’t as convinced of religion as her, with him more soothed by the music of thrash metal band Slayer — fitting then, that this is the song where Dacus allows the song itself to rip, building towards an extremely loud and distorted section. The album ends with “Triple Dog Dare”, where Dacus reflects on a past friendship where the potential of romance was, in real life, thwarted by the intervention of her friend’s mother. Dacus chooses to change the story now that she’s the author, into one where she and her friend run away from their childhood home together, creating their own happy ending. Her music always feels so lived-in and fully realized, and this album is Dacus at her best.
18. Kacey Musgraves — Star-Crossed:
This was a year for divorce albums. Well, it’s really mostly Kacey Musgraves and Adele, but those two are enough to have anyone sobbing for half the year. Star-Crossed is the long-awaited follow-up to Musgraves’s Golden Hour, which earned her a Grammy for Album of the Year. That album saw Musgraves experimenting with blending her usual country leanings with influences of disco and pop music. Musgraves continues exploring that sound here, but there’s a stronger undertone of bitterness on this album that Musgraves largely eschewed with Golden Hour, due to Musgraves seemingly finding some kind of happy ending there. The happy ending is ruined here, which Musgraves makes painfully clear the further along she gets. She scrutinizes the relationship and pores over all of her and her ex’s faults until she reaches the album’s emotional centerpiece “Camera Roll”, where a heartbreaking moment of Musgraves reminiscing on her broken relationship through old pictures is simplistically effective and is bound to get listeners to shed a tear. The rest of the album reassures us that Musgraves can survive the fallout, but her brutal honesty and genuine heartbreak leave a lasting impression.
19. Yves Tumor — The Asymptotical World
They could have sat this year out since their last album Heaven to a Tortured Mind was fantastic enough to keep fans satisfied until another full-length. Blessed are we then that Yves Tumor is productive enough to follow up with this six-track EP, which continues the lane they carved out on their last album. That project courted comparisons to the dearly departed Prince, and there is no question that the same influence continues here. Yves employs elements of shoegaze and punk rock, shooting for a hazy yet propulsive rock sound that feels dense and engrossing. They have developed a sound that feels familiar yet confounds, morphing itself in ways the listener would not initially expect. That said, this isn’t a difficult project to follow and if listeners can remain open-minded, they will be rewarded with an intriguing and thrilling musical experience. It’s also inspiring to see a Black non-binary musician leading the charge, pushing the envelope and breaking the boundaries of rock music — it feels like Tumor has picked up where others have left off, bringing their own flavor and reclaiming a genre that has long borrowed from Black people yet often pushed them away.
20. Low — Hey What:
Low is one of the most enduring bands to come out of the 90s, having been associated with slowcore (a term they disapprove of). Their best asset has always been the way core members & married couple Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker have this innate sense of harmonization with each other, drawing on this strength to build out climactic melodies. For most of the past decade, they’ve been on a hot streak with producer BJ Burton (notable collaborator of Bon Iver, Taylor Swift, Banks), and their latest is no less of a slam dunk than their previous work together (Ones and Sixes, Double Negative — I urge you to check out the latter as well). Their last album skewed more abrasive than this project, where there’s just enough room to allow Parker’s voice to reach ethereal heights, such as when the semi-titular track “Hey” draws to a close. However, don’t get too comfortable — this album still functions on some level as an expansion to their prior development, presenting an amalgamation of the electronic with tinges of rock, and playing with their voices and sounds in bold and unusual ways. I won’t pretend Low’s sound is for everyone, especially since it is a result of over two decades worth of work, but if you can get into it, you will be rewarded with a really spellbinding and fresh listening experience.
21. Sault — Nine
22. Self Esteem — Prioritise Pleasure
23. Parcels — Day/Night
24. Turnstile — Glow On
25. Snail Mail — Valentine
26. Tyler, the Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost
27. The War on Drugs — I Don’t Live Here Anymore
28. Alfie Templeman — Forever Isn’t Long Enough
29. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis — Carnage
30. Aly & AJ — A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun
31. Olivia Rodrigo — Sour
32. Molly Sandén — Dom Ska Veta
33. Summer Walker — Still Over It
34. Julien Baker — Little Oblivions
35. Willow — Lately I Feel Everything:
36. Pom Pom Squad — Death of a Cheerleader:
37. Genesis Owusu — Smiling With No Teeth
38. Erika de Casier — Sensational
39. C. Tangana — El Madrileño
40. Chloe Moriondo — Blood Bunny
41. Vince Staples — Vince Staples
42. Clairo — Sling
43. Serpentwithfeet — DEACON
44. Nao — And Then Life Was Beautiful
45. CHVRCHES — Screen Violence
46. Hiatus Kaiyote — Mood Valiant
47. Idles — Crawler
48. Joyce Wrice — Overgrown
49. L’Rain — Fatigue
50. Lil Nas X — Montero
These are the 50 albums that didn’t make onto my top albums list this year, presented in alphabetical order according to artist name.
- Aaron Frazer — Introducing
- ABBA — Voyage
- Ada Lea — one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden
- Aespa — Savage
- Agnes — Magic Still Exists
- Allison Ponthier — Faking My Own Death EP
- Arab Strap — As Days Get Dark
- Arca — Kick iii
- The Armed — Ultrapop
- Arooj Aftab — Vulture Prince
- Beabadoobee — Our Extended Play EP
- Bruno Pernadas — Private Reasons
- Cassandra Jenkins — An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
- Celeste — Not Your Muse
- Chai — Wink
- Cloe Sol — Mother
- DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ — The Makin’ Magick II Album
- Dry Cleaning — New Long Leg
- Girl in Red — If I Could Make It Go Quiet
- Griff — One Foot In Front of the Other
- Holly Humberstone — The Walls Are Way Too Thin EP
- Joy Crookes — Skin
- Jpegmafia — LP!
- Julie — Pushing Daisies
- The Killers — Pressure Machine
- Lana Del Rey — Blue Banisters
- Lingua Ignota — Sinner Get Ready
- Lord Huron — Long Lost
- Luke Hemmings — When Facing the Things We Turn Away From
- Madison Beer — Life Support
- The Marias — Cinema
- Mdou Moctor — Afrique Victime
- Moyka — The Revelations of Love
- Poppy — Flux
- Porter Robinson — Nurture
- Ray Blk — Access Denied
- Remi Wolf — Juno
- Rochelle Jordan — Play With The Changes
- Saint Etienne — I’ve Been Trying to Tell You
- Sam Fender — Seventeen Going Under
- Silk Sonic: An Evening With Silk Sonic
- Slayyyter — Troubled Paradise
- Spellling — The Turning Wheel
- St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home
- Tate McRae — Too Young to Be Sad EP
- Tirzah — Colorgrade
- Torres — Thirstier
- Twice — Taste of Love
- The Weather Station — Ignorance
- Yukika — timeabout
