Favorite albums of 2021

[Hoss]

I just wanted to get a feel for what y'all were fucking with in 2021. I'll post a good little list later on but what are y'all's favorite albums of the year?

 

[Marty McFourth]

Really enjoyed The Knocks and Foster the People's Melody & Silence. They did a good cover of Bittersweet Symphony as well which is hard to do seeing as The Verve's version is so good. I really dig FTP's vibe.

 

[Alexa]

Will have a list later, but it is a lot of Doom Metal, Drone Metal. Funeral Doom, Blackened Doom, Death Doom, Epic Doom, and DSBM

 

[Moon Bird]

I only listened to one new album in 2021



and it was a f**king banger, as the kids say!

 

[Hoss]

I'll preview my list as well. It's mostly hip hop. It's my main genre, though I listen to a lot of metal, alternative and indie rock as well. I tend to not listen to full albums in those other genres as much. That said, we'll see some appearances here and there from a variety of genres on my list.

 

[Alexa]

Favorite Albums of 2021, or the ones I can remember
Afghan Haze – Nihilistic Stoner Hymns
Mother of Graves – In Somber Dreams
Dalit – Moksha
Thronehammer – Incantation Rites
Omination – NGR
Marianas Rest – Fata Morgana
Servants to the Tide – Servants to the Tide
Drift into Black – Patterns of Light
Grief Collector – En Delirium
Ghostheart Nebula – Ascension
Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse
Charnel Altar - Abatement of the Sun
Burial - Inner Gateways to the Slumbering Equilibrium at the Center of Cosmos
Hooded Menace - The Tritonus Bell
Worm - Foreverglade
Wharflurch - Psychedelic Realms ov Hell
Nordicwinter - Sorrow
Battle Hag - Celestial Tyrant
Sinistral Doom - Beyond Twilight's Embers
Olórin - Through Shadow and Flame

 

[Hoss]

Alright, let's get into it.

Starting with a few alums that I most strongly considered my AOTY.

The House is Burning - Isaiah Rashad

One of my favorite rappers ever came back with an album, 5 years after his last one. The expectations were obviously high, given the wait and the record label that he belonds to (TDE - also home to Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock). For my money, he hit an absolute home run, delivering his best album yet. It's classic Zay, blending southern hip hop with R&B and soul and balancing personal struggles with levity and bravado to keep you on your toes throughout.

Spoiler

The Melodic Blue - Baby Keem

Baby Keem is a newer rapper who has a style all his own. He is generally very boisterous and bouncy, and has a tendency to shuffle through multiple voices and accents on a single song. He can also slow things down and execute a good melody, though. This being his debut album, I think he did a great job of highlighting all of his abilities, though it did come at the expense of any discernible narrative throughout the album, which I think is the main thing this project lacked. That said, I think the album takes you on a great ride where from one track to another, you might get hints of Kendrick Lamar's "good kid, maad city", Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreaks" or Playboi Carti's "Die Lit" and just about anything in between.

Spoiler

TYRON - slowthai

This was my AOTY early in the year. Over time, it sort of fell to my peripheral but every time I revisit this album, I'm reminded of being totally floored by the first listen. slowthai is a British rapper who was somewhat on my radar before this album came out due to his collabs with some American artists and controversies that he had gotten into. With this album here, he established himself as one of my favorites due to the chaotic energy he brings to his music. He has a rebellious spirit, but he also made time on this album to do some very subdued introspection, which I think adds a whole other dimension to him as an artist.

Spoiler

I'll be posting more later, but without as much commentary on the albums themselves, because I have a lot of albums I want to mention, but don't feel like I want to go into detail about all of them. These three albums are just the upper crust of my favorite albums of the year. Many of the my other honorable mentions that are still to come definitely warranted heavy consideration, but I feel pretty comfortable saying these are my top three.

 

[Y2Jayne]

Fear Factory - Aggression Continuum

Rob Zombie - The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy

Poppy - Flux

 

[Alexa]

Rob Zombie - The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy
Poppy - Flux

One of the best Zombie albums to date, and I have been liking Poppy's change in musical stylings as of late

 

[Hoss]

Agreed with both of you on Rob Zombie and Poppy.

 

[Y2Jayne]

Fear Factory - Aggression Continuum

Rob Zombie - The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy

Poppy - Flux

Adding
Volbeat - Servant of the Mind

 

[OMB]

 

[Jimmy King]

Few of my favorites.

Japanese Breakfast - “Jubilee”
St. Vincent - “Daddy’s Home”
Pom Pom Squad - “Death of a Cheerleader”
girl in red - “if i could make it go quiet”
Halsey - “If I Cant Have Love, I Want Power”
Twenty One Pilots - “Scaled & Icy”
Olivia Rodrigo - “SOUR”
Lorde - “Solar Power”
Bo Burnham - “Inside”
Mac Miller - “Faces” (re-released mixtape I count it)
Isiah Rashad - “The House Is Burning”
Tyler, The Creator - “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST”

 

[Hoss]

Time for a few more.

LP! - JPEGMAFIA

Peggy is probably the most musically frenzied rap artist who is actually still enjoyable to listen to. Definitely someone worth checking out, even if hip hop isn't your lane, because his music covers a lot of ground sonically.

Spoiler

Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B - Westside Gunn

Westside Gunn is the face of the Buffalo-based group Griselda Records, who are known for being the grimy New York underground style back to the mainstream. He is also a huge wrestling fan, so you get a lot of samples and references to wrestling, which is always great.

Spoiler

La Maquina - Conway The Machine

Another offering from Griselda Records. While Westside Gunn's style is very in-your-face and blustering, Conway is more a rapper's rapper. His songs are very bar-heavy and focused on the technical aspects of rap, though he is also not short on machismo.

Spoiler

Donda - Kanye West

My all-time favorite rapper came back with a long ass album this year. It's mostly gospel or gospel adjacent, but despite the fact I'm not religious, I still find it to be a really solid piece of work. The biggest pitfall of the album is that is just so goddamn long.

Spoiler

shut the fuck up talking to me - Zack Fox

Basically the opposite of Donda. Zack Fox is more of a comedian than artist, but that actually serves as an advantage to him. It's hard for musicians to make funny music, I find. It's usually really corny to me. With Zack Fox, he is able to make songs that actually sound very good, and are also funny as fuck, and it doesn't feel like he's trying too hard. Plus the album is like 25 minutes long so I appreciate that.

Spoiler