Best of 2021: The AOTY Post

Fifty favourites -- half new to 2021 and half just new to me. It's what you've all been waiting for!

Dec 29, 2021

Well, it has certainly been a year. I had high hopes for what this post was going to look like — I’ve listened to an astonishing amount of music this year, a lot of it very good, and I wanted to do justice by it when putting this list together. November and December, though, were rough, and I’ve had to rein in my ambitions accordingly. So we’ll be doing something simpler — two lists (one new, one old) of 25 albums each. No blurbs, though I’ll try to at least give some indication of genre (as ever, I’m mediocre at applying genre labels). I’m listing them alphabetically by artist rather than ranking them, but I’ll indicate my particular favourites; if you can only listen to a few things off this list, those are the ones to start with.

Broad Observations

Like I said, I’ve listened to a lot this year — I think around 510-520 albums, all told? Unsurprisingly, given that quantity, there was a lot of genre exploration, but as I began to put this list together I definitely saw patterns to what stayed with me. Some of these align with the listening habits I’ve had for years — you’ll see a lot of pop music here, a lot of folk, a fair showing from indie singer-songwriters. There’s new habits too, though. In particular, this year I began to cultivate an appreciation for jazz (I’ve never disliked it, but nor have I really spent significant time exploring it) and soul, and I dipped my toe into the waters of experimental and avant-garde work. These are things I’m hoping to take with me going forward; there’s so much cool music out there, and I know I’ve only begun to scratch the surface.

Without further ado, here are the lists. Twenty-five albums from this year. Twenty-five albums I’ve never listened through before now (though several have songs I — and you — most definitely know well). And as a final bonus, five EPs that might have been on the list had I not decided to rule them out just to make the task more manageable.

It’s been a strange year. Good in some ways, bad in a lot of others. But music has been a major refuge for me, and hopefully some of what I found can be that for you as well.

Doric Column

Best of 2021: The AOTY Post

Fifty favourites -- half new to 2021 and half just new to me. It's what you've all been waiting for!

Broad Observations

List the First: 2021 Releases

List the Second: New Discoveries

Bonus List: Five EPs Worth Your Time

Ready for more?