Hey! How are you? I hope you’re doing well, and I hope your holidays have been full of cheer. New Year’s Eve is tomorrow, so I hope you’ve got some resolutions for the year ahead!
Anyway, on to some music. This one’s pretty self-explanatory, I think! I’ve been talking about my favorite albums all year, and it’s finally time to list them all out.
Because I’ve had this newsletter, and because I’ve had more free time, I think this is the most new music I’ve listened to in a calendar year. That’s exciting and fun, and I’ve had a great time doing it.
I’m gonna start with some honorable mentions, and then we’ll count down 10 to 1, Youtube Top 10 list style. Let’s do it. Each linked video at the start of every entry is my favorite song from the album, so you can listen to the stuff I’ve enjoyed the most this year.
Honorable Mentions -
15. I Know I’m Funny haha - Faye Webster
“I Know I’m Funny haha” excels in a million ways, but Webster’s genre-bending ability sticks out above it all. Despite the relaxed pace of all 11 tracks, Webster manages to touch on R&B, soul, indie, and even some country influences in a 40-minute runtime.
Webster is also a lyrical standout, and the title track, which is linked above, shows that in spades. As does “A Dream With a Baseball Player,” a really fun, soulful track about her crush on Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr, someone she’s never met.
Webster is from Atlanta, and the Braves won the World Series this year, so do with this information what you will. Webster told ESPN in July that the Braves “consumed her life this year,” which I think is relatable in a sense.
She also makes a reference to fellow Atlanta native Rich Homie Quan in “Kind Of.” I think it’s neat when people own and love where they’re from.
Webster’s gentle vocal tone does a good job of disguising some of the tragedy intertwined in her lyrics, and it also highlights when she’s trying to keep it light.
14. Sling - Clairo
I wrote about this album back in October, so I’ll give you the Sparknotes version of that review. Would be cool if you read the whole thing, though! I think it turned out good, and a bunch of Clairo stan Twitter accounts retweeted it because they thought I was a verified music journalist.
I love “Sling” because it knows its roots - Joni Mitchell, Elliot Smith, Stevie Nicks. It sounds like a long trip into the woods that one would take to find themselves, scored by singer-songwriter icons.
By the time she’s done making music, Clairo could be on the same tier as those listed above. She’s only 23, and she’s wise beyond her years already, lyrically and musically. I will never get sick of the music she makes.
13. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert - Little Simz
This is another album I took some time to write about, a trend you will continue to see. Again, we’ll get a short summary of my words in the article that I linked.
“Introvert” is a perfect mix of everything I love in a hip-hop album. Smooth instrumentals with a wide variety of influences, varied and interesting flows and interesting, poignant lyrics.
Little Simz has the air of superiority that rappers need to have to survive in an industry driven by confidence, but she has an extra layer in her tone and lyrics that makes her seem like she knows something that other rappers don’t.
She very quickly climbed up my list of favorite rappers as I listened to this album over and over again, and she’ll finish out the year in a very high spot.
12. Mood Valiant - Hiatus Kaiyote
Oh, hey, I wrote about this one too.
There’s some real instrumental genius on this album, along with some really excellent mixing and beautiful vocal harmonies.
Frontwoman Nai Palm sings and plays lead guitar at the same time, which always gains some extra points in my book. It’s really freaking hard.
This album is also got some love from the GRAMMYs, and I’m excited to see if Hiatus Kaiyote can bring home an award, because I’ve really enjoyed most of the work they’ve done for the past near-decade.
11. For the first time - Black Country, New Road
The new generation of rock music is headed one of two ways. One way, which is basically the equivalent of the Matrix’s Blue Pill, is a more radio-friendly direction - indie rock, that kind of stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that stuff. In fact, I really love it.
But if you wanna take the Red Pill, you’re headed in the direction of Black Country, New Road and bands like black midi. Jagged, confusing, at times upsetting, but challenging and interesting.
“For the first time” is headlined by the instrumental choices it makes. It’s dissonant and angry, and manages to use traditional rock instrumentation to make untraditional rock sounds.
There’s also some nontraditional instrumentation - lots of strings and saxophone, that work to the album’s credit.
My favorite thing about “For the first time” is that no matter how angry the music gets or how brutal the lyrics can be, there’s always moments of levity to give you a chance to breathe.
Alright, honorable mentions over. Top 10 time.
10. Jubilee - Japanese Breakfast
Japanese Breakfast did more than just help define popular music this year. She wrote a book, she wrote a video game score, and she wrote one of the 10 best albums of the year.
“Jubilee” has everything an indie pop record needs, and more. Its bass lines, synth and harmonized choruses are familiar, but perfected. It is also, as Michelle Zauner would repeatedly say when promoting the album, her first celebration of joy after losing her mother to cancer in 2014.
The joy doesn’t extend to the whole album. The second half is heart-wrenching at times, folksy and depressing at others, but the whole thing is artful and beautiful throughout.
Female singer-songwriters have defined indie music in the past two years, and they’re not going away. We’re very lucky that they’re not, because artists like Japanese Breakfast, the members of boygenius, Clairo, Arlo Parks, Faye Webster, Snail Mail, and countless others will continue to bring us genius albums like this one, and like, four more later in this list.
9. Little Oblivions - Julien Baker
This album is painful. It’s hard to listen to, but not in the same way an album like “For the first time” is. It challenges you emotionally rather than musically, makes you reconsider the choices you’ve made, and brings you to tears. I love it.
Baker plays most of the instruments on this album herself, and I don’t know how she stood to listen to these tracks over and over while tracking different instruments. If I worked on a record like this, I would cry out about 90% of the water in my body.
Julien Baker is not only a talented instrumentalist, but a wonderful singer. She has such a range of different voices, and that range is on display on “Little Oblivions.” A song like “Crying Wolf” lets her belt in a more Adele-esque setting, while a song like “Favor” has her in a more reserved tone, while the beauty comes in the harmonies.
“Little Oblivions” is gut-wrenching and visceral, while still maintaining a delicate instrumental beauty. It rules.
8. Collapsed in Sunbeams - Arlo Parks
I could gush about this album for pages and pages, but I’ll spare you, since this is already like five pages long on my Google Docs.
Arlo Parks is amazing. She is TWENTY. This is a DEBUT ALBUM.
Everything she writes fits her voice perfectly. Everything she writes is also incredibly catchy, soulful, lush and layered. The instrumental layers are really what makes this album stand out to me.
Every bass line is carefully thought out, there’s at least two synth parts on every track, the guitar is smooth and occasionally psychedelic, and it all adds up to make a beautiful set of songs that I’ll be listening to for a very long time.
The amount of growth potential for Parks is outrageous as well. Her next project is going to be even better than this, and that’s scary to think about. She’ll achieve musical domination by 25 at this rate.
7. Home Video - Lucy Dacus
There’s just something about songwriters with sad and religious upbringings. Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Sufjan Stevens and others spent the year touching on the faith that influenced their lives, to the benefit of the listener.
The big difference between Dacus and the rest is that she takes the majority of her album to really mull on how it changed her. Because of this, “Home Video” is lyrically brilliant and brutal.
Even when she’s not taking on her faith directly, her lyrics and somber vocal tone still bring the listener to tears. “Thumbs” is a great, tragic example of the picture an artist can paint in a short amount of time.
Of the three boygenius-adjacent records released during the pandemic- “Punisher,” “Home Video,” and “Little Oblivions,” “Punisher” remains my favorite. But before I heard “Home Video,” I didn’t think any album from those three would come close.
“Triple Dog Dare” is another favorite of mine. It illustrates the perceived innocence of young queer love from the eyes of those in it, and the perceived evil from those outside of it. Dacus, as I mentioned, is masterful at painting pictures with her lyrics.
While it isn’t as musically complex as “Little Oblivions,” the beauty in “Home Video” is the insights that lie within.
6. Call Me If You Get Lost - Tyler, The Creator
It was REALLY HARD to pick my favorite song from this album, but YB better + ratio + you fell off.
Tyler is special. We’ve known this for a long time. I don’t know how much more he can do before he enters into the rap Mt. Rushmore discussion. He needs like, two to three more albums like CMIYGL to make that happen, I think.
While Tyler is once again masterful as a producer, rapper, and songwriter, the features really shine through on this one, more than on his other projects. DJ Drama, NBA YoungBoy, Lil Wayne, DAISY WORLD, Lil Uzi, Pharrell, Domo Genesis, and others make this album what it is.
“Call Me If You Get Lost” continues Tyler’s run as a masterful storyteller and the king of aesthetics. His music videos are beautifully shot, as always.
I really like the direction he took with this album, especially after “IGOR” seemed like he was leaving his rap-focused albums behind. I love his singing voice and the work he’s done with it, but I really did love hearing him return to his rap roots throughout this album.
Tyler’s love affair with his friend’s girlfriend is well-documented throughout this album, encapsulated perfectly within one line on “MASSA” - “Everyone I ever loved had to be loved in the shadows.”
After Tyler’s discussions of love and sexuality on “Flower Boy” and “IGOR,” that line holds more weight than most.
Speaking of his two previous records, I think “Call Me If You Get Lost” is a great best of both worlds kind of situation. It combines the rap sensibilities of “Flower Boy,” the instrumental focus of “IGOR,” and the emotional openness and storytelling of the two.
I wrote about Tyler in June, before this album’s release, and how his shift in style and lyrical content shows how he’s found peace in certain parts of his life. After the release of CMIYGL, this holds true, and I’m quite happy that it does.
Tyler will go down in history as one of the best rappers of all time, and he’s also done a great job creating a brand and business. I love him, his music, and what he’s done with himself lately. Now, does anyone have a few hundred bucks to drop on some luggage?
5. SKA DREAM - Jeff Rosenstock
Ska is BACK. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one.
Just kidding, I will. Jeff Rosenstock rules. He’s the best lyricist in punk music right now, and using his excellently-crafted album “NO DREAM” as the template for a ska album is so funny, and something only he could pull off.
“NO DREAM” is catchy, anthemic, and one of the best punk albums of the new millennium. Somehow, every single song, with the exception of maybe “Ohio Turnpike,” work better as ska songs.
I saw Jeff live a couple of weeks ago, and it reminded me just how fantastic this album is. It doesn’t take itself seriously, but still has something to say.
“SKrAm,” which is the song linked above, is one of my favorite songs ever, especially lyrically. It’s all about wanting to run and hide from people who think they know better than you, because they won the genetic lottery and got a leg up.
There’s also a rap break with an AJJ reference, which is tight. (Sean Bonette of AJJ, PUP, Mike Park of Asian Man Records, Chris Farren, and other favorites of mine feature on this album, which is even tighter.)
It’s clever, fun, and something I could listen to over and over and never get sick of it. Jeff is a veteran of both ska and punk, and he manages to infuse the two in a perfect marriage.
I almost had the audacity to put this album at #1, but there’s just a few albums I like just a bit more.
4. Smiling With No Teeth - Genesis Owusu
I wrote about this one, as well as “SKA DREAM,” “CMIYGL,” and “Mood Valiant” in my “best of the first half” newsletter. I still love it just as much, six months later.
The variety of influences, from Death Grips to classic funk to King Krule and other indie/shoegaze influences make this one of the most entertaining and the most re-listenable album this year. You can find something new to like every single time.
“Don’t Need You” is probably in the top five songs I heard this year - it’s catchy as hell, well-written, and has some of that previously-noted variety all within the confines of one song.
Another notable thing that I didn’t mention back in June is that this is done almost exclusively by him. There aren’t a lot of other artists (although there are a bevy of producers) featured on these tracks - this is Genesis doing this himself.
Rolling Stone called this album’s release “the making of a music giant,” and I couldn’t agree more. Five years and three albums from now, I will be taking my Genesis-related victory lap.
3. Juno - Remi Wolf
This is the album I listened to the most this year, for sure. Remi Wolf is one of the most talented singers on the planet. I’m convinced she could hit notes that only dogs can hear.
I initially had this album lower in the top 10, but I listened to it over and over and over, saw her perform live, and really got to take in pretty much every aspect of this album’s production.
It has layers upon layers, with every musical choice seeming intentional. It’s extremely bright, but the funk sensibilities and layered vocals are attempting to distract you from the fact that some of the lyrics are impossibly sad. Like, dealing with addiction sad.
So much of the time, Wolf’s insight is expertly hidden in the danceability of any given track, which means the album gets better on consecutive listens.
In the back half of the album, just when you think things might drop in quality a bit, she hits you with “Sexy Villain,” an amazing performance with fun and clever lyrics.
“Juno” is underrated, as is Remi Wolf. That’s gonna change really soon.
2. LP! - JPEGMAFIA
I can’t really say much more about JPEGMAFIA that hasn’t been said. He’s more than likely the best producer in the game at this very moment, his flow is nearly unmatched, he’s probably the closest thing we have to a true musical genius, and he’s operating right now, at this very second. We’re so lucky.
The sad thing is, due to some complications getting samples cleared, you probably didn’t even hear this album as it was intended to be heard. Someone just discovering JPEGMAFIA won’t actively seek out the offline version to hear songs like “HAZARD DUTY PAY!”
It’s ironic that other record companies are attempting to hold him back, because Peggy will never actually get held back. He’s going to give every track everything he’s got, and “LP!” shows that. Songs like “BALD!” and “CUTIE PIE!” will be regarded as rap classics in a decade.
Peggy has been making works of art for a while, and it’s good to see him finally get his flowers from major outlets for “LP!” He’s deserved it for such a long time.
1. By The Time I Get To Phoenix - Injury Reserve
RIP Groggs.
You've made so cool picks, Vaughan. It was so nice to discover new artists for me, like Faye Webster or Julien Baker. I agree that Arlo Parks is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Her "Super Sad Generation" and "Hurt" were stuck on repeat on my headphones in 2020. This list of yours totally made my day 🔥
Great list! Lots of new (to me) stuff to dig through, so thank you for that.
I mentioned it when you wrote about it, but "Jubilee" is just fantastic all the way through. "Be Sweet" likely gets my nod as the best song of 2021. Right track, right time, etc.
I loved "WUSYANAME" when I first heard it. It reminded me of high school, and not being able to place the sample was driving me nuts until I looked it up and saw it was an H-town song. Then everything made sense.