2021: The Year In Music

2021 – COVID-19 vaccines are given out, and lockdown restrictions are eased. Hundreds of rioters storm the US Capitol building. A cargo ship blocks the Suez Canal for six days. The “Friends” cast reunite for a special episode. Italy beat England on penalties in the Euros final. Messi leaves Barcelona for PSG and Ronaldo re-joins Manchester United. Alec Baldwin accidentally shoots and kills Halyna Hutchins on the movie “Rust”. I forgot how turbulent this year was for news … so let’s see if the music can steer us back on course!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

The Most Streamed Songs of Each Year – Ranked

2019: The Year In Music

1973: The Year In Music

Billboard Top 100 All-Time Greatest Hits – Every Track Ranked

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Peaches (Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon)

I don’t like how obviously autotuned the vocals are. Otherwise, “Peaches” is an okay, chill song.

9 – Montero [Call Me by Your Name] (Lil Nas X)

Call me crazy, but I think “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” is one of the best songs of the decade.

That guitar riff is so slick, and the chorus is such an earworm. When Lil Nas X comes in with the impassioned vocals in the second verse, I’m completed sold.

8 – Drivers License (Olivia Rodrigo)

Olivia Rodrigo became every young girl’s favourite artist in 2021. I remember my sister playing her songs every single day …

It’s not a personal favourite, on account of it being a bit one-note, but I can’t deny that “Drivers License” has some amazing vocals.

7 – Leave The Door Open (Silk Sonic)

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak combined for Silk Sonic, one of my favourite artists / collaborative projects of recent times.

“Leave the Door Open” isn’t my favourite from the album but I can see why it was a hit. It’s luscious and it invites you to sing and bob along.

6 – Kiss Me More (Doja Cat feat. SZA)

Doja Cat might be my guilty pleasure artist. I really like “Say So”, and now I’m liking the groove of this one too.

“Kiss Me More” has a solid beat and a summery feel. The rapping I can take or leave, but otherwise it’s a fine track.

5 – Good 4 U (Olivia Rodrigo)

Another Olivia Rodrigo song – I find “Good 4 U” a bit more interesting than “Drivers License”. A bit.

The verses are cool with their bass / low-end emphasis, but the “Rock” choruses are a slight step down. It sounds a little corny.

4 – Mood (24kGoldn feat. Iann Dior)

I got my hopes up for “Mood” as it starts quite well, but it never goes anywhere. A chorus never materializes – the whole thing blends together.

3 – Blinding Lights (The Weeknd)

“Blinding Lights” was such a gigantic hit that it also topped the 2020 Billboard Charts.

As impressive as that is, that means I won’t talk about it again. It would be a bit anticlimactic if it was my favourite Billboard hit two years running …

2 – Save Your Tears (The Weeknd & Ariana Grande)

Compared to a song like “Blinding Lights”, “Save Your Tears” is painfully boring. The Ariana Grande remix adds absolutely nothing.

That being said, it’s still an okay song. The melody is standard but serves its purpose, and the production is very crisp.

1 – Levitating (Dua Lipa)

Dua Lipa was the undisputed queen of 2021. Her album “Future Nostalgia” was everywhere on radios.

“Levitating” is probably my second-favourite from the album after “Don’t Start Now”. It has a solid bassline and a catchy chorus.

FAVOURITE – “Montero [Call Me by Your Name]” (Lil Nas X)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Peaches” (Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Smokin’ Out The Window (Silk Sonic)

My favourite song from Silk Sonic’s album – it’s just so smooth and so funny.

It’s got a tongue-in-cheek humour which I adore, and when paired with the sultry RnB arrangement it becomes an instant classic.

9 – Coloratura (Coldplay)

It feels very weird having a Coldplay song be on the high-rated list beyond 2010. The fact it’s ten minutes long is ever weirder.

Fair play to the band – “Coloratura” is far more experimental and mature than I was expecting. It has a gorgeous lullaby quality, as if we’re being whisked on some sprawling fairytale. The grand finale also wraps everything up nicely. All in all, a great musical outing.

8 – Leave The Door Open (Silk Sonic)

Like The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” in 2020, Silk Sonic yet again defy the odds by having a song on both the Billboard hits and the high-rated list.

As I said before, it’s a very pleasant song which harkens back to the golden age of Soul / Motown / RnB music.

7 – Woman (Little Simz feat. Cleo Soul)

I said the biggest “Hell Yeah!” when this song started. It was a groove I could immediately fall in love with.

The rhythm sections pops off, and Little Simz’s flow won me over straight away – I already consider her one of the best Rap artists of her generation, and I’ve only listened to her twice!

6 – Narrator (Squid feat. Martha Skye Murphy)

Squid certainly know how to get weird with it.

I think I would have liked “Narrator” if it wasn’t for the vocals. It’s ambitious and the instrumentation is complex and layered.

5 – Jesus Lord (Kanye West feat. Jay Electronica)

Somehow, Kanye keeps sneaking onto these later music retrospectives. To be fair I knew that “Donda” was a decently-acclaimed album so I should’ve seen this coming.

“Jesus Lord” has a steady beat and a choral vibe. As an atheist, it’s not a song which hits me particularly hard.

4 – Sunglasses (Black Country, New Road)

“Sunglasses” is the longest song on “For The First Time”, and probably the best.

I really like Black Country, New Road’s style. They put everything on the line musically, and the result is an arduous yet memorable odyssey.

3 – I Love You. I Hate You. (Little Simz)

A bit rougher and more confrontational than some of the other Little Simz songs, but still just as groovy.

“I Love You. I Hate You.” has a furious energy throughout which I love.

2 – Come To Life (Kanye West)

When scrolling through the tracklist of “Donda”, I almost missed “Come To Life”. It’s not one of the popular songs and it comes very late on a very long album.

It’s one of those great Kanye songs where he sings from the heart. It’s pure and life-affirming with a strong piano part to back it.

1 – Introvert (Little Simz)

What a bold way to start the album.

You think it’s going to be big and brash, but then “Introvert” settles into a really captivating groove, and THEN it still keeps you on your toes throughout. Little Simz’s flow is immaculate.

BEST SONG OF 2021 – “Woman” (Little Simz feat. Cleo Soul)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Bright Green Field (Squid)

“Bright Green Field”, and Squid in general, was tough to listen to. I like what they’re doing musically, but I can’t get behind the singer’s “vocal” style.

It’s a series of songs where he screams over the top – there’s no singing to be had. I appreciate the musicianship of everyone else, but the vocals are too much for me.

4 – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (Tyler, The Creator)

“IGOR” was one of the big surprises of 2019, so my expectations were relatively high for Tyler’s follow-up “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST”.

I didn’t like it as much. Some songs like “WUSYANAME” and “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” were good and reminiscent of “IGOR”, but a lot of songs ended before I could get comfortable with them.

3 – Promises (Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra)

Now THIS was not the type of album I was expecting to find during these retrospectives.

“Promises” is a series of lush orchestral / instrumental pieces. It’s cool how they all start the same way, but some tracks were really slow and drawn-out.

2 – For The First Time (Black Country, New Road)

Y’know, as debut albums go, “For The First Time” isn’t half bad.

It’s kinda jazzy, very dramatic, and songs like “Sunglasses” and “Opus” demonstrate a musical mastery rarely seen these days. I hear there’s another great Black Country, New Road album coming up in 2022, so I look forward to that.

1 – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (Little Simz)

“Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” sounds like a modern Lauryn Hill album. Except she’s now British.

The rest of the album never quite lives up to the highs of the first four tracks (aside from “Point and Kill”), but Little Simz still does a fantastic job on every song. Normally I’m not a fan of interludes, but in this case I like how they tie together the whole album experience.

BEST ALBUM OF 2021 – “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” (Little Simz)

The public-voted top five didn’t include “Mercurial World” by Magdalena Bay or “An Evening With Silk Sonic” for some reason … oh well.

Final Thoughts

2021’s hits were surprisingly passable, but I was a little disappointed by the high-rated songs and albums. They weren’t bad by any means, but I feel that other years I’ve listened to have been stronger.

Overall Grade: C+

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!