The 20 best albums of 2021 – The A.V. Club

Clockwise from top left: Brendan Yates of Turnstile (Photo: Getty Images), Olivia Rodrigo (Photo: Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images), Jazmine Sullivan (Photo: Valeska Thomas), Tyler, The Creator (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images), Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast (Photo: Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)Graphic: Natalie Peeples

Any best-of list is by definition incomplete: Theres always a great record that got overlooked, an abundance of riches that simply didnt fit into the limited numbers of spaces available, a genre whose strengths werent properly appreciated. But even taking all of that into account, its pretty clear that this year created a hunger in many people for the addictive pleasures of pop music. Popand often mainstream pop, at thattakes up more space on this years list of the 20 best albums than it normally would. Theres plenty of rap, indie rock, punk, soul, and more, but theres a clear dominance by that most populist of genres.

And honestly? Were not the least bit surprised. 2020 was a shitshow, to put it mildly, and 2021 has only partially recouped a sense of stability in this world. During such trying times, its only natural that our predilections might gravitate toward music that comforts above all else, that vibrates with the familiar frequencies of easy pleasures and offers a balm of simple melodies and rhythms. (And heyfor those who found the past 20 months just made them want to scream, weve also got The Armed.)

But whether youre looking for a new artist to fall in love with or checking to see if your own favorites made the list, the following are the albums that found the most common ground among the 11 critics who contributed to this years A.V. Club list. (If you are outraged that something isnt on here, it was definitely at number 21.) There was no clear victor who broke away from the pack this year; the top five albums were all within spitting distance of one another. And all of these records made us fall in love with the immediate power of music all over again.

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The 20 best albums of 2021 - The A.V. Club