25 Favorite/Best Albums of 2021

Here's a list of my favorite (and therefor the best) albums of 2021.

I listened to 60 new releases this year. I revisited like 30 of them. I'm getting tired of this crap. Did I miss an album you like? Do I need to listen to your favorite album again to totally understand its greatness? Welp. Sorry. I've got 25 albums for you right here. You first. 

I'm gonna share 3 honorable mentions.

+  Japanese Breakfast  Jubilee

+  Silk Sonic  An Evening with Silk Sonic

+  Squid  Bright Green Field

Just thought I should share those because there's not really a big gap between how much I enjoy those versus the picks at the bottom section of this list. 

Here's the list!

25  Armand Hammer & The Alchemist  HARAM

The Alchemist has been busy working with rap's underground circle, and this his probably the most ethereal production we get from him.

24  JPEGMAFIA  LP! 

Another impressive (and challenging) palette of sideways hip-hop sounds from Peggy.

23  KA  A Martyr's Reward

For better or for worse, one of the best rappers of the last decade sounds like he's getting old.

22  Clairo  Sling 

This sounds like Elliott Smith on multiple levels. 

21  black midi  Cavalvade

A mature rock band testing their technical skills, while also kinda testing the listener.  

20  Feu! Chatterton  Palais d'argile

This sounds like something Radiohead would have released somewhere between Hail to the Theif and In Rainbows, mind you, this is freaking 70 minutes long and their singer is no Thom Yorke.

19  illuminati hotties  Let Me Do One More 

Everything about this album exudes the joy of summer.

18  Spellling  The Turning Wheel

Spellling tries turning Kate Bush's early work into something more flashy and grandiose, and I must admit, it's a lot to take in.  

17  Yola  Stand for Myself

I don't know much about the country soul genre, but this will fill that void in your life.

Some might say this was a bad year for new music, but I'm pretty optimistic about how fondly we will look back on this next section of albums. And by "we," I'm talking about me.

16  Iceage  Seek Shelter

Iceage showed hints of Rolling Stones influence on Beyondless, but they successfully immerse themselves in it for Seek Shelter.

15  The Weather Station  Ignorance 

Tamara Lindeman carefully balances her pop sensibilities and hefty lyrical content with a strings section that sounds amazing.

14  Jamine Sullivan  Heaux Tales 

I'm assuming a lot of critics have this ranked as high as their #1 spot, but to their credit, there really aren't any flaws on this tracklist.

13  Arooj Aftab  Vulture Prince

Some drop-dead gorgeous chamber folk music full of delicate arrangements and heavenly whispers. 

12  Navy Blue  Song of Sage: Post Panic!

Navy Blue raps a lot about death, which usually gives you a pretty high spot on a Scott list.

11  Wiki  Half God 

If Wiki's personality had a spirit animal, it would be a rat. 

10  Nick Cave & Warren Ellis  CARNAGE

This isn't the first time Nick Cave has shown us his soft side, but the lyrical imagery is more colorful than ever.

9  Tyler, the Creator  CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST

As long as we're ranking Tyler albums, I prefer this to Igor, and this might be as good as Flower Boy.

8  Black Country, New Road  For the first time

A math rock album that stays on the nonsensical side, there's a youthful energy to this I rather enjoy. 

7  Mach-Hommy  Pray For Haiti

I had never heard of this dude before, but he can rap like a mf, and I'd like to see him go into more ambitious territory in the future.

6  Boldy James & The Alchemist  Bo Jackson 

I'm aware that this looks too high, but much like how I mentioned with that Jazmine Sullivan album earlier, this duo does not make a lot of mistakes.

I'm not hesitant to call these top 5 albums really freaking good. Mind you, these are enjoyable for very "Scott" reasons, so take that for what you will. It was hard for me to pick between the top 2. But here we are!

5  Arca  KicK iii

Arca is both weird and experienced enough that technically nothing is "new ground" for her, but dang, this was probably the most futuristic production I heard all year.

4  Lingua Ignota  Sinner Get Ready

This is actually Lingua's 2nd time in my top 10, and she does so by trading in her walls of industrial noise for more elegant folk instrumentation.

3  Sloppy Jane  Madison

I kinda undersold this album to a buddy of mine by simply saying this was recorded in a cave, when I should have mentioned this is a really big cave and she's backed by a brass orchestra and it's probably the closest thing we're getting to a Bright Eyes collaboration project with The Fiery Furnaces.

2  Little Simz  Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

This is the best rap album I've heard in 3 years (maybe 4).

1  Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra  Promises 

Believe it or not, I didn't totally get this album at first because I thought the whole "London Symphony Orchestra" thing came off too sophisticated for its own good, but Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders are the real MVP's here and I can see myself still listening to this album years down the road.