My Favorite Albums of 2021

Music is good company for me—like I imagine it is for most people. I am interested mostly in full albums and only occasionally put on separate singles or mixes. Maybe that’s weird. Maybe it’s not. Who knows/cares, but anyhow, I listen to a lot of albums. I appreciate the stories they tell. The ways these balance tone and emotion. The journeys they take us on. Enough of my rambling. Here are my favorites released in 2021:

12. Sturgill Simpson’s The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

11. Valerie June’s The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers

10. Adia Victoria’s A Southern Gothic

9. Pink Sweat$’s Pink Planet

8. The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore

7. Allison Russell’s Outside Child

6. Joy Oladokun’s in defense of my own happiness

5. Summer Walker’s Still Over It

4. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’s Raise the Roof

3. Leon Bridges’ Gold-Diggers Sound

2. Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall’s The Marfa Tapes

1. Sierra Ferrell’s Long Time Coming