Ranking albums is so much harder than singles. Ultimately I can only say how much an album speaks to me -- which is often quite mercurial. So here are 50 albums from 2021 that I found wonderful from top to bottom. My list is ordered, but otherwise presented without commentary.
50. Motorists Surrounded (Bobo Integral)
49. Pom Pom Squad Death of a Cheerleader (City Slang)
48. The Peppermint Kicks The Peppermint Kicks (Rum Bar Records)
47. Dave Hause Blood Harmony (Soundly Music)
46. Spearmint Holland Park (Wiaiwya)
45. Turnstile Glow On (Roadrunner)
44. Har Mar Superstar Roseville (Love OnLine)
43. Chubby and the Gang The Mutt's Nuts (Partisan Records)
42. Danko Jones Power Trio (Sonic Unyon)
41. Boyracer Assuaged (Emotional Response)
40. Dany Laj and The Looks Ten Easy Pieces (We are Busy Bodies / Rum Bar Records)
39. Mogwai As the Love Continues (Temporary Residence)
38. Dan Jones and The Squids Serve Without Delay (self-released)
37. Descendents 9th & Walnut (Epitaph)
36. Cheekface Emphatically No. (New Professor Records)
35. The Connells Steadman's Wake (Black Park)
34. Chime School Chime School (Slumberland)
33. The Orange Peels Celebrate the Moments of Your Life (self-released)
32. Nick Frater Earworms (Big Stir Records)
31. Dan Vapid And The Cheats Escape Velocity (self-released)
30. Snapped Ankles Forest of Your Problems (The Leaf Label)
29. Fightmilk Contender (Reckless Yes)
28. Makthaverskan For Allting (Run for Cover Records)
27. Killer Hearts Skintight Electric (Speghetty Town)
26. Teenage Bottlerocket Sick Sesh! (Fat Wreck Chords)
25. Brad Marino Looking For Trouble (Spaghetty Town)
24. The Reds, Pinks & Purples Uncommon Weather (Slumberland)
23. Geoff Palmer Charts & Graphs (Rum Bar Records / Stardumb Records)
22. Hurry Fake Ideas (Lame-O Records)
21. Western Threads Cowboys In Montmartre (self-released)
20. Tommy Ray! Handful of Hits (Beluga Music)
19. Damien Jurado The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania (Maraqopa Records)
18. Amyl and The Sniffers Comfort To Me (B2B Records)
17. Modesty Blaise The Modesty Blaise (From Lo-Fi to Disco!)
16. Death By Unga Bunga Heavy Male Insecurity (Jansen Records)
15. Lucy Dacus Home Video (Matador Records)
14. The Hold Steady Open Door Policy (Positive Jams)
13. Art d'Ecco In Standard Definition (Paper Bag Records)
12. Dry Cleaning New Long Leg (4AD)
11. Ducks Ltd. Modern Fiction (Car Park)
10. Massage Still Life (Mt. St. Mnt. / Bobo Integral / Tear Jerk)
9. Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (Fika)
8. Quivers Golden Doubt (Ba Da Bing)
7. Brent Windler New Morning Howl (self-released)
6. Early Riser Vocations (A-F Records)
5. Swansea Sound Live at the Rum Puncheon (HHBTM)
4. The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness Songs from Another Life (Bobo Integral)
3. The Courettes Back in Mono (Damaged Goods)
2. Arab Strap As Days Get Dark (Rock Action)
1. The Exbats Now Where Were We (Goner Records)
And that's it. This year I added 392 releases to my library (blowing away last year's previous high of 304). However only 124 of those were full-length 2021 releases eligible for this list. Down from 201 last year. More singles and EPs? More back catalog stuff? More data mining than I'm willing to do right now.
For a run down of my favorite songs of 2021 visit Top Songs of 2021.