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Albums 2021 - Top Ten

Another tough year year done and gone.  At least we had some good albums to get us through.  These are my top ten favorite albums of 2021, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . .


Blackberry Smoke:  You Hear Georgia  (3 Legged - 5/28/21)



Atlanta country-rockers Blackberry Smoke returned in 2021 with their seventh studio album and a few guests in tow - underground country legend Jamey Johnson and Allman Brothers Band guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes.  A backyard barbecue and roadtrip classic in the making, You Hear Georgia was a constant for me this summer.


 


Vincent Neil Emerson:  Vincent Neil Emerson  (La Honda - 6/25/21)



Following an excellent debut in 2019, East Texas native Vincent Neil Emerson leveled up this year.  Produced by Rodney Crowell, Emerson’s eponymously titled sophomore outing headed in a more introspective direction, covering the artist’s personal struggle with depression, his father’s suicide, and his own Native American heritage. 


 


Failure:  Wild Type Droid  (Failure - 12/3/21)



Widely ignored during their initial 90’s run, LA alternative rockers Failure developed a cult following in subsequent years and reunited to well-deserved fanfare in 2015.  This marks the band’s third self-produced album since relaunching and, with its moody lyricism and signature drop-tuned bass guitar, is another comeback winner.


 


Charles Wesley Godwin:  How The Mighty Fall  (Charles Wesley Godwin- 11/5/21)



West Virginian Charles Wesley Godwin released my favorite album of 2019 - the epic Seneca Creek.  Returning in 2021 with a highly-anticipated sophomore effort, How The Mighty Fall is a collection of pastoral vignettes and tales of a hardscrabble Appalachian life, peppered with a few murder ballads for good measure.  Once again, essential.


 


Mastodon:  Hushed & Grim  (Reprise - 10/29/21)



Metal titans Mastodon returned this year with their eighth studio album. Known for their sprawling concept albums, surprisingly this one is their first double-disc. Despite its lengthy runtime, with its breakneck rippers, evocative ballads, and exotic detours, there’s no fat to trim. In a catalogue of certified classics, Hushed & Grim is among their best.


 


Michigan Rattlers:  That Kind of Life  (Massasauga - 5/19/21)



I came upon the Michigan Rattlers by chance in 2018 with their debut, Evergreen. With heaps of midwestern heart and sincerity, it became a perennial favorite. Whereas that debut focused on physical locality and personal journeys both literal and metaphorical, this one simplifies its narrative while incorporating some heavy Springsteen influence.


 


Mike & The Moonpies:  One To Grow On  (Prairie Rose - 8/10/21)



This Texas honky-tonk outfit might be the hardest working band in country music, delivering their fourth studio album in three years. Their latest, arguably the band’s finest so far, upped the ante with poignant lyricism, soaring vocals, and increasingly agile instrumentation - that steel-guitar, oh my. Another constant for me in 2021.


 


Royal Blood:  Typhoons  (Warner - 4/30/21)



This British two-piece (bass-guitar and drums) continued to broaden their sound with their third studio album. Entirely self-produced, save for input from Queens of the Stone Ages’s Josh Homme and Paul Epworth, Typhoons blended infectious pop and dance floor energy with their minimal yet colossal stadium-rock template.


 


Sturgill Simpson:  The Ballad of Dood & Juanita  (High Top Mountain - 8/20/21)



Apparently, this is Simpson’s final solo album. He’s done country, bluegrass, funk, r&b, and rock - this time it’s a cinematic revenge narrative set in the late 1800’s, loosely based on his own grandparents - but not really. Backed by his band, the Hillbilly Avengers, this is an odd duck in Simpson’s repertoire but possibly his most memorable.


 


Billy Strings:  Renewal  (Rounder - 9/24/21)



Stealing some momentum from acclaimed compatriots Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers, progressive bluegrass phenom Billy Strings dropped his third solo effort in 2021. With impossibly nimble guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, this one’s surely beloved by erudite NPR listeners and backwoods ginseng farmers alike - Renewal is a milestone.





2021 Runners Up & Honorable Mention here!

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