S3 Finale: Top 10 Albums of 2021

 Welcome back to Thrak Attack, what's your adventure? The pandemic hit a lot of people a lot of different ways and I knew this year would bring a lot of great music! But I did not expect this year to be this good of a year for music! This has been the hardest list to make so far and I had to kick off some heavy hitters like Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Adele! So let's get to it! Here are the Top 10 Albums of 2021!

10. "Mountainview" by April Keez was the first album to be released in 2021 that I listened to and is still on the list. Now I am a little biased because I know April and she's a very dear friend but it does not discredit how great this album is! The songwriting and lyrics she has on this album are top notch! Her vocal prowess is top notch! and the aesthetic of the album is a perfect way to start of the year and the list! 

9. "Exodus" by DMX is the only hip hop album on this list and is one of the most important hip hop albums of all time. DMX passed away this year with the album only half completed. Hip Hop artists in all shapes and sizes came together to finish the titan's last piece of music in style. Jay-Z, Nas, Alicia Keys, and even Bono helped complete the album. Like the king he is, his loyal subjects helped create one of the finest rap albums of all time!

 

8. "Niratias" by Chevelle was one of the contenders to get kicked off the list but the more I thought about it the more it needed to stay. The rock group hasn't done much in recent years and this concept album really shone for me bringing me back to the rock genre that has been so elusive these past couple years. 

7. "Justice" by Justin Bieber is the surprise hit of the year! I went into this album expecting to hate it but it turned out to be a sophisticated and cohesive piece of art! From bangers like "Peaches" and "Holy" to the emotional gut punches like "Lonely", this album is sublime!

6. "Scaled and Icy" by Twenty One Pilots was another surprise hit of the year! As a rule of thumb, 21 Pilots are repetitive so I can't enjoy a full album of theirs without getting bored of the same sound. Fortunately this album completely changes the band's approach and includes some of the year's best songs!

 

5. "SOUR" by Olivia Rodrigo is one of the biggest albums of the year and for good reason! Her music is fun and brings the teenage angst we've been missing in modern teenage music! She knows how to write a hit and she knows how to perform after viewing her recent NRP Tiny Desk Concert!

 

4. "An Evening with Silk Sonic" by Silk Sonic is one of the most stylized album of the year and deserves to have a song titled "Fly as Me" on it. Every track on this album has merit and style with two powerhouses of the music industry Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak along with the legendary Bootsy Collins this will be an iconic album for years to come!

3. "Things Take Time, Take Time" by Courtney Barnett is the newest album by the best songwriter of the past 10 year. Change my mind! Courtney's style grows a little bit differently on this album allowing some drum tracks and a few more electronic instruments to join the fold! Seeing her perform some of the songs live were great as well and some of them were even better live! If you haven't checked out her music yet, now's a great time to jump on board!

2. "Pressure Machine" by The Killers is such an important album and is completely different than last year's album. 2020's album was a means to an end and to put out another big hit. This album is to send a message. The concept of this album is great! It uses audio recordings of people who live in small towns and addresses the issues that come with it such as bullying, domestic abuse, and the opioid crisis. 

1. "Heart & Soul" by Eric Church is the most ambitious music project of the year. 2 albums and an EP all released within the same month and recorded over the pandemic in a diner in North Carolina. The production of this album is great, the cohesiveness of this album is great, and the sheer amount of time, effort and care put into this album is great! I'm not even a country fan and I think this is the best album of the year!