Take What You Want: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2021

The Top 50 Albums of 2021

1. Kanye West- Donda

My review.

2. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

My review.

3. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

4. Molly Herron- Through Lines

My review.

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes with Attachments

My review.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

7. The Metropolitan Opera- Philip Glass’ Akhnaten

8. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

9. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

My podcast analysis.

10. Lise Davidsen- Beethoven Wagner Verdi

My review.

11. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

My review.

12. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

13. St. Vincent- Daddy's Home

14. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

15. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

16. Turnstile- Glow On

My podcast analysis.

17. Marianne Faithful and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

18. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

My podcast analysis.

19. Benoît Delbecq- The Weight of Light

My review.

20. Summer Walker- Still Over It

21. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

22. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine 

23. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

24. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky 

My review.

25. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

26. Max Richter- Exiles

27. Chris Thile- Laysongs

28. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

29. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

30. Migos- Culture III

31. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works

32. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

33. Morgan Wallen- Dangerous: The Double Album

34. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

35. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

36. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

37. Yola- Stand For Myself

38. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

39. Karol G- KG01516

My podcast analysis.

40. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

41. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

My podcast analysis.

42. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

43. Dopolarians- The Bond

My review.

44. Sara Serpa- Intimate Strangers

45. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire

My review.

46. Chynna- Drug Opera

47. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

48. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

49. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

My review.

50. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

The Top 25 EPs of 2021

1. Benny the Butcher- The Plugs I Met 2

My podcast analysis.

2. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

3. Vince Staples- Vince Staples

4. Lyle Mays- Eberhard

5. The Alchemist- This Thing of Ours

6. Aida Cuevas- Antología de la Música Ranchera, Vol. 2

7. F*cked Up- Year of the Horse (four installments)

8. Rachika Nayar- Fragments

9. Wanda Jackson- Encore

10. Burial- Shock Power of Love


11. Los Dos Carnales- Corrido Pa’ la Historia

12. Benny the Butcher- Pyrex Picasso

13. Bummer- Dead Horse

14. Dare- Against All Odds

15. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Sincerely, Kentrell

16. Benjamin Mørk and Arve Henriksen- The Valleys

17. Rudimentary Peni- Great War

18. Portrayal of Guilt- We Are Always Alone

19. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir- Kom Vinur

20. Gatecreeper- An Unexpected Reality


21. Melvin Gibbs- 4 +1 Equals 5 for May 25

22. A Place to Bury Strangers- Hologram

23. Ryoji Ikeda- EP

24. Charlie Hunter- Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar

25. Rosie Lowe and Duval Timothy- Son

The Top 25 Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings

My review.

2. John Coltrane- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

3. Sun Ra- Lanquidity (Definitive Edition)

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- B-Sides & Rarities, Part II

5. Bob Dylan- Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16, 1980-1985

6. Nubya Garcia- Source ⧺ We Move

7. Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra- Kôrôlén

8. Alice Coltrane- Kirtan: Turiya Sings

9. Various- The Boys From Nairobi: 80s Benga & Rumba

10. The Beatles- Let It Be (Super Deluxe)

11. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

12. Lee Morgan- The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

My review.

13. Julius Hemphill- The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 1977-2007

14. The Beach Boys- Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971

15. Johnny Cash- Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968

16. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Winterwood Revealed: Live Vipers & Studio Doves

17. Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band- Tezeta

18. J Dilla- Welcome 2 Detroit: The 20th Anniversary Edition

19. Prince- Welcome 2 America

20. PJ Harvey- Is This Desire?: Demos


21. Dyke & The Blazers- I Got a Message Hollywood: 1968-1970

My review.

22. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album

23. Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Way Down in the Rust Bucket

24. The Weeknd- The Highlights

25. The Rolling Stones- Tattoo You: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

Links to 16 previous annual There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.