The 100 Best Songs of 2021 (My Version)
2021 felt like a year of restlessness, at least to me. It seems like there is more attitude, desperation, and just plain weirdness in the stuff I liked this year. But still plenty of room for beauty. Also, women continue to dominate and practically take over my Top 20. As always, it’s never clear how much of that is me and how much is music at large. I’ll leave that to you to decide.
Like I’ve said in the past, there are rules to this list but not too many:
- Only one song is allowed per artist as the lead artist. That rule is becoming more important as more songs than ever seem like collaborations. You can appear more than once if you’re a featured artist or the artist remixing a track.
- Either the album or the single has to have been released in 2021. I bend this rule as liberally as I can, especially in this new world where artists often release singles for months before getting to the album. There’s too much music and it takes me a while to get to it so I fully use this rule to my advantage. That said, suddenly trending on TikTok does not qualify a song for the countdown.
One other rule specifically added for 2021:
Rerecording a song and calling it “Taylor’s Version”, even if it’s now 10 minutes long, does not make that song eligible for the list.
The ideal way to do this is to listen to the Spotify playlist here while slowly scrolling down to reveal the next song as it begins. Enjoy.
100. FaceTime with my Mom (Tonight) by Bo Burnham. No song hit closer to the truth this year.
99. Witchoo by Durand Jones & The Indications. Relentlessly groovy.
98. I’m a Dog by Sonny & The Sunsets. Turns out there’s a lot you don’t know about being a dog.
97. MLK Dr by Smino. Sounds like he’s been smoking the good stuff.
96. Place Names by Nick Waterhouse. Copying the Wall of Sound never gets old.
95. Can’t Stop the Rain by Neal Francis. Like the 70’s never ended.
94. Bury Me Not (The Dying Cowboy) by David Huckfelt (feat. David Simonett). The Top 100 always has room for cowboy ballads.
93. Trustfall by Repository & Juliette Jones. Like getting a massage during an action movie.
92. Oblivion by Royal Blood. It’s pretty obvious who is Royal Blood’s Muse.
91. Sinking Feeling by Wavves. That slightly-out-of-tune Wavves sound is back.
90. Missing Out by Syd. Like taking an escalator through space.
89. Locust Laced by Sleigh Bells. Still carrying the torch for fuzzed-out guitars.
88. Women And Wives — St. Vincent Remix by Paul McCartney. Paul should’ve added a choir of St. Vincents a long time ago.
87. FTN by BUZZ. What’s she complaining about? That bass drop slaps.
86. Country by Good Morning. This year Good Morning out War-on-Drugged The War on Drugs.
85. Sticky Thumb by Hether. In which everything reverberates infinitely.
84. Easy On Me by Adele. The Adele Industrial Complex is vast enough to even reach the Top 100.
83. Ten Feet Tall by Charlie Hickey. Can’t tell you how many problems I’ve solved with strawberry moons.
82. See You Again by RÜFÜS DU SOL. Burning Man for your ears.
81. Change by H.E.R. Democracy never bumped like this before.
80. Renegade by Big Red Machine (feat. Taylor Swift). Taylor singing over Bon Iver’s glitches is a love story, baby just say “yes”.
79. Drift Together by Jax Hollow. Wild horses couldn’t drag her away.
78. The Beachland Ballroom by IDLES. Lumbers and stomps like a drunken elephant.
77. For Leaving You by *repeat repeat. When jangle pop met emo.
76. Hometown by Sea Girls. Doing The Killers doing Springsteen.
75. Toast by Pond. Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.
74. Hard Up by The Bamboos. Even the cartoon birds are gettin’ funky.
73. Mork n Mindy by Sleaford Mods (feat. Billy Nomates). Seems grimier than the Robin Williams sitcom.
72. Kim by Tkay Maidza (with Baby Tate). Nice to meet you Kim.
71. Family Farm by The Hold Steady. Craig Finn’s motormouth now accompanied by a tidal wave of horns.
70. Like A Lady by Pom Poko. Like a pachinko machine on the fritz.
69. The Ship Song by Nell Smith & The Flaming Lips. The Flaming Lips prove their magic touch even extends to Canadian 14 year olds.
68. “Listen to Your Heart.” “No.” by Cheekface. “A giant pretzel could help you feel better” resonates.
67. Not Dead Yet by Lord Huron. He’s sounding more Elvis than ever.
66. In The Country by La Luz. Like a hot desert sun. That also shoots lasers.
65. Strut by Elohim & Big Freedia. The clerk at 7–11 did not agree that it’s my runway.
64. Ain’t Nice by Viagra Boys. For dancing with wild abandon.
63. Cooler Returns by Kiwi jr. Diff’rent Strokes.
62. Don’t Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty by yeule. If Grimes had a sensitive little sister.
61. Cuore Matto (Planet Funk Remix) by Little Tony. As Italian as Mark Ronson’s Vespa.
60. On The Wrong Side by Lindsey Buckingham. The regrets of going your own way.
59. All My Favorite Songs by Weezer. Same.
58. Step Aside by Goodbye June. If ACDC came from Nashville.
57. Thumbs by Lucy Dacus. Chilling.
56. Lights Up by Flight Facilities (feat. Channel Tres). Like riding a comet through a house party.
55. The Kiss of Venus by Dominic Fike. Like touring Pepperland high on helium.
54. hold yourself. by Tune-Yards. No one harmonizes with Tune-Yards like Tune-Yards.
53. Before The Dawn by Laura Mvula. While the credits to The Goonies roll.
52. Parking Lot by The Weather Station. Like Fleetwood Mac if Stevie was only allowed to whisper.
51. Be Sweet by Japanese Breakfast. Breezy.
50. Knock Knock by Sam Evian. Like a 70’s cop duo tracking their target through Symphony Hall.
49. Who’s That Man Walking ‘Round My Garden by The Wallflowers. Based on the vibe, I’m guessing it’s Mick Jagger.
48. Kiss Me More by Doja Cat (feat. SZA). Strong Song of the Summer vibes.
47. Holding Poison by Foo Fighters. Best Foos in decades. Don’t @ me.
46. Creator by Ora the Molecule. The staccato chanting I didn’t realize I needed.
45. I’m A Instrument by Bruiser Wolf (feat. Danny Brown). Nobody does sound like that.
44. Choices by Amyl and The Sniffers. For knowing exactly when to send the mosh pit into a frenzy.
43. Eugene by Arlo Parks. If a Radiohead bassline just sat on the porch and chilled out.
42. Magnolia Blues by Adia Victoria. There’s something ominous lurking down south.
41. I Don’t Know You Anymore by Eric Nam. When K-pop grows up.
40. Ritchie Sacramento by Mogwai. A shoegazy song with a decidedly un-shoegazy song name.
39. Bad News by Aaron Frazer. I want all my bad news delivered with that bass line.
38. Overnight by Claud. Like a slumber party confessional.
37. Hardline by Julien Baker. Like driving a car off a cliff in most spectacular fashion.
36. Hot Sass by Liz Cooper. The music delivers on the song title.
35. Habanero by Rosie Tucker. An entire story in the bite of a chili pepper.
34. Days Like These by Low. The glory of distortion.
33. Maybe You’ve Changed by Tash Sultana. Like watching yourself while floating from above.
32. I Love You, I Hate You by Little Simz. Both can be true.
31. RHODODENDRON by Hurray For The Riff Raff. The best-ever named plant finally gets the song it deserves.
30. Valentine by Snail Mail. Snail Mail brings the guitars this time.
29. Last Train Home by John Mayer. John blessed the trains down in Africa.
28. Rainforest by Noname. Like a Twitter feed of deep thoughts.
27. Low by Chet Faker. Can you dig it?
26. Skegee by JID. Cities, like people, are full of complicated history.
25. Up by Cardi B. Hot Girl Summer hasn’t ended yet for Cardi.
24. Hard Drive by Cassandra Jenkins. (Googles the ascended masters and the astral plane).
23. Lover Come Back To Me by Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force. Scat singing capable of getting you through the worst of times.
22. Serotonin by girl in red. girl in red, interrupted.
21. Chaeri by Magdalena Bay. Currently filling the Goldfrapp sized gap on the dancefloor.
20. Lost In America by Lo Village. Those raw nerves from 2020 have not healed.
19. Immune by Jensen McRae. Relationships in the time of COVID.
18. Dear Saint Cecilia by Iceage. Party music for the end times.
17. Minus Me by Alostmen (feat. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley). A shot of Ghanaian adrenaline.
16. White Dress by Lana Del Rey. Attendance is about to spike at the Men in Music Business Conference.
15. Last Day On Earth by beabadoobee. Armageddon never sounded so carefree.
14. Chaise Longue by Wet Leg. Um, I don’t think that means getting your degree.
13. Strange by Celeste. Gorgeously haunting. Hauntingly gorgeous.
12. Kill Me by Indigo De Souza. Riot Grrrls never die.
11. Meikyu by TEKE::TEKE. Like a Japanese fever dream.
10. The Hardest Cut by Spoon. Those guitar hits could knock a grown man over.
9. I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere by Jillette Johnson. Sometimes it’s time for a self-imposed lockdown.
8. 777 by Silk Sonic. The two best performers on the planet playing together? Let’s goooooo!
7. Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish. Because of the second half (duh).
6. High In The Grass by Sleater-Kinney. Things get heavy when spring hits.
5. deja vu by Olivia Rodrigo. Because her post-breakup beef is over custody of Billy Joel.
4. Solar Power by Lorde. I’m fully behind Stoner Lorde.
3. Pay Your Way In Pain by St. Vincent. St. Vincent’s freak flag keeps getting funkier.
2. MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA by illuminati hotties. The losing-your-mind anthem we‘ve earned two years into this pandemic.
- Right on Time by Brandi Carlile. The piano ballad of the year was not by Adele.
