The time has come for me to spend a frankly absurd amount of time agonising about not only which albums are worthy of TWP’s acclaim, but exactly where in the table of acclaim said albums should lie. It’s been a hand-wringingly tense experience, but we are finally here. Thank fuck for that.
Of course, the enormous elephant in the room is Traumprinz, or DJ Irini to be more specific. A couple of months back the anonymous producer posted a 3 hour set comprising brand new material on the Planet Uterus Soundcloud. Not quite a mix, definitely not a full album, it doesn’t really qualify for this list. And literally as I was writing this up today they posted another four separate sets of music that so far is amongst the most extraordinary stuff I’ve heard in this or any other year. Sufficed to say, if there had been anything approaching a proper ‘album’ from all these various drops, it would have almost certainly topped this list.
Regardless, once again it’s been yet another incredible year for music, and more specifically the album: a year of highs and lows; of huge artists underdelivering; of previously unknown artists completely blowing me away. Music continues to give me more joy than pretty much anything in my life, and I am continually grateful for its constant presence.
Here, then, are TPW’s picks for the very best albums of 2021.
40. Mint Julep – In A Deep and Dreamless Sleep
39. Medhane – Amethyst of Morning
38. Ora The Molecule – Human Safari
37. Anaiis – this is no longer a dream
36. The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
35. Carmen Winstead – Acetantina
34. Clark – Playground in a Lake
33. John Moods – So Sweet So Nice
32. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
31. Claire Rousay – a softer focus
30. Dawn Richard – Second Line
29. KMRU – Logue
28. JPEGMAFIA – LP!
27. Caro – Heartbeats/Heartbreaks
26. Andy Stott – Never the Right Time
25. Wildhart – His Arrows Won’t Hit Us
24. Ngaiire – 3
23. Paper Dollhouse – Claiming the Sapphire for Liquid Return
22. Grouper – Shade
21. Rochelle Jordan – Play With The Changes
20. Erika de Cassier – Sensational
19. Tirzah – Colourgrade
18. Valentino Mora – Underwater
17. Anna B Savage – A Common Turn
16. HTRK – Rhinestones
15. Corrina Repp – Island
14. Helado Negro – Far In
13. Shirley Collins – Crowlink
12. Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine – A Beginner’s Mind
11. MPU101 – MPU101
10. TIBSLC – Delusive Tongue Shifts
09. Cosha – Mt. Pleasant
08. Nation of Language – A Way Forward
07. The Antlers – Green To Gold
06. Kas – Like Sunlit Threads
05. Dean Blunt – Black Metal 2
04. The Weather Station – Ignorance
03. Mariah The Scientist – RY RY WORLD
02. Low – HEY WHAT
01. serpentwithfeet – DEACON
The Predatory Wasp 