2021 in 51 Albums

While writing an article titled “Staff Picks: Top 10 Albums of 2021”, I found it was too daunting of a task to rank each album. So, to combat this, I decided to put together a tier list of the albums that came out. As any other tier list goes, the top is the best and the bottom is the worst. The albums are not ranked from left to right. If they are on the same tier, they are equal for all intents and purposes. Happy viewing! 

S Tier: Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (Little Simz), Call Me If You Get Lost

(Tyler, the Creator), Inside (Bo Burnham)

A Tier: Donda (Kanye West), ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE (Brockhampton), fishmonger (underscores), Nurture (Porter Robinson)

B Tier: An Evening With Silk Sonic (Silk Sonic), SOUR (Oliva Rodrigo), Blue Banisters (Lana Del Rey), Happier Than Ever (Billie Eilish), Chemtrails Over the Country Club (Lana Del Rey), LP! (JPEGMAFIA), 30 (Adele), Bright Green Field (Squid), By the Time I Get to Phoenix (Injury Reserve)

C Tier: PARANOIA (Maggie Lindemann), Tyron (Slowthai), FROSTBITE (WHATSTHAT?), Sad Night Dynamite (Sad Night Dynamite), The Off-Season (J. Cole), Nu Radio (Deko), Montero (Lil Nas X), The House is Burning (Isaiah Rashad), Friends That Break Your Heart (James Blake)

D Tier: For the First Time (Black Country, New Road), Ignorance (Weather Station), boneyard aka fearmonger (underscores), Cool Dry Place (Katy Kirby), Planet Her (Doja Cat), The Life of Pi’erre 5 (Pi’erre Bourne), Sling (Clairo), The Melodic Blue (Baby Keem), TWOPOINTFIVE (Aminé)

E Tier: Dawn (Yebba), USEE4YOURSELF (IDK), Forever isn’t Long Enough (Alfie Templeman), Smiling With No Teeth (Genesis Owusu), From Me to You (Quadeca), EP2! (JPEGMAFIA), Solar Power (Lorde), Vince Staples (Vince Staples), Witchpop (Siouxxie)

F Tier: Justice (Justin Bieber), CLOUDS (NF), KHALED KHALED (DJ Khaled), Cavalcade (Black Midi), Scaled and Icy (Twenty One Pilots), If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power (Halsey), Certified Lover Boy (Drake), Culture III (Migos)