By now, you should know that I move to my own pace when compiling these best of the year lists. If you missed it we just shared our best albums list last week as well.
My biggest gripe for all the other publications is that they seem to rush to the finish line before the Thanksgiving turkeys have started thawing out. I get it, clicks, ad revenue, etc. But there is something about making a proper list and taking your time to compile your favorite musical moments of any given year. Or maybe I just procrastinate. But the other stuff sounds a lot better.
In some ways, I prefer making the best songs list as it allows you more freedom to highlight songs from artists that maybe you are an outright apologist for, but they somehow managed to deliver a career-best song on an album full of clunkers. Or that one song that came out of nowhere and showcased a duo as the next buzzy band that you will hear about constantly for the next 12 months and beyond.
Anyhow, 2021 was a weird and unique year for obvious reasons. But there were plenty of musical moments that helped make it a tiny bit easier.
As usual, find the Spotify playlist available to follow, like, share, or laugh at right here.
100. Prima Queen – “Chew My Cheeks”
99. Ski Lift – “Portal”
98. Hand Habits – “Aquamarine”
97. Toledo – “You Won’t”
96. Linn Koch-Emmery – “Linn RIP”
95. The Haunted Youth – “Coming Home”
94. Cassandra Jenkins – “Crosshairs”
93. Indigo Sparke – “Bad Dreams”
92. Lucid Express – “Hotel 65”
91. FUR – “The Fine Line of a Quiet Life”
90. Hadda Be – “Another Life”
89. Cal Rifkin – “Break My Heart”
88. The White Russian – “Cancer Knee”
87. Ok Cowgirl – “Unlost”
86. Springfield Elementary – “Keep on Moving”
85. Afflecks Palace – “We Can Be The Avalanche”
84. feeble little horse – “Chores”
83. Nation of Language – “This Fractured Mind”
82. Sea Lemon – “Sunday”
81. Foyer Red – “Slander”
80. Corntuth – “D-003”
79. Andy Shauf – “Green Glass”
78. Mt. Misery – “In The Blink of an Eye”
77. Villagers – “Circles In The Firing Line”
76. Pearl Charles – “What I Need”
75. Future Islands – “Peach”
74. Damon Albarn – “Royal Morning Blue”
73. Jesop – “My Daily Existential Crisis”
72. Courtney Barnett – “Write A List of Things To Look Forward to”
71. Arlo Parks – “Hurt”
70. Julien Baker – “Song in E”
69. Iceage – “Dear Saint Cecilia”
68. Amen Dunes – “Feel Nothing” (feat. Sleaford Mods”
67. Katy Kirby – “Cool Dry Place”
66. Yard Act – “The Overload”
65. W.H. Lung – “Gd Tym”
64. FEZ – “Oh Henry, Oh Man!”
63. Foyer Red – “Slander”
62. Vince Staples – “ARE YOU WITH THAT?”
61. The Smile – “You Will Never Work In Television Again”
60. Low – “Days Like These”
59. Dummy – “Daffodils”
58. Band of Horses – “Cructch”
57. Yumi Zouma – “Mona Lisa”
56. Momma – “Medicine”
55. Amyl and The Sniffers – Hertz”
54. Faye Webster – “Cheers”
53. black midi – “Slow”
52. Animal Collective – “Prester John”
51. Cloud Nothings – “Nothing Without You”
50. Still Corners – “Crying”
49. Snowy Band – “Living with Myself”
48. Parquet Courts – “Walking At A Downtown Pace”
47. The Lovelines – “Strange Kind Of Love”
46. Pinegrove – “Alaska”
45. Big Thief – “Little Things”
44. Good Morning – “Country”
43. Girl and Girl – “Shame It’s Not Now”
42. Courting – “Grand National”
41. Pom Pom Squad – “Drunk Voicemail”
40. Squid – “Narrator”
39. Bess Atwell – “Co-op”
38. Small Black – “Postcard”
37. shame – “Station Wagon”
36. Lucy Dacus – “First Time”
35. Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet”
34. Bridge Dog – “San Francisco”
33. The Weather Station – “Tried to Tell You”
32. Pip Bloom – “Keep It Together”
31. Bo Burnham – “That Funny Feeling”
30. IDLES – The Wheel”
29. Snail Mail – “Headlock”
28. Squid – “Peel St.”
27. Hamilton Leithauser + Kevin Morby – “Virgina Beach”
26. Wolf Alice = “Lipstick on the Glass”
25. Beach House – “Over and Over”
24. For Those I Love – “Birthday / The Pain”
23. Together Pangea – “Nothing to Hide”
22. Little Simz – “Miss Understood”
21. The Coral – “Change Your Mind”
20. Ducks Ltd. – “18 Cigarettes”
19. Dry Cleaning – Strong Feelings”
18. The War On Drugs – “Change”
17. Wet Leg – “Chaise Longue”
16. Magdalena Bay – “Chaeri”
15. Deafheaven – “Great Mass of Color”
14. Turnstile – “BLACKOUT”
13. Bess Atwel – “Nobody”
12. Tyler, The Creator – “WILSHIRE”
11. Black Country, New Road – “Track X”
10. Nisa – “Unthinkable”
9. Wolf Alice – “Delicious Things”
8. Geese – “Disco”
7. Maple Glider – “Good Thing”
6. The Killers – “Desperate Things”
5. Japanese Breakfast – “Posing For Cars”
4. Sharon Van Etten + Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”
3. Coldplay – “Coloratura”
2. Lord Huron – “I Lied” (feat. Allison Ponthier)
1. Flyte – Everyone’s A Winner”
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