With our recent countdown of Albumism’s overall 100 Best Albums of 2021 complete, it’s now time to illuminate the mighty fine albums that our talented team of writers have deemed their personal favorites of the year. Even the most cursory scan of our staff’s selections below reveals just how unique and varied our musical tastes are, which certainly shines through all of our articles throughout the year.

Check out our personal picks and let us know what your favorite albums of 2021 are in the comments below!

#1 | Prince | Welcome 2 America

Even from the afterworld, Prince is still getting us to reflect, offering poignant and uplifting messages on his posthumous album Welcome 2 America. Besides the—as per usual—impeccable musicianship and stunning arrangements blending psychedelic funk, jazz, and rock, Welcome 2 America stands out amongst all the albums released this year for its massively accurate lyrics describing an era doomed by misinformation, racism, capitalism, exploitation, and prejudice: “hope and change, everything takes forever—the truth is a new minority.” Back in 2010, Prince was already conscious of the struggles of our 2021 world, and Welcome 2 America is a wake-up call we must not miss.

#1 | Wolf Alice | Blue Weekend

While I’m grateful to be immersed in so much wonderful new music day in and day out, these end-of-year wrap-ups are harrowing tasks to tackle. Indeed, any one of the ten albums listed here—and arguably a few dozen more not represented here—could stake a rightful claim to the #1 spot for me.

But, alas, if forced to select a single, preeminent record that served as my closest aural companion throughout 2021, I return to my standard, two-fold criteria for making such a selection: (1) the album I revisited more frequently and fervently than any other throughout the year, and (2) the album I most often played from the first track to the last with nary a skip.

Enter Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend. Comprised of a tautly sequenced 11 tracks across 40 minutes, the London-based band’s third studio affair unfolds as a sonically and lyrically enthralling listen in its entirety. Capturing the sound of the ever-dynamic group completing the transition from promising, precocious neophytes to proven entities, Blue Weekend derives its power and poignancy from its expansive musical palette enabled by producer Markus Dravs coupled with Ellie Rowsell’s more palpable vocal dexterity and narrative intimacy.

When I reviewed Blue Weekend’s Mercury Prize-winning precursor Visions Of A Life back in 2017, I suggested that “Wolf Alice is a young band arguably still years away from the peak of their musical powers.” With Blue Weekend, they have taken one giant step forward toward achieving this pinnacle as they have unequivocally become masters of their craft before our eyes and ears.

#1 | Yola | Stand For Myself

Yola Carter is not your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill anything. As a Black, guitar-wielding, country singer from England, she delivers a thrilling curveball with Stand For Myself. This audio gumbo ladles in flavors of rockabilly blues (“Diamond Studded Shoes”), slow-dancing R&B (“Now You’re Here”), disco-lite (“Dancing Away in Tears”), and her trademark country soul (“Whatever You Want”).

Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Stand For Myself is full of Yola's thoughtful lyrics and melodies that follow you like a stray cat fed once. Though I’m not a regular country fan, I find her warm voice mythical like a muse, yet endearingly human. With two fresh GRAMMY nominations for this sophomore disc, now is a perfect time to discover her massive talent that’s been hiding in plain sight.

#1 | Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra | Promises

Writing about this album is exceptionally difficult as it requires me to put the strongest feelings imaginable into appropriate words and that feels overwhelmingly impossible. I had no idea what awaited me when I pressed play for the first time—I only knew Floating Points via his ownership of the record label Eglo and Pharoah Sanders’ sometimes dissonant reputation preceded him in ways that didn’t fill me with great anticipation. The album also entered my life when I was wrestling with what felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders—my mortality had crept up on me and jumped in front of me, demanding I deal with it whether I liked it or not.

Just one play was enough to indelibly imprint on me in a way that very few (if any) albums had ever done. Its beauty and power overwhelmed me and left me in tears at various points during its run time. It came to signify life, death and rebirth to me in profound ways that resonate with me every time I listen to it. It sparked in me a desire to talk about it at every opportunity that has been usurped by an even stronger desire to keep it as secret and personal as I can. I was fearful of the piece losing its power—to the point where I would ration listens to it, lest familiarity blunt its power. But every single time I have listened to this therapeutic record, I have felt the same feelings of vulnerability, intense sadness and, ultimately, hope and the sanctity of life.

Promises is a record that I will cherish for the rest of my life not just for the beauty of the music but also for the intense emotional journey it carries me on. It may not just be my favourite of this year, it could be my favourite of any year.

#1 | Armand Hammer & The Alchemist | Haram

When two separate entities come together at the height of their creative powers to craft an entire album together, and absolutely nail it, it’s beautiful to behold. That’s exactly what has happened on Haram, a collaborative project between the duo Armand Hammer and Alan “The Alchemist” Maman.

Armand Hammer is made up of billy woods and Chaz “Elucid” Hall, and both are unorthodox and as skilled as they come. They’ve each spent over a decade building a loyal following each as solo artists and as a group. In The Alchemist, one of the best producers working today, they’ve found an ideal partner: someone who’s willing to get down in the dirt and soar amongst the clouds.

Haram is an ambitious musical journey that feels like a massive undertaking, even though it only lasts 40 minutes. Elucid and woods’ lyrics are intricate in their delivery and literary in their content and execution. The Alchemist leans heavily into laid-back and psychedelic soundscapes, contrasting perfectly with the pair’s opaque stylings. The project allows everyone involved to try new things, but still remain true to their artistic identities.

#1 | Japanese Breakfast | Jubilee

For Japanese Breakfast, the indie-pop quartet fronted by Korean-American singer-songwriter-guitarist Michelle Zauner, Jubilee is their finest work to date. Their third album follows the equally formidable Psychopomp (2016) and Soft Sounds From Another Planet (2017), but this time the material is even more expressive, lush and detailed.

Jubilee has the band at the height of their powers as they combine elements of alternative rock, synth-pop and chamber music textures that make for a mesmeric listening experience; anchoring these ambitious productions is Zauner as a vocalist and lyricist. Compelling on both fronts, she imbues each selection on Jubilee with emotion and experience—necessary ingredients which will ensure that this record will resonate with audiences today and for years to come.

#1 | Halsey | If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

A revelation of revelry, Halsey delivers their most powerful and most focused statement yet. With collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross backing her with hard edge beats and brooding melodies, Halsey squares up with expectations of motherhood and the complexities of identity that come along with it. An epic showcase of emotions, this was the album that kept drawing me back time and time, offering a new take with every listen.

#1 | Silk Sonic | An Evening With Silk Sonic

I had to have a little time to let this album marinate. After a first and second listen, it was obvious this album would be my favorite released this year. Honestly, during the buildup to the album’s arrival, I was a bit underwhelmed. It seemed like ages ago when “Leave The Door Open” was released back in March. The second single “Skate” wasn’t released until July and just didn’t hit anywhere near as hard as LTDO. Uncertainty began to circulate for this album and the anticipation began to diminish.

That was until early November when Silk Sonic announced that a new single “Smokin’ Out The Window” would be released November 5th and the album An Evening With Silk Sonic to follow on November 12th. This announcement brought a significant amount of excitement back. Some deep cuts including “After Last Night” and “Blast Off” help bring the album together. Some people aren’t a fan of new artists attempting to bring back that nostalgic factor in old school music, but Silk Sonic revives a sound that R&B needed. 10/10 and leaves me wanting more.

#1 | The City Gates | Age Of Resilience

If year one of the pandemic proved an unwanted exercise in solitary fortitude, year two (undoubtedly enabled by a new president and the advent of the vaccine) afforded something almost unfamiliar: laser beams of hope. And just off the heels of a liberating Memorial Day weekend came further urgent pleasure, The City Gates’ Age Of Resilience.

It’s a record I easily fell into and rapidly adored, coaxing me out of heavy hibernation with its post-punk charms. As intoxicating nights melded into invigorating days, I alighted here constantly, listening to it eagerly, even devoutly, for hours on end.

Striking that riveting balance between polished and raw, dancy and dreamy, and cool and nostalgic, Age Of Resilience has carried me through the second half of this promising year and I can’t thank The City Gates enough (though I can shamelessly request they come stateside soon!).

#1 | Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra | Promises

Promises is an album on which time seems to both stand still and jump ahead in the blink of an eye. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra elegantly usher us through an alien landscape that seems free of the concerns of our day-to-day lives and exists somewhere else entirely.

The seven-note motif that threatens to tether us to reality takes on new life with almost every iteration, showing that not even relentless repetition needs to be familiar. It’s an album that asks us to see our world, the people in it, our routines and questions, as new, strange, and beautiful. There’s nothing like it.

#1 | Lil Nas X | MONTERO

Out of all the albums I fell in love with this year, none entertained me and moved me as much as Lil Nas X's MONTERO. It’s simultaneously provocative and introspective while ignoring the boundaries of genre, which is the most exciting aspect of pop music today.