It’s that time yet again - even though I’m insanely late. Music is such a wonderful thing. It’s incredible to find and share great music. It’s even better to love an album as much as a close music friend. Music brings people together who wouldn’t normally fit. It’s this gravitating force that draws us all in. When you find someone who has the same taste in music it’s something very special. It’s like finding your wife or husband. It’s extremely rare. When you find new music, you want to share everything with that person - every album and song you enjoy. You learn what the other person likes. What they don’t like. How to find that sweet spot of genre and connect it all together. A lot of my albums this year are from those people and it makes this list very special:
14. Wednesday - Twin Plagues
If you’re surprised this album made my list, so am I. Super heavy, dark, and emo album with a female lead singer. Yeaaah, not something I’ll go seek out very often. Imagine if the lead singer from Snail Mail joined Taking Back Sunday - hahaha okay maybe not that intense but…kind of. Sometimes we stumble into weird times in our lives where albums just hit you at the right moment. Maybe it’s the passion you can feel from the songs or the intensity of the music or the distorted guitar - probably that. Either way, I liked this album but it’s not for everyone.
Top Songs:
Gary’s
Birthday Song
Cliff
Another ultra-talented solo artist. Francis played every instrument on the album and even produced the record. That’s super impressive. A combination of unique, distorted guitar solos, slow, sad songs, and heavy drums with upbeat keys and depressing lyrics. This might be a me problem, but I always seem to gravitate towards depressing lyrics/artists - oh well. This was an album I really liked a lot at first but I really need to be in the right mood. It would have been significantly higher on my list earlier in the year. Good album overall but not an album I can listen to all of the time.
Top Songs:
Uncommon
Don’t Call Me Baby
Miracle
12. Houndmouth - Good For You
My wife really loves this album. I love it because she loves it but it really is fantastic - especially after their last dud of an album. I love the passion behind an album. Just truly opening yourself up and letting go of how you feel - Tonight’s the Night is the best example of that. I find myself attempting to sing almost every song. Thankfully, they went back to their southern rock days with great vocals and some really solid guitar solos. I’m hoping this album shows what’s come from this band.
Top Songs:
McKenzie
Make It To Midnight
Ride or Die
Ohio
11. Bull - Discover Effortless Living
Penny and I rocked out to this album every day I picked her up from daycare in the boiling Arizona summer. Killer guitar solos and consistent drums are all I need - I don’t care about vocals as much as I used to. This album would be higher on my list had I not seen a live performance by the band. Does that make me vain? Probably, but this is my album list. Great studio band. Poor live band. Would rank higher had they sounded semi-similar when seeing them live. Night and day between their performances but I still really liked the album.
Top Songs:
Shiny Bowl
Perfect Teeth
Serious Baby
10. The Berries - Throne of Ivory
Ahh, man. This album did the opposite approach I think artists should take (which is advice no artist should take) - release your worst songs as singles and save the best songs for the album release. I loved every single The Berries released. When the album came out, the remaining songs were the opposite of every single. What the fuck?! They were super slow, had no guitar solo, and sounded the same. Once I calmed down and really listened to the album again and again and several more times and accounted for the fact that almost half (5 of 12) of their singles were on the album, I started to enjoy the change of pace songs. I like the album a lot but still think it left a bit to be desired. I’m hopeful they’ll get back to their ripping guitar solo days.
Top Songs:
Mantra of Strength
Sci-Fi Racer
A Hymn That Only I Know
9. Israel Nash - Topaz
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this album. I was driving around in a silver Chevy van through Yosemite National Park looking up at the enormous granite walls and just being taken back by the views and the incredible music. Sometimes music transports us back in time to a place we really enjoy. That’s how I feel with this album. As soon as I play "Dividing Lines" I’m back in California - it makes me feel like a kid. Like almost every other album on this list, it’s layered with instruments - and has a heavy focus on guitar solos :). The harmonica is stellar, with a shit ton of horns, and a dreamy feel to every song. This is one of my favorite albums of the year.
Top songs:
Down in the Country
Dividing Lines
Indiana
8. Liam Kazar - Due North
Nothing quite like finding an album in the last few months of the year that’s just right for your music taste. I love the funkiness of this record. It’s super upbeat with a distorted guitar, endless keys, and harmonies galore - not surprising based on the fact that the album was produced by Sam Evian. Now it all makes sense. If you enjoy an album that will make you get up and dance, this album is for you. I listened to this album during the brutal winter months in NY imagining myself sitting on my porch in the summer. Great albums can do that to you. It’s amazing how much a setting impacts the effect an album has on you. The more I listen to this album, the more I like it.
Top Songs:
On a Spanish Dune
So Long Tomorrow
Give My World
Shoes Too tight
7. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It
This album took me 10+ tries before I really started to love it and now, I can’t stop listening. When JT highly recommends an album I will force myself to endlessly listen to it until I like it - mostly because I know he’s right. I’ll like the album eventually. The only thing I don’t know is how long will it take - sometimes it takes months, and sometimes, it takes years. Thankfully this album only took a few months :). It’s a really happy, upbeat album - much different from a lot of the albums on my list. Am I okay? Who knows. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed this album so much, I’ve shared it with several people outside my music circle and they’ve liked it - including my wife. It’s country, it’s funky, has a bit of a Lenny Kravitz vibe - "Mighty Dollar" has great guitar - slide, electric, and acoustic. It’s an album I really enjoy and will continue to enjoy.
Top Songs:
Way back in the Way Back
Hardlytown
Quietly Blowing it
6. The War On Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
The War on Drugs are becoming the LeBron James of alternative rock - they put out such great albums consistently that they don’t make a huge impact because that’s just normal. This is the case yet again. I almost overlooked this album. It’s like every album they put out - it’s fucking fantastic. I have no complaints about the album - besides maybe the Paula Cole cover/song (I Don’t Wanna Wait)? Not sure what that’s about but I enjoyed it. The album has guitar solos. It has harmonies. It has the keys. The real question is, what’s next? Does this incredible pace of great album after album continue endlessly or do they go on a different route and try something new? All I know is that I love everything they’re doing.
Top Songs:
Harmonia’s Dream
Change
Living Proof
5. Sam Evian - Never Know
I’m a sucker for Sam Evian. He could put out an album where the drums are replaced with a constant fart and I would love it. This album is similar to his previous records but the vocals are more distorted and engineered. He has that same incredible guitar tone - similar to J Masics - where I can recognize it's him very quickly. Loads of piano and keys, horns, harmonies, strings, guitars, and it makes me really happy. No real standout songs because the whole album feels like one long song. That helps create a great flowing album.
Top Songs:
Dream Free
Time to Melt
Freeze Pops
4. Rosali - Bones
This album is what I wish Julia Jacklin would do more - more guitar please and thank you. Love the pace of this album with the dreamy, low-key vocals. Put in the heavy, upbeat drums and add in Neil-esque guitar solos and you have one hell of an album. Wish there more songs like "Pour over Ice" but maybe that’s like saying, “I wish every song was perfect.” This was another solid album in a year of very solid albums.
Top Songs:
Pour over Ice
Bones
Whisper
3. Strand of Oaks - In Heaven
Another artist who I feel like just puts out incredible music consistently - and I just love consistency. You definitely need to push yourself as an artist to become better, but Strand of Oaks should just keep it right here. Absolutely loved Easerland and I think In Heaven is a better album - mostly because it’s slightly more positive and upbeat. Booming guitar solos and vocals. Awesome harmonies. A solid album where I liked every song but nothing really outstanding - which is fine for me. Something I could listen to no matter my mood or place.
Top Songs:
Hurry
Jimi & Stan
Galacticana
2. Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep Into Space
If you told me 3 years ago that Dinosaur Jr. would be close to the top of this list I would have laughed in your face. I don’t know how to describe the feelings I had towards J Masics and Dino Jr. early on. It was mostly confusion at first as to how someone could enjoy this in any way or if people were just saying they loved Dino Jr. because it made them sound edgy. Then it became an understanding of why people enjoyed Dino Jr. - they’re clearly all very talented musicians - but It was still not for me in any way. I mean, not even remotely close to enjoyable. Then, I was recommended Elastic Days by JT - who hadn’t given up hope after several years. Not sure what happened but it all clicked. I finally understood it. If you can just take the vocals for what they are, you’ll really experience one of the greatest musicians of our time. Now I actually enjoy his vocals! Still, after all, I hadn’t listened to any Dino Jr. until this album. I think it took me so long to listen to Dino Jr. because I was worried it would take me a decade based on how long it took me to like J Mascis. I’m happy to say, this album did it. Not sure if Kurt Vile toned this album down but fuck, but I love it. The combination of heavy drumming and pace, J Mascis's unbelievable guitar solos and tone, and his underrated vocals made this one of the best albums of 2021. Not to mention, my Daughter - Penny - loves this album which makes it that much better, “Do you want to listen to J Mascis??” - “Uh huh!”.
Top Songs:
Walking To You
To Be Waiting
I Expect Always
Take it Back
1. Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Combination of Thom Yorke and Neil Young? Yeah, I’m fucking interested. Okay, it’s obviously not at their level but it’s a cool combination of Thom Yorke’s vocals - and sometimes Neil - with some Neil guitar solos. I absolutely love this album. Even the weird, instrumental interludes. I first listened to this album while driving around Death Valley National Park and hiking through the Star Wars filmed mountains there. It’s a beautiful album. A ton of slide guitar - on almost every song. A ton of Thom Yorke-sounding vocals - listen to "Bird of Paradise" and tell me that’s not Thom Yorke. Amazing guitar tones and solos. It has everything I need in an album. It’s a little bit slower than most of my albums on this list but just listen to "Another Story from the Center of the Earth" and you’ll understand why it sits at number 1 on my list.
Top Songs:
Another Story From the Center of the Earth
Limited Hangout
Paper Fog
Bird of Paradise
