2021 Year In Review :: Favorite Albums

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Here’s the dealio, my coolios.

Each year, I keep a running diary of sorts of all of the things I liked each year. If you’re interested (which I doubt you are), you can follow along with my real-time unedited yearly bookkeeping here.

At the end of each year I try to cull down the music section to what really defined my year musically. No ranking. Just great music. Here are 50 of my favorite 2021 albums in alphabetical order.

Albums In Visual Alphabetical Order:

Albums In Alphabetical Alphabetical Order:

  1. Social Music at Troost Vol.1 by 75 Dollar Bill

  2. Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders // Elixor of Life by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders

  3. Khaira Arby in New York (Live in 2010) by Khaira Arby

  4. House Music by Bell Orchestre

  5. Valdez by Birds of Maya

  6. Carnage by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

  7. All These Years by Phil Cook

  8. Home Video by Lucy Dacus

  9. Kanawa by Nahawa Doumbia

  10. The Golden Lag by Elkhorn

  11. Admonitions by Endless Boogie

  12. Drew Gardner by Drew Gardner

  13. Ghost of Vroom 1 by Ghost of Vroom

  14. Leap by Girls in Airports

  15. Couleur by Dobet Gnahoré

  16. G_d's Pee At States End! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

  17. Other You by Steve Gunn

  18. Quietly Blowing It by Hiss Golden Messenger

  19. The Dharma Wheel by Howlin’ Rain

  20. Brian Jackson JID008 by Brian Jackson, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge

  21. Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound by Kasai Allstars

  22. Heavy Sun by Daniel Lanois

  23. Now by Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble

  24. Hey What by Low

  25. Sound Ancestors by Madlib

  26. Hope by Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog

  27. Ghost Songs by Bachar Mar-Khalifé

  28. Tezeta by Hailu Mergia

  29. Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar

  30. Dark In Here by the Mountain Goats

  31. World What World by Mountain Movers

  32. Tropicale Moon by Mouth Painter

  33. Teenage Dreams by Native Soul

  34. descension (Out of Our Constrictions) by Natural Information Society/Evan Parker

  35. Another Side by Leo Nocentelli (1971)

  36. Making and Then Unmaking by Derek Piotr

  37. Earth Trip by Rose City Band

  38. East Pakistan Sky by Ustad Saami

  39. Nine by Sault

  40. The Veiled Sea by Six Organs of Admittance

  41. Black to the Future by Sons of Kemet

  42. Renewal by Billy Strings

  43. Superwolves by Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

  44. Deep Fried Grandeur by Ryley Walker And Kikagaku Moyo

  45. Course In Fable by Ryley Walker

  46. Yaral Sa Doom by Wau Wau Collectif

  47. Eau’d To A Fake Boogie Volume 4 by Wet Tuna

  48. Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection by Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley

  49. Urban Driftwood by Yasmin Williams

  50. Way Down in the Rust Bucket by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

  • Browse my favorite albums of the year

  • Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish

  • Browse my favorite books of 2021

  • Browse my favorite movies of 2021

  • Browse my favorite television of 2021

  • Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”

The Way Out Where Is In :: A Holiday At The Sea Playlist

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Here’s a fun little playlist to celebrate Serendipity.

Let me explain: My name is Brent and I love the Grateful Dead. So it makes perfect sense to lead off this mix with the Dead rehearsing with Brent in April 1979 right before his first tour with them.

And, not only is my name Brent and I love the Grateful Dead, I love the music of Miles Davis. So much so that Miles Davis is one of the reasons we named our oldest son Miles. So it makes perfect sense to include Miles Davis playing at the Fillmore West; a bill shared with none other than the Grateful Dead. You can watch video here.

OH, and if all that wasn’t enough, I was born in 1973! Not in Summer, but still, the Dead jamming with Brent for a song named after my birth year, how could I not include it here?!

So we have two tracks from the Dead and Brent rehearsing, two tracks of wild Miles opening for the Dead. Then, we wrap things up with the drums/space segment (except I reversed them here) from Dead and Co. in Phoenix, AZ, 2017. Because, guess what: WE WERE THERE!

So here’s a mix of out there stuff with inward significance. This playlist is not for everyone. But if you know, you know. Ya dig?

Setlist:

  1. “Booji Boy's Bad Trip (Drums, Space, Feedback)” by the Grateful Dead

  2. “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” by Miles Davis

  3. “Summer of ‘73” by the Grateful Dead

  4. “It’s About That Time” by Miles Davis

  5. “Space/Drums” by Dead and Co.

  • Visit the Grateful Dead’s official website.

  • Follow the Grateful Dead on Facebook.

  • Follow Grateful Dead on Twitter.

  • Purchase Grateful Dead music on Amazon.

  • Visit the official Miles Davis website.

  • Follow the Miles Davis page at Facebook.

  • Purchase Miles Davis music at Amazon.

  • Visit the official Dead and Co. website

  • Browse all Holiday at the Sea playlists