Each December, the team at NPR Music gives ourselves a nearly-impossible task: making lists of the very best songs and albums released in the past year. The whole team comes together — reporters and podcasters and critics, dedicated genre experts and committed generalists alike — to talk about the albums and songs that stuck with us the most all year.
It’s a challenge to sum up an entire year (especially one as challenging and unpredictable as this year) in just a small number of songs and albums, and these lists reflect both the vast array of tastes among our colleagues and the singular works that brought us all together. Our list of albums is topped by a conceptually rich, breathtaking album -- but includes tons more releases by musicians who hit career peaks, discovered their voices or willed something new into reality. And among the year’s 100 best songs are calls to get on the dancefloor, dodge obligations, contemplate revenge, call out injustice and take accountability; there are surprising hits and instant classics, creative ingenuity and traditional excellence. Think of them, as NPR Music’s senior editors put it, “as a playlist catering to the most basic human urges.”
This year provided us with so much great music — much more than we could have fit on our lists of 50 albums and 100 songs. So in the coming days, NPR Music will be sharing lists and features about even more of the year’s great releases, including the best classical, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music of 2021. Plus, if you want to stream the year’s best songs and albums, we’ve got you covered with playlists for each.
— Marissa Lorusso, NPR Music
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