MCCh 2021 (04) March 15

[Otisredding]

The best albums of 2021 (update March 15)

The numbers presented next to each album title are the weighted average rating, and, in brackets, average and number of ratings (out of 33 included sources). The weighted average is based on a formula that includes a) the average of ratings and b) the number of sources that have rated the album.

The magazines I used for the ratings were:
EUR + Australia: Dansende Beren (New this year thanks to Chilton's proposal); Gaffa-dk; Gaffa-sw; Humo; Indiestyle; Jenesaispop; Laut; Mondosonoro; Musikexpress; Nojesguiden; Ondarock; Plattentests; Sentire Ascoltare; The Music
UK: Clash; DIY; God Is In The Tv; Load And Quiet; Music OMH; NME; The Guardian; The Line Of Best Fit; The Skinny
USA + Canada: Allmusic; Beats Per Minute; Consequence Of Sound; Exclaim!; Nothern Transmissions; Paste; Pitchfork; Popmatters; Rolling Stone; Spectrum Culture; Under The Radar

Highlights: Rob makes the top three songs from the album according to Allmusic, Consequence of Sound, Jenesaispop, Plattentests, The Skinny, etc…

Albums that have obtained new reviews but worsened the score
New entry or Re-entry
Albums that have obtained new reviews and improved the score

Out:
None

25 - Jane Weaver: Flock - 75,5 (79,4 / 9)
Highlights: Heatlow – Modern Reputation - Solarised
Psychedelic Pop



24 - Virginia Wing: Private Life - 75,7 (80,0 / 8)
Highlights: I’m Holding Out for Something – St. Francis Fountain – Moon Turn Tides
Art Pop



23 - Pauline Anna Strom: Angel Tears in Sunlight - 75,9 (80,6 / 7)
Highlights: Tropical Convergence – Temple Gardens at Midnight – The Pulsation
Ambient



22 - Ghetts: Conflict Of Interest - 75,9 (80,6 / 7)
Highlights: IC3 – Little Bo Peep - Mozambique
UK Hip Hop



21 - Kiwi Jr.: Cooler Returns – 76,1 (78,1 / 15)
Highlights: Undecided Voters – Waiting in Line – Only Here for a Haircut
Indie Rock



20 - Bicep: Isles – 76,2 (75,5 / 23)
Highlights: Atlas – Sundial - Saku
Future Garage



19 - Cassandra Jenkins: An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - 76,3 (81 / 7)
Highlights: Hard Drive – Crosshairs – New Bikini
Singer-Songwriter



18 - Jazmine Sullivan: Heaux Tales – 76,7 (79,7 / 12)
Highlights: Lost One – Pick Up Your Feelings – Girl Like Me
Neo-Soul



17 - Viagra Boys: Welfare Jazz - 76,7 (75,7 / 24)
Highlights: Creatures – Girls & Boys – Ain’t Nice
Post-Punk



16 - Genesis Owusu: Smiling With No Teeth - 76,9 (81,3 / 8)
Highlights: Don’t Need You - Gold Chains - A Song About Fishing
Neo-Soul



15 - Slowthai: Tyron – 77,1 (74,1 / 30)
Highlights: Feel Away – Cancelled - Mazza
UK Hip Hop



14 - Sleaford Mods: Spare Ribs – 77,2 (76,2 / 24)
Highlights: Mork n Mindy – Shortcummings – Nudge It
UK Hip Hop



13 – Tribulation: Where The Gloom Becomes Sound - 77,6 (82,3 / 7)
Highlights: Hour of the Wolf – Daughter of the Djinn – Dirge of a Dying Soul
Gothic Metal



12 - Goat Girl: On All Fours – 78,2 (78,1 / 21)
Highlights: Sad Cowboy – Badibaba – The Crack
Post-Punk



11 - Django Django: Glowing in the Dark - 78,3 (77,6 / 23)
Highlights: Spirals – Waking Up – Glowing in the Dark
Indie Pop



10 - Steve Earle & The Dukes: J.T. - 78,5 (82,2 / 10)
Highlights: Champagne Corolla – Last Words – I Don’t Care
Americana



09 - Anna B Savage: A Common Turn - 78,6 (81,6 / 12)
Highlights: Corncrakes – BedStuy - Two
Psychedelic Folk



08 - Mogwai: As The Love Continues - 78,8 (76,2 / 29)
Highlights: Midnight Flit – Ritchie Sacramento – Dry Fantasy
Post Rock



07 - Arab Strap: As Days Get Dark - 80,2 (80,2 / 21)
Highlights: The Turning of Our Bones – Here Comes Comus! – Another Clockwork Day
Slowcore



06 - Shame: Drunk Tank Pink – 81,2 (78,5 / 29)
Highlights: Alphabet – Water in the Well – Snow Day
Post-Punk



05 - Black Country, New Road: For The First Time – 83,0 (81,0 / 27)
Highlights: Sunglasses – Track X - Instrumental
Experimental Rock



04 - The Weather Station: Ignorance - 83,5 (82,8 / 23)
Highlights: Robber – Parking Lot – Tried to Tell You
Art Pop



03 - Arlo Parks: Collapsed In Sunbeams – 83,9 (80,9 / 30)
Highlights: Hurt – Eugene – Black Dog
Bedroom Pop



02 - Julien Baker: Little Oblivions – 84,2 (81,2 / 30)
Highlights: Hardline – Ringside – Favor
Singer-Songwriter



01 - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: Carnage – 84,9 (84,2 / 23)
Highlights: White Elephant - Hand of God – Old Time
Art Rock

[Otisredding]

Out of curiosity, where do be the albums above 70?

26 - The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy - 75,2 (75,6 / 20)
27 - Madlib: Sound Ancestors - 75,2 (76,9 / 16)
28 - Celeste: Not Your Muse - 75,2 (77,2 / 15)
29 - Katy Kirby: Cool Dry Place - 75,0 (79,0 / 9)
30 - The Staves: Good Woman - 74,3 (76,3 / 15)
31 - Diivde And Dissolve: Gas Lit - 74,0 (78,0 / 9)
32 - Claud: Super Monster - 73,3 (75,0 / 16)
33 - The Body: I've Seen All I Need To See - 72,2 (75,9 / 10)
34 - Cloud Nothings: The Shadow I Remember - 72,1 (73,8 / 16)
35 - The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstom Warnings... - 72,0 (75,4 / 11)
36 - A Winged Victory for the Sullen: Invisible Cities - 72,0 (76,0 / 9)
37 - Puma Blue: In Praise of Shadows - 71,8 (74,8 / 12)
38 - Weezer: OK Human - 71,5 (70,8 / 23)
39 - Lael Neale: Acquainted with Night - 71,5 (76,1 / 7)
40 - Foo Fighters: Medicine at Midnight - 71,4 (69,7 / 26)
41 - Tindersticks: Distractions - 71,0 (73,4 / 14)
42 - Psychedelic Porn Crumpets: SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound - 71,0 (75,0 / 9)
43 - Still Corners: The Last Exit - 70,8 (74,5 / 10)
44 - James Yorkston And The Second Hand Orchestra: The Wide, Wide River - 70,7 (74,4 / 10)
45 - Pearl Charles: Magic Mirror - 70,5 (74,9 / 8)

[Rob]

The highlights are in too. Here the updated playlist:



Last time I wondered how Carnage would do if there would be more reviews. Now we know.
Sadly this means that the novelty of having a bedroom pop album at one has gone.

[Edre Depeche Head]

Last time I wondered how Carnage would do if there would be more reviews. Now we know.
Sadly this means that the novelty of having a bedroom pop album at one has gone.

Not going to lie, I have never been too into Nick Cave but this kind of stuff really gets me angry. I don't think it deserves number one at all and it is infuriating that someone newer and better can't have it

[Holden]

Last time I wondered how Carnage would do if there would be more reviews. Now we know.
Sadly this means that the novelty of having a bedroom pop album at one has gone.

Not going to lie, I have never been too into Nick Cave but this kind of stuff really gets me angry. I don't think it deserves number one at all and it is infuriating that someone newer and better can't have it

Something about your statement that this gets you 'angry' sort of rubs me the wrong way here. I don't really understand. Sure, it's up to you to decide what you think deserves #1, but this isn't some opinionated list, its a compilation of many critics. The idea that someone newer deserves #1 is kind of strange as well... the best album deserves number one, right? And the critics decided that Nick Cave is the best so far with their ratings from this metric. And I don't know what you mean by 'can't' have it. They can. The list isn't excluding anything. They just don't have it.

Honestly, I feel like the fact that this album is beating the other, newer albums is a testament to the album's strength. And I certainly don't see Nick Cave as some hold over from the long ago times that old stuffy critics are pushing to the top, he's not U2 or the Rolling Stones. Hell, Nick Cave isn't even really advocated by the biggest stuffy old critics around, Rolling Stone; he was completely absent from their most recent All Time List. Nick Cave has just started getting his highest acclaim yet in 2016 and 2019. Would you be less mad if Skeleton Tree had been his debut? A lot of the rest of the list is made up of very recent bands, anyways.

I doubt Nick Cave will get the highest on here by the end of the year anyways, his rating isn't even 85.

I hope this doesn't come off as preachy or anything, I'm just always interested in how people perceive music and lists like this, and words like 'infuriating' seem oddly strong for this thread. I'll admit to being a lover of Nick Cave, but I'm writing this before even having listened to the album, so I'm not too biased in this album's favor.

[Edre Depeche Head]

Last time I wondered how Carnage would do if there would be more reviews. Now we know.
Sadly this means that the novelty of having a bedroom pop album at one has gone.

Not going to lie, I have never been too into Nick Cave but this kind of stuff really gets me angry. I don't think it deserves number one at all and it is infuriating that someone newer and better can't have it

Something about your statement that this gets you 'angry' sort of rubs me the wrong way here. I don't really understand. Sure, it's up to you to decide what you think deserves #1, but this isn't some opinionated list, its a compilation of many critics. The idea that someone newer deserves #1 is kind of strange as well... the best album deserves number one, right? And the critics decided that Nick Cave is the best so far with their ratings from this metric. And I don't know what you mean by 'can't' have it. They can. The list isn't excluding anything. They just don't have it.

Honestly, I feel like the fact that this album is beating the other, newer albums is a testament to the album's strength. And I certainly don't see Nick Cave as some hold over from the long ago times that old stuffy critics are pushing to the top, he's not U2 or the Rolling Stones. Hell, Nick Cave isn't even really advocated by the biggest stuffy old critics around, Rolling Stone; he was completely absent from their most recent All Time List. Nick Cave has just started getting his highest acclaim yet in 2016 and 2019. Would you be less mad if Skeleton Tree had been his debut? A lot of the rest of the list is made up of very recent bands, anyways.

I doubt Nick Cave will get the highest on here by the end of the year anyways, his rating isn't even 85.

I hope this doesn't come off as preachy or anything, I'm just always interested in how people perceive music and lists like this, and words like 'infuriating' seem oddly strong for this thread. I'll admit to being a lover of Nick Cave, but I'm writing this before even having listened to the album, so I'm not too biased in this album's favor.

It was bad wording. It's less angry and more annoyed

[Otisredding]

MCCh 2021 (05) March 31