If there was a theme to the music I listened to this year, it was getting music ideas from the 12/13-year-old set rather than from the radio or stuff I’ve been listening to for decades. Almost all the songs on this year’s list are current or recent; it’s fun learning about music from your teenager. As usual, I saved anything I heard that sounded interesting in my Stuff I Heard 2021 list and reduced it down to the stuff I really liked in The Sound of 2021.

Here are my Best of 2021:
– ESG – You Make No Sense
– Billie Eilish – you should see me in a crown
– Dua Lipa – Levitating
– Olivia Rodrigo – jealousy, jealousy
– SAULT – Stop Dem
– LUMP – Animal
– Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
– Arlo Parks – Hurt
– Marie Davidson – Work It (Soulwax Remix)
– Lorde – Solar Power
– St. Vincent – Los Ageless
– Two Sheds – You Get to Me
– Clairo – Sofia
– The Beatles – Don’t Let Me Down
– MARINA – Venus Fly Trap