I swear I had every intention of doing an extensive writeup of my album rankings for 2021. And yet, here I sit on a cold Friday night in February, with a glass of Lagavulin and zero progress toward that goal. I have decided instead of waiting until this mythical free time appears, I’m just going to post what I can tonight and move on. I’m already eight albums deep into 2022

I typically do these year-end post in installments, doing a writeup on each of the top 50 or so. That ain’t happening this year. 2021 was a solid year. It deserves better than effort, but this effort is what I have.

Down below you will find a list of every album I rated in 2021. The final tally stands at 113 albums. A few were EPs, but mostly full albums. For background on the numbers to the right–I rate every song on an album 1 through 10. One star is reserved solely for Black Eyed Peas’ I’ve Got a Feeling, the worst song of all time. Two stars is something I hope to never hear again, three stars is something I actively skip and son on. Ten stars was probably written by John Prine or Steve Earle. I’m pretty stingy with those. And even nines. I give a few eights a year. So, these ratings tend to look like a fat bell curve sitting in the 5s.

While I’m not going to do individual album wrap-ups this year, I do have some notes:

I went heavy on the Appalachian sound this year. And the Appalachian sound doesn’t have to come from the Appalachians, although a couple of my top ones certainly did that. Hell, my top 10 was damn near exclusive to that camp. Think the Red Dirt sound with more bluegrass tinges. You know, if Ragweed had a banjo.

My number one album was a debut album by Cole Chaney, out of Eastern Kentucky. He has a sound that simply could not come from anywhere else. The Childers comparisons are inevitable, and some will try to downplay Chaney as Not Childers. I see him simply as the next in line from that part of the world and a voice worth itself all on its own without the comparisons. I have a wheelhouse sound. I admit this. And nearly every track of Mercy landed in that sweetspot.

Drayton Farley is a bit of Childers and Isbell at the same time. A Hard Up Life is his sophomore album and a breakout one at that.

Morgan Wade is my wife’s woman crush of the year. We were lucky enough to see her open for American Aquarium this year and will see again this summer playing with Willie Nelson, Turnpike Troubadours and Zach Bryan.

Sturgill’s The Dood and Juanita was probably the actual best album of the year, but it’s storybook concept also meant the individual tracks did not stand out as much as the album did as a whole. I don’t think I listened to this album any this year without listening to it in its entirety.

Charles Wesley Godwin falls in line with Chaney and Farley, in that he definitely garnered more attention this year than ever before. Quite a few people I share music with regularly had this one as their album of the year, and they aren’t exactly wrong. And his exposure through Zach Bryan this year means he is about to get much bigger.

I seem to get to less hip-hop each year. My favorite from that realm this year was J. Cole’s The Off-Season. That one checked in at number 11. Next was Nas at 22. What can I say, I like my rap old school.

The best blues album of the year was Gov’t Mules’ Heavy Load Blues. Warren and the boys has always incorporated blues styles into their southern rock/jam stuff, but they leaned into the blues playbook hard on this one and nailed it.

Looking through my list, I notice I just don’t listen to that much rock anymore. I have a blind spot here and am looking for suggestions to circle back around to.

If you have Spotify and want to see my favorite tracks of the year, I have a Best of 2021 playlist. Throw that bad boy on shuffle sometime. I don’t suck at this. A few videos before the full list of my 2021 albums:

1	Cole Chaney–Mercy	6.67
2	Drayton Farley–A Hard Up Life	6.5
3	Morgan Wade–Reckless	6.5
4	Sturgill Simpson–The Dood and Juanita	6.48
5	Charles Wesley Godwin–How The Mighty Fall	6.33
6	Lucero–When You Found Me	6.3
7	Pony Bradshaw–Calico Jim	6.2
8	Zach Russell–The Creek EP	6.2
9	Hardened and Tempered–Hold The Line	6.11
10	Mike and the Moonpies–One To Grow On	6.11
11	J. Cole–The Off-Season	6.08
12	Gov’t Mule–Heavy Load Blues	6.08
13	The Steel Woods–All of Your Stones	6
14	John R. Miller–Depreciated	6
15	Hayes Carll–You Get It All	6
16	The Record Company–Play Loud	5.92
17	Davy Knowles–What Happens Next	5.92
18	Kieran Ridge & The Moonrakers	5.91
19	Blackberry Smoke–You Hear Georgia	5.9
20	The Wallflowers–Exit Wounds	5.9
21	Margo Cilker–Pohorylle	5.89
22	Nas–Magic	5.89
23	Mickey Lamantia–Honky Tonk Confessions: Final Chapter	5.88
24	Cody Jinks–Mercy	5.83
25	Caleb Lee Hutchinson–Slot Machine Syndrome EP	5.8
26	Christone Kingfish Ingram–662	5.79
27	Ross Cooper–Chasing Old Highs	5.73
28	Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall–The Marfa Tapes	5.73
29	Nas–King’s Diseas II	5.73
30	Maggie Rose–Have A Seat	5.73
31	Judith Hill–Baby, I’m Hollywood	5.71
32	Red Shahan–Javelina	5.7
33	Jackson Browne–Downhill From Everywhere	5.7
34	James McMurtry-The Horses and the Hounds	5.7
35	Kolby Cooper–Boy From Anderson County	5.67
36	Dylan LeBlanc–Pastimes EP	5.67
37	Billy Strings–Renewal	5.63
38	Selwyn Birchwood–Living In A Burning House	5.61
39	Black Honey–Disinfect EP	5.6
40	The Flatlanders–Treasure of Love	5.6
41	Robert Plant & Alison Krauss–Raise The Roof	5.58
42	Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real–A Few Stars Apart	5.55
43	Ida Mae–Click Click Domino	5.53
44	Tyler, The Creator–Call Me If You Get Lost	5.5
45	Charlie Crockett–Music City USA	5.5
46	Brandi Carlile–In These Silent Days	5.5
47	Grayson Jenkins–Turning Tides	5.5
48	Silk Sonic–An Evening With Silk Sonic	5.5
49	Mando Saenz-All My Shame	5.45
50	Paul Thorn–Never Too Late To Call	5.45
51	Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats–The Future	5.45
52	Jason Ringenberg–Rhinestoned	5.42
53	The Delvantes–A Thousand Turns	5.35
54	Leah Blevins–First Time Feeling	5.3
55	Jackson+Sellers–Breaking Point	5.3
56	TechN9ne–Asin9ne	5.29
57	Aaron Lee Tasjan–Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!	5.27
58	John Hiatt & Jerry Douglas–Leftover Feelings	5.27
59	The Killers–Pressure Machine	5.27
60	The Wild Feathers–Alvarado	5.27
61	Oliver Wood–Always Smilin’	5.25
62	Billy F Gibbons–Hardware	5.25
63	Lake Street Drive–Obviously	5.18
64	Royal Blood–Typhoons	5.18
65	The Shootouts–Bullseye	5.18
66	Allison Russell–Outside Child	5.18
67	Strand of Oaks–In Heaven	5.18
68	Yola–Stand For Myself	5.16
69	Foo Fighters–Medicine at Midnight	5.11
70	Todd Snider–First Agnostic Church of Hope & Wonder	5.1
71	Israel Nash–Topaz	5.1
72	Olivia Rodrigo–Sour	5.09
73	Greta Van Fleet–The Battle at Garden’s Gate	5.08
74	The Brother Brothers–Calla Lily	5
75	Carsie Blandon–Love and Rage	5
76	Danny Burns–Hurricane	5
77	Amythyst Kiah–Ware + Strange	5
78	Son Volt–Electro Melodier	5
79	Willie Nile–The Day The Earth Stoon Still	5
80	Lily Hiatt–Lately	5
81	Langhorn Slim–Strawberry Mansion	4.94
82	Jade Bird–Different Kinds of Light	4.93
83	Matthew Sweet–Catspaw	4.92
84	Joshua Ray Walker–See You Next Time	4.9
85	Anders Osborne–Orpheus and the Mermaids	4.89
86	Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird–These 13	4.85
87	Forest Sun–Stubborn Breathing Heart	4.83
88	Parker Millsap–Be Here Instead	4.75
89	The Lone Bellow–Half Moon Light	4.75
90	Kaleo–Surface Sounds	4.73
91	Hiss Golden Messenger–Quietly Blowing It	4.73
92	Kings of Leon–When You See Yourself	4.64
93	St. Vincent–Daddy’s Home	4.64
94	Lucy Dacus–Home Video	4.64
95	Rodney Crowell–Triage	4.6
96	Darrin Bradbury–Artvertisement	4.58
97	Willie Jones–Country Soul	4.5
98	DJ Khaled–Khaled Khaled	4.5
99	Kacey Musgraves-star-crossed	4.47
100	Samantha Fish–Faster	4.42
101	Drake–Certified Lover Boy	4.38
102	Sleigh Bells–Texis	4.27
103	Melissa Carper–Daddy’s Country Gold	4.25
104	Devin Dawson–The Pink Slip EP	4.17
105	Morgan Wallen–Dangerous	4.13
106	Neal Francis–In Plain Sight	4.13
107	Brigitte DeMeyer–Seeker	4.1
108	Fruit Bats–The Pet Parade	4.09
109	Valerie June: The Moon and Stars	4.09
110	Heartless Bastards–A Beautiful Life	4.09
111	Kanye West–Donda	3.96
112	The Staves–Good Woman	3.91
113	Black Coffee–Subconsciously	3.67