ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

Tala Tannam is a very beautiful acoustic track; I retract the 'Judas' which was a joke anyway :p

This is the first of the several albums that had 3 songs place on the track list to show up

a fine debut but kind of obviously a padded out EP, it’s too high here but it was too high on every year-end list

i guess that’s my version of dissing the modern-day jagged little pill which would’ve been no. 13 on ilm’s ‘95 list i assume

https://i.imgur.com/oS2AJXT.jpg
12. Dawn Richard - Second Line
381 points / 15 votes
Video from the album: “Morning/Streetlights”
The purpose built next generation interstellar Dawn Richard thread

B-tier Dawn is still good, albeit this is very B-tier for her

her discog is so multifaceted at this point. love this record

ok so those are two out of the three albums i listened to and loved the most last year, pretty sure the other one isn't placing

I'm surprised that the Sinephro record is that high too, really good record though and it does sound incredible. For fans of it I'd also recommend that John Carroll Kirby record 'Septet' from last year, it's also incredibly produced.

somehow Moctar is my best discovery of both polls

I basically agree with both Brad and imago about this album, which I voted for but was a little less viscerally thrilled by compared to last few

sinephro has been on my list for months, i'll put it on this afternoon

I hate to say it, but seeing the Dawn cover zoomed in like that, it's kind of wack

how is it possible Dawn is getting more interesting with each album

Will imago dislike this one barely made it to the top 10?

https://i.imgur.com/DIGKjri.jpg
11. L'Rain - Fatigue
423 points / 13 votes / 1 #1 vote
Video from the album: “Find It”
Does anything sound like L'Rain?

I like Dawn Richard but calling the album 'Second Line' and including those little audio clips talking about New Orleans and second line culture, but the music having zero reference to it, it drives me a little crazy. I mean it's part of her culture and she's not beholden to it, but still.

yeah this is good - brilliant at points - and L'Rain deserves plenty of attention (and your attendance at any gig she performs near you, seriously), but this is a classic case of a merely-good record getting the props that its masterpiece predecessor failed to get at the time

lol @ 11 in both polls tho, c'mon

listened to Second Line way more than.... anything else that i didn't find room for on my ballot. Feels bad!

only really vibed with track 1 on the L'Rain but I'll go back

l'rain is touring with animal collective this fall, apparently

I hate to say it, but seeing the Dawn cover zoomed in like that, it's kind of wack

― rob

Lol it took me months to want to listen to it because I hated the album cover

xp ok wow, would go

L’Rain is touring with Sharon van Etten here.

xp
I hadn't noticed that's a real photo under the drawing...bad choice :/

on the plus side, I put the album on and I wonder if I've been underrating it

you have been

XD

Ah, nice, third album from my ballot to place.

Dreamlike and flows really well

Space 1.8 is so, so good for a debut. Only listened to L'Rain once but was really impressed--need to go back. Second Line rules. Was very high on my ballot. Getting a bit nervous about Arooj Aftab but thinking she could be top 10?

Aftab will place, don't worry

totally

i’m ready for that top ten

Bussifame is a good soundtrack for astral projecting "save us" at Moka

Arooooooj

lol

somehow I forgot about that wonderful thumb piano outro on Bussifame (sorry I should have made these posts in the other poll)

Tinashe, Japanese Breakfast, Arooj, Floating Points, Low, Magdalena Bay, Billie??

pulling for an aftab #1, but no way she beats too low

she's got the obama seal of approval. even if she doesn't win the popular vote, she can rely the electoral college.

The only irl Olivia Rodrigo fan I know is a 12yo girl and I would take this over some other things she might listen to so wtg Sour?

xpost Wolf Alice and CHVRCHES will be in here too.

xp: I'm sure you know some 43yo men who are also Olivia Rodrigo fans

Billie who, I'm sure the top 5 will be Soccer96, Pino Palladino & Blake Mills, Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes, Tristan Arp, and John Coltrane.

xpost Not if you're lucky

Only via the Internet xxp

pulling for an aftab #1, but no way she beats too low

― roflrofl fight (voodoo chili), Friday, February 11, 2022 11:17 AM (three minutes ago)

she's my #1 so I also briefly indulged this fantasy, but Low not winning would be a stunning upset

My #2 but I wouldn't have thought she had a shot at top 5.

Would be strange if the Can live album made the list but A Love Supreme Live did not.

that doesn't seem strange to me in the context of ilm

And I mean, "Brutal" got her to practise guitar again. I'm all for it.xps

I assumed all the Oliva Rodrigo hype I've seen on social media was some nexus of payola, Disney pervs, and adults not following new music too closely.