Best Music of 2021

The 64th Grammy Award nominations were announced in November. The ceremony was supposed to occur on January 31 at the Crypto.com Arena, formerly the Staples Center, but it has been postponed due to concerns over the Omicron variant. Jon Batiste received the most nominations with 11. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. follow with 8 nominations. Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo have 7 each.

Notably, Batiste's album We Are (2021) is probably the least-selling album of each title nominated for Album of the Year. Of the other nine albums, Batiste's is the only one not to crack the top ten on the Billboard 200. Batiste is the bandleader and music director for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (2015), but Batiste got a lot of attention early last year when he won the Golden Globe, the Critics' Choice Award, the BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on Pixar's Soul (2020).

Being an Oscar winner probably helped H.E.R. who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Fight for You," which was the track from Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). That particular song is up for Best Song Written for Visual Media, Best Traditional R&B Performance and Song of the Year. The recognition around "Fight for You" presumably helped to propel the success of H.E.R.'s debut album Back of My Mind (2021), which is also up for Album of the Year.

Eilish hasn't been nominated for an Academy Award, but many are predicting she will be for her titular song for the blockbuster No Time To Die (2021). This might also help her to win at this year's Grammy's. Yet, "No Time To Die" did win at last year's ceremony. Rodrigo's album is more critically acclaimed and might get her the gold this year. The other notable artist is Lil Nas X who is up for five Grammy's, including Album of the Year for his debut album Montero (2021). Lil Nas X is notable as being one of the most successful, Black gay musicians on the scene.

I wasn't that impressed with Lil Nas X's album as a whole, but I did love the track "Sun Goes Down" because of what it says about his experience being gay. Speaking of rap music, I have to say that I believe that this year was a really good year for hip hop. According to Metacritic, the two highest-rated albums of 2021 are both rap albums. One of which is Call Me If You Get Lost by Tyler, The Creator, which was #1 on the Billboard 200 and is nominated for Best Rap Album. I'm also inspired by the numerous Black gay or queer artists in the hip hop space, other than Lil Nas X. For example, there's Kevin Abstract of the band Brockhampton. There's Mykki Blanco who identifies as transgender and Chika who identifies as bisexual.

I wasn't a fan of H.E.R.'s album, but I absolutely loved the track "Hold On," which is probably my favorite song of 2021. Usually, I can come up with a list of dozens of songs and 30-plus albums, but I tried to include only things I really loved. Here's my list:

Best Folk / Country

REMEMBER HER NAME by Mickey Guyton
BE HERE INSTEAD by Parker Millsap
FLOWERS FOR VASES / DESCANSOS by Hayley Williams
TOPAZ by Israel Nash
ROSEGOLD by Ashley Monroe

Best Rock / Alternative

BUTTERFLY 3000 by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
OBVIOUSLY by Lake Street Dive
SILVER DREAM by Moon Taxi
A BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Heartless Bastards
CREATED FROM FILTH AND DUST by Lilith Czar
SURFACE SOUNDS by Kaleo

Best Pop / Electronic

30 by Adele
SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo
EUROPIANA by Jack Savoretti
KALEIDOSCOPE EYES by Sheppard
SKETCHY by Tune-Yards

Best R&B / Soul

WE ARE by Jon Batiste
PINK PLANET by Pink Sweat$
SHELLEY FKA DRAM by Shelley FKA DRAM
KEYS by Alicia Keys
NOT YOUR MUSE by Celeste
ON EARTH, AND IN HEAVEN by Robin Thicke
NINE by Sault

Best Hip Hop / Rap

CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST by Tyler the Creator
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH: THE INSPIRED ALBUM by Various artists
ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE by Brockhampton
BROKEN HEARTS AND BEAUTY SLEEP by Mykki Blanco
KING'S DISEASE II by Nas
SMILING WITH NO TEETH by Genesis Owusu
SNOOP DOGG PRESENTS ALGORITHM by Snoop Dogg
RHYTHMS OF ZAMUNDA by Various artists

Best Individual Song From Non-Listed Album

"Hold On" by H.E.R.
"Got Me" by Laura Mvula
"Lost You" by Snoh Aalegra
"Postcards" by Nao f/ Serpentwithfeet
"Be Alive" from Beyoncé from King Richard (2021)
"Sun Goes Down" & "VOID" by Lil Nas X
"Sometimes" by Mac Ayres
"Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd & Ariana Grande
"Cinderella, Pt. 2" by Chika
"Lost One" by Jasmine Sullivan
"Get It Right" by Common
"Africville's Revenge" by Cadence Weapon
"Just Kids" by Self Esteem
"Give Me a Sign" by Deap Vally
"Photo ID" (Remix) by Remi Wolf f/ Dominic Fike
"Sweet & Dandy" by Tash Sultana
"My Own Drum" by Ynairaly Simo from Vivo (2021)
"Beyond the Shore" by Emilia Jones from CODA (2021)