Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Kansas City is a small town. Even so, my version of Kansas City is vastly different from the place many of my music-minded peers call home. Rankings of 55 of my favorite recordings released by artists from the Kansas City area during the first 42 weeks of 2021 follow. A handful of highly praised albums didn’t make the cut. The omissions aren't personal. I simply prefer the titles listed below. Additionally, several albums by prominent locally based musicians are slated for release in the final weeks of 2021.
The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2021
1. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky
2. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun
3. Steddy P- SOS: Toxic
4. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II
5. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
6. Blackstarkids- Puppies Forever
7. Flooding- Flooding
8. Hermon Mehari and Alessandro Lanzoni- Arc Fiction
9. Verploegh and Baker- Singles
10. Samantha Fish- Faster
11. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland
12. Liam Kazer- Due North
13. Hxxs- Channeler
14. Steve Million- What I Meant to Say
15. Tech N9ne- Asin9ne
16. Silicone Prairie- My Life on the Silicone Prairie
17. GI Gizzle and Rich the Factor- Don't Take This Personal 2
18. John Armato- The Drummer Loves Ballads
19. Melissa Etheridge- One Way Out
20. Riley Downing- Start It Over
21. Cheli Davis Smith Trio- Composite
22. Florian Arbenz, Hermon Mehari and Nelson Veras- Conversation #1: Condensed
23. Lucy Wijnands- Sings the David Heckendorn Song Book
24. Sara Morgan- Another Nail
25. Milkdrop- Thirty Eight
The Top 20 Kansas City EPs of 2021
1. Bummer- Dead Horse
2. Blob Castle- Music for Art Show
3. Big Water- ...And I’m All Out of Sh*t to F**k Up
4. The Greeting Committee- Dandelion
5. Baby and the Brain- BrainBaby
6. Rachel Cion - Wanted!
7. Rich the Factor- Mobbligated
8. Alber- Journey
9. Stik Figa- East of MacVicar Ave
10. Quiet Takes- San Fidel
11. Alyssa Murray- Half & Half
12. Sarin Reaper- Demo
13. Maal and Tom Richman- Grass
14. Cuee- Gospel
15. Lauren Anderson- Love on the Rocks
16. Connor Leimer- Like My Mind
17. Andy McKee- Symbol
18. Rory Fresco- Born Hero
19. Edison Lights- Shake This
20. Such Lovely People- Great Distinction
The Top Ten Kansas City Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021
1. Kevin Morby- A Night at the Little Los Angeles
2. Mike Dillon- Shoot the Moon
3. Mike Dillon- 1918
4. Merlin- Electric Children: The Final Cut
5. Rich the Factor- Streets vs. Commercial: 100 Song Collection, Part 1
6. The Wild Women of Kansas City- Live at Pilgrim Chapel
7. Kansas- Point of Know Return: Live & Beyond
8. Danny Cox- Young and Hot: Live at Cowtown Ballroom
9. Whiskey Boots- #1
10. Vitreous Humor- Posthumous
Last year’s rankings of Kansas City releases are here.