There Stands the Glass

3. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

Highbrow hip-hop.

4. Tord Gustavsen Trio- Opening

5. Myra Melford- For the Love of Fire and Water

The pianist leads a free jazz supergroup.

6. Joel Ross- The Parable of the Poet

Palpably spiritual jazz.

7. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

8. Sault- Air

9. Cole Swindell- Stereotype

10. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

Understated excellence.

Top Ten Songs (Released in April)

1. Miranda Lambert- "Actin' Up"

Call the cops.

2. Kaitlin Butts- "She's Using"

Codeine dreams.

3. Christian Nodal- "Aguardiente"

Poison.

4. Bonnie Raitt- "Love So Strong"

Kombucha for the soul.

5. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

Reggae lion in winter.

6. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

The cat’s pajamas.

7. Young M.A.- “Tip the Surgeon”

Bloody.

8. Doechii- "Crazy"

Time to get right with God.

9. Lele Pons and Kim Loaiza- "Piketona"

Clubbed.

10. Making Movies- "Sala de los Pecadores"

Den of sin.

Top Ten Performances of April

1. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

2. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

3. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

4. Babehoven at Farewell

5. Kwan Leung Ling, Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at Charlotte Street Foundation

6. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

7. Maul at Vivo

8. Tyrone Clark, Charles Gatschet and Taylor Babb- Green Lady Lounge

The venue’s all-originals policy is paying off.

9. Jeff Harshbarger Quartet at the Blue Room

Standards deviations.

10. A Pile of Dead Horses at 7th Heaven

Fargo noise.

Last month’s survey is here.

William Brownlee

December 3, 2021

Take What You Want: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2021

William Brownlee

December 3, 2021

The Top 50 Albums of 2021

1. Kanye West- Donda

2. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

3. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

4. Molly Herron- Through Lines

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes with Attachments

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

7. The Metropolitan Opera- Philip Glass’ Akhnaten

8. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

9. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

10. Lise Davidsen- Beethoven Wagner Verdi

11. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

12. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

13. St. Vincent- Daddy's Home

14. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

15. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

16. Turnstile- Glow On

17. Marianne Faithful and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

18. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

19. Benoît Delbecq- The Weight of Light

20. Summer Walker- Still Over It

21. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

22. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine

23. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

24. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky

25. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

26. Max Richter- Exiles

27. Chris Thile- Laysongs

28. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

29. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

30. Migos- Culture III

31. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works

32. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

33. Morgan Wallen- Dangerous: The Double Album

34. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

35. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

36. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

37. Yola- Stand For Myself

38. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

39. Karol G- KG01516

40. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

41. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

42. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

43. Dopolarians- The Bond

44. Sara Serpa- Intimate Strangers

45. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire

46. Chynna- Drug Opera

47. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

48. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

49. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

50. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

The Top 25 EPs of 2021

1. Benny the Butcher- The Plugs I Met 2

2. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

3. Vince Staples- Vince Staples

4. Lyle Mays- Eberhard

5. The Alchemist- This Thing of Ours

6. Aida Cuevas- Antología de la Música Ranchera, Vol. 2

7. F*cked Up- Year of the Horse (four installments)

8. Rachika Nayar- Fragments

9. Wanda Jackson- Encore

10. Burial- Shock Power of Love

11. Los Dos Carnales- Corrido Pa’ la Historia

12. Benny the Butcher- Pyrex Picasso

13. Bummer- Dead Horse

14. Dare- Against All Odds

15. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Sincerely, Kentrell

16. Benjamin Mørk and Arve Henriksen- The Valleys

17. Rudimentary Peni- Great War

18. Portrayal of Guilt- We Are Always Alone

19. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir- Kom Vinur

20. Gatecreeper- An Unexpected Reality

21. Melvin Gibbs- 4 +1 Equals 5 for May 25

22. A Place to Bury Strangers- Hologram

23. Ryoji Ikeda- EP

24. Charlie Hunter- Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar

25. Rosie Lowe and Duval Timothy- Son

The Top 25 Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings

2. John Coltrane- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

3. Sun Ra- Lanquidity (Definitive Edition)

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- B-Sides & Rarities, Part II

5. Bob Dylan- Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16, 1980-1985

6. Nubya Garcia- Source ⧺ We Move

7. Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra- Kôrôlén

8. Alice Coltrane- Kirtan: Turiya Sings

9. Various- The Boys From Nairobi: 80s Benga & Rumba

10. The Beatles- Let It Be (Super Deluxe)

11. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

12. Lee Morgan- The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

13. Julius Hemphill- The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 1977-2007

14. The Beach Boys- Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971

15. Johnny Cash- Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968

16. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Winterwood Revealed: Live Vipers & Studio Doves

17. Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band- Tezeta

18. J Dilla- Welcome 2 Detroit: The 20th Anniversary Edition

19. Prince- Welcome 2 America

20. PJ Harvey- Is This Desire?: Demos

21. Dyke & The Blazers- I Got a Message Hollywood: 1968-1970