Best Albums

The Observer

www.theguardian.com/observer

Highest Rated Albums of 2021

2020s
- All Time
- 2020s
- 2010s
- 2000s

Genre

2021

This is an ordered list of The Observer's highest rated albums of 2021. Check out The Observer's Year End List.

1. IDLES - CRAWLER

November 12, 2021

Art Punk, Post-Punk

Noise Rock, Post-Hardcore, Art Rock

Score

100

2. Leon Bridges - Gold-Diggers Sound

July 23, 2021

Pop Soul, Contemporary R&B

Score

100

3. SAULT - Nine

June 25, 2021

Neo-Soul

Contemporary R&B, Funk, UK Hip Hop

Score

100

Source →

Amazon

4. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg

April 2, 2021

Post-Punk

Spoken Word, Art Punk

Score

100

5. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

March 26, 2021

Post-Minimalism, Third Stream

Progressive Electronic, Ambient, Minimalism

Score

100

6. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE

February 25, 2021

Art Pop, Chamber Pop

Ambient Pop, Art Rock

Score

100

7. Ghetts - Conflict Of Interest

February 19, 2021

UK Hip Hop, Grime, Conscious Hip Hop

Score

100

8. Black Country, New Road - For the first time

February 5, 2021

Experimental Rock, Post-Punk, Post-Rock

Art Punk, Klezmer, Art Rock, Jazz-Rock

Score

100

9. The Weather Station - Ignorance

February 5, 2021

Art Pop, Sophisti-Pop, Chamber Pop

Chamber Pop

Score

100

10. Joyce DiDonato & Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Schubert: Winterreise

April 23, 2021

Lied, Romanticism

Score

Source →

Amazon

11. Jeff Parker - Forfolks

December 10, 2021

Score

12. Kansas Smitty's - Plunderphonia

October 29, 2021

Jazz Fusion

Score

Source →

Amazon

13. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Barn

December 10, 2021

Score

14. Arca - KicK iii

December 1, 2021

Deconstructed Club, Glitch Hop, Experimental Hip Hop

Industrial Hip Hop, IDM, Latin Electronic

Score

15. Bill Callahan & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Blind Date Party

December 10, 2021

Indie Folk, Folk Rock

Alt-Country, Indietronica

Score

16. Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki

November 26, 2021

Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Folk Rock, Krautrock, Psychedelic Rock

Score

17. Daedelus & Joshua Idehen - Holy Water over Sons

November 26, 2021

Electronic, Ambient, Poetry

Score

Source →

Amazon

18. Christy Moore - Flying Into Mystery

November 19, 2021

Score

Source →

Amazon

19. Elbow - Flying Dream 1

November 19, 2021

Score

20. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof

November 19, 2021

Score

21. Adele - 30

November 19, 2021

Pop Soul, Adult Contemporary

Traditional Pop, Contemporary R&B, Neo-Soul, Adult Contemporary

Score

22. Buffalo Nichols - Buffalo Nichols

October 15, 2021

Score

23. Justin Adams & Mauro Durante - Still Moving

October 29, 2021

Score

Source →

Amazon

24. Joan As Police Woman, Tony Allen & Dave Okumu - The Solution Is Restless

November 5, 2021

Score

25. The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore

October 29, 2021

Score

...

NOTE: This is not a year end list. This list is ordered by the ratings The Observer awarded albums throughout 2021.