It seemed inevitable that 2021 would constantly feel as if in a lull. The ever-running streams of music encountered a major dam that stopped all live music and most studio gatherings. The wait-it-out approach with COVID stretched over a full year and many artists simply were unsure of releasing music in an environment where they couldn’t sell tickets (a pretty damning indictment on the lack of a living wage that can be accrued from streaming royalties alone). Until Adele released 30 last weekend, it’s hard to say if there were any definitive album release events that everyone clamored to see, and the ones that you could classify as such won’t be looked upon too fondly (Donda, Solar Power, Certified Lover Boy, Justice). Despite all that, great music manages to trickle out across all genres, mainstream and underground. One great song can lift your spirits at any given moment, and so here are 75 songs from the last 12 months or so that hopefully do that for you as it did for me.
Check out the end for a playlist of all 75 songs!
75. Yaya Bey – “fxck it then”
74. Dawn Richard – “Bussifame”
73. Tinashe (ft. Jeremih) – “X”
72. Parquet Courts – “Walking at a Downtown Pace”
71. Lost Girls – “Menneskekollektivet”
70. Holly Humberstone – “Scarlett”
69. Monaleo – “Suck It Up”
68. Mitski – “Working for the Knife”
67. Yves Tumor – “Jackie”
66. Mandy, Indiana – “Bottle Episode”
65. José González – “El Invento”
64. Mannequin Pussy – “Control”
63. The War on Drugs (ft. Lucius) – “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
62. Tirzah – “Send Me”
61. Lily Konigsberg – “Owe Me”
60. Laura Mvula – “Got Me”
59. Low – “More”
58. Jenevieve – “Midnight Charm”
57. IAN SWEET – “Drink the Lake”
56. Turnstile – “MYSTERY”
55. Cakes da Killa x Proper Villains – “Taste Test”
54. Bad Bunny – “Yonaguni”
53. Saweetie (ft. Doja Cat) – “Best Friend”
52. Lorde – “Solar Power”
51. Faye Webster – “In a Good Way”
50. Lana Del Rey – “Sweet Carolina”
49. Cardi B – “Up”
48. Overmono – “Bby”
47. Mdou Moctar – “Tala Tannam”
46. Wiki (ft. Earl Sweatshirt) – “All I Need”
45. Mach-Hommy – “The Stellar Ray Theory”
44. Adele – “Easy on Me”
43. serpentwithfeet – “Same Size Shoe”
42. Erika de Casier – “Drama”
41. Kacey Musgraves – “justified”
40. Big Red Machine (ft. Taylor Swift) – “Renegade”
39. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE – “THE SERVER IS IMMERSED”
38. Water from Your Eyes – “‘Quotations'”
37. WILLOW (ft. Travis Barker) – “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l”
36. Playboi Carti – “Slay3r”
35. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson . Paak) – “Leave the Door Open”
34. India Jordan – “And Groove”
33. Arooj Aftab – “Mohabbat”
32. The Weather Station – “Tried to Tell You”
31. L’Rain – “Find It”
30. Earl Sweatshirt – “2010”
29. Low – “Days Like These”
28. Los Legendarios (ft. Wisin & Jhay Cortez) – “Fiel”
27. Helado Negro – “Gemini and Leo”
26. Katy Kirby – “Cool Dry Place”
25. Baby Keem (ft. Kendrick Lamar) – “family ties”
24. Billie Eilish – “NDA”
23. Dry Cleaning – “Unsmart Lady”
22. Pooh Shiesty (ft. Lil Durk) – “Back in Blood”
21. Jayda G – “All I Need”
20. Polo G – “RAPSTAR”
19. Big Thief – “Little Things”
18. Mitski – “The Only Heartbreaker”
17. Adele – “To Be Loved”
16. Joy Orbison (ft. Léa Sen) – “better”
15. Snail Mail – “Valentine”
14. The War on Drugs – “Living Proof”
13. Magdalena Bay – “Secrets (Your Fire)”
12. Overmono – “So U Know”
11. Jessie Ware – “Please”
10. Big Thief – “Change”
9. Jazmine Sullivan – “Pick Up Your Feelings”
8. Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet”
7. Indigo De Souza – “Hold U”
6. Doja Cat (ft. SZA) – “Kiss Me More”
5. illuminati hotties – “MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA”
4. Cassandra Jenkins – “Hard Drive”
3. Megan Thee Stallion – “Thot Shit”
2. Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”
1. Olivia Rodrigo – “good 4 u”
Bitter Melodies 