It’s that time of the year again. Starting December 5th I will begin counting down my favorite albums of 2021. It’s been a great year for new music and it was nearly impossible to pick just twenty albums to talk about. I hope to uncover a new favorite artist for someone. Ten of the artists on my list are new discoveries for me.

The whole reason I do this list every year is to discover new music. I don’t ever want to become someone that only listens to the old stuff I grew up on. It’s a lot of work putting this all together and for the last five or six years I have said to myself this is the last year. Yet I keep coming back because I can’t help but to scream about these albums that touched me every year.

Will I be back to do it again next year? Most likely but its never guaranteed. Life for me is different these days and I might want to spend the hours I do on this project doing something else.

My pick for EP of the year is: Holly Humberstone – The Walls Are Way Too Thin

Holly Humberstone’s EP from last year was on my short list for a favorite. She followed up that incredible debut with another solid short collection of songs. That hook in the title track will be stuck in your head forever, its so damn good.

My pick for live album of the year is: The Interrupters – Live in Tokyo!

I used this live album as a primer leading up to their opening set at the HellaMega Tour. It perfectly captures all of their energy they put out live on stage.