The 21 best albums, songs of 2021

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, the powerful and cinematic fourth album by London-born rapper Little Simz, has been named the best record of 2021.

A journey through her family background and artistic struggles, it’s been praised for its “razor-sharp lyricism” and “extravagant, orchestral” songs.

The album topped a BBC News “poll of polls” that combined the results of 30 critics’ end-of-year lists.

“I have always wanted to make classic albums,” she said this year.

“I have always wanted to make music that stands the test of time, and hopefully I keep doing that.”

The victory comes days after Simz, whose real name is Simbiatu Ajikawo, was nominated for four Brit Awards, including best artist and album of the year.

Other artists on the list included Adele, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X – who all share Little Simz’s confessional instincts, drawing on experiences of divorce, self-doubt, racism and homophobia, to create some of the year’s most compelling music.

Rodrigo also topped our chart of the year’s best singles with Good 4U — a poppunk putdown worthy of Debbie Harry at her most sneery.

Lil Nas X’s coming out anthem Montero (Call Me By Your Name) took second place, while Taylor Swift’s expanded and re-recorded version of her 2012 break-up anthem All Too Well came third.

But some of the year’s biggest-selling songs failed to meet with the critics’ approval.

Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits, which spent 11 weeks at number one, didn’t receive a single vote; while BTS’s summer dance anthem Butter narrowly missed the top 20 (they are both superbly-written pop songs).

Similarly, major new albums by Coldplay, Drake and Abba picked up next-to-no votes when it came to ranking the year's releases.

Instead, the charts highlighted lesserknown acts like Tyler, The Creator, and Self Esteem, whose huge creative gambles paid off in 2021, while recognising the songcraft of pop classicists like Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift.

I discovered a few new favourites while compiling the (frankly unwieldy) spreadsheet of results. One in particular — Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s emotionallydevastating Like I Used To — immediately took up residence in my most-played list, having passed me by when it came out in May. Hopefully you will discover something to love too. I have put a playlist of the best songs on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube so you can check them out for yourself (parental caution is advised).

And here is a rundown of the top singles and albums:

The Best Albums of 2021

• Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be

Introvert

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

• Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

• Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

• Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales

• Tyler, The Creator - Call Me If You Get

Self Esteem -

• Low -

• Lil Nas X -

• Adele -

The Best Songs of 2021

• Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4U

• Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

• Silk Sonic - Leave The Door Open

• Taylor Swift - All Too Well (Taylor's Version)

• Wizkid ft Tems – Essence. — BBC

Online.

Savage is BBC music correspondent.