The 20 best songs of 2021

From the lightest dream-pop to the heaviest metal, these are the tracks that moved us this year

By Alex McLevy, Clayton Purdom, Saloni Gajjar, Nina Hernandez, Gabrielle Sanchez, Shanicka Anderson, Tatiana Tenreyro | December 27, 2021 | 6:00am

Music Lists Songs

Clockwise from left: MUNA (Screenshot: YouTube), Baby Keem (Photo: Derek White/WireImage/Getty), Keshi (Screenshot: YouTube), Megan Thee Stallion (Screenshot: YouTube) Graphic: Natalie Peeples

2021 found our tastes in individual songs all over the map, possibly in order to better mirror our tempestuous relationship with the outside world, which goes from enticing to frightening so abruptly these days that we occasionally check to see if we have bungee cords attached to our bodies. A few caveats: Any artists that already made our Best Albums Of 2021 list were disqualified from inclusion here, in order to showcase the breadth and scope of musicians making such fantastic music this past year. (Sorry, mini masterpieces like Low’s “Days Like These” and Indigo De Souza’s “Kill Me.”)

Also, there was no double dipping: No one appears on this list twice, even if—like The Foxies or Megan Thee Stallion—there was good reason to nominate them for more than one track. There’s plenty of excellence to go around, and a few deserving names wouldn’t have appeared had we simply gone with the songs everyone already knows and loves. Hopefully, this is a chance for you to discover a track that escaped your attention over the past year; if nothing else, consider it an opportunity to hear some high points in genres you may normally avoid. Yes, that includes death metal. That shit thumps.

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Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar, “Family Ties”

Songs are miraculous things. These little slices of music, usually just a few minutes long, can completely overtake us—changing our mood, realigning our outlook, or even triggering some emotional catharsis we didn’t even know we needed. Okay, most of them do no such thing, it’s true—but that’s why the ones that do achieve such potent results are all the more affecting.2021 found our tastes in individual songs all over the map, possibly in order to better mirror our tempestuous relationship with the outside world, which goes from enticing to frightening so abruptly these days that we occasionally check to see if we have bungee cords attached to our bodies. A few caveats: Any artists that already made our were disqualified from inclusion here, in order to showcase the breadth and scope of musicians making such fantastic music this past year. (Sorry, mini masterpieces like Low’s “Days Like These” and Indigo De Souza’s “Kill Me.”) Also, there was no double dipping: No one appears on this list twice, even if—like The Foxies or Megan Thee Stallion—there was good reason to nominate them for more than one track. There’s plenty of excellence to go around, and a few deserving names wouldn’t have appeared had we simply gone with the songs everyone already knows and loves. Hopefully, this is a chance for you to discover a track that escaped your attention over the past year; if nothing else, consider it an opportunity to hear some high points in genres you may normally avoid. Yes, that includes death metal. That shit thumps. Note to desktop users: If you’d like to read this in a scrolling format, simply narrow your browser window.

Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar, “Family Ties”

: “And then Kenny returned from the mountaintop batshit gonzo, like mad that rap continued without him, mad that rappers rapped at all, standing behind you while you listen to the track, mad that you’re listening to it. Like the man says: Burn that shit. But have some fun doing it, you know?” [Clayton Purdom]

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Carcass, “Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1 In B)”

Our take: When you helped pioneer a genre, still dominating it decades later almost feels unfair. But when you’ve got the riffs, you’re almost obligated to serve them up, and if a few faces get melted off in the process, well, then your latest infusion of death metal has properly delivered. Maybe there’s something about waiting eight years between releases (see: She Said Destroy, also on this list) that primes the heavier-than-heavy pump to maximum fusillade. [Alex McLevy]

Doja Cat ft. SZA, “Kiss Me More”

: “It’s so damn catchy, no wonder everyone on TikTok seems to be obsessed with it. The song captures a young, free-spirited energy—it is a song about kissing, after all—with its disco-inspired beats, breezy lyrics, and a sensual overall vibe. Doja Cat and SZA bring their singing and rapping prowess to the song, which also interpolates Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical’ just for a little extra zing. ‘Kiss Me More’ is perfectly groovy, and sure to be on summer playlists for a long time.” []

Fletcher, “Girls Girls Girls”

: “New Jersey vocalist Fletcher stuns by twisting Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’ into a truly sexy ode to women who unapologetically love other women. Beyond content, Fletcher completely remakes Perry’s bubblegum pop into a raucous club banger.” [Nina Hernandez]

The Foxies, “Summer Never Dies”

: “Whatever alchemy is involved in combining just the right elements to create instantly addictive pop-rock anthems, The Foxies seem to have mastered it. ‘Summer Never Dies’ is only the latest example of the group’s knack for churning out one sugar-rush blitz of melody and exuberance after another, but it’s also among their best: A giddy synthesis of No Doubt, Jimmy Eat World, and Charlie XCX, it delivers a stirring paean to the exhilaration of taking a romantic leap of faith, capturing the falling-out-of-a-plane adrenaline rush of such a move with the music.” []

Heave Blood And Die, “Radio Silence”

Our take: Pounding without descending into sludge, and atmospheric without ever approaching the more accessible shoegaze of something like Deafheaven, Heave Blood And Die maximizes its Norwegian post-metal ambitions without falling backward into the genre conventions it so righteously upends. This is a song to go flying over the mountains, and land roughly atop the Hall of the Mountain King. [Alex McLevy]

Julien Baker, “Faith Healer”

Our take: At one point it seemed as though Julien Baker had had enough, that all the effort wasn’t paying off, that hope felt more and more like a fool’s game. But then the bridge in “Faith Healer” kicks in, and we all agree to suspend sadness, and put our trust in the blast of synths and the clarion call of a pattering rhythm that all but conjures a musical exorcism of the despair that was just there a second ago. Nice work, faith healer. [Alex McLevy]

Keshi, “beside you”

Our take: Keshi’s “beside you” is a smooth, unpretentious, low-fi R&B song. It’s not as guitar-forward as some of his previous releases, but his trademark falsetto reminds you that, yes, this is definitely a Keshi song. His impressive vocal range and hypnotic delivery mirrors the lyrics—all about desire and the undeniable force of attraction. And the “Don’t lie, baby, don’t lie” refrain in the chorus is catchy enough to have you humming the song under your breath even after only the first listen. [Shanicka Anderson]

The Linda Lindas, “Oh!”

Our take: “Nothing changes, it’s all the same.” When you feel like you fucked something up for the hundredth time, put this on. When you feel like someone else has fucked you over for the hundredth time, put this on. When you’re exhausted by the continual hunt for the sound of the new, put this on. When you’ve doom-scrolled to the end of the line and never want to see another digital slideshow or Instagram story again—well, you know what to do. Long live The Linda Lindas. [Alex McLevy]

Matt Sweeney and Bonnie Prince Billy, “Hall Of Death”

: “While there may be tracks more representative of this reunion album’s intimate, somber affair, ‘Hall Of Death’ explodes out of the record like a phoenix of rekindled fervor. Driven by the rousing Tuareg kineticism of the Mdou Moctar ensemble, the song speeds along as though the musicians are unleashing one last burst of go-for-broke celebration before the rain cloud of resignation returns, with Will Oldham’s lyrics offering a typically elusive mix of promise and problem. Here, that lack of certainty feels like cathartic freedom.” []

Megan Thee Stallion, “Thot Shit”

Our take: Tina Snow didn’t come here to play. Megan Thee Stallion brought out her alter ego for her. There’s a recipe for a Stallion hit: an infectious beat and awe-inspiring lines that stand out amongst her peers, and “Thot Shit” more than delivers on that front. Stallion exudes confidence, inviting listeners to tap into their respective inner Tina Snows and demand their dues. It may not have been as massive as Stallion’s other recent sex-positive hit, “WAP,” but it comes close in its potency. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Mitski, “Working For The Knife”

Our take: After a two-year hiatus, singer-songwriter Mitski rode in donning her cowboy hat once again to emotionally decimate us. “Working For The Knife” is a heady, industrial synth rock song about the inherent suffering of art and the brutalities of capitalism. Mitski sings about feelings lost, needing to find the utility in her work, and reflects on all the decisions that led her here. Nothing feels more achingly potent than her line ‘I always thought the choice was mine, and I was right, but I just chose wrong.’ We all live for the oppressive killer which is the knife, and we’re all dying for the knife right alongside her. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

MUNA featuring Phoebe Bridgers, “Silk Chiffon”

Our take: From someone who’s usually caught singing about depression, death, and the humdrum of life, hearing Phoebe Bridgers join trio MUNA to spout off, “Life’s so fun, life’s so fun,” is tinged with irony, but it feels exhilarating after the hellish two years we’ve all had. While queerness has always been an undertone of much pop, “Silk Chiffon” is a testament to WLW relationships and the beauty that arises in them (also the But I’m A Cheerleader-inspired music video screams: This is for you, gay women!). The song just kicks ass, with a chorus that washes over you in a soft pink radiance. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

Noname, “Rainforest”

Our take: In a now deleted Instagram story, that she may be done with music for good, citing the difficulties she has had making music. If that is indeed the case, her punchy one-off single “Rainforest” would be one hell of a send-off. Staunchly anti-capitalist and in search of revolutionary kindness, “Rainforest” is the perfect encapsulation of Noname’s artistic and political growth. [Baraka Kaseko]

Orla Gartland, “Zombie!”

Our take: There’s no need for elegance, no need for tact or politesse or even just keeping your feelings internalized. Pop music at its best can make you say “fuck it”—run through that field, scream into your pillow, dance like you’re possessed. Let it enervate your system, and revitalize what felt benumbed. When all of your body’s burning up, as Gartland says. [Alex McLevy]

Parquet Courts, “Walking At A Downtown Pace”

Our take: You don’t need to know anything about Parquet Courts while listening to “Walking At A Downtown Pace” to know it’s a New York-based band. The single off of the evokes the sensation you get while traversing the busy streets of the city. Its lyrics celebrate the brief return to “normalcy” where you could go back to having drinks with loved ones, evade rats on the sidewalk, and treasure the messy crowds that once seemed so irritating. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen, “Like I Used To”

: “It was a quiet Thursday afternoon when two of the greatest voices in modern rock, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen, dropped ‘Like I Used To,’ an unexpected gut punch of a song. As the reigning queens of nostalgia, their voices meld in harmonious vibrato good for making tears imminent. (As Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner said, ‘Angel Olsen could sing “Row Row Row Your Boat” and it would bring me to tears’). Van Etten’s and Olsen’s voices surge, crashing into one another in the lush ballad about the magic in life’s little moments.” []

She Said Destroy, “To Ourselves The World Entire”

Our take: When shredding just doesn’t go far enough, it’s time to call in the reserves. Over the course of six minutes—and after an eight-year hiatus from Norwegian speaker annihilators She Said Destroy—a pummeling Melvins-meets-Pantera groove slowly transforms, from math-rock metal to My Chemical Romance to late-period Rush to shoegaze prog to… well, enough genre-blending catharsis to make you wonder if most of the bands you listen to are just being lazy. [Alex McLevy]

Snow Ellet, “Cannonball”

: “Somewhere between untitled-era blink-182, mid-period Get Up Kids, and the Postal Service is this incredible Snow Ellet song. Easily the hookiest thing in a year full of pop-minded singles.” [David Anthony]

Spirit Of The Beehive, “There’s Nothing You Can’t Do”

Our take: The machines have infiltrated our dancefloors. Look no further than “There’s Nothing You Can’t Do”: A throbbing electro pulse slowly unwinds, pulling in ambient static, churning riffs, late-stage capitalism, and murmured assurances of Kraftwerkian efficiency that slowly devolve into a scream of “I’LL BE YOUR FRIEND.” Error, system failure, rebooting avant-pop music, please stand by. [Alex McLevy]

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