It’s been a great year for new music—especially over the past six months. As COVID restrictions started to lift this summer, some of our favorite artists finally released the albums they’d been holding onto. Nearly every week, there was a flood of great new music to sift through. There were blockbuster releases from A-list artists—dueling rollouts from Kanye West and Drake dominated the summer—and standout albums from rising stars like Baby Keem, Summer Walker, and Don Toliver. On any given Friday, we were greeted with long-anticipated projects from veteran acts like Silk Sonic and stunning debuts from newcomers like Yebba.
For brief moments this year, as concerts made a return and major album releases resumed a regular cadence, things even started to feel (a little) normal again for music fans. As we do every December, we put together a list of our favorite albums of the past year. Hand-picked by the Complex Music staff, these are the albums that resonated with us the most in 2021 and defined the year in music. These are Complex’s picks for the best albums of 2021.
50. Migos, 'Culture III'

49. J Balvin, 'JOSE'

48. Meek Mill, 'Expensive Pain'

47. Aminé, 'TwoPointFive'

46. PinkPantheress, 'To Hell With It'

45. Pi'erre Bourne, 'The Life of Pi'erre 5'

44. Boldy James & The Alchemist, 'Bo Jackson'

43. Willow, 'Lately I Feel Everything'

42. Ransom & Rome Streetz, 'Coup De Grace'

41. Rod Wave, 'SoulFly'

40. Ka, 'A Martyr's Reward'

39. Slowthai, 'Tyron'

38. Billie Eilish, 'Happier Than Ever'

37. Morray, 'Street Sermons'

36. G Herbo, '25'

35. Lil Nas X, 'Montero'

34. Halsey, 'If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power'

33. James Blake, 'Friends That Break Your Heart'

32. Nas, 'King's Disease II'

31. Young Thug, 'Punk'

30. Sleepy Hallow, 'Still Sleep?'

29. Conway the Machine, 'La Maquina'

28. Armand Hammer & The Alchemist, 'Haram'

27. Yebba, 'Dawn'

26. Polo G, 'Hall of Fame'

25. Wale, 'Folarin II'

24. IDK, 'USee4Yourself'

23. Maxo Kream, 'Weight of the World'

22. Kacey Musgraves, 'Star-Crossed'

21. Snoh Aalegra, 'Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies'

20. Justin Bieber, 'Justice'

19. Vince Staples, 'Vince Staples'

18. Westside Gunn, 'Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf'

17. Isaiah Rashad, 'The House Is Burning'

16. Moneybagg Yo, 'A Gangsta's Pain'

15. Olivia Rodrigo, 'SOUR'

14. Silk Sonic, 'An Evening With Silk Sonic'

13. Baby Keem, 'The Melodic Blue'

12. Drake, 'Certified Lover Boy'

11. Benny the Butcher & Harry Fraud, 'The Plugs I Met 2'

10. Shelley FKA DRAM, 'Shelley FKA DRAM'

9. Don Toliver, 'Life of a Don'

8. Mach-Hommy, 'Pray For Haiti'

7. Summer Walker, 'Still Over It'

6. Kanye West, 'Donda'

5. Jazmine Sullivan, 'Heaux Tales'

4. Doja Cat, 'Planet Her'

3. Adele, '30'

2. J. Cole, 'The Off-Season'

1. Tyler, the Creator, 'Call Me If You Get Lost'
