Year's End: 100 Songs
Here it is. The Crossover Appeal's one hundred favorite tracks in 2021. The rules of eligibility are simple. The songs had to come out this year (if it was a single in 2020 but released on an album in 2021, that counts) and only one song from each artist could make its way on the list.
If you don't want to make your way through the entire list - feel free to skip to the bottom where you'll find a link to the full Spotify playlist. Every one of these tracks is golden. You really can't go wrong.
100. G.S.K. - Squid
Kicking off the list with a hit of atmosphere. This sardonic, dystopian cut from post-rock newcomers Squid is a paranoid shout along that encapsulates the energy from these past two years better than most.
99. You Can Do It (feat. nit) - Cola Boyy
A dancey bop of a track, that's a little mathy and a lot irresistible.
98. Nice - Elohim
Self-care in a single. I too want to be nice to myself until I start liking myself.
97. Once I had a Sweetheart - The Body, BIG|BRAVE
This surprising collaboration between a group known for harsh walls of sound and another group known for huge experimental metal odysseys somehow yielded a massive southern gothic epic, twang and desolate prairies included.
96. If You Say (feat. Sarz) - Obongjayar
Synthy, vibey, dimly lit, this is a slow burn sex bomb that rides on the raspy strength of Obongjayar's vocal.
95. Thunderous - Stray Kids
Stray Kids are doing K-pop louder (and better) than pretty much anyone else. Volume up.
94. Twenty Long Years - Lord Huron
Lo-fi Americana about regret and memory, the way it should be.
93. Don't Try It - Larry June & Cardo
Dynamic, ice cold verses on top a vintage instrumental with boom bap, bounce, and west coast influences all over.
92. Silene - Richard Dawson & Circle
Another weird collab makes the list with this remarkable track from a folk storyteller and a prog legend. Scene setting as music.
91. 19th Floor - Joy Crookes
Cinematic and slinky, with a melody made for rainy days, Crookes delivers a moody charge worthy of inclusion on all your vibey playlists.
90. Fighter - Sneaker Pimps & Simonne Jones
The new Sneaker Pimps record didn't live up to a lot of folks' expectations given the pedigree in consideration, but this track stands tall as a dark, melodic bit of trip hop.
89. END - CHAI
The soundtrack to your 90s revivalist montage. Grab your lunchbox and your ninja turtles thermos and crank those headphones up.
88. Butter - BTS
Is it the best thing BTS has ever done? No. Does that matter? Also no.
87. Where Are We Now - MAMAMOO
Hitting like a farewell song, it's a gorgeous 90s-style power ballad with four of the best voices in the Korean pop industry.
86. On the Ground - Rosé
Yes, this is basically a derivative riff on Taylor Swift meets 00s era pop-step, but it's still a cute showcase of the Blackpink member's vocal talents, earnest against the odds.
85. Two Saviors - Buck Meek
Both intimate and mythic, this track takes you on a quiet and imaginative journey.
84. The Call - Madlib
A masterclass in sampling that manipulates classic rock sounds into a heavy, groovy bit of instrumental hip hop.
83. Diamond Studded Shoes - Yola
Yola's Grammy nom is like the one thing that decrepit organization got right this year.
82. Outside Laughing - Mason Lindahl
The production on this modest folk track elevates the gorgeous arrangement into something that feels gigantic and all-encompassing. A track that asks you to give yourself over and you do.
81. BAD SAD AND MAD - BIBI
A tight little pop rap number bursting with personality and just a little bit of self-destructive edge.
80. Headshots (4r Da Locals) - Isaiah Rashad
Zay's rapping here feels urgent and melodic and the song's main hook is worth riding for days.
79. Renegade (feat. Taylor Swift) - Big Red Machine
Both Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon have been collaborating with Taylor for years so it's no big surprise to see her guesting on their side project. What is a surprise is that this track stands toe-to-toe with any other Taylor release in 2021.
78. Savage - aespa
Noisy and harsh as well as catchy af, Savage sees SM newcomers, aespa, playing around with hyperpop to great effect. Just ignore the bonkers cyberpunk lore behind all the lyrics and you'll be fine.
77. I WHO BEND THE TALL GRASSES - Lingua Ignota
No other track on this playlist will be as much of an interruption to your listening experience as this one. Monastic music for the end of days, it's a terrifying bit of choral experimentation that sees Kristen Hayter more as harbinger of fiery vengeance than experimental musician.
76. Anthony Kiedis - Remi Wolf
Funky, witty, and hooky, this track from Remi Wolf is a wry explosion of fun.
75. SWIPE - ITZY
With this track, ITZY continues to answer the question, "what if Kidz Bop was actually good as hell?"
74. Black Sunlight (feat. KAYANA) - Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
Revolving around a tight, soulful loop, this track is rife with religious and political references, weaving a powerful and personal track about blackness in America.
73. PWRDRL (feat. Elcamino) - Benny The Butcher
A filthy beat and a dark narrative about criminality and violence makes this a blistering instant classic. Score another one for Griselda.
72. Leave It - quickly, quickly
It's the drum loop on this one that does it for me. The whole song is just such a deep, deep groove, could listen to it for days.
71. I'm a B - Hwa Sa
Might be underwhelming on first listen, especially if you're familiar with Hwa Sa's earlier work, "Maria", but the pre-chorus/chorus vocal is pure ear candy.
70. Drunk Voicemail - Pom Pom Squad
The kind of track that will ensure I check out anything Pom Pom Squad does for years. Shades of Speedy Ortiz, Sasami, and Wolf Alice.
69. Extremely Online - Jason Griff & Alaska
This year was flush with great hip hop collabs. Here's another one. Lyricism is sharp, instrumentals are a fresh blend of vintage beats and sci-fi synths, the whole thing is so fresh.
68. Odd Eye - Dreamcatcher
K-pop as psytrance pop metal. Send tweet.
67. justified - Kacey Musgraves
In love with Kacey's vocal delivery here. Her casual delivery in the midst of so much emotional confusion is bewitching. Understated and underrated track from this record.
66. Homemade Lemonade - Adeline Hotel
Dueling guitars and lush production expand this short instrumental track out into more than the sum of its parts.
65. War (feat. Nazamba) - The Bug
Take the experimental aggression that has come to define Death Grips, swirl in a healthy mix of Jamaican dub and UK drum & bass, and you've got this harrowing track from one of the year's most exciting releases.
64. TERROR PACKETS - Backxwash
Speaking of experimental aggression, here's this fucking thing. Backxwash's occultic take on horrorcore reaches its peak with this five minute odyssey that puts the systemic intersections of oppressive religion, homophobic violence, and racism on full ugly display.
63. In A Good Way - Faye Webster
Hitting like a warmer, mopey-er Courtney Barnett, this track is a sweet little song about finding yourself in love with the kind of person you'd always hoped you would.
62. John Wick - New Long Leg
"They've really changed the pace of the Antiques Roadshow" is the year's best lyric that also works as a pandemic-era ice breaker.
61. Shook - Cautious Clay
The chorus on this thing is easily one of the best r&b vocals of the year for me. Not particularly complicated, nothing virtuosic going on here, just pure honey sweet.
60. Never Will Know (feat. Micah James, Gold Midas) - McKinley Dixon
Dixon is one of my favorite hip hop discoveries this year, and this track is a great example why. Organic, playful, and groovy instrumentals open the space up for some truly excellent rapping. Just feels natural.
59. Deep End - Foushee
When I think about what 2021 sounded like, this is the first track that might come to mind. Raspy, bluesy vocals over muted finger picking, lonely keys, and a vaguely trap click make for an addictive listen.
58. Snow Day - shame
An early entry into the year's glut of quality post-punk/post-rock releases, this track is a bundle of nervous, explosive energy just barely kept under wraps.
57. Super Jock - Rob Sonic
These grimy synth layers meeting up with Rob's run-on deliveries are a match made in hellish heaven.
56. PARANOIA - KANG DANIEL
One of the darker tracks to make it out of the K-pop machine this year, Daniel really sells the angst here.
55. It's Not My Fault - Princess Nokia
Last time Princess Nokia dropped a set of tracks she was dabbling in 90s alt-rock. The fact that she comes roaring back with this bit of latin-flavored bling is an absurd testament to her range.
54. Atlantis (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) - Noah Gundersen
Haunting, meandering lyrics hit hard with the assist from Bridgers. Subtle, gorgeous songwriting.
53. Accumulates - David Gray
David Gray's been doing this acoustic troubadour thing for a long, long time - and somehow he's still outdoing himself. Soaring vocals and melancholic finger picking are the stars of the show on this testament to yearning.
52. Try Lingual - Really From
Sounding like a phoenix from the ashes of early aughts indie pop, but then pushing out into contemporary math rock and midwest emo, this song showcases a lot of what makes the group so special.
51. Flying on Faith - Chung Ha
While "Bicycle" and "Stay Tonight" are the flashier cuts, this track from Chung Ha's epic four-parter is an aggressively catchy bit of staccato pop. It's all about the precision and dynamics of her voice here.
50. Friendly - Erika de Casier
A late night whisper of a track, de Casier's layered harmonies shine against the stripped-back r&b instrumental.
49. High & Hurt - Iceage
Rock & roll's death has been greatly exaggerated.
48. Chivalry Is Not Dead - Hiatus Kaiyote
Shimmering and weird, like if Tame Impala somehow found a groove to upbeat happiness. It's a goofy exploration of pastiche that somehow feels authentic. And if that sounds pretentious, don't worry about it - just give it a listen.
47. jealousy, jealousy - Olivia Rodrigo
This is the one. Apologies to brutal, drivers license, and of course good 4 u.
46. Darker Place - Rachel Chinouriri
I'm sort of mad this track isn't higher on the list. Delicate melodies in the verses give way to a soft-spoken chorus that rises to epic proportions. Absolute banger.
45. Rainforest - Noname
Offering up some of the best, most literary, most strident lyricism anywhere in 2021, this track demands your attention. Solidarity in a song.
44. Same Size Shoe - serpentwithfeet
Both grand and light-hearted, this track is a gorgeous expression of murky affection, the miracle of sharing space with another human being.
43. Hustle (feat. Kojey Radical) - Sons of Kemet
A ferocious and rhythmic eruption of percussion, brass, and poetry that I've been coming back to again and again all year.
42. Hurt You - Spiritbox
You may not want to, but you really need to make room in your heart for the most recent waves of nu-metal revivalism. The heady mixture of screams, cleans, and djent-influenced breakdowns are supported here by Spiritbox's sharp attention to producing catchy melodies. It's great stuff.
41. m y . l i f e (with 21 Savage & Morray) - J. Cole
The new J. Cole record was his most focused collection of songs in a long time, and this track is my favorite of the bunch. It all comes down to the Morray-voiced hook which offers a strong spine for a song that explores the precarity of getting out from under the thumb of racial and economic inequity.
40. What Type of X - Jessi
It's like Jessi listened to 90s-era Kid Rock and was like "I could make this not be cringe." And she did.
39. All Eyes On Me - Bo Burnham
Bo's Netflix special is chock full of great music, but this is the song that stands best on its own. With synth strings straight off a Purity Ring record and Burnham's vocal drifting into existential panic, it's both a beautiful and harrowing track.
38. INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow) - Lil Nas X
Pop music like this - that is, silly, fun, genre-defining, and thoroughly affirming - doesn't come around often. Real zeitgeist shit.
37. At Least We Found the Floor - Foxing
On a record full of huge, moving arrangements that reach for the stars, this track that sounds like an acoustic cover of Modest Mouse is the one that stuck with me most. A desperate, keening paean to hoping for better.
36. I am not a woman, I'm a god - Halsey
This isn't a Kanye moment for Halsey. It's an expansion of her artistic ambitions, a signature to a growing body of work that consistently gets undervalued by the critical community. Yes, the collaboration with Nine Inch Nails is a big part of what makes this song so good, but that collaboration is a function of Halsey's talents, not the other way around.
35. My Little Love - Adele
A heartwrenching and intimate track that sees Adele using her incredible voice to paint in the details of pain rather than throwing them up writ large in the sky. The result is a gorgeous, ugly cry of a track.
34. Atlas - Bicep
There's a single synth line in this long, messy trance that pierces through the noise with maybe the sweetest melodic hook I heard all year. It's catchy to the point of madness.
33. DON'T SHOOT UP THE PARTY - BROCKHAMPTON
Equal parts anger and sadness underscore this complicated banger. It's a novel, hook-laden composition that layers sound upon sound into what is ultimately an surprisingly listenable pop track.
32. Follower - Max Richter
A long series of cascading, musical swells that will overwhelm you if you aren't careful. I'm moved nearly to tears every time I hear this track, even without the context of Richter's full composition.
31. Top Picks for You - Injury Reserve
Finding tenderness in the brutality of loss and the noise of contemporary social media landscapes is what this track is all about. It's shockingly successful.
30. The Other Side - Jazmine Sullivan
More than any other song on the record, The Other Side showcases what I love so much about Sullivan's voice. Whip-flexible, butter-smooth, and expressive as anything, it's a minor miracle.
29. Nice Guys - Beach Bunny
If you found yourself getting reacquainted to pop punk this year thanks to Olivia Rodrigo, The Linda Lindas, and WILLOW, might I suggest you put Beach Bunny into your regular rotation? Because this song absolutely rips.
28. Drones (feat. Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla $ign, and James Fauntleroy) - Terrace Martin
Stuff a track this full of talent and it's going to be overwhelmed by the cooks in the kitchen, nine times out of ten. Instead, Terrace Martin delivers a funky blast of vintage soul that works as a playground for the other players. Unmissable.
27. Razor's Edge - Emma Ruth Rundle
Painfully intimate in its exploration of fighting against your own demons, this track is a powerful wince. Rundle's voice arrives like Alanis Morissette after a ten year bender, edgy and worn, cracking and wise.
26. Sticker - NCT 127
Maybe the most bonkers K-pop instrumental to see the light of day in 2021, and I love it for that.
25. Right on Time - Brandi Carlile
There are many things that make Brandi Carlile special in a generational way - her respect for vintage country music, her powerful live performances, her beautiful lyricism. More than anything though it's her voice, the way it stretches, cracks, opens, and returns, that captivates me. I don't know how to listen to this song in public yet - when her voice climbs up through "these silent days" to that rasping high note, it's a strangled sob in the throat that you just can't swallow.
24. We Playin' Bad Games
Extremely bad ass energy. Bluesy riffs and the richest timbre on a vocal performance you'll find anywhere this year, it's essential listening.
23. You Ain't Never Been Blu(e)
Spitting rapid-fire over a sparkling jazz composition, Blu delivers a special, incisive rager with this track. Bracing, for sure, to hear someone lead off with "Fuck what you're going through" in the year two thousand and twenty one, but he backs it up with a constant barrage of anti-racist and anti-classist analysis.
22. John L - black midi
Chaotic and technical, the most impressive achievement this song has to its name is how despite the warring instruments and trademark vocal delivery, it never for a second stops being exhilarating.
21. Un Monde Nouveau - Feu! Chatterton
I know absolutely nothing about French pop rock, but I do know this song is a classy vibe. Like listening to someone affectionately make fun of Wes Anderson.
20. Ain't Nice - Viagra Boys
The first track I listened to this year that really grabbed me. Obnoxious and hilarious, it's a filthy punk barnburner that will keep me company for years to come.
19. Head On - Jose Gonzalez
Listening to this song is like watching a time lapse of an artist painting a magnificent canvas, each new brush stroke building on the last until finally you have a single clear image, bursting with energy. Absolute genius.
18. Space 4 - Nala Sinephro
How do you choose a single track from Nala Sinephro's ambient jazz composition, Space 1.8? You don't. But if you have to because you've decided to make a list highlighting your favorite tracks of the year, you pick this one, because of how clearly it showcases her brilliant sense of melody, the beauty of her harp up against the brass of the ensemble, and the way it keeps resonating long after it's been turned off.
17. The Feels - TWICE
When it comes to pure pop bliss, it's hard to get better than this. A bright, flaming confection ready to be listened to ad infinitum.
16. Blouse - Clairo
Rising like a hymn out of the lo-fi production, this song feels like an intrusion, like someone has pulled the curtain back on someone else's painful moment. Extraordinary vulnerability that transforms this modest song into the warmth of shared grief.
15. Something for 2 - Magdalena Bay
Propulsive, submerged beats keep this melancholic electronic pop number moving. Lush production all over the place on this thing. Ethereal, seductive vocals. It's like PC Music meets Phantogram meets something a lot more downtempo.
14. BLACKOUT - Turnstile
Hardcore punk as pop. That's what this is. And it is a fiery, ferocious blast of satisfying riffage and shouts. This is how you thought The Offspring sounded when you first heard them in tenth grade.
13. Broken Wings - Danielle Durack
There's a self-effacing kind of wit to Durack's music that makes them easy to connect with instantly. The lyrics here are quotable turns of phrase that all feel like a punch to the gut, and the full band's explosion before the bridge feels like the sound you make halfway between a laugh and a sob. I adore this song.
12. Doom Boy - The Dirty Nil
Look. I'm not hear to argue this is the most historically significant, politically important, artistically innovative track of the year. I'm just hear to tell you that with this track, The Dirty Nil made me feel like I was sixteen years old, terrified I'd never have sex, and taking that out on myself in the mosh pit. It's pure, uncut, pop punk nostalgia and I want everyone in the world to hear how good that can sound.
11. LAW OF AVERAGES - Vince Staples
The murky sample lends the track a mournful edge and Vince's rapping matches the mood. It's a bitter, paranoid track that's honest about the costs of fame. It's Vince with the winking, acerbic facade on pause. It's a treat to see him working in this kind of vulnerability. Don't know when we'll see it again.
10. Boys at School - The Turning Wheel
Clocking in at seven and a half minutes long, Boys at School somehow feels brisk, such is the strength of the songwriting on display. Coming out on the other side feels like blinking wide when the theater lights come up. It's a weird, self-contained piece that, despite the complexity and ambition of it, rises to be even more than the sum of its parts. I've never heard anything like it.
9. Leave the Door Open - Silk Sonic
What more is there to say? This is Bruno Mars/Anderson.Paak daydream simulator, the song. It's infuriating how good this track is. Maybe the best thing Bruno's ever done.
8. Friends That Break Your Heart - James Blake
On his last record, Assume Form, it seemed like James Blake was doing pretty well - he'd found love, he was finding himself more secure, maybe even more sexy, than he ever had. With this track, all the rushing fragility of his earlier work comes flooding back, but instead of wrapped up in the fractured electronic soundscapes he used to work in, here it's as a devastating acoustic ballad. It's rare to hear music about the pain in friendships rather than in romance, and it's rarer still to hear it delivered with this kind of conviction. One of James' best ever.
7. Tender Organs - Amythyst Kiah
Not enough people are talking about the incredible talent that is Amythyst Kiah. Her record, Wary + Strange is wall-to-wall full of incredible songs, but this is my favorite. Containing multiple movements and deeply reflecting on the blues - as a form and as an experience - it's a hugely moving track that will make you believe in God and make you believe that He's left you behind.
6. White Horses - Low
Hard to remember a time where noise has felt this tuneful, this choral. Hard to believe how good Low still is after all this time - that they're still finding new musical territory to explore nearly thirty years on from their debut. It is a testament to their incredible talent as both collaborators and musicians. This track is church music filtered through a faceless machine, through Moloch. "Still, white horses take us home."
5. Be Sweet - Japanese Breakfast
I don't know what more you could want out of a pop rock song. It's damn near perfect.
4. Violent Delights - CHVRCHES
CHVRCHES are veterans of the synthpop scene - hell, they're more responsible for the last ten years of synthpop revivalism than most. On their last record it seemed like maybe some of the steam was running out for them. We needn't have worried. This track sees CHVRCHES at their very best. Huge, and I mean huge soaring choruses, tuneful earworm melodies, and lush production all lay atop an acoustic but submerged drumkit. And of course there's Lauren Mayberry's voice, one of the most iconic around. It's my most listened to song of the year. I just can't stop hitting play.
3. Thumbs - Lucy Dacus
Dacus is, obviously, enormously talented as a songwriter and performer and I've loved her work for a while, but even I was taken aback by how hard this song hits. It is the most economical, most raw delivery of emotion I felt all year - I sometimes can't believe this song exists just out there for people to listen to. Cheers to Lucy Dacus for sharing this with the world. It's an absolute beast of a song that lives sheerly on the merit of her own bravery.
2. Sunshine - Cleo Sol
Have you ever had a really terrible day, like really terrible, where you've felt wrung out completely, unable even to cry about the things that have gone wrong? And then have you fell out of that day into the arms of a mother, a sister, or a lover who somehow shares their warmth with you and, even though it doesn't really fix anything, it gradually seeps in through your pores, bit by bit, and then you realize that you can breathe a little easier than you could before? And have you in that moment realized that this is what love feels like when it is right? When it wants you to just be ok? That's what this song is like. Cleo Sol has given us a classic with this track. It's a shining dart of warmth, inching its way to your heart with every passing repetition of the hook.
Number One: I Love You, I Hate You - Little Simz
No one outshone Little Simz in 2021. After dropping the enormous, epic single Introvert and then the sharp and groovy Point and Kill, she came back with this track. It's raw, confessional, and introspective, but it's also full of ripping energy. The way Simz mines her own pain for strength and then externalizes that strength with open palms - it's nothing short of inspiring. Of course, the production on the track is incredible. There's layered chorused background vocals, a full horn section, and then that racing double kick bass beat that all swirls in a tight spiral around Little Simz herself. But that's just it, it's Simz' voice that is always at the heart of things. She's the best in the game right now, bar none, and this track is maybe the best example of how much farther ahead the rest of the pack she really is.
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