Ramona Park Broke My Heart - Vince Staples - Rap, West Coast Hip Hop

Dreamland (Deluxe) - Zhu - House, Alt R&B

Once Twice Melody - Beach House - Dreampop

Traumazine - Megan Thee Stallion - Hip Hop, Rap

Super Champon - Otoboke Beaver - Hardcore Punk

Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky - Porridge Radio - Indie Rock

The Car - Arctic Monkeys - Indie Rock, Baroque Pop

Esquemas - Becky G - Latin Pop, Reggaeton

Dirt Femme - Tove Lo - Dance Pop

Giving the world away - Hatchie - Dreampop, Synthpop

50. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar

Genre: Hip Hop | Standouts: Purple Hearts, The Heart Part 5, Mother I Sober

49. Chloë and the Next 20th Century - Father John Misty

Genre: Traditional Pop Vocals | Standouts: Olvidalo (Otro Momento), Funny Girl, Buddy's Rendezvous

48. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Big Thief

Genre: Folk | Standouts: Simulation Swarm, Little Things, Time Escaping

47. MUNA - MUNA

Genre: Synthpop | Standouts: What I Want, Runners High, Anything But Me

46. Hard - Tove Styrke

Genre: Electropop | Standouts: Start Walking, Lies, YouYouYou

45. Natural Brown Prom Queen - Sudan Archives

Genre: Alt R&B | Standouts: NBPQ (Topless), OMG BRIT, Freakilizer

44. age/sex/location - Ari Lennox

Genre: Neo Soul | Standouts: Queen Space, Pressure, Waste My Time

43. Skin - Ho99o9

Genre: Industrial Hip Hop | Standouts: ...Speak Of The Devil, Battery Not Included, Slo Bread

42. <COPINGMECHANISM> - Willow

Genre: Punk Rock | Standouts: Perfectly Not Close To Me, hover like a GODDESS, curious / furious

41. A Light for Attracting Attention - The Smile

Genre: Art Rock | Standouts: The Smoke, Skrting on the Surface, You Will Never Work in Television Again

40. The Silence in Between - Bob Moses

Genre: Synthpop | Standouts: Love Brand New, Time and Time Again, Never Ending

39. Las ruinas - Rico Nasty

Genre: Hip Hop, Electronic | Standouts: One On 5, Gotsta Get Paid, Watch Your Man

38. Three Dimensions Deep - Amber Mark

Genre: R&B | Standouts: What It Is, Softly, Foreign Things

37. Sick! - Earl Sweatshirt

Genre: Hip Hop | Standouts: 2010, Titanic, Tabula Rasa

36. PLASMA - Perfume

Genre: J-Pop | Standouts: Spinning World, Playback, ∞ loop

35. Shunka Ryougen - Haru Nemuri

Genre: J-Rock | Standouts: who the fuck is burning the forest?, Old Fashioned, Ikiru

34. Raw Data Feel - Everything Everything

Genre: Alternative, Pop Rock | Standouts: Teletype, Cut UP!, Jennifer

33. Preacher's Daughter - Ethel Cain

Genre: Singer Songwriter | Standouts: American Teenager, Sun Bleached Flies, Gibson Girl

32. WE - Arcade Fire

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: The Lightning II, The Lightning I, Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)

31. American Gurl - Kilo Kish

Genre: Electropop | Standouts: Bloody Future, New Tricks: Art, Aesthetics, and Money, American Gurl

30. Mamaru - Rupaul

Genre: Hyperpop, Bubblegum Bass | Standouts: Smile, Just What They Want, Fascination

29. Cool It Down - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: Spitting of the edge of the world, Wolf, Fleez

28. Gemini Rights - Steve Lacey

Genre: NeoSoul, Bedroom Pop | Standouts: Mercury, Bad Habits, Sunshine

27. Fossora - Björk

Genre: Electronic, ArtPop | Standouts: Fossora, Allow, Ancestress

26. The Dream - alt-j

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: Get Better, Hard Drive Gold, Chicago

25. PAINLESS - Nilüfer Yanya

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: shameless, midnight sun, stabilise

24. The Loneliest Time - Carly Rae Jepsen

Genre: Dancepop | Standouts: The Loneliest Time, Talking To Yourself, Bends

23. Dance Fever - Florence + The Machine

Genre: Chamberpop | Standouts: Dream Girl Evil, Choreomania, My Love

22. Impera - Ghost

Genre: Metal, Glam Rock | Standouts: Call Me Little Sunshine, Hunter’s Moon, Twenties

21. Observatory - Aeon Station

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: Leaves, Hold On, Fade

20. Fantasy Gateway - Cuco

Genre: Psychedelic Pop | Standouts: Aura, Fin Del Mundo, Foolish

19. The End, So Far - Slipknot

Genre: Nu Metal | Standouts: Adderal, The Dying Song (Time to Sing), The Chapeltown Rag

18. Glitch Princess - yeule

Genre: Glitch Pop | Standouts: Don't Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty, Bites on my neck, Too Dead Inside

17. Demon Time - Mura Masa

Genre: Electronic | Standouts: Hollaback Bitch, E-motions, Bbycakes

16. AGUILERA - Christina Aguilera

Genre: Latin Pop | Standouts: Traguito, Ya Llegue, La Reina

15. Squeeze - Sasami

Genre: Indie Rock | Standouts: Say It, Tried To Understand, Call Me Home

14. Hold the Girl - Rina Sawayama

Genre: Pop Rock | Standouts: Hold The Girl, This Hell, Imagining

13. JÁJÁ ÉQÚÍSDÉ (Distopía Aburrida) - Putochinomaricón

Genre: Hyperpop | Standouts: Tamagotchi, Chique de internet, Otra fisicalidad

12. Dawn FM - The Weeknd

Genre: Synthpop | Standouts: Take My Breath, Out Of Time, Every Angel is Terrifying

11. LABYRINTHITIS - Destroyer

Genre: Art Rock | Standouts: Tintoretto It's for You, Eat the Wine, Drink the Bread, June

10. Nocturna - Javiera Mena

Genre: Dancepop, House, Freestyle | Standouts: Culpa, Diva, Sombra

A delightful culmination of Javieras work throughout the pandemic and beyond, Nocturna rides on old highs with just enough new tricks to excite you all over again.

9. Un verano sin ti - Bad Bunny

Genre: Reggaeton, Latin Pop, Afrobeats | Standouts: El Apagon, Me Porto Bonito, Tarot

The album that defined summer for the masses backs up its hype in quality. Despite it's density, the fun never lets up and Bad Bunny takes opportunities to push the reggaeton genre to new heights.

8. BADモード (Bad Mode) - Hikaru Utada

Genre: Jpop, R&B, Downtempo, Lounge | Standouts: BADモード, Somewhere Near Marseilles, 気分じゃないの (Not in the Mood)

Another album that was a product of the pandemic, Hiki serves a combination of grand soundtrack anthems (get that coin) and wonderful therapeutic confessions backed by lush downtempo instrumentals spanning multiple genres.

7. Caprisongs - FKA Twigs

Genre: Alt R&B, UK Bass, Dancehall | Standouts: Papi Bones, Darjeeling, Meta Angel

Twigs pivots from the dramatic art statement from Magdelene and allows herself to have fun and explore her culture, sensuality, mental health, and anything else that flowed free.

6. Nymph - Shygirl

Genre: UK Garage, Alt R&B, Deconstructed Club | Standouts: Poison, Firefly, Shlut

Shy's debut direction is debatably alienating and genius all the same. I don't think she would have ever lived up to a true followup in Alias' sound, but this more downtempo sleek sexy sound while not always consistent is certainly memorable.

5. Love Sux - Avril Lavigne

Genre: Pop Punk | Standouts: F.U., Bite Me, Love Sux

No one does pop punk revival like Avril. LS is bratty, flirty, and so tweeny its sick. The album flies through like a sugar high with endless replay value.

4. Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

Genre: Art Rock, Chamber Pop | Standouts: Concorde, Haldern, The Place Where He Inserted the Blade

Where "For the First Time" felt like a playground to try new ideas Ants feels a fully realized project with vast epics and amazing theatrics. Never a dull moment in this hour of content.

3. CRASH - Charli XCX

Genre: Dancepop | Standouts: Constant Repeat, Good Ones, Yuck

We don't need to go over the great post-irony in the album's rollout and execution. It's a fantastic pop project that defined the first half of the year for the gays.

2. MOTOMAMI - Rosalía

Genre: Artpop, Neoperreo, Flamenco | Standouts: Saoko, Bizzcochito, Hentai

Love Mayo. Rosalía has not met a culture in Latin America she didn't like, and Tokisha's tether really pulled through with wonderful progression from El Mal Querer. The production is extremely eclectic, yet the album remains one of the years most cohesive.

1. Renaissance - Beyoncé

Genre: House, Dancepop, Ballroom | Standouts: Alien Superstar, America Has A Problem, Virgo's Groove
A love letter to her black, queer fans and ballroom. Renaissance feels like a victory lap for said fans, and what's wonderful about this and any Beyoncé project is that she takes on no project without time, research, care and resources. The project was immaculately crafted front to back.