“Best-of” lists are generally subjective at best, but with Discogs’ data, interesting music trends surface in the numbers. By looking at how many Discogs users have added albums to their Wantlists and Collections throughout the year, it’s easy to see which artists and genres were the most popular in 2021.
So which types of music did the Discogs Community collect and covet this past year?
Indie rock legends Weezer and Dinosaur Jr. both released new albums this year that were well-received by fans. Two Weezer albums (Van Weezer and OK Human) and Dinosaur Jr.’s Sweep It Into Space ended up in over 20,000 Collections and Wantlists in 2021.
English groups Shame and Dry Cleaning each landed on the list with their fresh takes on the classic post-punk sound. London band Black Midi also made waves throughout the Community with their latest album Cavalcade.
Metal giants Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, and Gojira all gave us releases that the Community couldn’t get enough of. Genre-hopping hardcore band Turnstile was also on the tip of many tongues. Their latest effort, Glow On, was the best-selling record in September 2021, the month after its release. Over 4,000 Discogs users currently have the album in their Collection.
Hip-hop had a great year as well. Madlib’s Sound Ancestors and the latest collaboration between Czarface and MF Doom were highly collected and desired by Discogs users.
Last, but most certainly not least, pop albums shined throughout 2021. The top 10 is full of female pop artists that took the year by storm. Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Halsey, and Taylor Swift all claimed high-ranking spots with the most collected and wanted albums of 2021.
About the data: In order to prepare this list in time for a year-end review, the Wantlist and Collection data reflects January 1, 2021, through November 30, 2021.
Best Albums of 2021
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No. 50. Weezer – Van Weezer
Crush Music, Atlantic
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No. 49. Pink Floyd – Live At Knebworth 1990
Pink Floyd Records
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No. 48. Kings Of Leon – When You See Yourself
RCA
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No. 47. Shame – Drunk Tank Pink
Dead Oceans
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No. 46. Bicep – Isles
Ninja Tune
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No. 45. Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
4AD
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No. 44. The Offspring – Let The Bad Times Roll
Concord Records
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No. 43. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Age 101 Music
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No. 42. Prince – Welcome 2 America
NPG Records, Legacy, The Prince Estate
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No. 41. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – L.W.
Flightless
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No. 40. Squid – Bright Green Field
Warp Records
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No. 39. Dinosaur Jr. – Sweep It Into Space
Jagjaguwar
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No. 38. Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Matador
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No. 37. Helloween – Helloween
Nuclear Blast
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No. 36. Godspeed You Black Emperor! – G_d’s Pee At State’s End!
Constellation
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No. 35. Black Midi – Cavalcade
Rough Trade
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No. 34. Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams
Transgressive Records, Beatnik
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No. 33. Weezer – OK Human
Atlantic, Crush Music
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No. 32. John Mayer – Sob Rock
Columbia, Sony Music
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No. 31. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Metal Blade Records
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No. 30. Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Dead Oceans
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No. 29. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000
KGLW
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No. 28. Kacey Musgraves – Star-Crossed
Interscope Records, MCA Nashville
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No. 27. Turnstile – Glow On
Roadrunner Records
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No. 26. Steven Wilson – The Future Bites
Caroline International
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No. 25. Czarface, MF Doom – Super What?
Silver Age
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No. 24. Mogwai – As The Love Continues
Rock Action Records
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No. 23. Dee Gees / Foo Fighters – Hail Satin
Roswell Records, RCA, Sony Music
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No. 22. Royal Blood – Typhoons
Warner Records
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No. 21. Madlib – Sound Ancestors
Madlib Invazion
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No. 20. Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
Dirty Hit
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No. 19. Black Country, New Road – For The First Time
Ninja Tune
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No. 18. Adele – 30
Columbia, Sony Music
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No. 17. Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version)
Republic Records
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No. 16. Radiohead – Kid A Mnesia
XL Recordings
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No. 15. Lana Del Rey – Blue Banisters
Polydor, Interscope Records
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No. 14. Greta Van Fleet – The Battle At Garden’s Gate
Republic Records, Lava
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No. 13. St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home
Loma Vista
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No. 12. Gojira – Fortitude
Roadrunner Records
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No. 11. The Black Keys – Delta Kream
Easy Eye Sound, Nonesuch
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No. 10. Taylor Swift – Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Republic Records
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No. 8. ABBA – Voyage
Polar
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No. 7. Halsey – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
Capitol Records
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No. 6. The White Stripes – My Sister Thanks You And I Thank You The White Stripes Greatest Hits
Third Man Records
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No. 5. Lorde – Solar Power
Crush Music, Universal Music New Zealand
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No. 4. Iron Maiden – Senjutsu
Parlophone
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No. 3. Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
Geffen Records
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No. 2. Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Interscope Records, Darkroom
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No. 1. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Polydor, Interscope Records
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