Adam Grundy’s Top Albums of 2021

This year was overwhelming in a lot of ways, right? Overwhelming with the possibility of another full year of dealing with a never-ending pandemic, and the overwhelming amount of content (in all mediums) that came out this year that helped us get through another crazy year. The music was fantastic, the TV shows that were being released were equally thrilling on various streaming platforms (as the networks quickly caught on to everyone “cutting the cord” of cable), the movies coming out were being simultaneously released at home as they were hitting theaters while they re-captured our imaginations, as well as several great books were released rekindling my love for the glory days of our scene. This year really had a lot of everything to it, and since this year was so unique, I expanded my year-end blog this year to cover a lot of those mediums that I don’t usually have enough time to talk about (besides a quick plug in the Chorus.FM forums). 

On top of my favorite 30 albums from this year, I’ve also dedicated key sections of this blog to an “honorable mention” category, my Top 10 EPs, my Top 10 Interviews I conducted, as well as my Top 5 Books, TV Shows, and Movies I really enjoyed during this year. Thanks again for all of the kind words you have shared about my writing, and I hope I have helped you discover new bands, and/or revisit records from a past life, as it makes contributing to this site such a labor of love. I wish everyone a very Happy New Year as we look ahead to more great content ahead.

Adam Grundy’s Top 30 Albums:

1. Turnstile – GLOW ON
2. M.A.G.S. – Say Things That Matter
3. CHVRCHES – Screen Violence
4. The Maine – XOXO: From Love and Anxiety In Real Time
5. The Slang – Divide
6. Middle Kids – Today We’re The Greatest
7. Snail Mail – Valentine
8. Hayley Williams – Flowers For Vases
9. Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
10. The Killers – Pressure Machine
11. Lucy Dacus – Home Video
12. Foo Fighters – Medicine At Midnight
13. Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God
14. Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
15. Twenty One Pilots – Scaled and Icy
16. Walk the Moon – Heights
17. The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
18. The Night Game – Dog Years
19. 09 – Lost Years
20. Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
21. Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version)
22. Chase Tremaine – Development & Compromise (2.0)
23. Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
24. Foxing – Drawn Down The Moon
25. Lakes – Start Again
26. Bullet For My Valentine – Bullet For My Valentine
27. John Mayer – Sob Rock
28. Origami Angel – GAMI GANG
29. Angels and Airwaves – Lifeforms
30. Halsey – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

Honorable Mentions:

• PLEXXAGLASS – Where is Your God, Knowing What You Know Now?
• Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
• Ours – Ours
• Kacey Musgraves – Star-Crossed
• Third Eye Blind – Our Bande Apart
• Mayday Parade – What It Means To Fall Apart
• Bad Luck. – Summer of Pain
• Electric Century – Electric Century
• Royal Blood – Typhoons
• Adele – 30

Top 10 EPs: 

1. Snarls – What About Flowers?
2. Camp Trash – Downtiming
3. Zebrahead – III
4. January Jane – Your Drug
5. David Cook – The Looking Glass
6. Meet Me @ The Altar – Model Citizen
7. Beabadoobee – Our Extended Play
8. Frank Iero and the Future Violents – Heaven Is a Place, This is A Place
9. Beach Bunny – Blame Game 
10. Sweep Echo – Moments Before The Wind

Top 10 Interviews I Conducted:

1. Dan Ozzi
2. January Jane w/ Matt Pinfield
3. Lee DeWyze
4. Sarah Rose of Sarah and the Safe Word
5. Tyler Posey and Mike Henneberger
6. M.A.G.S.
7. Hannah Joy of Middle Kids
8. Joe Principe of Rise Against
9. Garrett Nickelsen and Pat Kirch of The Maine 
10. Ali Tabatabaee and Adrian Estrella of Zebrahead

Top 5 Books:

1. Dan Ozzi – Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo and Hardcore (1994-2007)
2. Dave Grohl – The Storyteller
3. Jameson Ketchum – Name Dropping: Seeking Creative Truth Through Trendy Altruism and Punk Rock
4. Andrew McMahon – Three Pianos: A Memoir
5. The Beatles, and John Harris (editor) – The Beatles: Get Back

Top 5 Movies:

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home
2. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
3. Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage
4. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
5. Black Widow

Top 5 TV Shows:

1. WandaVision
2. Ted Lasso
3. Yellowstone
4. Mare of Easttown
5. Loki