Top 10 pop albums of 2021

The Weather Station — Ignorance

“This is what the songs are for,” The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman sings on Ignorance: “This is the dirt beneath the floor.” Climate change is the ugly truth below the surface of things in the Canadian singer-songwriter’s album, which dramatises feelings of disavowal and guilt with high insight and skill. Released by Fat Possum Records

Nation of Language — A Way Forward

Yearnings that can’t be met recur in the lyrics on the second album from New York trio Nation of Language, articulated in songs that make you want to listen again. This perfect pop loop makes connections between early 1980s synth-pop and 2000s NYC rock, like a new circuit being activated. PIAS

Tyler, the Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

The year’s best US rap album opens with Tyler, the Creator motoring to Lake Geneva in a Rolls-Royce for a dip. The Californian maverick’s bold beats and inventive rapping prove no less refreshing. Themed around ideas of travel and freedom, his songs are unpredictable and gripping, the work of an auteur. Columbia Records

Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

London rapper Little Simz goes all out on Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. The lyrics are a chewy mix of memoir, social commentary and fantasy, negotiated with single-minded intent by Simz. Made with the gifted producer Inflo, the music occupies a richly imagined space too, encompassing cinematic orchestrations, Afrobeat, classic soul and hard-boiled rap. Age 101 Music

Little Simz: ‘I’ve never felt the need to be the loudest person in the room’

Loraine James — Reflection

Loraine James is a computer musician who makes inventive use of the oldest musical instrument in history, the voice. The Londoner’s second album Reflection places rapping, spoken-word passages and singing by her and various guests in a glitchy, unpredictable electronic setting, a dreamlike combination of beat-making and songcraft. Hyperdub

Erika de Casier — Sensational

The first track on Sensational is “Drama”, the second is called “Polite”. The juxtaposition sums up the Copenhagen-based, Portugal-born singer’s second album, a sleek exercise in slow-burning R&B that redeems tastefulness from the handbook of lazy critical pejoratives. There are no vocal somersaults or attention-grabbing beats, just stylish, compact songs. 4AD

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra — Promises

It’s usually easier to make a promise than keep it. Taking five years to complete, Promises wasn’t easy to make — but it fulfils its potential magnificently. Led by electronic musician Floating Points, its nine movements feature delicately weighted sax solos from jazz great Pharoah Sanders and handsome orchestrations from the LSO. Luaka Bop

Pauline Anna Strom — Angel Tears in Sunlight

The first album of new material from San Francisco ambient musician Pauline Anna Strom in more than 30 years sadly became a posthumous release following her death in 2020. Its synthesised chimes and pulsing electronic rhythms pick up the threads of her earlier recording career, a cosmic-music masterclass. RVNG Intl

Bicep — Isles

Contrary to its title, Bicep’s Isles isn’t insular. “Atlas” features a vocal sample of the late Israeli singer Ofra Haza, while “Apricots” has samples of Bulgarian and Malawian vocalists. Belfast duo Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar create an expansive dance-music setting for these voices, not blandly globalised but outward-looking and dynamic. Ninja Tune

Sleaford Mods — Spare Ribs

Austerity, Brexit, coronavirus: the harsh ABC of modern Britain meets a fine pair of lexicographers in the form of Sleaford Mods. Spare Ribs finds the Nottingham duo at the height of their powers, making the best of a bad lot with profane lyricism (Jason Williamson) and remorselessly itchy beats (Andrew Fearn). Rough Trade

Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson: ‘Nothing shocks anybody any more’

All albums are available on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital platforms