THE BEST OF 2021 IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN BOMMARITO

 THE BEST OF 2021 IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN BOMMARITO

It’s time for my annual look back at the year in music.    

 

Per normal, I have broken them into separate categories because a covers album is usually full of familiar songs as is a Christmas album. A few artists covered their own material on an album that wasn’t really a live album (I’m looking at you Barry Gibb, Eric Clapton and Paul Weller)  EP's are short so they shouldn’t be counted the same as an album in my book. I define an EP as a release containing 3-7 songs.

 

Here is my yearly explanation of how I come up with the rating: I rate each song on each album on a 10-point scale. Then I do the math. So if an album has 11 songs, it has 110 possible points.  Perhaps it gets 66 points.  It's final score would be 6.0.  It's usually a pretty good way to determine what the best albums are. However, I've discovered a flaw in the system.  If an album has two songs that are just awesome, 10 on a 10 scale and then 8 songs that are mediocre, say a 5 out of 10, that would give it a score that makes it appear as the full album is better than it is.  Until I come up with a better system, this is how it will be. And of course, sometimes there is a tie with albums having the same score. The top 3 albums of 2021 are all very, very close in their score so it was almost a 3-way tie at the top and that’s never happened.

 

If you’d like to watch/listen to a YouTube playlist of some of the tracks from these albums, you can go here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx8NBomfmLsU8o_WiAYwmH2CRi4Kkp6oI

 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2021

1-SETH GLIER-THE CORONATION

2-CHRIS DUPONT-FLOODPLAINS

2-VERVE PIPE-THREADS

4-JOHN MAYER-SOB ROCK

5-ED SHEERAN-(=) (LIMITED DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION)

6-STEVE EVERETT-LITTLE WINS

7-JON MCLAUGHLIN-ALL THE THINGS I SAY TO MYSELF

8-RIN TARSY-PARADOX

8-NEEDTOBREATHE-INTO THE MYSTERY

8-SHANE NICHOLSON-LIVING IN COLOUR

11-ONEREPUBLIC-HUMAN (JAPANESE EDITION)

12-YOLA-STAND FOR MYSELF

13-BRANDI CARLILE-IN THESE SILENT DAYS

13-PAUL CARRACK-ONE ONE ONE

15-BROTHERS KOREN-I WANT THE SEA TO BE FREE

16-MAT KEARNEY-JANUARY FLOWER

17-KALEO-SURFACE SOUNDS

17-KINGS OF LEON-WHEN YOU SEE YOURSELF

19-TOAD THE WET SPROCKET-STARTING NOW

20-IMAGINE DRAGONS-MERCURY ACT 1

20-ACCIDENTALS-VESSEL

22-BOB SCHNEIDER-IN A ROOMFUL OF BLOOD WITH A SLEEPING TIGER

22-DELTA RAE-THE DARK

24-ADELE-30 (TARGET EDITION)

25-COLDPLAY-MUSIC OF THE SPHERES (JAPANESE EDITION)

26-GABE DIXON-LAY IT ON ME

27-NATHANIEL RATELIFF  & THE NIGHTSWEATS-THE FUTURE (TARGET EDITION)

28-EVANESSENCE-THE BITTER TRUTH (JAPANESE EDITION)

29-DEL AMITRI-FATAL MISTAKES

30-NOAH GUNDERSEN-A PILLAR OF SALT

30-KACEY MUSGRAVES-STAR CROSSED (TARGET EDITION)

30-SERENA RYDER-THE ART OF FALLING APART

30-JOSHUA RADIN-THE GHOST AND THE WALL

34-BIRDY-YOUNG HEART

34-PENTATONIX-THE LUCKY ONES (JAPANESE EDITION)

36-BLUES TRAVELER-TRAVELER'S BLUES

36-AMYTHYST KIAH-WARY AND STRANGE

38-CRAIG CARDIFF-ALL THIS TIME RUNNING

39-WALLFOWERS-EXIT WOUNDS

39-STAVES-GOOD WOMAN

39-ANDREA VON KAMPEN-THAT SPELL

39-STING-THE BRIDGE (DELUXE JAPANESE EDITION)

39-RYANHOOD-UNDER THE LEAVES

44-FOY VANCE-SIGNS OF LIFE

45-SWITCHFOOT-INTERROBANG

46-MARK JEWETT-THE LUCKY ONE

47-ROUGH AND TUMBLE-WE'RE ONLY FAMILY IF YOU SAY SO

47-DAVE GAHAN & SOULSAVERS-IMPOSTER

47-RECORD COMPANY-PLAY LOUD

50-ELTON JOHN-THE LOCKDOWN SESSIONS (JAPANESE EDITION)

51-DAUGHTRY-DEARLY BELOVED

52-CINDY ALEXANDER-LIGHTNING

52-LAKE STREET DIVE-OBVIOUSLY

54-MAROON 5-JORDI (TARGET EDITION)

55-JADE BIRD-DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIGHT

55-NEWTON FAULKNER-INTERFERENCE (OF LIGHT)

57-CHEAP TRICK-ANOTHER WORLD

57-COLIN JAMES-OPEN ROAD

59-JACKSON BROWNE-DOWNHILL FROM EVERYWHERE

59-EMILY WOLF-OUTLIER

61-PRINCE-WELCOME 2 AMERICA

61-CROWDED HOUSE-DREAMERS ARE WAITING

61-ANDERSON EAST-MAYBE WE NEVER DIE

64-DAVID GRAY-SKELLIG

65-DURAN DURAN-FUTURE PAST (JAPANESE EDITION)

66-TORI AMOS-OCEAN TO OCEAN

67-PAUL MCCARTNEY-III IMAGINED

67-BILLY BRAGG-THE MILLION THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED

69-TEXAS-HI

70-AIMEE MANN-QUEENS OF THE SUMMER HOTEL

71-PAULWELLER-FAT POP VOL. 1

72-VAN MORRISON-LATEST RECORD PROJECT VOLUME 1

73-CHRIS THILE-LAYSONGS

73-ALISON RUSSELL-OUTSIDE CHILD

 

 

TOP COVERS ALBUMS OF 2021

1--COLIN HAY-I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF

2--BRIAN VANDER ARK-PLANET SUNDAY SESSIONS VOLUME II

3--MATT NATHANSON-ACHTUNG MATTY

3--REBECCA LOEBE-SECONDHAND SONGS

5--2CELLOS-DEDICATED

6--BARRY GIBB-GREENFIELDS: THE GIBB BROTHERS' SONGBOOK

7--JESSE TERRY-FORGET-ME-NOTS VOLUMES 1 & 2

8--CHRIS CORNELL-NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOU ANYMORE VOL. 1

9--PAUAL COLE-AMERICAN QUILT

9--JASON ISBELL  AND THE 400 UNIT-GEORGIA BLUE

9--RAUL MALO-QUARANTUNES

9--PETE YORN-SINGS THE CLASSICS

13--TONY BENNETT & LADY GAGA-LOVE FOR SALE (JAPANESE EDITION)

14--JAKE SHIMABUKURO-JAKE AND FRIENDS

15--SARA WATKINS-UNDER THE PEPPER TREE

16--ERIC CLAPTON-THE LADY IN THE BALCONY - LOCKDOWN SESSIONS

17--PIANO GUYS-CHILL

17--PIANO GUYS-LULLABY

19--ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS-RAISE THE ROOF (TARGET EDITION)

20--MOBY-REPRISE

21--PAUL WELLER-AN ORCHESTRATED SONGBOOK

22--CANADIAN BRASS-CANADIANA

23--AOIFE O'DONOVAN-AOIFE PLAYS NEBRASKA

24--CHRISSIE HYNDE-STANDING IN THE DOORWAY - CHRISSIE HYNDE SINGS BOB DYLAN

25--SEAN MCCANN-SHANTY MAN

 

TOP EP's OF 2021

1-ALAN DOYLE-BACK TO THE HARBOUR

2-DEL AMITRI-FATAL MISTAKES OUTTAKES AND B-SIDES

2-ACCIDENTALS-TIME OUT SESSION #1

4-ANTWAUN STANLEY  & TYLER DUNCAN-ASCENSION

4-BAHAMAS-LIVE TO TAPE VOLUME 1

6-SAVANNAH CONLEY -SURPRISE, SURPRISE

7-TRAGICALLY HIP-SASKADELPHIA

8-DOOBIE BROTHERS-DOOBIE BROTHERS

 

 

TOP LIVE ALBUMS OF 2021

1--NEEDTOBREATHE-INSIDERS LP VOL. VIII

2--SARA BAREILLES-AMIDST THE CHAOS-LIVE FROM THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

3--U2-LIVE AT THE APOLLO

4--NOIRAH JONES-…TIL WE MEET AGAIN

5--RICK SPRINGFIELD-ORCHESTRATING MY LIFE: LIVE

6--SAM SMITH-LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

7--SISTER HAZEL-BEFORE THE AMPLIFIERS 2

8--NATHANIEL RATELIFF-RED ROCKS 2020

9--COWBOY JUNKIES-MUSIC IS THE DRUG-LIVE RECORDINGS FROM 2012, 2017 & 2018

 

TOP CHRISTMAS ALBUMS OF 2021

1--NORAH JONES-I DREAM OF CHRISTMAS (TARGET EDITION)

2--WE BANJO 3-A WINTER WONDERFUL

3--ROB THOMAS-SOMETHING ABOUT CHRISTMAS TIME

4--KELLY CLARKSON-WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND

5--STEVE PERRY-THE SEASON

6--PUSH STARS-WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES HOME

7--VARIOUS-ROCK BY THE SEA CHRISTMAS VOL. 12

8--JESSE TERRY-PEACE

 

ACOUSTIC ALTERNATIVES VIDEO PLAYLIST FOR DEC 24, 2021

SETH GLIER-IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU (ACOUSTIC)

SETH GLIER-SOMEBODY BREAK MY HEART

SETH GLIER-A GIFT

CHRIS DUPONT-RETRIVE (WITH OLIVIA DEAR)

CHRIS DUPONT-JACKET

CHRIS DUPONT-BURIED (WITH RIN TARSY)

THE VERVE PIPE-NO ONE'S GONNA BREAK THIS HEART (AGAIN)

THE VERVE PIPE-SET ME ON FIRE

THE VERVE PIPE-LOVE WILL FIND YOU AGAIN

JOHN MAYER-TIL THE RIGHT ONE COMES

JOHN MAYER-LAST TRAIN HOME

ED SHEERAN-SHIVERS (ACOUSTIC)

ED SHEERAN-BAD HABITS (ACOUSTIC)

STEVE EVERETT-WHAT'S IN THE WELL

STEVE EVERETT-VICTORIA

JON MCLAUGHLIN-WHY IT HURTS

JON MCLAUGHLIN-A BREAK UP SONG

RIN TARSY-FREE

RIN TARSY-94

NEEDTOBREATHE-CARRY ME (DARK HORSE SESSIONS)

NEEDTOBREATHE-INTO THE MYSTERY

SHANE NICHOLSON-HARVEST ON VINYL

SHANE NICHOLSON-LIFE AIN'T FINE

COLIN HAY-DRIVING WITH THE BRAKES ON

BRIAN VANDER ARK-FALL AT YOUR FEET

MATT NATHANSON-ONE