Best Album of 2021: Maggie Rose – Have a Seat
I’m a sucker for soulful country music. Last year, that’s what made Chris Stapleton’s album rise to the top for me. This year in a similar vein, Maggie Rose‘s Have a Seat was the one that rose (pun not intended) to the top. And let me tell you, putting any album above anything by Brandi Carlile is not easy. This third full-length release from the Nashville-based artist deserves ample attention. Have a Seat is Maggie Rose finding her groove with some swagger and a whole lotta countrified soul.
Standout tracks: What Are We Fighting For, Saint, What Makes You Tick (feat. Marcus King)
Tom’s Top 25 of 2021
- Maggie Rose – Have a Seat
- The Black Keys – Delta Kream
- Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
- Yola – Stand For Myself
- Jackson+Sellers – Breaking Point
- Mando Saenz – All My Shame
- Delta Rae – The Dark
- Jesse Malin – Sad and Beautiful World
- Hiss Golden Messenger – Quietly Blowing It
- Allison Russell – Outside Child
- Neil Francis – In Plain Sight
- Heartless Bastards – A Beautiful Life
- Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – The Future
- James McMurtry – The Horses and the Hounds
- Southern Avenue – Be The Love You Want
- Lucero – When You Found Me
- Willie Nile – The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Curtis Harding – If Words Were Flowers
- Kaiti Jones – Tossed
- The Record Company – Play Loud
- Jimbo Mathis & Andrew Bird – These 13
- Michigan Rattlers – That Kind of Life
- Paul Thorn – Never Too Late to Call
- Son Volt – Electro Melodier
- Eddie 9V – Little Black Flies
Honorable Mentions:
- Aaron Lee Tasjan – Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
- Amy Helm – What The Flood Leaves Behind
- Billy Strings – Renewal
- Blackberry Smoke – You Hear Georgia
- Dinosaur Jr. – Sweep It Into Space
- Jason Isbell – Georgia Blue
- Jesse Harris & Vinicius Cantuaria – Surpresa
- John Paul Keith – The Rhythm of the City
- Joshua Ray Walker – See You Next Time
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000
- Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
- Lake Street Dive – Obviously
- Leftover Salmon – Brand New Good Old Days
- Lord Huron – Long Lost
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Barn
- Noah Gundersen – A Pillar of Salt
- Oliver Wood – Always Smilin’
- Peter Case – The Midnight Broadcast
- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raise the Roof
- Steve Earle – J.T.
- Sturgill Simpson – The Ballad of Dood & Juanita
- The Accidentals – Vessel
- The Pine Hill Haints – Ghost Dance
- The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
- Yasmin Williams – Urban Driftwood
Just for fun, here’s some picks (not predictions) for the 2022 Grammys:
Best New Artist: Arlo Parks
Best Rock Album: Paul McCartney – McCartney III
Best Alternative Album: Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
Best R&B Album: Gold-Diggers Sound – Leon Bridges
Best Country Album: Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Best Americana Album: Stand For Myself – Yola
Best Bluegrass Album: Renewal – Billy Strings
Best Traditional Blues Album: 100 Years Of Blues – Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Delta Kream – The Black Keys (featuring Eric Deaton & Kenny Brown)
Best Folk Album: Blue Heron Suite – Sarah Jarosz
Best Reggae Album: Beauty In The Silence – Soja
About the author: Washington, D.C. area creative by day. Music is my muse. I host Twangville’s weekly Readers‘ Pick.