What a year, eh, Dear Readers? The second compromised by our ‘good friend’ COVID-19, beginning in lockdown and only starting to find something close to a sense of normality at the back end of summer, there’s been no shortage of amazing music to enjoy. To celebrate finally seeing 2021 out the door, we've put together a list featuring fifty of our favourite albums from the last twelve months. From unexpected superstars to returning heroes, here’s the year in its standout records.

There’s always one specific moment at a festival when everything seems inexplicably magical. The sun is setting, distant beats are felt underfoot, and everybody is descending into total merriment. On SG Lewis’ debut album, he’s somehow managed to successfully bottle that moment up. ‘times’ is a love letter to the midsummer heat and the euphoria of those late nights, and it’s every bit as captivating as you would expect. Its unspoken encouragement to throw caution to the wind and embrace pure joy is irresistible. There’s something addictive in the basslines and synth - an unshakeable sense that SG Lewis is grabbing your hand and dragging you straight to the centre of the dancefloor. Leave your inhibitions at the door. Neive McCarthy

Danny L Harle has always operated within a different musical dimension. With his debut album, this bonkers sonic explorer blasts off into a whole new stratosphere helped out by a few ‘friends’. You see, “Harlcore” isn’t just Danny. No, it’s also more than just an album. It’s a truly immersive experience helmed by the four resident DJ’s at the producers imaginary club that acts as the location for the album. DJ Danny, MC Boing, DJ Mayhem and DJ Ocean all combine their talents to supreme effect on a record that is exhilarating, dizzyingly inventive and offers a vivid snapshot of a dreamlike world to escape into. Everyone is welcome in Danny L Harle’s electronic funhouse. ‘Harlecore’ is a truly thrilling creation. Martin Young

At one point, Twenty One Pilots felt like an almost underground concern - a whispered idea surrounded by intricate, complex lore, despite the fact they were able to headline massive festivals and drop gigantic hit songs. If that's the case, 'Scaled And Icy' is the sound of a band stepping into their limelight fully. Big, bright, bold and brilliant, it might not be as dark as previous record 'Trench', or have the depth of some of their greatest moments, but it's certainly confident - and that's infectious in itself. Dan Harrison

Pop will prevail. That’s the mantra that runs through Zara Larsson’s much anticipated second full-length. After the wild success of her 2017 debut ‘So Good’ – apparently at one point the second most-streamed album by a female solo artist on Spotify, dontcha know – ‘Poster Girl’ isn’t letting up in the slightest. This is strictly a ‘no ballads allowed’ zone. By going for front-to-back bangers, Larsson is playing to her strengths. With that Swedish high-def pop heritage, every song could be a chart smash. Pass the blu-tack. Stephen Ackroyd

Jumping on a remix of Charli XCX and Kim Petras’ ‘Click’ in 2019, Slayyyter established herself as a key player in the next generation of retro-futuristic pop stars. Holding her own beside two of her forefathers just a month after dropping her first mixtape, Slayyyter was clearly on the up and up, but what was yet to come was next level. An accumulation of the 2000s icons she idolised as a child (Britney, Gaga, Xtina, you know the deal), the hit-minded penmanship of her contemporaries and the 100mph hyperpop movement, ‘Troubled Paradise’ could kill a Victorian orphan on first listen. While she was finding her feet during her mixtape era, they’re firmly planted on the ground this time. A genuine no-skip affair, it’ll be trouble in paradise for the other pop girls next. Abigail Firth

As the long-awaited follow up to ‘Turn Out the Lights’, ‘Little Oblivions’ feels desperate to not retread old ground. Sonically, it's more expansive; consciously layered with synth, banjos, mandolin and drums to avoid any familiarity with the stark, vulnerable sound of Julien Baker’s previous work. It’s a bold step forward. Alexander Bradley

The debut album from dodie is a surprising one. With two Top 10s under her belt as well as many sold-out shows, it’s hard to believe it’s only her first; it also showcases an exceptional writing style, delivered through her haunting vocal ability. Her lyricism’s brutal honesty addresses everyone’s shared fears; that gut-wrenching feeling of speaking the unspeakable makes dodie relatable on a universal scale. A salve to soothe widespread worries. Phoebe De Angelis

As her moniker alludes, Greentea Peng’s highly anticipated debut album is an 18-track opus that doesn’t just heal the mind and soothe the soul, but expands it too. Recorded in 432 Hz frequency - a pitch that falls a semitone below music industry standard, which is thought to vibrate healing energy - Greentea’s ethereal vocals twist and turn, effortlessly soaring as she navigates very real lived experiences and feelings across lyrical odysseys navigating the spiritual and socio-political. Greentea certainly is peng. Jasleen Dhindsa

Good things are worth waiting for – or so the saying goes. We’ve had to wait a very long time for the debut album from No Rome, the Dirty Hit signed solo-artist-slash-production-wizz-kid who promised so much on his arrival what seems like an age ago. A key collaborative force to label-mates The 1975, it’d be very easy to lose No Rome’s own identity inside what he’s offered to others – especially given how much of himself he gave to 2018’s ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ – but that would be to do a disservice to ‘It’s All Smiles’, a gem of an album in its own right. At a point where we all need something to sooth our ills and reignite our faith, ‘It’s All Smiles’ does exactly what it says on the tin. Stephen Ackroyd