Adrian C.'s Top 50 Songs of 2021 (FINISHED!)

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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28. Jessie Ware - "Hot N Heavy"

Points: 63,404
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 19*

2021 Chart Run:
33-30-23-20-13-12-2-2-3-4-4-7-8-9-18-23-36-35-45-...


Last year, Jessie Ware had one song make the year-end list ("The Kill" at #6). Now this year, she has five songs in this list! She has had at least two songs charting every week for the entire year! Here we have one of her more recent entries. It's "Hot N Heavy" from the deluxe edition of her album. I'll save my words about how phenomenal this album is for the songs later in the list. For now, I'll just say that this song is a banger and she sounds fantastic! Perfect song to get up and dance to. And as I mentioned, "Hot N Heavy" is a deluxe track, and I love how it's still as much of a kick-ass song as the standard tracks!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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27. Madeon - "The Prince"

Points: 65,987
Peak: #5
Weeks on Chart: 29

2021 Chart Run:
29-23-20-17-17-20-22-26-26-26-25-25-28-Off-38-12-12-10-6-5-7-16-25-31-34-36-35-44-43-43-Off


Here we have another Wintertime Madness discovery, which is Madeon's "The Prince" (sent by Darkest Hour). This is one of only a few songs this year to have multiple runs on the chart, but if I recall correctly, it's the only song that performed better in its second run. I'm familiar with a few of Madeon's songs, although it had been a while since I heard a song from him before this one. "The Prince" is a banger, which I'm happy about because it tends to be difficult for me to find good modern EDM. But the production here is very unique, different, and not generic at all!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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26. Miley Cyrus ft. Billy Idol - "Night Crawling"

Points: 68,844
Peak: #7
Weeks on Chart: 33*

2021 Chart Run:
33-25-19-9-7-7-7-12-19-16-23-25-26-26-26-27-30-30-33-30-29-34-31-29-37-37-44-45-39-42-39-42-42-...


Fortunately, "Midnight Sky" is not the only badass song on Plastic Hearts. We also have "Night Crawling" with Billy Idol! Honestly, I think Miley can pull off rock well. She definitely has the voice for it and it shows on this song. The instrumental is pretty awesome as well, but I have to say, Billy Idol on the track is one of the best things about the song. I love how he sounds here, especially in the chorus when his voices blends with Miley's. It's probably one of the best collaborations I've heard this year and the song is honestly what I was hoping for when I learned that Miley was going for more of a rock sound for this album.

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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25. Gorillaz ft. Robert Smith - "Strange Timez"

Points: 78,847
Peak: #3
Weeks on Chart: 40

Notes:
- This song was carried over from 2020. It spent 40 weeks on the chart total, with 33 of those weeks being within the 2021 tracking period.

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{2020 Chart Run:}
34-23-18-17-16-14-9-...

2021 Chart Run:
...-11-10-12-15-10-14-8-4-3-3-10-12-21-25-28-28-30-32-32-34-34-41-41-37-39-38-45-44-45-45-45-43-45-Off


Gorillaz have made the year-end list for the second year in a row after placing at #14 last year with "Aries"! This year, we have "Strange Timez", which is another one of my favorites from their Song Machine album. It features The Cure's Robert Smith so already I was intrigued. You can never really expect what a Gorillaz song will sound like though, which is one of the things I love about them. This one has a really interesting vibe to it. It almost sounds a bit like a Halloween song. 2D nails it as always and Robert Smith's voice is just golden. It hasn't changed one bit! I love how Gorillaz got him among many other talented artists on their album because this song is pretty damn cool!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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24. H.E.R. - "Damage"

Points: 79,848
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 30

2021 Chart Run:
38-32-27-25-16-11-12-8-7-7-4-2-3-5-7-15-17-21-24-27-30-37-41-41-43-41-42-42-44-44-Off


Next up, we have H.E.R. with her song "Damage". I feel like before this song, I enjoyed her music, but not enough to actually seek it out. "Damage" is the first song of hers that I really fell in love with. I believe the first time I heard it was when she performed it on SNL, and then I was just hooked. The instrumental is really well done here, but what I love most is her voice. Her vocals on this song are smooth like silk. I could listen to her sing for hours on end. She has a beautiful voice and I know she's a very talented instrumentalist as well, which is awesome. I plan to check out some more of her debut album soon, but I could definitely see her becoming my new favorite in R&B!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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23. St. Vincent - "Down"

Points: 81,780
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 28*

2021 Chart Run:
38-31-24-15-9-8-6-8-2-4-3-6-4-7-7-15-19-17-22-26-33-33-35-37-37-38-38-36-...


Up next, we have St. Vincent with "Down". I was actually not familiar with St. Vincent until I heard her song "Masseduction", which is quite a good song. However, with this album era, I heard both singles before this one ("Pay Your Way In Pain" and "The Melting Of The Sun") and enjoyed them both quite a bit. But then I heard "Down" and something about that one just clicked with me instantly. The songwriting is exceptional and words just can't explain how much I love that chorus. I know I've had some fun trying to sing the chorus the way she does haha! But yeah, definitely one of my favorite St. Vincent songs!

[wrip]

The TASTE with Damage and Down on this list!!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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22. Royal Blood - "Typhoons"

Points: 82,263
Peak: #1 (1 Week)
Weeks on Chart: 23*

2021 Chart Run:
39-29-16-14-8-4-2-1-4-4-7-7-6-6-7-9-11-18-20-20-27-29-41-...


While I haven't heard many albums this year, one that I did listen to was Royal Blood's Typhoons, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Interestingly, the title track was not a favorite of mine when it was initially released. But it grew on me pretty quickly and now I just think it's a total jam! The guitar riffs on here are pretty sick and the chorus is insanely catchy. I also think Mike has a really good voice and he uses it well here. While I knew of Royal Blood before this album era thanks to my brother, I feel like this album really helped me get into them!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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21. Bring Me The Horizon - "Teardrops"

Points: 83,865
Peak: #1 (3 Weeks)
Weeks on Chart: 40

Notes:
- This song was carried over from 2020. It spent 40 weeks on the chart total, with 33 of those weeks being within the 2021 tracking period.

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{2020 Chart Run:}
18-13-8-7-6-4-1-...

2021 Chart Run:
...-1-1-4-8-11-11-7-7-15-23-27-26-34-35-35-41-41-38-35-35-35-40-44-42-45-44-43-41-44-44-43-45-43-Off


The final #1 song of 2020 has arrived! It's Bring Me The Horizon's "Teardrops"! While I'm not a superfan of Bring Me The Horizon, I enjoyed a good amount of their album Amo. The track "nihilist blues" from that album ranked #10 in last year's Top 50 list. Late last year though, we got a new release from BMTH, which was Post Human: Survival Horror. From there, we had "Parasite Eve", which also made last year's list, and now we have "Teardrops", which is a full-on banger. The instrumentation is awesome and Oli sounds great. Some of the other songs on that project were really good as well, so I hope we get some more like that and less like "DiE4u", which is an ok song at best.

[Darkest Hour]

Adrian C. 🍓 I think this is the second time my WTM pick has appeared in your personal year-end charts. Looking to the third time👀

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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Katie Pruitt - "Ohio" (PTS: 40,699; PK: #5; WKS: 20)

The Knocks ft. Foster The People - "All About You" (PTS: 43,927; PK: #19; WKS: 21*)

Sufjan Stevens - "Run Away With Me" (PTS: 36,275; PK: #8; WKS: 14)

Kacey Musgraves - "star-crossed" (PTS: 26,567; PK: #11; WKS: 12)

[Adrian C. 🍓]

We're down to the Top 20, and right now we're about to find out which ten songs missed out on the Top 10! Then Top 10 reveals will most likely take place on New Year's Eve!

As usual, if anyone wants to be added to or removed from the tag list, just let me know!

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{Audience}
kimberly
willapted33
Nick P
wrip
Fire
born
Mylo13 💜

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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20. Silversun Pickups - "Don't Know Yet"

Points: 88,092
Peak: #3
Weeks on Chart: 30

2021 Chart Run:
28-16-13-10-9-5-9-10-11-19-16-10-9-3-4-3-3-8-14-15-15-21-28-32-36-37-36-36-45-45-Off


Kicking off the Top 20 is Silversun Pickups with "Don't Know Yet". Silversun Pickups is one of those groups where I knew of them for years, but I've never really listened to much of their music outside of a couple songs. I believe my first time hearing "Don't Know Yet" was for the alt rankdown last year and I kind of became obsessed with it for a while. The verses aren't perfect, but the chorus is pretty awesome and super catchy, which is the main reason why I love this song. It constantly got stuck in my head for the first half of the year, which might be why it ended up being one of my most played songs on Spotify this year.

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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19. Jessie Ware - "Spotlight"

Points: 88,500
Peak: #1 (1 Week)
Weeks on Chart: 26

2021 Chart Run:
27-18-14-17-13-3-3-3-4-3-3-1-10-9-14-12-15-20-24-19-24-26-26-32-31-33-Off


While What's Your Pleasure? had many standout songs, one of my favorites is the opening track, "Spotlight". I love how this song starts out slow and then turns into a disco jam. The chorus is pretty amazing and I absolutely love the outro! It's very fun, very groovy, and just the perfect way to open up such a fantastic album. While it's one of the longer songs on the album, it doesn't even feel that long because every second is used so well. Outstanding song on an outstanding album! 

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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18. Royal Blood - "Trouble's Coming"

Points: 88,562
Peak: #3
Weeks on Chart: 40

Notes:
- This song was carried over from 2020. It spent 40 weeks on the chart total, with 33 of those weeks being within the 2021 tracking period.

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{2020 Chart Run:}
29-17-14-16-15-15-12-...

2021 Chart Run:
...-6-8-10-12-15-19-20-21-21-22-22-24-14-20-21-15-9-6-6-3-5-10-14-12-17-17-26-29-31-30-41-41-41-Off


Like I mentioned, I knew of Royal Blood before this song, but I wasn't exactly a fan back then. When I saw that they released a new song called "Trouble's Coming", I decided to check it out just to see and I ended up really enjoying it! It's like rock with groove and elements of disco, which is the case for the album as a whole as well. It's very interesting how they switched up their sound, but I'm glad because that switch-up is what got me into them! "Trouble's Coming" is a super catchy earworm and a solid choice for the lead single considering that it's not the best song on the album, but it was a great way to build the hype!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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17. GUM - "Out In The World"

Points: 88,674
Peak: #3
Weeks on Chart: 33

2021 Chart Run:
38-25-21-12-8-8-8-8-7-6-4-3-3-6-5-15-18-25-28-27-27-29-28-34-34-36-39-38-42-41-36-36-35-Off


Up next, we have "Out In The World" by Jay Watson, who in addition to releasing solo music as GUM is also one of the touring members of Tame Impala, which makes sense since "Out In The World" has a little bit of a Tame Impala feel to it. The song was a Wintertime Madness discovery (sent by Geometrical). I remember my first time listening to it and just being captivated by the instrumental. It makes the song very vibey, but also very catchy. He has a really good voice as well. Great song overall and it was definitely robbed for not making the finals in WTM.

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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16. H.E.R. - "Fight For You"

Points: 90,508
Peak: #1 (1 Week)
Weeks on Chart: 30*

2021 Chart Run:
36-22-21-13-6-2-1-3-5-9-5-9-9-9-7-9-8-20-26-28-35-40-39-39-39-45-43-41-40-40-...


While I haven't heard that many H.E.R. songs, I feel this one could potentially be my favorite so far! It's "Fight For You" from the film Judas and the Black Messiah! It's just so soulful and I love the beat. She sounds gorgeous on here. Her voice is one of the main reasons why I love the song so much. But also, the song is very powerful from a lyrical standpoint. With all the racism and police brutality that's been going on, especially within the past couple years, it's very powerful and important to have this song and the movie. I'm thrilled that it won Best Original Song at the Oscars and that it's nominated for some Grammys, including Song of the Year! It honestly deserves it all! Gorgeous song!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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15. Porter Robinson - "Look At The Sky"

Points: 90,628
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 28*

2021 Chart Run:
26-18-9-5-2-2-3-2-4-5-7-8-6-6-10-16-20-24-28-30-42-41-38-38-38-40-37-34-...


Next up is a March Madness discovery! It's Porter Robinson's "Look At The Sky" (sent by trilogy)! Similar to H.E.R., I've heard some of Porter Robinson's songs before this one, but I feel like "Look At The Sky" is the first song of his that I really fell in love with. The instrumental sounds very uplifting and almost magical in a way. The lyrics are very moving as well, especially with the "I'll be alive next year, I can make something good". The song is very optimistic and I love that about it. It just never fails to lift my mood. And similar to Madeon, Porter Robinson's music reminds me that there is still good EDM!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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14. Fontaines D.C. - "A Hero's Death"

Points: 91,023
Peak: #1 (1 Week)
Weeks on Chart: 27*

2021 Chart Run:
35-29-25-21-14-9-7-8-2-2-1-3-2-5-5-12-15-18-19-25-25-33-32-36-42-39-39-...


Here we have our final March Madness discovery! Fontaines D.C.'s " A Hero's Death" (sent by MoD) is one of my favorite songs I took out of March Madness. I was surprised it didn't make it past the preliminary because it's a total jam. The instrumental is pretty awesome here, but I also love the lyrics because there are so many lines in here that feel like memorable quotes. "Happiness really ain't all about luck", "When you speak, speak sincere and believe me friend, everyone will hear", "You only get one line, you better make it stick". Yeah, this is a jam! I also checked out a couple other songs from that Grammy-nominated album and those are quite good as well!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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13. Sa-Roc - "r(E)volution"

Points: 99,492
Peak: #1 (2 Weeks)
Weeks on Chart: 30

2021 Chart Run:
31-15-15-7-8-7-6-8-6-5-7-1-1-5-6-8-15-11-9-19-22-22-27-30-37-39-33-35-29-38-Off


Next we have "r(E)volution" by Sa-Roc, which is a Wintertime Madness discovery (sent by singingrulebritannia). Not only is it one of my favorite song discoveries, but Sa-Roc is probably my favorite artist discovery of the year. She's an excellent rapper with great flow, and she's an amazing lyricist. The Sharecropper's Daughter is another album I listened to this year, which I really enjoyed. The lyrics here are powerful, but the song also has a cool instrumental that fits the vibe that the lyrics give off. While hip-hop is not my main genre, "r(E)volution" is an excellent song, and so I'm grateful for the song and artist discovery!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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12. Manchester Orchestra - "Bed Head"

Points: 99,591
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 28*

2021 Chart Run:
33-25-17-13-10-5-2-3-3-3-6-4-5-5-2-4-6-7-11-15-19-26-26-28-28-34-36-35-...


Up next is Manchester Orchestra's "Bed Head"! I'm not too familiar with Manchester Orchestra's music, but I believe I first heard this song on SiriusXM Alt Nation, and while a lot of the songs they play are in one ear and out the other, this one stuck with me. There's a lot going on with the instrumentation, but it sounds really great and I love the chorus. The vocals are straight up awesome and I love the layers to his voice. Overall, it's a kick-ass song and easily one of the best things on alt radio this year. And as someone not too familiar with Manchester Orchestra, I feel like this song will leave a lasting impression!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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11. Jessie Ware - "Adore You"

Points: 101,114
Peak: #1 (1 Week)
Weeks on Chart: 30

2021 Chart Run:
29-20-13-10-8-2-1-2-2-2-3-2-6-9-14-17-18-12-13-19-20-21-29-31-32-39-42-42-40-40-Off


For a good while, this song was looking to have a Top 5 finish on the year-end, but it ultimately fell short of making the Top 10. "Adore You" is very interesting to me as I originally did not like it. But with time and more listens, it grew to become one of my favorites on What's Your Pleasure! It's still interesting to me though how this was the lead single because it's the only song on the album that sounds like this. It has a nice little groove though and I dig the house production. There's also that part in the middle where her voice sounds absolutely gorgeous. So while it is quite different from the rest of the album, I still think it's one of the best!

[MoD]

yoooo really glad to have contributed on this, A Hero's Death is indeed an amazing song, glad to see more love for it!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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CHVRCHES - "Good Girls" (PTS: 45,688; PK: #4; WKS: 12*)

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - "Sad But True" (PTS: 45,777; PK: #12; WKS: 19*)

MARINA - "Venus Fly Trap" (PTS: 44,080; PK: #5; WKS: 18)

Jessie Ware - "Please" (PTS: 43,555; PK: #7; WKS: 18)

[Adrian C. 🍓]

We've made it to the Top 10! The final set of extras has been posted above and it's now time for the final set of reveals! LET'S DO THIS!

These are my Top 10 songs of 2021!

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{Audience}
kimberly
willapted33
Nick P
wrip
Fire
born
Mylo13 💜

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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10. Wolf Alice - "How Can I Make It OK?"

Points: 101,471
Peak: #1 (4 Weeks)
Weeks on Chart: 19*

2021 Chart Run:
30-20-10-8-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-2-2-8-9-11-11-11-9-...


Kicking off the Top 10 is Wolf Alice with their four-time #1 hit "How Can I Make It OK?"! I've been hooked on Wolf Alice ever since I heard "The Last Man On Earth" and honestly I would say Blue Weekend is my favorite album of the year! Every song is unique in its own way and that includes "How Can I Make It OK?", which is one of my favorites on the album. Ellie just sounds amazing on here and I really love the way the song builds up to that last chorus. It's just perfection! The album is a masterpiece and this song is beyond gorgeous! Definitely one of the best things released this year!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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9. The Weather Station - "Parking Lot"

Points: 104,409
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 32

2021 Chart Run:
28-18-14-14-12-10-7-6-6-4-4-2-4-5-2-4-4-6-7-10-17-21-21-25-27-35-35-35-38-37-37-45-Off


At #9, we have "Parking Lot" by The Weather Station! This song is honestly just stunning! I don't know why, but to me this song's instrumental has a little bit of a nostalgic feel to it. It feels like something I used to hear years ago and I just think it sounds so beautiful. Pair that with Tamara's gorgeous voice and it just sounds like a song that came out of heaven. It has that atmospheric feel that I've mentioned a couple times now and these lyrics are beautifully-written as well. What a lovely song and one I see myself coming back to!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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8. The Strokes - "The Adults Are Talking"

Points: 106,980
Peak: #2
Weeks on Chart: 40

2021 Chart Run:
35-26-17-9-6-4-4-2-2-4-2-4-10-9-13-15-22-24-29-29-30-35-34-35-31-33-35-37-39-41-44-41-44-36-39-44-42-41-41-41-Off


At #8 is our Wintertime Madness winner! It's "The Adults Are Talking" by The Strokes! I don't think I've ever really given The Strokes as much love as they deserve. I've kind of just heard a couple songs from them here and there. I loved "Bad Decisions", but "The Adults Are Talking" is on another level. Interestingly, this one also kind of has a little bit of a nostalgic feel. It also has this uplifting vibe like "Look At The Sky". I love the lyrics and I love the storyline in the music video. The instrumental is awesome and the vocals are amazing. It really is a beautifully-made song and it deserves all the love it's gotten!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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7. Julien Baker - "Favor"

Points: 107,732
Peak: #1 (3 Weeks)
Weeks on Chart: 27

2021 Chart Run:
29-24-16-13-7-2-2-1-1-1-6-6-5-4-3-6-7-9-18-23-28-36-36-39-39-38-42-Off


Next up at #7 is Julien Baker's "Favor"! I remember when this album was released and I checked out a few of the songs, she reminded me a lot of Phoebe Bridgers. And that was before I learned about the group Boygenius, which is Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. They all have a very similar style, so it makes sense! "Favor" is a really pretty song! I adore the instrumental and I think Julien Baker is a very talented singer as well! And if I'm not mistaken, this song in particular also has some backup vocals from Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, which is really cool! So yeah, I love this in the same way that I loved Phoebe's "Kyoto" last year!

[Adrian C. 🍓]

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6. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - "Overseas"

Points: 108,254
Peak: #1 (4 Weeks)
Weeks on Chart: 30

2021 Chart Run:
18-12-5-2-1-1-1-1-3-4-5-6-10-11-23-26-32-31-38-45-44-44-43-44-45-42-41-44-42-42-Off


Just barely missing the Top 5, we have "Overseas" by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit! It is the highest-ranking discovery in this list coming from Wintertime Madness (sent by DistrictTwelve). This song debuted in the beginning of January and while it dropped off at the beginning of August, it's really been a favorite of mine the entire year. I was not too familiar with Jason Isbell before this song, but ever since hearing this I've really enjoyed some of his other songs as well. He has an amazing voice and the guitars on here are pretty awesome! He's an excellent songwriter as well! And I just love how he blends country with rock. It's unique and it works so well because this song is five minutes of perfection!