The 100 best songs of 2021
As normal came back into view in 2021 — then seemed to slip away again — great songs arrived from places we could predict and places we never thought to look. Here are the Los Angeles Times music staff’s picks for the 50 best of the year, followed by 50 more to hear, to savor, to be surprised by.
1. SZA, “Good Days”
A long, winding melodic line. Lyrical references to Jericho, Job and awaiting one’s “armored fate with a smile.” And can we talk about some of the wildest enjambment in pop-music history? SZA’s gorgeous and enveloping psychedelic-soul jam is all about her pursuit of an empty mind, but in truth, “Good Days” is overflowing with emotional data — a world of feeling to get thoroughly lost inside. (Mikael Wood)
2. Kali Uchis, “Telepatia”
From Uchis’ Grammy-nominated 2020 album, “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios),” the seraphic soul-pop of “Telepatia” might have been forever a B-side were it not for its enduring impression on TikTok. Rereleased as a single in February, it continues to be a relevant theme for long-distance lovers; written and sung in Spanglish, the song lingered for four months on the Billboard Hot 100, proving itself a sleeper hit not to be slept on. (Suzy Exposito)
3. Baby Keem, “Family Ties”
While Kendrick Lamar’s guest verse launched a million “Top o’ the mornin’” memes, Keem’s breakthrough single heralded the laconic 21-year-old rapper (and Kendrick’s cousin) as SoCal’s hottest new hip-hop voice. (August Brown)
4. Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points, “Movement 6”
A shimmering instrumental meditation between the crucial free jazz tenor player Sanders and experimental electronic producer Floating Points, this beatless nine-minute composition features orchestration by the London Symphony Orchestra. Though Sanders, 81,
