Rob Sheffield’s Top 25 Songs of 2021

Olivia called it right and exact this year: God, it’s brutal out here. But tough times call for tough tunes, and these tunes delivered, in an absurdly abundant year for music. These are my 25 favorite songs of 2021 (though some gems are over on my albums list, to avoid duplicating all the same artists). Including, but not limited to: hits, flops, obscurities, pop kicks, rap hustlers, soul divas, guitar monsters, disco jams, country bros, TikTok beatmasters, damn sociopaths, keychain throwers, punk rockers, and karaoke room-clearers. And Adele, obviously.