2021 Year-End Lists

December 16th, 2021

For me, 2020 was a year of comfort food. I kept returning to old classics to get me through the day, without much desire to take in new art. I think I only really took in 20 or 30 full-lengths that time, an all-time low for the decade. I'm assuming it was some kind of coping mechanism as we all ground our way through a hellish year, but who's to say?

Anyway, this time around, the final number was closer to 70 -- which I'm still not proud of -- but I'm glad to be diving a little deeper. 

All that is to say, this isn't some all-things-considered objective list. It's just, from what I heard this year, my personal favorites.

If, for some reason, you're looking for something new and you've found yourself here, any of these amazing albums are a great place to start! Find the artists in bold right here on the air at CD 92.9 (on one show or another):

1. 1. Turnstile - GLOW ON
2. 2. José González - Local Valley
3. 3. A Great Big Pile of Leaves - Pono
4. 4. Todd Snider - First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder
5. 5. Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
6. 6. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
7. 7. PinkPantheress - to hell with it
8. 8. The War On Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
9. 9. Parquet Courts - Sympathy for Life
10. 10. Foxing - Draw Down the Moon
11. 11. Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
12. 12. Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry
13. 13. Faye Webster - I Know I’m Funny haha
14. 14. BLACKSTARKIDS - Puppies Forever
15. 15. Big Red Machine - How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?
16. 16. Jungle - Loving In Stereo
17. 17. IAN SWEET - Show Me How You Disappear
18. 18. The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy
19. 19. Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World
20. 20. Indigo De Souza - Any Shape You Take

Speaking of artists in bold that you can find on the air, dropping my personal Top 10 CD 92.9 singles of the year:

1. 1. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue
2. 2. Parquet Courts - Walking at a Downtown Pace
3. 3. Snarls - Fixed Gear
4. 4. Wolf Alice - Smile
5. 5. Foals - Wake Me Up
6. 6. Caroline Polachek - Bunny is a Rider
7. 7. Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
8. 8. Arlo Parks - Hurt
9. 9. The War On Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
10. 10. Gus Dapperton - Medicine

Would be stoked to hear your list! Send it my way --> grayson@cd929fm.com