Music Trajectory’s 20 Songs of the Year + 5 Pop Guilty Pleasures

Hello! If you are a follower of the site, thank you for coming back to check out this year-end post. And if you are new to the site – however you got here – welcome. This is a post that I have done every year since I started Music Trajectory in 2011. (Wow, I just realized this is the 10-year anniversary of the site!)

The greater alternative music genre, which I see as including rock, punk, metal, indie, ska, and such, is the main focus here on the site. There is no doubt about that. That’s intentional. The 20 song list below is the some of best songs of the greater alternative music genre here in 2021, at least in my universe. Please feel free to share your thoughts and/or your own list in the comments section at the end of the post.

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1. “Shy Away” by Twenty One Pilots

2. “Deadline” by Grouplove

3. “Taking Me Back” by Jack White

4. “The Beachland Ballroom” by IDLES

5. “Change” by The War on Drugs

6. “Teardrinker” by Mastodon

7. “The Writing on the Wall” by Iron Maiden

8. “When Will Gods Work Be Done” by Unto Others

9. “Twisted Tongues” by AFI

10. “Let the Bad Times Roll” by The Offspring

11. “Hunter’s Moon” by Ghost

12. “Talking to Ourselves” by Rise Against

13. “Paint the Sky With Blood” by Bodom After Midnight

14. “The Bandit” by Kings of Leon

15. “Atone” by Jerry Cantrell

16. “Heat Above” by Greta Van Fleet

17. “Peacemaker” by Scorpions

18. “The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man” by Rob Zombie

19. “The Creeps” by Garbage

20. “We Are Between” by Modest Mouse

5 Pop Guilty Pleasures

1. “Easy On Me” by Adele

2. “24 Hours” by Agnes

3. “Solar Power” by Lorde

4. “Burning Bridges” by Sigrid

5. “He Said She Said” by CHVRCHES

More 2021 Year-End Posts

Music Trajectory’s 25 Underrated Songs of the Year

Music Trajectory’s 20 Albums of the Year + 5 Honorable Mentions