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George Graham's Best of 2021 Albums List

These albums were selected by Mixed host George Graham from the over 500 albums and EPs featured during the year on the New Releases segments presented daily on Mixed Bag. The Mixed Bag musical styles include rock, folk, blues, reggae, world music, Celtic, electronic, and other varieties presented on the program. The emphasis is on records that received little or no attention in the commercial media. Selection criteria include originality, uniqueness of sound, and quality of musicianship.

The list is arranged chronologically.

* designates Homegrown Music Artists.
Recordings featured on the Mixed Bag Weekly Album Review (Wednesdays at 9:00 PM) are linked to the review on this website.


Artist Name

Album Title

Label

Add Date

Sturgill Simpson

Cuttin’ Grass – The Butcher Shoppe Sessions

High Top Mountain

01/01/21

Terry Draper

Lost

independent

01/05/21

Luka Kuplowski

Stardust

independent

01/05/21

Justin Moses

Fall Like Rain

Mountain Fever

01/06/21

Paul McCartney

McCartney III

Capitol

01/07/21

Eric Bikales

Mandala

independent

01/11/21

Christel Veraart

Celestial Musings on the Seven Sisters

independent

01/11/21

DiCosimo / Pagan

Con Moto

SubCat

01/20/21

Rick Sal

Six Feet Under the Sun

School Bus

01/21/21

Strange Jazz Universe

Space Me-Now!

The LA Sound

01/22/21

The Burnt Pines

The Burnt Pines

Adraela

01/25/21

The Bossa Nova Beatniks *

The Bossa Nova Beatniks Show

independent

01/29/21

The Watters *

Intuition

independent

02/01/21

Ani Di Franco

Revolutionary Love

Righteous Babe

02/04/21

The Staves

Good Woman

Nonesuch

02/08/21

Erin Ivey

Solace in the Wild

independent

02/09/21

Rachel Efron

Human as I Came

independent

02/10/21

Nick Waterhouse

Promenade Blue

Innovative Leisure

02/11/21

Ryland Moranz

XO 1945

Tonic

02/12/21

The Weather Station

Ignorance

Fat Possom

02/15/21

Lyle Workman

Uncommon Measures

independent

02/16/21

The Mommyheads

Coming Into Beauty

independent

02/16/21

Rob Kovacs

Let Go

Head Bitch

03/01/21

Eric Bazilian

Bazilian

independent

03/02/21

Tautologic

Wheels Fall Off

independent

03/05/21

Elska

On the Shoulders of Giants

independent

03/11/21

Kolotov Mocktails

Ivy Hall

Three Coasts

03/11/21

Boot Juice

Shifting Gears

independent

03/11/21

Damon Fowler

Alafia Moon

Landslide

03/12/21

The Paper Kites

Roses

Nettwerk

03/15/21

STR4TA

Aspects

Brownwood

03/16/21

Hash Cabbage

The Gospel According to Hash Cabbage

independent

03/16/21

Mia Doy Todd

Music Life

City Zen

03/17/21

Longboat

Album 21

AchduliebeZeit!

03/17/21

Loretta Lynn

Still Woman Enough

Sony Legacy

03/18/21

Craig Cummings *

The Gulf Between Us

Azalea City EP

03/18/21

Cory Coffman

Canvas and Color

independent

03/19/21

Jesse Terry *

When We Wander

independent

03/22/21

Brenda Fernandes *

As I Am

independent

03/23/21

Steve Cropper

Fire It Up

Provogue

03/24/21

Dutch Falconi

Bloom & Brimstone

Aurore

03/25/21

Sturgill Simpson

Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions

High Top Mountain

03/26/21

The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc

Bonfrost

independent

04/01/21

The City Champs

Luna ‘68

Big Legal Mess

04/05/21

Amanda Cook

Narrowing the Gap

Mountain Fever

04/06/21

Dulcie Taylor

Rediscovered (EP)

Mesa Bluemoon

04/06/21

Michael Johnathon

The Painter

Poetman

04/07/21

Dumpstaphunk

Where Do We Go from Here

Mascot

04/14/21

Gary Moore

How Blue Can You Get

Provogue

04/15/21

Thornton Creek

Maybe Key Lime

independent

04/16/21

Norah Jones

Til We Meet Again

Blue Note

04/19/21

AO Music

Kutumba

Abbywood

04/21/21

Jefferson Berry & the UAC

Soon!

independent

04/23/21

Kane Mathis

Geminus

independent

04/23/21

Ringo Starr

Zoom In (EP)

independent

04/26/21

The Contraptionists

Workingman’s Dread

independent

04/26/21

Kevin Fisher

Pop Rocks

independent

04/27/21

Clarence Spady

Surrender

independent

05/03/21

Jon Batiste

We Are

Verve

05/04/21

Flock of Dimes

Head of Roses

independent

05/04/21

Sunny War

Simple Syrup

Henhouse

05/06/21

Michael Whalen

Future Shock

independent

05/07/21

Beams

Ego Death

Be My Sibling

05/07/21

Barton Hartshorn

Not What I Expected to Hope For

Suxeed

05/10/21

The 456

Simple Songs

independent

05/13/21

Bob Malone *

Good People

Delta Moon

05/13/21

Manchester Orchestra

The Million Masks of God

Loma Vista

05/17/21

The Wallflowers

Exit Wounds

independent

05/18/21

Quinn Sullivan

Wide Awake

Provogue

05/21/21

Bocephus King

The Infinte and the Autogrill Vol. 1

Tonic

05/21/21

Cliff Hillis

Life Gets Strange

Tallboy

05/26/21

Lord Huron

Long Lost Album

Republic

06/01/21

Trapper Schoepp

May Day

Grandphony

06/02/21

John Hall

Reclaiming My Time

Sunset Blvd.

06/09/21

Will Stratton

The Changing Wilderness

Bella Union/PIAS

06/14/21

Richard X. Heyman

Copious Notes

Turn-Up

06/16/21

Dan Dean

Fanfare for the Common Man

Origin

06/17/21

Keeton Coffman

Hard Times

independent

06/18/21

Chad Elliot

Singing River

independent

06/21/21

Jared Feinman

Love Is An Obstacle

West of Philly

06/28/21

Hiss Golden Messenger

Quietly Blowing It

Merge

07/01/21

Frank Evans & Ben Plotnick

Madison Archives

independent

07/01/21

Gretchen Parlato

Flor

Edition

07/06/21

Smash Palace *

21

In the Pocket

07/07/21

Lanterna

Hidden Drives

Badman

07/13/21

Drew Kelly *

From a Deep Abyss

independent

07/14/21

John Flynn *

Wild Beat the Wings

independent

07/15/21

Alborosie

For the Culture

VP

07/20/21

Bryan Away

Canyons of Sawdust

independent

07/28/21

Umphrey’s McGee

You Walked Up Shaking in Your Boots But You Stood Tall and Left a Raging Bull

Nothin; Fancy

08/02/21

Rorie Kelly *

Shadow Work

independent

08/02/21

Anna Tivel

Blue World

Fluff & Gravy

08/03/21

The Furious Seasons

Home All Day, Home All Night

independent

08/12/21

John Reischman

New Time & Old Acoustic

Corvus

08/12/21

The Elovaters

Castles

independent

08/13/21

Jackson Browne

Downhill from Everywhere

Inside

08/16/21

Jah Sun & The Rising Tide

Running Through Walls

independent

08/17/21

Tito Jackson

Under Your Spell

Gulf Coast

08/18/21

Ericson Holt

99 Degrees

Conch Town Music

08/20/21

2B3

Jimi

independent

08/25/21

One Earth Alliance

Meltdown

Maginus

08/27/21

Willie Nile

The Day the World Stood Still

River House

08/30/21

Jordana Talsky

Zahava

independent EP

09/01/21

Rachel Garlin

The State We Are In

independent EP

09/03/21

John McCutcheon

Bucket List

Appalsongs

09/07/21

Bela Fleck

My Bluegrass Heart

independent

09/14/21

Eric Bibb

Dear America

Provogue

09/16/21

Dar Williams

I’ll Meet You Here

Renew

09/16/21

Colin Linden

bLOW

Thirty Tigers

09/17/21

The Mommyheads

Age of Isolation

independent

09/21/21

Paula Standing

The More I Give

independent

09/23/21

Ronnie Wood Band

Mr. Luck a Tribute to Jimmy Reed Live at the Royal Albert Hall

independent

10/01/21

L.A. Cowboy

The Big Pitch

Reconcile

10/01/21

Altered Five Blues Band

Holler If You Hear Me

Blind Pig

10/04/21

Laura Love

Uppity

Octaroon Biography

10/05/21

Teitur

Cazador de Ostras

Arlo & Betty

10/05/21

Ilana Katz Katz

In My Mind

Regina Royale

10/07/21

The Wilderness of Manitoba

Farewell to Cathedral

Popguru

10/08/21

Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity

various artists

American Laundromat

10/11/21

Alphanaut

On Some Planets This is Pop

independent

10/11/21

Paul Carrack

One on One

Carrack-UK

10/13/21

Ireesh Lal

Journey through the Chakras

independent

10/14/21

Scott Kinsey / Mer Sal

Adjustments

Blue Canoe

10/15/21

Colin James

Open Road

Stony Plain

10/21/21

Ricci/Krown

City > Country > City

Gulf Coast

10/21/21

Sarah McQuaid

The St. Buryan Sessions

Shovel and a Spade

10/25/21

Jay Smar *

Smar Guitar

independent EP

10/26/21

They Might Be Giants

Book

Idlewild

10/27/21

Dean Friedman

American Lullaby

independent

10/28/21

Burnt Belief

Mutual Isolation

independent

11/01/21

Malcolm MacWatt

Settler

Need to Know

11/02/21

Yo-Yo Ma

Notes for the Future

Sony Classical

11/08/21

Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow

Ghost Owl

Red Guitar Blue Music

11/08/21

EllaHarp

Screaming into the Void

independent EP

11/11/21

Frank Viele *

Time Is a Thief

independent EP

11/11/21

Dion

Stomping Ground

Keeping the Blues Alive

11/12/21

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

The Future

independent

11/15/21

Ceu

Um Gosto de Sol

Urban Jungle

11/16/21

Quote the Raven

Can’t Hold the Light

independent

11/17/21

Tori Amos

Ocean to Ocean

Decca

11/17/21

Ringo Starr

Change the World (EP)

Uma

11/18/21

Jake Shimabukuro

Jake & Friends

Music Theories

11/19/21

Willie Nelson

The Willie Nelson Family

Sony Legacy

11/26/21

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Raise the Roof

Rounder

11/29/21

Chillingsworth

Surfingham

independent

11/29/21

Mars Lasar

Coastal Escape

independent

11/30/21

Terry Draper

The Other Side

independent

12/01/21

Buffalo Nichols

Buffalo Nichols

Fat Possom

12/02/21

The Connells

Steadman’s Wake

independent

12/07/21

Neal Francis

In Plain Sight

ATO

12/09/21

Norah Jones

I Dream of Christmas

Blue Note

12/10/21

Joanne Shaw Taylor

The Blues Album

Keeping the Blues Alive

12/13/21

Curtis Harding

If Words Were Flowers

independent

12/13/21

David Singley

The Long, Slow Fuse of Night

independent

12/14/21

Peter Keane

Blues, Ballads and Cowboy Songs

independent

12/14/21

House of Hamill *

Folk Hero

independent

12/15/21

Allen Stone

Alone

ATO

12/17/21


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