The Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)
Variety music critics Jem Aswad and Chris Willman found a lot to love across genres, from hip-hop (Tyler, the Creator, Madlib, Topaz Jones) to rock (St. Vincent, Wolf Alice, Liz Phair, Dirty Laundry) to global music (Mdou Moctar, Altin Gun) to indie singer-songwriters (Julien Baker, Lucy Dacas, Girl in Red) to even mid-20th-century jazz standards (Mandy Barnett).