After revealing the best albums of 2021, Rolling Stone is sharing the 50 best songs of the past year.
Landing at the top of the list is Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Tems, which put Afrobeats on the global stage. The unofficial song of the summer made history, becoming the first Nigerian song to break the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even spawning a remix with Justin Bieber.
“The result was a sound of status and place coalescing without the loss of identity,” the magazine says of the Made in Lagos hit.
Lil Nas X’s hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” finishes fourth, with RS calling it “catchy enough to rival his breakthrough earworm, ‘Old Town Road.’”
Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” slides in at No. 6, while Adele’s 30 “showstopper” “I Drink Wine” takes the No. 9 spot.
Polo G’s “Rapstar” earned him his first No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the No. 13 best song of 2021, while Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Shit” was hailed as “another winner,” coming in at No. 17.
Other songs in the top 50 include Willow Smith’s “Transparent Soul” with Travis Barker (No. 28), Meek Mill’s “Sharing Locations” featuring Lil Baby and Lil Durk (No. 31), BIA’s “Whole Lotta Money” with Nicki Minaj, Isaiah Rashad’s “From the Garden” featuring Lil Uzi Vert (No. 39), and Pop Smoke and Dua Lipa’s “Demeanor” at No. 45.
See the top 20 below and the full list here.
Rolling Stone’s Best Songs of 2021
1. Wizkid feat. Tems – “Essence”
2. Taylor Swift – “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”
3. Olivia Rodrigo – “Drivers License”
4. Lil Nas X – “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
5. Lucy Dacus – “VBS”
6. Silk Sonic – “Leave the Door Open”
7. Billie Ellish – “Happier Than Ever”
8. Rauw Alejandro – “Todo de Ti”
9. Adele – “I Drink Wine”
10. Noname – “Rainforest”
11. Muna feat. Phoebe Bridgers – “Silk Chiffon”
12. Wet Leg – “Wet Dream”
13. Polo G – “Rapstar”
14. Morgan Wade – “Wilder Days”
15. Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet”
16. BTS – “Butter”
17. Megan Thee Stallion – “Thot Shit”
18. Bo Burnham – “All Eyes on Me”
19. Brothers Osborne – “Younger Me”
20. Snail Mail – “Ben Franklinâ€
