Last year around this time, 2021 felt like a gleaming promised land, a place where festivals gates and club doors would be thrown open and dance music lovers would enter en masse to reconnect with gleeful abandon.
Did this happen? Kind of? Sort of. But not with the total freedom we might have dreamed of, and certainly not without the nagging anxiety of what might happen if we weren’t careful about any and all human contact. While limitations have never been a key dance world characteristic, in spite of them, this year we did — in moments — get back to normalcy on dancefloors worldwide, even if we had to show a test result or vaccine card to gain access.
But in many ways, 2021 was still a year primed for dance albums, as shifting unknowns made at-home listening still feel safer than communal listening, while also providing swaths of time to just let LPs play out. In a scene so often driven by singles, this increased space for albums was a silver lining amidst the new normal.
Here are Billboard‘s picks for the 20 best dance/electronic albums of 2021, presented in alphabetical order by artist.
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Arca, 'KICK ii', 'KicK iii', 'kick iiii', 'kiCK iiiii'
If expectations for the follow-up to 2020’s Grammy-nominated KiCk i were high, it was only because Arca herself had set them so. Still, the concurrent release of four LPs in December cemented her place among Aphex Twin and Björk in terms of prolificness and ingenuity. With each album exploring its own distinct sound — deconstructed club on KicK iii, atmospheric ambient on kiCK iiiii — in one week, Arca released a body of work most artists strive to produce in a lifetime. — ZEL MCCARTHY
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Bicep, 'Isles'
In January, amidst the darkest days of the pandemic, Belfast-born besties Bicep gifted us with their highly anticipated sophomore album, Isles. (The album debuted at No. 12 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and contained Billboard Dance’s No. 1 song of 2020, “Aprictots”). “Atlas” opens the album with a marching groove, bleep-bloops and chanting, a sonic summary of the euphoria of the two years touring their debut LP, and was the only Isles track written pre-COVID. Crafting the gorgeous, emotive album — featuring haunting vocals from Clara La San, Julia Kent, machìna and a Bollywood deep cut — was their respite from the chaos of 2020, and became that for all of us in 2021. — ANA MONROY YGLESIAS
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Black Coffee, 'Subconsciously'
South African DJ/Producer Black Coffee is a true purveyor of good vibes, deep grooves and powerfully emotive music. He’s been repping the vibrant, ever-growing South African house scene for over a decade and has always supported rising homeland talent. His sixth studio album, Subconsciously does all this too, via songs of longing for love and growth, along with plenty of upbeat feeling-yourself anthems. Along with stellar South African artists Sun-El Musician, Msaki, Una Rams, and Tellaman, Black Coffee also teams up with North American and European artists like Usher, Pharrell, Sabrina Claudio and David Guetta on this dreamy, driving (and now Grammy-nominated) house album. — A.M.Y.
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Cookiee Kawaii, 'Vanice'
After breaking out in 2020 via her TikTok hit “Vibe (If I Back It Up)” New Jersey-based Cookiee Kawaii backed it up indeed with her debut LP, Vanice. Produced by dance legend Junior Sanchez and titled after the artist’s given name, the album is a propulsive, often surprising 16-track collection that synthesizes Jersey Club turn-up and Kawaii’s love of videogames. Despite this latter influence, Vanice is a deeply human, fully physical album, with Kawaii delivering rapid-fire verses — “bounce, bounce, let me see you drop” — that demand you move, as the propulsive beats do essentially the same. — KATIE BAIN
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Dawn Richard, 'Second Line'
“Sometimes people just want that authentic sound of R&B — and I’m not that artist,” Dawn Richard told Billboard in 2014. On her sixth studio album, Second Line, the musical renegade is more resolute than ever. The album’s 16 tracks evoke Richard’s hometown of New Orleans through a weave of songs and spoken-word interludes that hum with life and idiosyncrasies. The three-song run of “Nostalgia,” “Boomerang” and “Bussifame” alone is a more complete, cohesive and invigorating statement than most full albums. As always with Dawn Richard, those who know are duly rewarded. — JACK TREGONING
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Dillon Francis, 'Happy Machine'
When the pandemic took over, Dillon Francis realized the world needed different energy than “I don’t give a f–k or s–t,” (the full title of the Los Angeles-based producer’s 2011 breakout single,”IDGAFOS”) — so he swapped out his typically raucous and often erratic productions for something a bit more wholesome and upbeat. Specifically, Francis released an album full of feel-good house music, the aptly titled Happy Machine. Each of the eight quick-fire cuts features a talented pop-friendly vocalist to deliver honest, heartfelt messaging. Basically, it’s Francis’s way of saying he does indeed give a f–k, and maybe even a s–t as well. — HARRY LEVIN
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'DJ Kicks' 2021: Disclosure, Jayda G, Jessy Lanza, Special Request
In the CD era, K7!’s DJ Kicks series was celebrated for its uncanny ability to license some of the most obscure records, all in service of appeasing a guest selector’s quirkiest musical whims. On LPs from Jessy Lanza, Disclosure, Jayda G, and Special Request (a Paul Woolford alias), DJ Kicks’ 2021 output affirmed the necessity of mix comps in the digital era by injecting gems of unreleased records by the guest DJs du jour, amid their signature off-beat selections. — Z.M.
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DJ Seinfeld, 'Mirrors'
When DJ Seinfeld first came on the scene with his 2016 EP, Season 1, it was fair to expect music as winking and ironic as his artist name. However, the Swede soon proved his serious production clout, leading to his most complete statement yet on this year’s Mirrors. His first album for Ninja Tune veers from the lo-fi house genre that made his name into songs steeped in warmth and pathos, with big synth-y highs and nods to U.K. garage. Mirrors is a tight hug in a year of too few. — J.T.
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Hard Feelings, 'Hard Feelings'
Hard Feelings vocalist Amy Douglas describes the duo’s self-titled debut album as an “opera of sad bangers.” At this opera, however, you’re invited to dance and sing along. Douglas’ partner and producer Joe Goddard (of Hot Chip fame) brings grit and decadence to the dance floor with his bold blend of synth-pop and disco. The LP also offers a full-length platform for Douglas, one of dance music’s true rock stars. Her vocals, which range from a husky low-end to a bellowing wail, penetrate the soul through her visceral tale of lust and heartbreak. – KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ
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Jana Rush, 'Painful Enlightenment'
Many pandemic-era albums exist as a means of brief escape from the crumbling world around us. But what happens when that looming anguish is also coursing through your brain? Painful Enlightenment, Chicago-based producer Jana Rush’s second album, is an abrasive chronicle of her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. If you’ve been there, you’ll recognize through tracks such as “Disturbed,” a frenetic repetition, like obsessive thought loops threatening to spiral out of control, or the crowded mindspace and spectral back-of-the-mind voices in “Just a Taste.” With Rush confronting her demons and sharing the process, Painful Enlightenment is a raw token of triumph. — K.R.
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Keys N Krates, 'Original Classic'
You know how we know Keys N Krates’ Original Classic is a great dance album? You can press play on track one and have an entire party while letting the full thing ride. The Canadian trio’s sophomore LP is a good time from start to finish, blending influences to please your pop-obsessed friend, your house head homie, your hip-hop dance crew and everyone in between. The group also made a full-length visual album for the piece, so you can pop it on the projector and have something to look at while you go nuts, too. — KAT BEIN
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Lady Gaga, 'Dawn of Chromatica'
Lady Gaga’s Chromatica album was a quarantine staple at the start of the pandemic in spring 2020. As clubs started to reopen this year, Mother Monster celebrated with the release of a remixed version of the LP as Dawn of Chromatica, enlisting artists and producers from across the electronic spectrum to re-imagine her songs. Charli XCX and A.G. Cook turned up the drama of “911,” Arca gave “Rain On Me” a raptor house makeover, and Pabllo Vittar added a Brazilian forró touch to “Fun Tonight.” Lady Gaga assembled a United Nations of stars for this epic Chromatica revisit and reimagining. — LUCAS VILLA
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박혜진 Park Hye Jin, 'Before I Die'
In everything she touches, the South Korean-born and LA-based producer 박혜진 Park Hye Jin exudes effortless cool. Her debut album, Before I Die, released in September via Ninja Tune, is no exception. Preceded by the plaintive deep house single, ‘Let’s Sing, Let’s Dance’, Hye Jin wrote, produced and performed Before I Die in its entirety, singing in English and rapping in her native language. The album moves lightly between the hip-hop swagger of ‘Never Give Up’, the woozy pandemic woes of the title track and the off-kilter club thump of “Where Are You Think,” while always sounding like the work of one mind. — J.T.
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Porter Robinson, 'Nurture'
Following a lengthy period in which Porter Robinson was convinced he’d never produce worthwhile art ever again, the musical chameleon returned with Nurture — a dynamic LP that achieves exactly what its name claims. A clear departure from the electro-fueled bangers that defined his name-making 2011 Spitfire EP and the faraway sounds of his acclaimed debut 2014 album, Worlds, Nurture is a healing, instrumental (and occasionally ambient) collection crafted to feel up-close and personal with pop-centric tracks like “Get Your Wish” and “Musician” speaking directly to the struggles Robinson encountered as a headliner on the come up, as well as the peace he found on the other side of success. Nurture injected a sweet dose of serenity into an otherwise often uneasy period when many felt paralyzed by sweeping unknowns. As Robinson so aptly puts it on “Sweet Time,” we may have been “wasting our time resenting the way things are.” Perhaps that’s why Nurture left many fans feeling as though they’d been wrapped in a warm blanket, kissed on the forehead and reassured that everything would all be okay, in the end. — MEGAN VENZIN
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Qrion, 'Hope It Lasts Forever'
“Hope it lasts forever” is the exact thought that may occupy one’s mind as they listen to this stunning 13-track debut LP from San Francisco-based producer Qrion. Released via Anjunadeep — an imprint that began championing the young artist not long after she relocated from her native Japan — Hope It Lasts Forever is an enveloping bevy of progressive and club-adjacent productions that possess the signature groove that’s made Momiji Tsukada stand out in the melodic house space since day one. Among the most inviting cuts is “Proud,” a loop-kissed stunner that boasts an intoxicating hint of disco swerve. This all-out melter comes as a welcome contrast to some of the uplifting slow burns on this well-balanced album which also features names like Mars Kasei, Kroy and Flownn. But TBH, every jam hits just right. Hope we may, all good things inevitably come to an end. With this good thing, at least, the “repeat” setting helps soften the blow. — M.V.
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Rochelle Jordan, 'Play With the Changes'
Due to health issues and a bad label deal, it took Rochelle Jordan seven years to release her new album Play With The Changes. It was worth the wait: With indigo vibes, honeyed vocals and finesse, Jordan bridges R&B and club music with help from producers KLSH, Machinedrum and Jimmy Edgar. PWTC itself stylistically changes throughout, clicking through hazy drum & bass, swirling deep house, new jack swing and icy R&B. Meanwhile, Jordan’s vulnerability on “Broken Steel” and “Lay” is juxtaposed by self-assured strength (“Count It,” “Already”). Seven years later, Rochelle Jordan is a star ready to go supernova. — K.R.
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Slayyyter, 'Troubled Paradise'
Having built a solid fanbase as a sexually charged, next-gen alt-Britney Spears, Slayyyter wanted to offer more depth on her debut album (her self-titled 2019 LP was technically just a mixtape). “Self Destruct” and “Throatzilla” maintain her signature Lords of Acid-level explicit lyrics while “Cowboys” and “Over This!” flex her emo band songwriter acumen. Ultimately, Troubled Paradise is a concept album that takes listeners on a journey through the turmoil of an ill-fated relationship and out the other side to closure. — Z.M.
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Ten City, 'Judgement'
A 2022 Grammy nomination for best dance/electronic album got Ten City’s Judgement a huge and much-deserved PR boost, with the album from Chicago house legends Marshall Jefferson and vocalist Bryan Stingily serving as a masterclass in sleek, smooth, sophisticated and often sexy dance music that you can actually dance to. The duo’s first album in 25 years, Judgement — out via Ultra Records — bakes in Latin rhythms (“Love Is Just a Game”), straightforward house euphoria (“Feel It To”) and the same kind of gospel homages (“Judgement”) that helped define the genre, back when Ten City was helping create it. — K. Bain
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Vindata, 'With Opened Eyes'
Returning to music after a brief hiatus spent largely in reflection, longstanding L.A.-based duo Vindata subsequently delivered a deeply thoughtful debut album. With Opened Eyes pays homage to all of the life experiences that have made the duo — Branden Ratcliff and Jared Poythress — who they are, and the feelings of joy, melancholy, wistfulness and nostalgia are indeed embedded in the beats, which shimmer and uplift via lush productions, downtempo BPMs and sleek vocal samples. A sophisticated and deeply textural album that veers into R&B and jazz fusion, With Opened Eyes is best listened to loud, on good speakers. — K. Bain
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ZHU, 'DREAMLAND 2021'
While the world was locked away in quarantine, one artist channeled his emotions into a dark, pulsing celebration of human connection. DREAMLAND 2021 is Zhu’s third studio album; a composition that builds on the neon night and desert winds of his first two releases by injecting its shadowy corners with R&B vocals, pounding techno rhythms and bare-soul intimacy. It’s haunting and sexy, as Zhu is known to be — and collaborations with Tinashe, Channel Tres, Yuna and more help bring its connective core to life. “You can’t generate the same kind of community and connection without other people,” Zhu said upon the album’s release. “The lights, the music, the volume, the dancing. Electronic music is an experiential thing.” — K. Bein