21 – Adele

Best: Rolling in the Deep

Worst: Nah (there’s a theme with all these isn’t there?)

I don’t understand how I avoided listening to this album for nearly 8 or 9 years. This is what we call, “Phenomenal”. Adele is a POWERHOUSE vocalist, and it just hits different. WE start off with one of the most popular songs of all time, “Rolling in the Deep”. How in the WORLD do you start the album with something so powerful?? It’s insane! She gets into how ugly the breakup is and how pissed she is, but what really made me love the album was the balance. Yes, she laid into her ex so hard there has to be a Looney Tunes-style crater of him at their old apartment, but she also gives herself part of the blame. She understands that it takes two to tango, and that she was imperfect as well, while never feeling like she was mainly at fault. This album is so well-balanced, that even the song that doesn’t exactly fit with the rest of the sound of the album (I’ll Be Waiting) still feels right. 21 is an exercise in vocal range, balance, accountability, and moving forward.