10 Best Rock Albums Of 2021 (So Far)

Most people tend to think that rock has had its time in the spotlight. As much as some bands like Imagine Dragons might score some songs on the charts every now and again, the days of turning up the distortion and blasting out your eardrums sounds more like a thing of the past, right? Not if these bands have anything to say about it.

Compared to the 2010's, the 2020's are looking pretty promising on the rock front, with some of the greatest new acts coming through with music that we weren't even sure that we needed until we heard it for the first time. Though there are people trying to coax off of nostalgia, there are just as many acts willing to push the envelope of what the genre can do and give us something that we haven't heard before.

Even bands from the old school of rock and roll have been having a banner year as well, with records that show us just why they should still be known as the kings and queens of rock that we know them as today. In a world that has been going crazy about the record releases of Drake and Kanye West, here's a nice helping of rock and roll that's coming down the pipeline these days.

Not too many people were ready for a part 2 of Hayley Williams' solo work. Since we already got her flirtations with Radiohead style songs on the last album Petals for Armor, it would make more sense for her to start working on the next Paramore release as soon as possible. Just at the start of the year though, we got another helping of emotional goodness with Flowers for Vases.

Working out of the same wheelhouse as Petals from last year, this feels like the logical extension of Hayley's state of mind, no doubt informed by having to stay inside for the past year and a half. Compared to her work with Paramore, this still feels like a totally separate entity though, having a lot more indie rock stylings as well as a few nods to genres like country in the mix.

For another comparison, this feels like a good companion piece much like Taylor Swift's folklore and evermore were from last year. Neither of them are all that different, but they work to enhance the strengths of each other through the different songs they use. Even though Paramore's not going to be going anywhere any time soon, it's nice to know that Hayley at least has the chops to rock a solo joint if she wants to.