The best music from the Bay Area in 2021

From ambient music, dance, and downtempo to hip hop, metal, and rock, here are all our favorite local releases from SF, Oakland, and beyond

Happy New Year’s Eve 🌞

In celebration of all the great music released by Bay Area artists and labels over the past year, this week we posted daily wraps of our favorite releases of 2021, highlighting all the best albums, EPs, and singles across a wide variety of genres, including ambient, dance, downtempo, hip hop, metal, and rock.

Missed the lists? Scroll on and discover your new favorite local music.

Peace,
ronny

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Ambient: Modular princess Arushi Jain, techno producer Christina Chatfield, pedal steel guitarist Chuck Johnson, death metal vet Leila Abdul-Rauf, and more

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Dance: Acid and breaks from RITCHRD and Bored Lord, hypnotic techno pop on a DJ-Kicks by Jessy Lanza, soulful house from Space Ghost, and more

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Downtempo: Feelings with Brijean, soul poetry by Caroline Chung, experimental darkwave by Dax Pierson, jazz drumming by Keshav Batish, and more

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Hip hop: Chill, political, gangsta, goofy, and beyond from the Watershed, Su'Lan, ALLBLACK, Alleyes Manifest, Guapdad 4000, Ian Kelly, Kevin Allen, and more

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Metal: Abstracter and Labored Breath from Sentient Ruin Laboratories, Celestial Blues by King Woman, Home Wrecked by TORSO, plus a couple live ones

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Rock: Post-punk by Fake Fruit, Cold Beat, and Pardoner; country rock by Al Harper and Miko Marks; Chime School, Boy Scouts, April Magazine, and more

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BEST OF THE BAY 2021

Listen to a mix (part 1 of 2) of the year’s best music from Oakland, SF, and the Bay. Kicks off with hip hop, moves into soul and jazz and dance, and then finally descends into a downtempo, ambient comedown. Part 2 airs live on Lower Grand Radio this Thu Jan 6 at 8 PM PT.

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Dialed in: What I learned when I put Bay Area music first