Maybe I'm just getting old. Podcasts are really just radio on demand, and I basically spend most of my time now listening to that version of the radio. But, as long as singers and bands I love keep releasing albums, I will still give them a fair amount of my attention—just not as much as in years past. So, here are ten cases in point for 2021.

10.
Prince, The Slaughterhouse (2004)

Earlier this year, I discovered the couple of albums by Prince that had once upon a time only been available via his online music club that I never joined, making them the only ones in his massive discography I did not have in my possession, were suddenly available on iTunes. Or maybe not "suddenly," but I was just discovering them. I immediately purchased them both. Would that I'd have known I would eventually throw my hands up and finally sign up for Apple Music! The money I spent on these two albums (the other one called The Chocolate Invasion, originally released the same year; this one is the one I chose to put on the top ten list only because its run time is slightly longer) seems a bit wasted now in retrospect, especially considering the relatively few times I listened to them.

Number of plays in 2021: 6

9.
Pat Benatar, Seven the Hard Way (1985)

The first of another two albums I finally purchased, because the library no longer had copies I could rip to my computer. I had intended eventually to complete my Pat Benatar discography collection. It's just as well that I didn't rip them from library copies, given the new restrictions on syncing copyrighted content from the same CD more than once: my music library is now stripped of such tracks, and that would have included these. So, I bought the albums . . . which I now can just listen to on Apple Music anyway. Apple Music is increasingly the bane of my existence.

Number of plays in 2021: 10

8.
Pat Benatar, Tropico (1984)

I had this one on cassette, once upon a time. It was a real turn toward pop from the rock sounds of Benatar's previous albums. I always liked this one, though. Another one I purchased through iTunes just this year, only to realize later I really didn't need to.

Number of plays in 2021: 10

7.
Katy Perry, Smile (2020)

I purchased this album so close to the end of 2020, I only had time to listen to it three times before the year ended. Were those three listens within 2021, this album would rank #6 on this list. Incidentally, this album is a pleasant enough listen, but it's also utterly forgettable, a far cry from the pop perfection of Teenage Dream eleven years ago.

Number of plays in 2021: 18

6.
ABBA, Voyage (2021)

One of the biggest stories of 2021, at least for ABBA fans: their first studio album in fully forty years. If you ever think any band is broken up forever, just remember ABBA! (The Eagles? Fleetwood Mac? Amateurs!) On a track by track basis, it's kind of hit and miss. But, it also fits perfectly in their succession of albums, no deviation whatsoever from their signature sound, which seems to stand apart in time. Some of the tracks I really love.

Number of plays in 2021: 19

5.
Bo Burnham, Inside (2021)

I really thought I had listened to this album more times than this. If I ranked these albums by how I regard their quality rather than how many times I listen to them, I'd likely rank this one at #1. The talent and skill on display here is staggering, not to mention the unique wit. God knows how poorly it might age over time, considering how precisely this album reflects a very specific moment in time, the months that we all had to stay in our homes as much as possible thanks to a pandemic, dealing with exacerbated emotional roller coasters and, for many, loneliness and depression. I always felt the people criticizing this Netflix special for not being universally relatable—not everyone had the money and resources to create a masterpiece of their craft—were completely missing the point. Burnham never made any such claims of universality; all he did was represent a point of view. It just so happened that millions of people did happen to relate to it. I watched the special two or three times, and loved the songs so much I had to get the album he released shortly thereafter.

Number of plays in 2021: 25

4.
Garbage, No Gods no Masters (2021)

Garbage never ceases to impress me. I mean, I guess they sort of did once, with their so-so third album in 2001, Beautiful Garbage. They have always let several years pass between albums, averaging five years between them in the 21st century. But every album since then has been as great as the last, if not better. Lead singer Shirley Manson is by some distance the youngest member of the band, and even she is now 55, but rocking just as hard as she ever did. I suppose I have to admit the most recent three albums are pretty similar in overall sound, but so what? It's a sound I love.

Number of plays in 2021: 25

3.
Tori Amos, Ocean to Ocean (2021)

Oh, how I love to love Tori Amos—another artist whose popularity peaked some 25 years ago, but who keeps releasing great albums the fans who long ago abandoned her keep missing out on. This one is, in a way, a companion piece to Bo Burnham's Inside, although the two albums are wildly different in style and tone. And yet, this one is also largely the product of the pandemic, and has a melancholy through line among songs often inspired by some kind of grief. The album isn't especially sad to listen to, however. I find the album on the whole to be quite pleasant and inviting.

Number of plays in 2021: 28

2.
Adele, 30 (2021)

I wouldn't argue, necessarily, with anyone saying this is Adele's best work to date as an artist. I do love the album, even though it doesn't have the hook that made her previous two albums global sensations. Still, good for her, for broadening her horizons and growing as an artist, even while staying squarely within the sonic parameters that made her a superstar to begin with.

Number of plays in 2021: 31

1.
Lil Nas Z, Montero (2021)

For decades, I tried to identify with a new artist that effectively might become the "next Madonna." Rihanna? Too focused on high fashion. Lady Gaga? I really thought it was her for a long time, until I realized Lady Gaga is much more comparable to Cher. And then, along comes a young gay Black man who is the very kind of provocateur Madonna once was: baiting conservatives in this country in calculated ways that only increase his market value. This is a guy who knows what he's doing. And, like Madonna, he's not technically the best singer in the world, and yet he works with people who help him make unforgettable pop songs. Many people think this young man doesn't deserve any respect, but millions disagree, including myself. I respect everything about this guy, who is unapologetically sexy as a gay Black man in the same kind of ways Madonna used to be unapologetically sexy as a woman. As far as I'm concerned, a torch has been passed.

Number of plays in 2021: 40

. . . I am nothing if not a creature of habit. Most of the podcasts on my top ten this year have been on it several years running now; it's just their ranking that shuffles each year. So these are now my Top 10 Podcasts of the year:

10. The Complete Guide to Everything, hosted by Tom Reynolds and Tim Daniels

Some years this one pops off of my list, sometimes it pops back on. It's really just a matter of whether it's in my top ten or not; I listen to it every week religiously regardless, and I have ever since Gabriel first recommended it—in 2014. Damn, have I been listening to this show for seven years? Tim and Tom are pushing forty now, which means when I started listening, they were in their early thirties, and I was in my late thirties! One of them just had a baby this year, resulting in a month with a guest cohost, a woman I did enjoy but it was great to have Tim back again. They're just two old friends engaging in amusing conversation about a different random topic each week, sometimes making it clear they don't know what the hell they're talking about, but it's always a fun hang. At this point, they kind of feel like old friends. Such is the case with all longtime listeners of particular podcasts.

9. Keep It!, hosted by Ira Madison III, Lewis Virtel and Aida Osman

I'm kind of surprised this one has never made it onto my top ten podcasts list. I mean, why shouldn't it? They release an episode every Wednesday morning, with their takes on the pop culture stories of the week, and I never miss it. It's literally my Wednesday morning podcast, which I listen to while getting ready in the bathroom. I have one for every morning of the week. Also, I discovered Louis Virtel on Twitter first, found him hilarious, and thus followed him to this podcast when they started it a few years ago. They often have critiques of movies or shows that I completely disagree with, but I enjoy listening to them chat away about this stuff with each other anyway.

8. My Favorite Murder, hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

By now, this one is a Podcast Institution. I have to admit, I listen to this one while working most of the time, and often while they are talking about one murder story or another, I kind of check out. Still, I love the hosts and their chemistry together, and Karen Kilgariff is one of the funniest women on the planet as far as I'm concerned. Five years in, the novelty has long since faded, and this is the lowest ranking it's ever gotten on my top ten, but I still think it will be many years, if ever, before it falls off completely.

7. The Big Picture, hosted by Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, and sometimes others from The Ringer

I listen to several podcasts about movies. With the exception of Doug Loves Movies, which is in a separate category because it's a trivia show first, which just happens to be about movies, The Big Picture is my favorite. Sean and Amanda make a great team, and in this case, I rarely disagree with their assessments of film. Sometimes I hear about new movies here first, that I know I need to see. What's not to love?

6. Doug Loves Movies, hosted by Doug Benson

Another old-timer. This one slipped in the rankings in the Pandemic Year of 2020 because Doug shifted all the shows to Zoom shows, and although the games were basically the same, doing it without a live audience just wasn't the same. Things picked up a bit in 2021, as live shows started to make a comeback, and as podcasts, their return was most welcome. He still does Zoom shows during slower weeks when he doesn't have live shows booked, so these days it's a pretty even mix of the two. I do enjoy it either way, but I have a much greater fondness when I can tell Doug and his panel of guests are playing off the energy of a live crowd.

5. WTF with Marc Maron, hosted by Marc Maron

The one that started it all . . . WTF with Marc Maron was the first podcast I ever listened to, even before I got a bunch of recommendations from Gabriel, as far back as 2014 (maybe earlier? 2014 was the first year I listed my Podcast Top 10; I also can't believe I've been doing this very list for that long now). This is another one that never leaves this list, although its ranking varies by the year. Many people felt it improved significantly last year in the pandemic, as his being forced to interview via Zoom for the first time also allowed him to get far more famous people than ever before, both because of his own podcast's now-legendary status and because the pandemic left them with nothing else to do. It worked out for everyone! I actually still prefer his interviews with fellow comedians most of the time, and it was nice to see him able to get back to in-person interviews in 2021. The Omicron variant has made a few people slide back into Zoom, but either way, as this podcast is only ever one on one between two people, I never miss it—and this one has been reliably twice a week from day one, every Monday and every Thursday morning.

4. Do You Need a Ride?, hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Chris Fairbanks

Do You Need a Ride?, now on Karen Kilgariff's and Georgia Hardstark's Exactly Right Network, finally moved from biweekly to weekly this year! I always loved the concept of this show, where they chatted with a guest in the car while giving them a ride they legitimately needed somewhere, but the pandemic in 2021 forced them into a studio, and then onto Zoom. They still haven't switched back to the car rides, but this show has remained one of my favorite hangs, and for the reason I tend to love a podcast: I'm always there far more for the hosts than for the guests. On this one, Karen and Chris Fairbanks have a delightful, platonic friendship between a hilarious woman and a hilarious man, and these days this one always hovers within the top half of my list.

3. Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, hosted by Conan O'Brien and "Team Coco"

Not even this one is novel anymore, as it was brand new three years ago and kind of took podcasting by storm. I ranked it #2 last year; #5 in 2019 and #10 in 2018, when it was all of a couple of months old. O'Brien never ceases to crack me up, but the show would also not be the same without assistant Sona and producer Matt; the rapport between the three of them at the top of each show and also closing each show is often as good, if not better, than the segments with guest interviews. And even those are usually delightful. But, I suppose you really have to be a fan of Conan O'Brien himself, and I am, and have been for about two and a half decades.

2. Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone,, hosted by Paula Poundstone and Adam Felber

This one really shot up the list for me this year, ranking higher than ever before. Much like Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Paula has others who are also on the show with her as well: co-host Adam Felber; manager Bonnie "Captain Crinkle" burns; and producer Toni Anita Hull. These guys have also not returned to a studio since switching to Zoom for the pandemic, and I actually still miss the rapport they had when meeting in person, but somehow, even over Zoom, their group dynamic really shines through, and they consistently crack me up. I feel like this show has really found its legs and if it ever ends (as Paula's previous podcast venture, The Paula Poundstone Institute, was short lived), I will really miss it.

1. Threedom,, hosted by Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus and Paul F. Tompkins

Number One again! These three are the one-hour podcast hang I continue to look forward to the most every week. What I love most about this one is how the tree cohosts—who never have guests; they are more than enough on their own—are really good, longtime friends from improv days, and how much they care about each other really shines through. It's just wonderful to get to witness such genuine friendship among people who can also effortlessly make each other laugh (especially Paul F. Tompkins, a great laugher), and in so doing, make me laugh as well. Can you tell I like podcasts that make me laugh?

[posted 7:47 am]