The best albums of 2021 include Bleachers, My Morning Jacket, Ryley Walker, ZHU, Diana Ross, Made Kuti and Femi Kuti, Allison Russell, Chris Pierce, Hand Habits, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matt Sweeney, Weezer, Amy Shark and Heartless Bastards. Welcome back to RIFF’s year-end album roundup! If you’re joining us…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (Will Oldham) has been sending musical missives from the emotional lowlands of the alt-country scene for almost 30 years. Matt Sweeney has been a guitar player’s guitar hero for just as long, playing in Chavez and Billy Corgan’s supergroup Zwan, as well as producing a YouTube…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is an old pickup truck: The cracks and rust in his voice testify to the hard miles he’s traveled, the imperfections providing a patina of authenticity in a world full of glossy paint and auto-tune. The sad lilt in his voice invites us to load our…