Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2021 Playlist

07/01/2022 2022-01-07 01:00:00 JaME Author: The JaME Team

JaME's Staff Picks 2021 Playlist

Feel like you missed a lot of great music last year? Catch up with some of our team's favourite tracks of 2021.


© .
While 2021 felt like it brought much of the same challenges to the music world as 2020, including constant cancellations, postponements and restrictions for live performances - especially for those looking to travel overseas - that didn't prevent artists from getting new work out to their fans. In fact, with many artists embracing digital platforms more than ever due to coronavirus-related restrictions, the amount of new releases available for streaming can feel a bit overwhelming. If you're still catching up on some of the music you missed in 2021, we're here to help!

At the end of 2021, members from across the language versions of JaME pitched in some of their favourite tracks of the year to create a diverse J-music Spotify playlist. We hope it will help you find lots of cool tracks for your libraries and some new artists to fall in love with. The mix includes a wide range of genres, including rock, pop, hip-hop, enka, visual kei, metal and R&B. You'll find everything from hits that racked up millions of views and countless cover attempts on YouTube to some more obscure tunes that may have slipped past your radar. Whether you like bright and cheerful idol tunes, invigorating anime themes, dramatic visual kei, airy shoegaze or hard-hitting heavy metal, we're confident there's something in this list for everyone.

You can give the first 100 tracks a spin right below, and the full playlist is available on Spotify here.


What were your favourite tracks of 2021? Did you discover any new artists last year? Let us know with a comment on social media!

If you're hunting for even more new music to add to your library, check out some of our team's other playlists (including Staff Picks from 2020 and 2019) further down the page and feel free to follow JaME on Spotify to stay tuned for new additions.
 Listen to the full "Staff Picks 2021" playlist on Spotify  Follow JaME on Spotify
ADVERTISEMENT

JaME's Spotify Playlists

JaME's Staff Picks 2023 Playlist © .

Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2023 Playlist

Still picking out your favourite releases of 2023? Check out some recommendations from the JaME team in our year-end Spotify playlist.

JaME's Staff Picks 2022 Playlist © .

Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2022 Playlist

Feel like you missed out on lots of music last year? Catch up with some of our team's favourite songs from the Japanese music scene in 2022.

JaME's L'Arc-en-Ciel 30th Anniversary Playlist © L'Arc-en-Ciel. All rights reserved.

Special Exclusive

JaME's L'Arc-en-Ciel 30th Anniversary Playlist

As a (belated) celebration of the iconic rock band's 30th anniversary, members of the JaME team have put together a Spotify playlist featuring 18 L'Arc-en-Ciel songs they highly recommend.

JaME's Staff Picks 2021 Playlist © .

Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2021 Playlist

Feel like you missed a lot of great music last year? Catch up with some of our team's favourite tracks of 2021.

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #5 & 6 © l-aeticia@deviantART / letter.of.joy@instagram

Special Exclusive

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #5 & 6

Two years later, we're back with two more helpings of amazing anime music!

JaME's Fireworks Playlist © .

Special Exclusive

JaME's Fireworks Playlist

Celebrate the fleeting beauty of fireworks with our team's latest Spotify playlist.

JaME's J-rock Playlist © MAN WITH A MISSION. All rights reserved.

Special Exclusive

JaME's J-rock Playlist

In honour of "Rock Day", members of our team have put together a diverse selection of tracks from the Japanese rock scene.

JaME's Love Song Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Love Song Playlist

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, our team members get romantic with a Spotify playlist packed with love songs.

JaME's Staff Picks 2020 Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2020 Playlist

Catch up on some of the amazing music you may have missed last year with recommendations from the JaME team.

Collaboration Fever: International © KEIKO TANABE

Special Exclusive

Collaboration Fever: International

This month on Spotify, we're highlighting memorable collaborations between Japanese artists and musicians from around the world.

JaME's Moon Playlist © Benjamin Brady

Special Exclusive

JaME's Moon Playlist

Find some new music to view the moon by with our latest Spotify playlist.

Collaboration Fever: Duets © .

Special Exclusive

Collaboration Fever: Duets

Our latest playlist doubles up on singers with a selection of duets from the last six decades.

JaME's Flawless English Playlist © .

Special Exclusive

JaME's Flawless English Playlist

Is "Engrish" a dealbreaker for you? This month on Spotify we're highlighting Japanese artists who sing in fluent English.

JaME's Days of the Week Playlist © Ken Tran

Special Exclusive

JaME's Days of the Week Playlist

Give each day of the week the perfect soundtrack with songs from our latest Spotify playlist.

JaME's Covers Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Covers Playlist

Japanese artists paint familiar songs in their own unique colours in our latest Spotify playlist.

JaME's Girls Metal Playlist © ChrisN

Special Exclusive

JaME's Girls Metal Playlist

Our latest playlist provides a mere taste of what Japan's many all-female metal acts have to offer.

JaME's Views of Tokyo Playlist © SaKi

Special Exclusive

JaME's Views of Tokyo Playlist

See Tokyo filtered through the eyes of Japanese artists in our latest Spotify playlist.

JaME's J-pop Girls Playlist © JaME

Special Updated Exclusive

JaME's J-pop Girls Playlist

In honour of International Women's Day, our team has put together a new Spotify playlist highlighting female J-pop artists and bands.

JaME's Staff Picks 2019 Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Staff Picks 2019 Playlist

Worried you missed out on some great music in 2019? Check out our latest Spotify playlist for some of our team's favourite tracks of the year.

JaME's Japanese Shoegaze Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Japanese Shoegaze Playlist

Members of the JaME team check out their footwear.

JaME's Alternative Idol Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Alternative Idol Playlist

Go underground and check out the wilder side of Japan’s idol scene with our team’s alternative idol Spotify playlist.

JaME's Idol Playlist © JaME. All rights reserved.

Special Exclusive

JaME's Idol Playlist

Explore the cute and colourful world of Japanese idols with our team’s latest Spotify playlist.

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #3 & 4 © l-aeticia@deviantART / letter.of.joy@instagram

Special Exclusive

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #3 & 4

Take another trip into the eclectic world of anime themes with our team's latest pair of Spotify playlists.

JaME's Visual Kei Playlist © JaME. All rights reserved.

Special Updated Exclusive

JaME's Visual Kei Playlist

Get a taste of what the visual kei scene has to offer with our team's latest Spotify playlist.

JaME's Rain Playlist © JaME

Special

JaME's Rain Playlist

Get through the rainy spring weather with some new music from our team's latest Spotify playlist.

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #1 & 2 © l-aeticia@deviantART / letter.of.joy@instagram

Special

JaME’s Anime Theme Playlists #1 & 2

Members of the JaME team have put together two Spotify playlists packed with memorable anime opening and ending themes.

JaME's Christmas Playlist © JaME

Special Exclusive

JaME's Christmas Playlist

Get into a festive mood with our team's Christmas Spotify playlist.

JaME's Winter Playlist © JaME

Special Updated

JaME's Winter Playlist

The JaME team has put together a Spotify playlist packed with songs that capture the spirit of the winter season.

ADVERTISEMENT