21

Pop ballads are not for me, but this is an extremely well-crafted album.

even though rolling in the deep is pretty much unlistenable by now, there are still a few bangers here and the cover of lovesong is out of this world

Can't argue against taste and I don't like it.

Might be one of the most perfectly paced albums of all time. Favorite Song: Rumor Has It

I remember what a force of nature "Rolling in the Deep" was - my kid had a piano recital that year and I think 5 different kids chose that as their song to play. I had not listened to most of the rest of this before today. I get the Winehouse comparisons. But I liked her music more. This is pretty good though. I liked "Take It All." I also liked the Cure cover. Solid 3 stars.

I wanted to hate it because it was sooooo commercially successful, but I loved her voice. Very soulful textured, and emotional.

I'm very late to the party with this, but it is brilliant. I was struck by how good the arrangements are, especially the heavy drums, and how well the country/blues elements fit with the soul that I knew to expect.

Great album!!

I just can’t with Adele. I worked at the MEN arena as a student, had to listen to her live like 3 nights in a row or whatever it was, she was so flat and then sharp it hurt my face. Then I thought to myself is this the most overrated artist ever?

What better way to avoid the sophomore jinx than by releasing a break-up album that tops the charts in over 30 countries. Though it certainly wasn't as easy as all that (writer's block and the aforementioned relationship collapse couldn't have been fun), Adele makes the impossible sound effortless thanks to her once in a generation voice. 21 feels and sounds like a natural extension of 19, but she does experiment a little more in the new record. Unfortunately, one such experiment ends up being the biggest (and only) stumbling block, seeing Adele try her hand at an adult contemporary country track. However, as someone who doesn't listen to this style of music in their day to day life, Adele does a great job of pulling the listener in and making them feel comfortable. A rare talent, to be sure!

That is a damn good one :)

Very nice album, not sure I'd like to have it on my shelves though. 3.5

3.5. Feels like an objectively great pop album, just isn't one that I will put on for myself, so struggle to give it a 4.

Obviously very accomplished but listening again I'm still sick of the singles and reminded why the others weren't singles. 19 stands up much better, and I think 25 probably does too. Ah well, she's done well enough! Lower rating than I thought but gotta be honest!

Some songs sound similar, but overall really nice

Bangs

Kaj da kazem, žena zna pjevat. Fkt nijedna losa stvar. Ako bi jednu odabrao kao najbolju, a ajde da nije bas basic od ovih najpopularnijih, I'll Be Waiting mi je bila bas bas dobra :)

This album just simply kicks ass

oof, challenge mode, I am Not A Big Fan ok I'll give it a try tho ahh ok yeah Rolling in the Deep and Set Fire to the Rain do kinda kick ass oh man no I remember Someone Like You, I do not like this Lovesong? sure why not eh yeah idk definitely by some metrics she's got a great voice but not my thing, people belting emotive ballads is just ... loud. well, fine

I get why this was a blockbuster success. The singles are timeless and showcase incredible vocals. Top tier production here. Even some of the non-singles I recognized as having heard out in the wild. This is just really excellent pop music.

6 Nov 2026 · 7/10 Great album! It isn't varied enough though, it's quite stuck in its own style, which for me personally isn't ideal. Some songs here are really unique and excellent, Adele is great!

She has an incredible instrument. The music is definitely not my normal taste but enjoyable. Listen. I did not care for the cover of Love song. It seemed inappropriate somehow. I probably said the same thing last time about her instrument, how pretentious. 3.7

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I haven't historically enjoyed hearing Adele on the radio, and her style of singing doesn't really appeal to me. But this is pretty good. It's nice to listen to, with catchy, soulful elements that I didn't expect. Not sure I'd listen to it again, but it's a very solid album. Even 'Someone like you' didn't actually annoying me. I am very surprised but I must be honest about it - it's pretty good! Particularly enjoyed 'Rumour has it' and 'I'll be waiting'.

Pretty great.

At 21!??? Jesus Christ. Five stars, banger after bangers, just an unimpeachable record. Her voice, the blues and soul influences, this slapped then and slaps now.

Sounds like an album of James Bond theme songs... ...not necessarily a bad thing - just saying. Appreciate the Cure cover effort (Rick Rubin influence?), but it sounds like a lounge singer karaoke cover.

Listen. I enjoy shoe gaze, and metal, and garage rock. I like loud noisy stuff. I gave "Scum" four stars. I mean. Adele is not my bag at all. But good God. This album is incredible. Her voice is gorgeous, and powerful, and tender. Her songs are personal and vulnerable. This type of music can be incredible when you have all of these elements in place. The major songs from this (which I must have heard a hundred times without really trying) are all excellent, borrowing R&B and soul and combining it with Adele's wise-beyond-her-years voice. They're the standouts, along with the Cure cover. But the highlight has to be "Someone Like You." Jesus. Just a devastating piece of music. I've been the dude in this song, I've been Adele.... and she's somehow crafted the perfect breakup acceptance song. The melancholy harmony, the beautiful, haunting melody, the delicate piano..... it breaks my heart into about a million pieces. And at the same time it gives me hope. As fucked up as our world is, as terrible as we treat each other, as bad as things get- we can still produce things this beautiful. Honestly, if the rest of the album was a one, I'd still give this a five, just because of "Someone Like You." That's how much that song hits for me. But the rest of the album is great. So it's still - FIVE STARS

Adele's got a killer voice and some monster hits but after a while the songs all sort of sound the same for me.

(6 estrellas)

I liked this more than I expected to. Not really the kind of music I normally like but she has a great voice and some of the songs are really quite good.

nice

Альбом про бывших. Про расставание, любовь и остаточные чувства. Оценка 7/10.

Those who count themselves among my generation will invariably have heard this album blaring on repeat out of a neighboring apartment; one of the girls in your building will have blasted this entire album as loud as her phone speakers let her. Adele's 21 is the most recognizable breakup music of the decade. You do not have to go through a messy breakup to find something to like about this album, though. Adele's voice is absolutely captivating and can elevate even the dreariest accompaniment. Her lyrical material is a little one-trick-pony, but you could say it needed to be. How else would we arrive at the seminal breakup album? The main problem I have with 21 is the bluesy twenty-tens undercurrent that you might observe if you listen closely, beneath all the soul influence. The heavy, spaced-out bass drum on "Rolling in the Deep," like the Proustian madeline, teleported me to the first time I heard the Lumineers, in that moment in which I started to understand the case against music.

Amazing album. Rolling in the Deep, Rumor Has it, and Set Fire to the Rain are all going on the list. Someone like you got old for me real quick, but would be a solid offering if I wasn't already sick of it.

It's surprising to me that both 21 and 25 were in the book but have been removed. This is a good album. Adele sings beautifully and there are some great songs on this album. It never really drags, and there's nothing objectionable here.

Rolling In The Deep is a belter and there’s a handful of other fine tunes. And a dismal cover of The Cure.

Super curious about this, I know the intro track of course, not sure if anything else apart this. It is immediately obvious that she is great singer, no doubt about that. And as far as I am aware, with dying album culture (sadly) there were only 2 platinum albums released in this century and they are both from Adele! So I am naturally, very curious to experience this, we will see I guess! Sadly, after listening to all of this I am a bit dissapointed because so many songs very flat and one-dimensional but she's clearly very talented and I love that she chose to cover one of my favourite bands (The Cure). So honestly was initially expecting 4 stars, but now I am not entirely sure, if I am generous I will give 4, 3 if otherwise! I liked opening and closing tracks and "Rumour Has it" but honestly that's it, rated 3.5 on RYM

I like the Jamie XX Rolling in the Deep remix but otherwise find the songwriting never matches Adele's vocal talents.

Så godt! Som at se en smuk spændende dramafilm 🤩🤩 Elsker Rumour has it, Don’t you remember og Lovesong

One of the strongest starts to a pop album ever, those first three tracks are incredible. After that it's a mix between good and mediocre unfortunately. Some tracks honestly feel like they put no effort into the production, especially when compared to the singles. But that first three track run is all time

amazing

Banger

Начиналось бодренько, но потом перетекло в обычную сопливую попсу

Didn’t like it.

Beautiful voice, and strong songs. I sometimes wish they were slightly less lovefelt! A solid 4.5.

The amount of hit songs on this record is insane. It's literally the best-selling album of the 21st century, and with good reason. My personal favorite track is "Set Fire to the Rain", but there is something here for everyone. One of the purest recordings of raw human emotion turned into song.

6.4/10

Remplie de bangers c nice

Thin sounding production. Perhaps as someone once told me, Adele is overrated after all?

good

Liked Rolling in the Deep, but that was about it. Strong voice though.

Man how much heartbreak can you through before you're 21?? A damn good sophomore album from Adele, but honestly not as sweeping as 25. I stand by my review of that album, Adele will find you and belt out her song into your soul whether you want her to or not.

its Adele most songs were great the rest were good

I don't know how you could rate this anything other than 5. There's several songs on here that defined the early 2010s and her voice is soaring and lovely.

Some of the singles have been overplayed to death but her voice is fantastic. Not my favorite stuff, but her talent is undeniable

Love her voice. A few too many slow tempo songs for my taste so it didn’t earn the 5th star

11/10 still her top 3 most spotify played

um álbum que abre com rolling in the deep e termina com someone like you já nasceu conjurado a se tornar um dos maiores da história da música. meu favorito da adele!!! lembro de ouvir set fire to the rain quando tinha uns 10 anos e ficar obcecada, uma das minhas primeiras obsessões musicais. o maior!

Yeah man, it's Adele, she's a fantastic singer. Rolling in the Deep, Rumour Has It, Set Fire to the Rain, and Someone Like You are all amazing songs where she really goes off, and there's also a really good cover of Lovesong on this album as well. The rest is pretty solid, I enjoyed it all heavily. Honestly felt like I should be sick of these songs with how often they were played, but no, this is good shit still.

Adelen ääni ja laulutaidot on jotain aivan käsittämätöntä! Vaikka tämä ei ole juuri ominta musiikkia, tykkäsin juurikin mainituista syistä. Hitti kappaleet oli tuttuja.

Yes, it's an extremely popular album that nearly everybody's mother likes... but geez man it's Adele! You can't dislike Adele!

First Listen Favorites: Rolling in the Deep Turning Tables Take It All Honorable Mentions: Someone Like You

I think this is the more commercially successful album between the two (and rated here too it seems), I can’t decide which one to rate higher, but I think I tend towards 25, this one was more poetic, dramatic but in a way that caught the mainstream more. And I got both albums in the span of less than 100 albums. Favourite before and after: Someone Like You and Lovesong

felt absolutely nothing

dentist's office waiting room music. 3/5.

First 2 tracks are great but quickly becomes tepid after those

Such an great album and an even more amazing voice. I feel like the voice is all their is in some of the songs though with the music playing 2nd fiddle to the vocals. All in all though still a great album to listen to from start to finish.

Fr

Lot of crooning in a good way. I liked it but I am not sure it would rotate for me. I would guess that this should be in 1001 too.

Not bad. I liked her voice on this album and it wasn’t horribly boring. 3/5

Amazing, amazing album. Every track is awesome. I didn't expect the Lovesong cover and I absolutely loved it. Adele is an earthly treasure. Five stars, easily.

adele at 21 blows my mind at 26... timeless and prescient song-writing with an incomparable voice

i have listened to the glee mashup of rumour has it/someone like you so many times that hearing them separately felt weird LOL despite the international super stardom of this album, i think this might be the first time i've listened to it in full. other than the singles, i'll be waiting and lovesong stood out to me

Still surprised how great Adele’s Vocals and catchy her tunes are! Had been sleeping on Turning Tables l

I hate to rate this higher than Fleetwood Mac, but.

I have no idea what people refer to when they praise the production of an album but I'm guessing is this. You can hear every little detail to perfection, every instrument is there without taking the spotlight and allowing Adele's voice and the chorus to be the main sound. Unfortunately those instruments don't play anything interesting for me and Adele's voice sounds like many others. She can sing for sure, she is trained but so what? She doesn't use her voice to do anything impressive and her lyrics are just common places.

Great voice, not my style

a couple of bangers, but the rest of it is a bit too dull and repetitive to drag it beyond a 3. Probably some good emotional lyrical stuff that is lost on me

This is so nostalgic for me. I think it has 1 or 2 filler songs that stops it from being a 5. Its a very high 4.

Love it!

Not my favorite of her albums, but so refreshing after all the junk we’ve been getting.

A perfect album that I know like the back of my hand, yet I still only know what she's saying half of the time.

Not bad

Adele’s music was the soundtrack to my first few years of consciousness; like the grey walls of a studio that I’ve not been to since I was 4 years old, or my old neighborhood, which has changed irreparably in the time since I departed, 21 by Adele is a deeply nostalgic artifact to me. And like these things that in another life were pouring with the beauty and intrigue of a world entirely unfamiliar to a 3, 4, or 5 year old, this album has lost a lot of its greatness that it had once acquired in my eyes. True, I always knew this would be the case. The songs here that test the time are great, but clearly make way for serious flaws across the album. The writing is patchy and filled with clichés, the melody resolves with little effort or purpose, and it leaves Adele’s fantastic voice and the album’s pretty great production to do the lifting most of the time. The guitars, drums, voice, and piano all sound awesome here, though everything else, take it or leave it. Other than the album’s greatest moments, each song feels indistinguishable from the next, in a way that would give me second hand embarrassment if there weren’t some truly phenomenal songs on this album: “Rolling in the Deep” is one of the greatest pop-soul songs of the previous decade, intense and despairing, passionate and anthemic. It’s one of the greatest songs to reach its level of popularity in the modern age, and is accompanied in popularity and quality by the album’s other two moments of musical greatness, the former being a driving ballad with some of the best vocal chops of Adele’s career, and the latter being one of the most emotionally potent songs to ever reach the popularity it has. The rest of the album, as it stands, is less mind-blowing. The ballads are on average pretty tepid and uninspired, and most songs sound the same. “He Won’t Go” is an exception, I like that song a lot frankly, but other than that there is little intrigue. I don’t think I will return to this album often, and very few songs on here are truly wonderful, but it is an album that admittedly does need to be known in order to understand where the zeitgeist is right now. 6.8/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: quality, of the highs specifically, and significance

Music should be the soundtrack to our lives and this album is the soundtrack to millions of people. And I understand why. She has a great voice, the songs are well crafted and they have massive hooks…. But the production is so flawless it feels hugely impersonal despite the songs themselves being hugely personal. When it’s rawer it’s better

In the United States Of America, the legal age to purchase alcohol on your own.

I hate this album, the music is pretty pedestrian but it’s the self absorbed lyrics that really get me. A 20 year old writes and entire album about an 18 month relationship that ended. This album is Gen Z’ catastrophic lack of emotional resilience personified. 1.0

This is not for me even though her voice is obviously excellent. The cover of lovesong was kinda interesting but the rest of it is just tedious.

Great start

es ist nicht amy winehouse und es ist nicht so mein Geschmack, aber die lieder, die ich eh schon kannte, machen mir ohrwürmer

Es hermoso, la voz de ella es impresionante y la melancolía, la fuerza que transmite Super melancólico esperanzador, pero al mismo tiempo

Этот альбом заслуживает всего того хайпа, который был вокруг после релиза. Один из немногих популярных альбомов 2010-х, который для меня имеет яркое и запоминающееся звучание

Three songs sitting around 2.5 billion Spotify streams is WILD.

Does not belong on the list. reminds me of being at the dentist. BOO

Another album that was a hit for a reason. “Rolling in the Deep” is a great song. Adele’s voice is of course excellent and the pulsing beat adds to the song. Great start to the album. Feel like Adele is stomping after the idiot who messed with her heart. Beat keeps going on “Rumor Has It.” I bebopped to that one also, until I had to seat 2/3 s way through the song. Her slower songs are good also since she has that voice, but really I’m drawn to the percussive numbers. So for me, it starts off strong, and the rest I could pretty much take or leave. “I’ll Be Waiting” picks it up toward the end. The simplicity of the starting music worked for“One and Only” - a good slow dance number, with some crooning backup singing. Her Cure cover delivers. The piano is a lovely background for “Someone Like You.” I can imagine a country singer picking up “I Found a Boy.” Overall, a great album. My personal preference would have been some more of the beat, but it probably would have messed up her album concept / flow.

It a well-worn cliche to say that heartbreak and grief produce the most incredible art, but 21 is the perfect representation of how a statement can be both cliched and invariably true. If you aren't moved by at least one song on this album it just means you haven't had your heart sufficiently broken, yet.

Good voice but wouldn’t seek the album out

it's adele

Despite the fact that I’d never listened to this album in full, I’d already heard the majority of it multiple times by virtue of hearing many of the songs several times over the years.

I've heard it and was expecting to hate it, but instead it is simply "not my thing". I liked it more than I expected!