I’ve finally put together my year-end list for the best albums of 2011. It was a great year for a diverse array of genres as seen in the list below. Excellent hip-hop, trip-hop, shoegaze, rock, and folk albums dominated my listening for the year.
My list is in descending order, with a tie for my favorite album of the year between Youth Lagoon and Atmosphere. Those two albums were far and away my favorites. They are both incredibly consistent throughout. Picking a “best song” for each was quite difficult.
Get listening!
12. Kanye West and Jay-Z - Watch the Throne
Best song: No Church in the Wild
11. Washed Out - Within and Without
Best Song: Far Away
10. The Head and the Heart - S/T
Best Song: Rivers and Roads
9. David Bazan - Strange Negotations
Best Song: Wolves at the Door
8. John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
Best Song: Damn This Town
7. Buck 65 - 20 Odd Years
Best Song: Paper Airplane
6. The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave
Best Song - Apparitions
5. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Best Song: Let Me Back In
4. Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours
Best Song: Royal Blue
3. Ben Howard - Every Kingdom
Best Song: Black Flies
1. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
Best Song: Montana
1. Atmosphere - The Family Sign
Best Song: The Last to Say
It’s that time of year again. I’ve seen a lot of Top 10’s this year already, with the usual suspects on most lists. Mine doesn’t deviate from the favorites of the year too much, but is different nonetheless.
1. Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring. My favorite album of the year by a wide margin. Favorite track is #9 - The Widower
2. Wolf Parade - Expo 86. This album grew on me all year and came back on all the time. Favorite track is #3 - What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)
3. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record. I had never been a BSS fan before this record, but loved it all the way through. Favorite track is #11 - Sweetest Kill
4. The Arcade Fire - Suburbs. Everyone loved this record and its on everyone’s lists for the year. I can’t disagree with any of the praise. Favorite track is #12 - Deep Blue
5. Beach House - Teen Dream. Same goes for Beach House’s gem. Favorite track is #3 - Norway
6. Summer People - Good Problems. This was a random pickup that turned out to be fantastic. Favorite track is #1 - Two Hearted River.
7. Rogue Wave - Permalight. I have liked pretty much every album Rogue Wave has put out and this one was no different. Favorite tracks are the far too short closer All That Remains, and #8 - We Will Make A Song Destroy
8. Sage Francis - Li(f)e. By far my favorite hip-hop album of the year. Sage has put out some of the best stuff of the last 10 years and his 2010 album is no different. Favorite track is #3 - I Was Zero
9. Trampled By Turtles - Palamino. A Minnesota bluegrass band. Never thought I’d hear that word combo but it works here. Favorite track is #1 - Wait So Long
10. Jason Collett - To Wit To Woo. I’ve liked pretty much everything Mr. Collett has put out, but this short EP grabbed me even further. Favorite song is #6 - Love Song to Canada
Honorable Mentions
- The Beautiful Girls - Spooks
- The Black Keys - Brothers
- Catherine Feeny - People in the Hole
- Free Energy - Stuck on Nothing
- The Futureheads - The Chaos
- Jakob Dylan - Women & Country
- JJ Grey & Mofro - Georgia Warhorse
- The John Butler Trio - April Uprising
- Junip - Fields
- Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
- Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
- The National - High Violet
- RJD2 - The Colossus
- Sophie Zelmani - I’m the Rain
- Tokyo Police Club - Champ
- Tunng - …And Then We Saw Land
- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Mojo
- Xavier Rudd & Izintaba - Koonyum Sun
- Yeasayer - Odd Blood
