My 25 Favorite Albums of 2011
It seems the two-week period in which the internet music who’s-whos and blogger extraordinaires post what they think are the supreme examples of musicianship from the last year has passed. The ball drop of the New Year has cleaned our slates and prepared us for another year of life-changing and be-all-end-all albums which will change music forever or revert it back to what it once was.
However, I took a really long time to compile and order my list, so here’s one more with my favorite albums of 2011. It likely makes more sense to post after the year is over anyway. (Several of these albums were released in December and needed time to gestate.)
To me, each year continues to improve as the amount of music being released grows exponentially. I only have time to listen to so many albums, so I’m sure I’ll find more 2011 albums which populate my playlists in 2012.
I’ve decided to forego descriptions in an effort to allow for unbiased and clean-palated listening.
25. JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound - Want More
24. Incubus - If Not Now, When?
23. The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles
22. Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days
21. Maritime - Human Hearts
20. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
19. J. Cole - Cole World: The Sideline Story
18. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
17. The Antlers - Burst Apart
16. TV on the Radio -Nine Types of Light
15. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
14. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part II
13. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix
12. The Head & the Heart - The Head & the Heart
11. Grouplove - Never Trust a Happy Song
10. Washed Out - Within and Without
9. G-Side - Island
8. Penguin Prison - Penguin Prison
7. The Roots - Undun
6. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
5. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?
4. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
3. Friendly Fires - Pala
2. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
1. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Honorable mentions: JUSTICE’s Audio, Video, Disco; Thrice’s Major/Minor; Peter Bjorn & John’s Gimme Some; Wilco’s The Whole Love; Into It. Over It.’s Proper; Future Islands’ On the Water; La Dispute’s Wildlife; Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer; The New Division’s Shadows; Jay-Z & Kanye West’s Watch the Throne; White Wives’ Happeners
My Favorite EPs of 2011:
RAC - VOL 2
Mount Moriah - Mount Moriah
Wolf Gang - Wolf Gang EP
Phantogram - Nightlife
Happy New Year!
-GC
