The year 2011 was an absolutely fantastic year for music. While some of the bigger name artists let us down with their big releases, there were more than a few surprises that made up for it. Jay-Z and Kanye West finally dropped their epic Watch The Throne album, the review of which may be found here. I did not find myself loving the album within the first week of its release, but have since come to the conclusion that it was never meant to be enjoyed on a recording, but rather in person.
Bon Iver’s self-titled was my album of the year and ultimately it was not close. Justin Vernon took what was already an excellent band and re-tooled it, inso doing making the music even better. My number two choice may come as quite a shock, but I promise you if you give them the appropriate amount of time, you will find yourself loving Youth Lagoon. The rest of the list ought to make some sense. 2011 was a year for beats, especially electronic music.
Overall, absolutely no complaints from this blogger about 2011’s musical output. We can only hope that 2012 is as kind on our ears as 2011 was.
1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
2. Youth Lagoon – Year of Hibernation
3. Foster The People – Torches
4. James Blake – James Blak
5. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
6. The Antlers – Burst Apart
7. Tycho – Dive
8. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
9. Drake – Take Care
10. Real Estate – Days
11. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
12. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – We’re New Here
13. Washed Out – Within & Without
14. Wye Oak – Civilian
15. Shad – Be-sides
16. Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
17. TV On The Radio – Nine Types Of Light
18. Atlas Sound – Parallax
19. Destroyer – Kaputt
20. Explosions In The Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
21. Feist – Metals
22. Drive – OST
23. The Black Keys – El Camino
24. Beirut – The Rip Tide
25. Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L
26. JAY-Z/KANYE WEST – Watch The Throne
27. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
28. Dirty Beaches – Badlands
29. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
30. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
31. Still Corners – Creatures of an Hour
32. Toro y Moi – Underneath The Pine
33. Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
34. The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
35. Justice – Audio Video Disco
36. Sigur Ros – Inni
37. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
38. Clams Casino – Instrumentals
39. Telekinesis – 12 Desperately Straight Lines
40. The Streets – Computers & Blues
41. We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships
42. The Globes – Future Self
43. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
44. Battles – Gloss Drop
45. J. Cole – Cole World
46. Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain In The Cloud
47. Cults – Cults
48. Dangermouse & Daniele Lippi – Rome
49. Tyler The Creator – Goblin
50. Pusha T – Fear Of God II
