Your Top 10 albums of 2011

[flex wood]

Luke how do you know about Sims and Doomtree? That's weird I didn't think that they were big outside of Minneapolis. I always figured Rhyme Sayers (their local label) really only promoted Brother Ali and Atmosphere. They are all really cool guys actually so it's nice to see them on your list even though I don't really listen to them.

[dsheinem]

Since I bothered noise to get this list going, I figure I owe a list too I am going to also include a standout song (with link, when I can) for those of you who want to give a listen.

#1 - M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming -

This is slowly and surprisingly becoming by favorite M83 album (over Dead Cities), and it might be because I am a sucker for a solid double album with a broad, dynamic range. The band frequently cited The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie as an inspiration of sorts for the project, and I can definitely sense that nod in the sequencing and production quality. The layers of sonic goodness here are undeniable, and "Midnight City" might be the best song of the past few years.

Standout Song: Midnight City

#2 - Wilco: The Whole Love

I've considered Wilco to be my second or third favorite band for most of the past 15 years, and this is probably the best record they've put out since 2004's A Ghost is Born. That album, in some ways, represented the end of an experimental vibe that carried over from one album to the next from 1995-2004, but for the next 6-7 years they sort of settled into a fixed sound - something which they had never done previously. The Whole Love once again adds some experimentation (seemingly taking a cue from some of Nels Cline's solo projects), and has a wide variety of sounds, arrangements, and styles across the record while still making it cohere - no small feat. The opening track is one of the best they've ever recorded, which is saying something giving the quality and depth of Tweedy's oeuvre.

Standout Song: Art of Almost

#3 - The Decemberists - The King is Dead

This album came out way back in January, but was a nice change of pace from a band that had seemingly become increasingly wrapped up in its own fascination with prog rock on the previous two albums. More folksy than firebrand, the songwriting is splendid and the disc got a lot of repeat play all year - especially during the warm months.

Standout Song: Down By the Water

#4 - Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch The Throne

I'll refer you to Noise's post in the OP as we mostly agree on this one. A fun experiment that, hopefully, will see a follow up in time.

Standout Song: picking one is hard, but I was most pleasantly surprised by Made In America

#5 - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Here We Rest

I have followed Isbell's work since he left the Drive By Truckers some years ago and each of his solo albums have been phenomenal and, generally, better than the work by his old band. His songwriting has lost some of the youthful edge it had even a few years ago, but the insights are more biting and cynical and the band he's been playing with has really matured. This one took some time to grow on me, but once it did it didn't let go.

Standout Song: Codeine

#6 - Radiohead - The King of Limbs

It seems odd to think that Radiohead is "coasting" here, but that is what the disc ultimately feels like. The second half is some of their most beautiful work in the past 4-5 years, but the first half always leaves me feeling a little flat. It is a great album, but not by their standards.

Standout Song:Give Up the Ghost (but, really, the whole second side is just outstanding)

#7 - Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

A welcome return from the band I've done more writing to than any other. This one features shorter tracks than their previous releases and feels a bit more raw in some aspects, but it is another welcome romp through crescendos, feedback, and fuzz.

Standout Song: Be Comfortable, Creature

#8 - Atlas Sound - Parallax

This is the best side-prject album by Bradford Cox to date, and sounds (at times) like leftovers from Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest (that's a good thing - it was my album of the year last year).

Standout Song: Te Amo

#9 - Tom Waits - Bad As Me

Tom Waits really hasn't made a bad album, and if you've enjoyed all or some of his previous work you'll find something to like across this varied album. I suggest listening to it late at night while driving through desolate towns or over country roads. Haunting, angry, wistful, cheeky, somber, etc. - all of Waits' best tricks are on display here.

Standout Song: Hell Broke Luce

#10 - Bon Iver - Bon Iver

This is another early 2011 album that I kept coming back to. Excellent moody music with beautiful production, smart instrumentation, and tight songwriting. A great pick for mellowing out on a cold winter's night.

Standout Song: Beth/Rest

Honorable Metions: I thought Foo Fighter's "Wasting Light" was an excellent return to their best form, I enjoyed seeing Arctic Monkeys get a bit more melodic on "Suck it And See," and Jason Isbell's old band The Drive By Truckers put out their best album in the past few years with "Go Go Boots".

[noiseredux]

fuck, I forgot Atlas Sound made a new album this year.

[Luke]

Luke how do you know about Sims and Doomtree?

Probably by happenstance. I have friends in bands, friends with excellent taste in music, and friends who won't stop showing me youtube videos. I like to think who ever introduced me to Sims and DoomTree are my friends with excellent taste in music.

Drumsticksis close to a perfect b-boy anthem as you can get, and the whole vibe is medina rope. I take my hip hop serious, and I have not one negative word to say about either Sims or Doomtree.

[dsheinem]

fuck, I forgot Atlas Sound made a new album this year.

I feel like my list is probably something of a shopping list for you, if only because there's a lot of artists I know you already like but for some reason ignored in 2011. It was a better year for music than you think.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I wish I had bought more albums this year. I seem to find out about good releases long after they've been out. I don't have time to write thorough descriptions, but here's what I enjoyed most this year, in no particular order:

Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Amebix - Sonic Mass
Septic Flesh - The Great Mass
Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
Esoteric - Paragon of Dissonance
Jesu - Ascension
My Dying Bride - Evinta
The Ruins of Beverast - Enchanted By Gravemould
Alcest - Le Secret

Most anticipated album of 2012:
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Ame

[final fight cd]

i didn't really buy a lot of 2011 albums, but out of the ones i did i really enjoyed awolnation and young and naked.

[Gamerforlife]

I wish I had bought more albums this year. I seem to find out about good releases long after they've been out. I don't have time to write thorough descriptions, but here's what I enjoyed most this year, in no particular order:

Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Alcest - Le Secret

Most anticipated album of 2012:
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Ame

I love the new Nightwish album. Nice to see some other members digging it. Nightwish is one of those bands that shows no signs of slowing down. I miss Tarja though, but I've enjoyed some of her solo work and Annette is clearing busting her ass on each new Nightwish album so I give her a thumbs up

I've heard some Alcest, might explore that band a bit more. I do have some appreciation for shoegaze music(I was a fan of Curve), so it's kind of cool how they mix that with metal

[noiseredux]

fuck, I forgot Atlas Sound made a new album this year.

I feel like my list is probably something of a shopping list for you, if only because there's a lot of artists I know you already like but for some reason ignored in 2011. It was a better year for music than you think.

yup. The Wilco I'll get eventually, because I always eventually get their albums.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I wish I had bought more albums this year. I seem to find out about good releases long after they've been out. I don't have time to write thorough descriptions, but here's what I enjoyed most this year, in no particular order:

Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Alcest - Le Secret

Most anticipated album of 2012:
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Ame

I love the new Nightwish album. Nice to see some other members digging it. Nightwish is one of those bands that shows no signs of slowing down. I miss Tarja though, but I've enjoyed some of her solo work and Annette is clearing busting her ass on each new Nightwish album so I give her a thumbs up

I've heard some Alcest, might explore that band a bit more. I do have some appreciation for shoegaze music(I was a fan of Curve), so it's kind of cool how they mix that with metal

I've enjoyed Nightwish since I first heard Angels Fall First in 1997. Great band.

Alcest is just fantastic. A lot of tr00 metalheads cried foul when these shoegaze-influenced bands started popping up, but I've always found black metal and shoegaze to be pretty similar genres all along. Loveless and In the Nightside Eclipse both have that hazy "wall of sound" guitar noise down pat.