2011. Where did the time go? Are you done with your holiday shopping? Are you done with your Top 10 Lists? I didn't think so. Let's dive right in, as I'm sure you have plenty more important things to worry about.
Much like last year, two albums battled it out for the top spot. The rest fell somewhat easily into the list. But if you're me and you put anything up against Yeezy... Yeezy wins. Hats off to Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), though—for one hell of an album that I'm sure will top a lot of lists this year and hopefully win him a Grammy or two. Heck, he's great on Watch the Throne, so everyone wins.
My TOP 10 Albums
-
Jay-Z and Kanye West– Watch the Throne
- Bon Iver – Bon Iver
- Toro y Moi – Underneath The Pine
- St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
- Neon Indian – Era Extraña
- SBTRKT – SBTRKT
- Cults – Cults
- tUnE-YarDs – w h o k i l l
- Panda Bear – Tomboy
- Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Other albums of note:
The Beach Boys – The SMiLE Sessions
Whether or not this is how Brian Wilson would've assembled it in the late 60s is beside the point. I consider it a privilege to finally hear the original studio recordings. And they're great.
Laura Stevenson and the Cans – Sit Resist
I good friend turned me onto her music, and now I'm doing the same. She has a great voice—nearly made my Top 10.
Jim Guthrie – Sword & Sworcery LP: The Ballad of the Space Babies
Candy Claws – Dreamland Soundtrack
Jürgen Müller – Science of the Sea
Tycho – Dive
The above four albums are instrumental and mostly electronic (a few are soundtracks). I often play them while working. I can't say enough about Candy Claws, who are one of my favorite groups at the moment. Play 'Sword & Sworcery' by Superbrothers if you haven't already, too.
The Roots' Undun seems promising, but it's too early for me to give it a spot.
Finally, I mined a ton of individual songs from music blogs this year—a lot of them from Said the Gramophone (consistently, one of the best). So, be sure to check them out.
As always, more than anything else I'm curious to know what everyone is listening to. Feel free leave your favorites in the comments. I'm also on last.fm (bobjinxmusic) if you want to follow along next year.
Here are my lists from previous years: (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006)
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2 comments:
Totally with you on the St. Vincent and Tune-yards! They're both fantastic. The others I haven't heard yet.
I was lucky enough to see St. Vincent last month here in Boston. MAN, what a show. The recorded album doesn't do Annie's guitar playing the same justice. Much more amped up in person.
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