The Best Music of 2011

I haven’t been the most prolific blogger this year but I have listened to a lot of music.  A logical equation I suppose as the adage goes – ‘there are only so many hours in the day after all’.  That music was a constant in my life should come as no surprise to those who know me well though.  The ever present iPod, daily scanning of the tubes, a host of great live shows and darkening the entrance of every record store I find has uniquely prepared me to draft a comprehensive Best of Music List this year.


The Weather Station - Everything I Saw from tamara lindeman on Vimeo.

And what a year it has been...  New records from the heavy hitters like Radiohead, Tom Waits and PJ Harvey; sometimes they make it look so easy.  But this year it was the newcomers that kept the musical fires within me alive.  The gentle Canadiana folk of the Weather Station, James Blake’s nervous dubstep and EMA’s noisy rancor.  The stuff of greatness.  The stuff that keeps me forever seventeen on the inside.  The stuff that makes me look forward to what lies down the road for 2012.

Without further adieu.  Everything is Pop’s Top 25 Albums and Top 50 Songs of the Year for 2011.

Best Albums 2011


01 | PJ Harvey | Let England Shake

02 | Beirut | The Rip Tide

03 | St. Vincent | Strange Mercy

04 | Cass McCombs | Wit’s End

05 | Bon Iver | Bon Iver

06 | Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues

07 | Sandro Perri | Impossible Spaces

08 | Girls | Father, Son, Holy Ghost

09 | Atlas Sound | Parallax

10 | Kurt Vile | Smoke Ring for My Halo

11 | Tom Waits | Bad As Me

12 | Dirty Beaches | Badlands

13 | Oneohtrix Point Never | Replica

14 | White Denim | D

15 | Yuck | Yuck

16 | Destroyer | Kaputt

17 | M83 | Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

18 | Julianna Barwick |The Magic Place

19 | The Weather Station | All of it was Mine

20 | James Blake | James Blake

21 | Tennis | Cape Dory

22 | EMA | Past Life Martyred Saints

23 | Colin Stetson | New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

24 | Radiohead | The King of Limbs

25 | Tune-Yards | W H O K I L L


Best Songs 2011

50 | Battles | “Sweetie and Shag”
49 | Shabazz Palaces | “Youology”
48 | Tune-Yards | “Bizness”
47 | Panda Bear | “Alsation Darn”
46 | Radiohead | “Lotus Flower”
45 | Colin Stetson | “Judges”
44 | Ty Segal | “Goodbye Bread”
43 | Thurston Moore | “January”
42 | EMA | “California”
41 | Toro Y Moi | “Still Sound”
40 | Tennis | “Pigeon”
39 | Lykke Li | “I Know Places”
38 | Wild Beasts | “Loop the Loop”
37 | James Blake | “The Wilhelm Scream”
36 | The Weather Station | “Nobody”
35 | Adam and the Amethysts | “The Country”
34 | Timber Timbre | “Creep On Creepin’ On”
33 | Anna Calvi | “No More Words”
32 | Bill Callahan | “Riding for the Feeling”
31 | Marissa Nadler | “Alabaster Queen”
30 | Julianna Barwick | “The Magic Place”
29 | M83 | “Intro”
28 | Cut Copy | “Need You Now”
27 | Destroyer | “Savage Night at the Opera”
26 | Dodos | “Don’t Try and Hide It”
25 | Real Estate | “Out of Tune”
24 | Yuck | “Shook Down”
23 | Arctic Monkeys | “Black Treacle”
22 | Gang Gang Dance | “Sacer”
21 | Braids | “Lemonade”
20 | Deerhoof | “No One Asked to Dance”
19 | Wilco | “Black Moon”
18 | Wye Oak | “Civilian”
17 | Low | “Especially Me”
16 | J Mascis | “Not Enough”
15 | White Denim | “Street Joy”
14 | The Oh Sees | “If I Stay Too Long”
13 | The Black Keys | “Lonely Boy”
12 | Dirty Beaches | “Lord Knows Best”
11 | Tom Waits | “Talking at the Same Time”
10 | Kurt Vile | “Baby’s Arms”
09 | Atlas Sound | “Lightworks”
08 | Girls | “Forgiveness”
07 | Sandro Perri | “Changes”
06 | Fleet Foxes | “Bedouin Dress”
05 | Bon Iver | “Helocene”
04 | Cass Mccombs | “County Line”
03 | St. Vincent | “Cruel”
02 | Beirut | “Santa Fe”
01 | PJ Harvey | “The Words the Maketh Murder”