Best albums of 2011?

[Marguerite]

I realise we had a thread about this a while ago but that was ages ago and I'm sure more albums have come out since then, and given the year is almost over this is maybe the best time for it.

In my opinion...

1# What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? by The Vaccines

2# A Creature I Don't Know by Laura Marling

3# Bruiser by The Duke Spirit

Honourable mentions:
Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under by Amanda Palmer
Insomnia by Washingston
The King Is Dead by The Decemberists
Suck It And See by Arctic Monkeys
Making Mirrors by Gotye


How about everyone else?

[Snufkin]

I really need to check The Vaccines out. Keep hearing good things about them, I just assumed they were another NME band.

I've had a lot of problems trying to formulate a top 10. I think the top 3 would look like this...

1. Let England Shake by PJ Harvey.
2. Imaginaerum by Nightwish.
3. The Hunter by Mastodon.

Honourable mentions go to...
The King is Dead by The Decemberists
Strange Mercy by St Vincent
The King of Limbs by Radiohead
Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kayne West
Welcome Home Armageddon by Funeral for a Friend (not something I would usually include, but it's the sheer strength of the comeback that makes it so impressive)
On a Mission by Katy B
A Creature I Don't Know by Laura Marling
Build a Rocket Boys! by Elbow
Stand Still by Emma's Imagination
England Keep My Bones by Frank Turner
Siberia by Lights
The Impossible Song & Other Songs by Roddy Woomble
Bad As Me by Tom Waits
Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing by The Wonder Years

I have complained a few times that this year has been pretty poor for music, but I struggled to cut the albums down to that list, so maybe it hasn't been that bad after all. Definitely gonna use this thread to check out the albums I missed.

[ReluctantPegasister]

1. Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine
2. 21 by Adele
3. Born This Way by Lady Gaga

[youbetheanchor]

I'll just list a few, not going to number.
-21 by Adele
-If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say by The Bunny The Bear
-HATE by Hawthorne Heights
-The Flood by Of Mice & Men
-Siberia by Lights
-Understanding What We've Grown to Be by We Came As Romans

[Snufkin]

Originally Posted by Maeve

2. 21 by Adele

I did wonder how long it'd be til this popped up It is a hell of an album, and undoubtedly it is the album of 2011 in terms of influence and sales. I don't think it's consistently interesting enough all the way through for me to count it as one of my favourites of the year though.

[BruceLeeDemarcus]

1.Nothing Like This -Rascal Flatts
2. Hunter Hayes -Hunter Hayes

[Skeleton]

Ceremonials by Florence + The Machine
Radiosurgery by New Found Glory

and I can't think of any other albums released this year haha.

[Jas]

Yeah, 21 (Adele) and Ceremonials (Florence and the Machine) are both solid efforts that I listened to a lot but I wouldnt' put them top of my list either.

Kind of in order, the following rate way higher on my 2011 list:

Let England Shake (PJ Harvey)
Feel It Break (Austra)
A Creature I Don't Know (Laura Marling)
Strange Mercy (St Vincent)
Bon Iver (Bon Iver)

[Cabron]

I second what Scott said with The King of Limbs. The thing about it though is that it's one of those albums you actually need to sit down and listen to all the way through, as it's more of a journey than something that can be chunked up into individual songs (if that makes any sense). I know this isn't shocking coming from myself, but I'm With You by RHCP was honestly one of the best and probably most overlooked albums (at least in my opinion) released this year. It's probably one of their most experimental records to date but wow. Beginning to end it was fantastic.

[♥ Choir. ♥]

Get Your Heart On! - Simple Plan

Of course.

[Snufkin]

Originally Posted by Cabron

I second what Scott said with The King of Limbs. The thing about it though is that it's one of those albums you actually need to sit down and listen to all the way through, as it's more of a journey than something that can be chunked up into individual songs (if that makes any sense).

It's a bloody irritating album. I don't think it's the album anyone wanted, but it is the one we needed. It's short, it's rhythm based, it's basically split in two, it's spawned enough b-sides to have another album, and it has that fucking "if you think this is over then you're wrong" line at the end as if to tease us.

I love the album, but it probably doesn't reach my top 3 because, unfairly, they have released better albums. I can't expect everything to be as good as Kid A, considering nothing else by anyone else reaches that peak. King of Limbs is still amazing, just in a very different, at times frustrating, way.

Jas, I think we'd get along

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by Maeve

1. Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine
2. 21 by Adele

You know I really don't 'get' Ceremonials to be honest. I really like *most of* Lungs but Ceremonials just doesn't do it for me.

And Adele and 21 I do really like but as Scott said for me there were better albums this year.

But speaking of let downs (in F+TM's case for me) can we talk for a minute about Angles by The Strokes?? My God, what was that?

Here is a list of good songs on that album:

Under Cover Of Darkness

....

That's it.

How far can a band fall??

[Jas]

By the way, I completely forgot Feist! Metals was fantastic and is something I can consistently listen to - also she was great live. Another one I forgot was Wounded Rhymes (Lykke Li) which made summer at work great.

And yeah Scott, went back and looked at your list - definitely some great musical crossover, but enough variation to not get boring.

And as far as King Of Limbs, I'm sorry, it was a let down. First Radiohead album I haven't bought a hard copy of...



eta - Marguerite, you were right at the top - Making Mirrors (gotye) also would make my list. For some reason I just thought you were wrong and that it was a 2010 release. Probably because I have heard Somebody I Used To Know on repeat for monnnnths.

[~Mr. Self Destruct~]

The Hunter, Mastodon.

[Squidgy]

Endgame, Rise against

[ToGoOmniscient]

1) Soul Punk - Patrick Stump.
It was beyond everything I'd imagined. Sooooo great. Soooo amazing. Impressed me, a FOB diehard, and apparently heavily influenced by Michael Jackson. Being 14, I didn't see it. But every single critic said it was.

2) Vices and Virtues - Panic At The Disco
I loved what I'd heard off of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I absolutely hated Pretty. Odd. I loved 70% of Vices and Virtues, just cause I found it hard to get into songs like Ready To Go (Get Me Out of My Mind), The Calendar, and Sarah Smiles. They're good songs, I like them, but I skip them whenever they come on my mp3 player.

3) Disguises by Aiden.
It's always cool to listen to Aiden's albums in chronological order, from Our Gangs Dark Oath to Disguises. (I have yet to hear Some Kind of Hate.) Because it was such a change in the right direction. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many songs I liked off of OGDO, NA and RiH. Conviction, Knives, and Disguises are the only albums where I liked every single song that I'd heard off of them.

[Cosmo]

#1 - Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

#2 - Deafheaven - Roads to Judah

#3 - This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket


Runners Up


Touché Amoré - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me (really, really close contender for third)
Dir En Grey - Dum Spiro Spero (Felt their previous works were better)
Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason (This also contended for third very closely)
James Blake - Loved it but it lacked enough hooks to keep me coming back
An Autumn for Crippled Children - Everything (Amazing, just not as amazing as the others)

[Cosmo]

Revised list


1. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
2. Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
3. Foster the People - Torches
4. The Black Keys - El Camino
5. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
6. Touché Amoré - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me
7. Dir En Grey - Dum Spiro Spero
8. Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason
9. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Everything
10. Radwimps - 絶体絶命
11. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
12. Suicide Silence - The Black Crown
13. One Ok Rock - Zankyo Reference
14. Sleepmakeswaves - ...and so we destroyed everything
15. Oh, Sleeper - Children of Fire