Posted by Franki on: Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
2011 was an incredible year for music. I remember going through and making lists of records the past 2 years trying to come up with my best of lists and it being a little too easy. I always had a Top 10, but didn’t dare go much higher. While there were some great records, I didn’t have nearly as difficult time as I did this year picking out my faves. Maybe I didn’t take the time to explore as much and maybe my musical tastes have broadened, but I feel like 2011 was just better than most.
Below is the list of my Top 25 Records of 2011 in the order I love them. Below that I have 70 honorable mentions that are also albums I like, but connected to less personally.
I realized my top 5 albums this year all have a great story behind them and some sort of personal connection, especially the top 2, which I think are amazing triumphs for the artists. Growth from the last album to these was substantial, the end result being… magic. I also feel like these were overlooked.
I looked around at several other Best of 2011 lists before making this. I wanted to see if there was anything out there I’d missed and see how mine compared. While there are some simularities, mine ends up being pretty unique. So if if you take the time to read this, hopefully you find something new or are reminded of something you may have missed as well. That’s my favorite part about these lists: The Discovery.
Anyways, without further ado….
25. WASHED OUT – Within and Without
24. CULTS – Cults
23. COM TRUISE – Galactic Melt
22. YOUTH LAGOON – The Year of Hibernation
21. YUCK – Yuck
20. BLOOD ORANGE – Coastal Grooves
19. DESTROYER – Kaputt
18. COLD CAVE – Cherish the Light Years
17. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
16. GANG GANG DANCE – Eye Contact
15. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – Hanna Soundtrack
14. THE WEEKND – Thursday
13. REAL ESTATE – Days
12. DAS RACIST – Relax
11. WAVVES – Life Sux EP
10. KURT VILE – Smoke Ring For My Halo
9. SOFT METALS – Soft Metals
8. DANNY BROWN – XXX
7. DUM DUM GIRLS – Only In Dreams
6. COLIN STETSON – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
5. PICTUREPLANE – Thee Physical
4. GIRLS – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
3. THE DRUMS – Portamento
2. THE DEATH SET – Michel Poiccard
1. METRONOMY – The English Riviera
RUNNERS UP & HONORABLE MENTIONS
(in Alphabetical Order)
