Articles

10. Destroyer - Kaputt
9. The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles
8. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
7. Grimes & D'Eon - Darkbloom
6. Kool Keith - Legend of Tashan Dorrsett
5. Pharoahe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)
4. Wormrot - Dirge
3. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
2. Black Milk & Danny Brown - Black and Brown
1. Death Grips - Exmilitary


Runner(s) Up

Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Battles - Gloss Drop

Favorite EP

Zoo Kid - Out Getting Ribs

Back with another year of great releases; My (and soon to be yours) best of for 2011 in order of release date.

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Vreid
V
Indie Recordings (February 7th)

Not sure about the Black Metal tag on this one. For me this lays more heavily in the NWOBHM; prog camp with harsh vocals. Excellent production & brilliant displays of musicianship, this will have you throwing the horns & windmilling your hair from track one.

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40 Watt Sun
The Inside Room
Cyclone Empire (March 4th)

Heartbreaking doom; An epically gorgeous album that drowns in tragic sorrow under monster walls of distortion; let the seduction in & hold tight to the longing of lost love & regret.

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Adalita
Adalita
Liberation Music (March 4th)

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Night Beats - Night Beats

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Samling - När mullret dövar våra öron blir vi rädda

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Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

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Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

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Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

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Night Beats / The UFO Club - The UFO Club/Night Beats Split 10"

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Graveyard - Hisingen Blues

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Mastodon - The Hunter

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The Sun Blindness - Far Arden

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The Black Keys - El Camino

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The Paperhead - The Paperhead

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Panda Bear - Tomboy

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Causa Sui - Pewt'r Sessions 2

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These are my favorite albums of the year. I could keep tweaking it forever. I know in the next few months I'm going to find albums I missed and albums that I didn't appreciate enough, so please tell me what you think I need to check out.

Anyone who thought 2011 was disappointing for music needs to dig a bit deeper. Some major artists disappointed and complete unknowns blew up.


It's time to move on to 2012 though, so here's what I liked in 2011. If an artist had multiple, noteworthy releases I grouped them.

1. Washed Out - Within and Without
2. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
3. Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
4. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
5. And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs
6. James Blake - James Blake/Enough Thunder
7. Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason
8. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
9. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
10. Nero - Welcome Reality
11. The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence
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After a proper sit-down-shut-up-and-listen session I came to a valid conclusion on what albums I should list here. This 25 album list consists of the albums that were produced in 2011 and were important to me in a strong manner. The list does not show them in an order from the best to worst because in my opinion a comparison between various genres of music is just impossible. Instead it shows them in an order on how much impact they had on my life - how they shaped my past year of 2011.

For a more detailed list, please visit my blog: thought.stream

If you have any comments or opinions on the list, please drop a comment! I hope you can find something on the list that you haven't tried before and support the artists by buying their music. Enjoy!

25. A Storm Of Light] - As The Valley Of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade

24. Kashiwa Daisuke - 88

23. Logreybeam - Perhaps

22. Sobre A Maquina - Areia

21. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

20. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
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