Best Albums Of 2011(OG Edition)

So this year was a doozy and I was able to spend a lot of time focusing in on the music I listened to from this year. Now I like music that jumps out at you and this year wasn't short on any attention grabbing music and quite a few of those albums ended up on this list, but this year was all about focus. I focused on the sounds that weren't immediately there. I appreciated the space in between notes more, I appreciated a well honed craft vs. a quickly tossed off spazzy explosion. Maybe that's why there is hardly any metal on here this year, but that doesnt explain the hip hop...maybe hip hop really was just better this year(it sure felt like it). Back to that focus though. It made me dip into genres I really hadn't focused on. With a little help from RAW3 and Mark I felt I was able to understand and realize how great dark dub techno could be.

So yeah in short, there was no shortage of weird rock to be had. Hip Hop was up this year(i think we might need a guest list from one Mike Leisz). Metal was down for me(i know i know there was great shit but it either didnt hit me or i didnt hear it...but i did like that Chryst album). Techno was on the rise for me. I started listening to Hank3 and maybe it's the weed but I was all about blissed out sounds this year.

Here's a rundown of the best:

Album of the year: The Caretaker-An Empty Bliss Beyond This World

EP of the year: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti-Witchhunt Suite For World War 3

Song Of the Year: "Spread Eagles Across the Block"-Deathgrips

Single Of the Year: "Video Games"-Lana Del Rey

Hip Hop Album Of the Year: Danny Brown-XXX

Electronic Album Of the Year: Demdike Stare-Tryptych

Favorite New Genre Of the Year that I first heard: Juke/Chicago Footwork

The following are the best albums of 2011 in no numbered order. They are all pretty fucking amazing works of art and if you haven't heard some of em...GO CHECK EM OUT!





Alvarius B-Baroque Primavera(Poon Village)
RIYL: Weird ethnic tinged folk/rock, Sun City Girls



EMA-Past Life Martyred Saints(Soulterrain Transmissions)
RIYL: Shoegaze, Grunge, Super raw lyrical rock



Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti-Witchhunt Suite For World War 3(Self Released)
RIYL: The best single piece of music of the year, the fruition of a genius at play



Bjork-Biophilia(Nonesuch)
RIYL: BJORK(duh), Kate Bush, New Age



Boots Electric-Honkey Kong(Downtown)
RIYL: Eagles Of Death Metal with a little more pop and the same amount of humor



Braids-Native Speaker(Kanine)
RIYL: Animal collective, Rilo Kiley, Cocteau Twins, Super focused spaced out bliss



Danny Brown-XXX(Fool's Gold)
RIYL: The best Cypress Hill you have ever heard, The best hip hop of the year



Anna Calvi-Self Titled(Domino)
RIYL: Lynchian or Tarentinoesque film music mixed with PJ Harvey



The Caretaker-An Empty Bliss Beyond This World(History Always Favors the Winners)
RIYL: Old records, Ghosthunters, Your grandma's old victrola.



Mikal Cronin-Self Titled(Trouble In Mind)
RIYL: All of that Ty Segall/No Age/Thee Oh Sees crap but way better



DeathGrips-Ex Military(Self Released)
RIYL: Drill sargent hip hop, yelling, Hella



Demdike Stare-Tryptych(Modern Love)
RIYL: Some of the best soundscapes you have ever heard, 70s horror soundtracks, DubTechno



Dirty Beaches-Badlands(Zoo)
RIYL: A little dub and noise with your Rockabilly



Fleet Foxes-Helplessness Blues(Sub Pop)
RIYL: Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills & Nash, Really well done indie folk



Hanni El Khatib-Will the Guns Come Out(Innovative Leisure)
RIYL: The White Stripes, Garage Rock, Doo Wop, 50s Rock



John Maus-We Must Become Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves(Upset the Rhythm)
RIYL: 80s done well, New Order, OMD



The Men-Leave Home(Sacred Bones)
RIYL: Balls to the wall noise rock, Pissed Jeans, Spacemen 3



Mr. Dream-Trash Hit(Self Released)
RIYL: Nirvana, Pixies, Jesus Lizard



Ponytail-Do Whatever You Want All the Time(We Are Free)
RIYL: Where you wanted Deerhoof to go in sound...but they didn't, Tragic Rock, Prog, Can



Psychedelic Horseshit-Laced(FatCat)
RIYL: Anti-Chillwave, Anti-Wavves, The Frogs, Excepter and Ween



Rabbits-Lower Forms(Relapse)
RIYL: Noise rock, The Jesus Lizard, A great hybrid of noise rock and metal



Shabazz Palaces-Black Up(Sub Pop)
RIYL: Electronic influenced hip hop, Digable Planets but better





Andy Stott-Passed Me By EP/We Stay Together EP(Modern Love)
RIYL: Dark ambient Dub Techno


TuneYards-Whokill(4AD)
RIYL: Nina Simone, Vampire Weekend, Fela Kuti, Riot Grrl



Wagon Christ-Toomorrow(Ninja Tune)
RIYL: Maximalist sampledelic electronic music, Madlib, Luke Vibert



Hank3-Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown(Self Released)
RIYL: Experimental free thinking country/psychobilly



Wise Blood-These Wings EP(Dovecote)
RIYL: Prince meets Panda Bear



Chelsea Wolfe-Apokalypsis(Pendu Sound)
RIYL: PJ Harvey, Dark pacific northwest indie rock, Portishead