2011 was a fantastic year for new music and it was super diverse, taboot. I always feel that there’s a lot that I’ve missed and for some reason this year I feel that more than most.
I discovered right after putting this list together that the top 20 or so congele as a cohesive favorite. I like them all and listened to them a ton, whereas the top 5 were really special in one way or another. I guess I found them more thought provoking, more inspired, and easier to lean on throughout the year. But anyway…
Here’s my top 25 Albums 0f 2011:
25. Kurt Vile – Smoke Rings For My Halo
24. Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
23. Destroyer – Kaputt
22. Jay Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne
21. Cass McCombs – Wit’s End
20. The Roots – Undun
19. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
18. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
17. Iceage- New Brigade
16. Washed Out – Within and Without
15. Cloud Nothings – s/t
14. Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing
13. Wilco- The Whole Love
12. Panda Bear – Tomboy
11. Gillian Welch – The Harrow and the Harves
10. The Strokes – Angles
9. The Decemberists – The King is Dead
8. Woods – Sun and Shade
7. Megafaun- s/t
6. Real Estate – Days
5. Yuck – s/t
4. James Blake – s/t
3. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
2. Carter Tanton – Freeclouds
1. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient
BLONDE ON BLONDE 
Nice, you got over Beirut pretty quick! You’re really gonna force me to keep trying on that Real Estate album, eh? It just doesn’t do much for me yet. Never heard of Carter Tanton, what’s that like?
SLAVE AMBIENT is great. Gets better every time I listen to it. Sweet list! Still working on mine, hopefully this week…
Ah, I did get over Beirut really fast. I dig that album a lot, too. Let’s say it lands at 26:) Carter Tanton is super chill but with flashes of early Cheap Trick (to me anyway). Critics panned it for being a little all over the place but my brain’s the same way! Real Estate = Great:) Thanks for reading, Cal!