Best Albums of 2011?

[warpus]

I bought a grand total of one new album this year, thus maintaining my record of keeping up to date by, er, buying one album a year

I stopped buying albums years ago, and haven't really been able to keep up with new releases of music..

until...

I signed up with rdio.com, which is amazing! All the music you can shake a stick at, organized by album, for $2.50 a month (or something like that). Instant access to anything you can think of, and you don't need to store it anywhere. Far superior to buying physical copies of the media, imo.

Anyway, the "best album of 2011" is such a hard question to ask. You might as well break it down by genre, because so much music is out there. Nobody's going to agree on "the best" unless you specify genre too. It'll still be tough then, but people will be far more agreeable.

 

[Huayna Capac357]

I mainly mean best popular music album of the year, though any suggestion is fine. You need not follow the poll choices.

 

[Pouakai]

My favourite album of the year by far is Midnight Youth's new album, World Comes Calling - they're a New Zealand band, so not many people internationally have heard of them, but if they were American they would be household names. Here's one of the few that are on youtube from the album (Use iTunes to listen to the rest), Who said you're free


Link to video.

 

[Jan H]

my local favourites:

School Is Cool - Entropology:

Spoiler :

Link to video.
Their videoclips are great, but I think live they are even more interesting, because you can clearly see how much they enjoy playing the songs...

Link to video.

Link to video.

Also very good:
dEUS - Keep you close

Spoiler :

Link to video.

Selah Sue (nameless debut album)

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I dunno which one is the best, but i voted for PJ Harvey's because it's awsome.

There have been some great albums this year i'll make a list of the best.

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PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

I've listened to her discography before this album came out. 80% of her songs were either boring folksy songs, boring songs farted during acid trips, or vagrock. Most of her intresting songs were either in her previous album "White Chalk" or in collaboration with John Parish. Let England Shake is like she fused all the experiments and influences of her previous albums into a lifetime's album. It is clear she never made anything like this until now and she will never be able to do anything this grand again.

Link to video.
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Austra - Feel It Break

Here's one of the gems that came out of the 80s synthpop/new wave revival. Walking the path of Zola Jesus and Warpaint, Austra's debut album is one of the few albums that were able to capture that gothic feel of the 80s by treading the line between darkness and insanity without forcing either side.

Link to video.
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Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island

An album disconnected from current times, it feels like it was created on an isolated island with an endless supply of drugs. Psychedelic folk rock at it's best.

Link to video.
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Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

And another 80s revival band. Dunno how they did it, but they made some of the happiest dark songs out there. They sound kinda like a Depeche Mode that go over the top with the instrumental parts of their songs.

Link to video.
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John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

Minimalist synthpop created under the influence of eccentric Ariel Pink. Combining chillwave vocals with simple lyrics and minimalist synthpop may sound boring but somehow, it works!

Link to video.
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Kaiser Chiefs - The Future Is Medieval

I always thought the Kaiser Chiefs were just one of the many one/two-hit wonders in the mass of 2006-2008 indie bands, their song "Everything is Average Nowadays" summing things up nicely. It took 4 albums for them to actually try experimenting with their music and surprisingly enough the result is quite good.

Link to video.
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Kasabian - Velociraptor

After their previous pompous album "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" expectations for the new album were horribly low. Without advertising for this album months before the release and without putting on lame costumes, they made this silly, laid-back album.


Link to video.
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Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

I don't consider it a 2011 album because it came out very early in the year when my mind was still transitioning from 2010, but i see it's in the poll so oh well. This album had exactly what i love about folk-ish music, wierd stuff, cool lyrics and a drugged up guy with a beard singing them !


Link to video.

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Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow

This is probably the best concept album i've heard this year. As you might have guessed it evokes the feel of winter and does so perfectly.


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and

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Oh and the disappointment of the year album goes to the new Arctic Monkeys album, Suck it and See.

 

[Ozbenno]

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow

This is probably the best concept album i've heard this year. As you might have guessed it evokes the feel of winter and does so perfectly.

Agree with you on this one, I really dig it (except maybe the song with Elton and the one with Stephen Fry) it has such a mellow sound, great for putting on late at night or when driving.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Agree with you on this one, I really dig it (except maybe the song with Elton and the one with Stephen Fry) it has such a mellow sound, great for putting on late at night or when driving.

I like the one with Elton because it feels like a story between 2 strangers who are snowed in (i've been snowed in myself!), and it just so happens they are both time travelers (!), or they know eachother from past lives.