Best Albums of 2011

I'm not a music writer so I have a hard time explaining exactly why I like the albums below but I did want to share them to whoever might be interested and/or is looking for new music to check out. Let me know if you think I'm right or wrong. My picks for best albums of 2011:

20. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
19. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

18. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

17. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys

16. Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne

15. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

14. Destroyer – Kaputt

13. The Lonely Island – Turtleneck and Chain

12. Real Estate - Days

11. Low – C’mon

10. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

An ambitious, dreamy, delirious album that seems to try a little too hard to be a masterpiece. The song that made me smile more than any other song this year: “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire.”

 Best Songs: “Midnight City,” “Reunion”

9. Foster the People – Torches

Contains my hands-down favourite song of the year (see my Best Songs of 2011 list) and a bunch of other pretty good songs.

Best Songs: “Pumped Up Kicks,” “Helena Beat”

8. The Black Keys – El Camino

Apparently they’ve been busy since last year’s great Brothers. While this album doesn’t have the same intimacy or complexity, it seems to be more tailored for the band’s rising status as an arena-filler.

Best Songs: “Lonely Boy,” “Sister”

7. Madison Violet – The Good in Goodbye

This folk-pop duo may seem a little out of place on this list but they’ve become one of my favourite artists. Seeing them perform live in a small community centre in Bragg Creek only reinforced this. Catchy songs and amazing harmonies have become a trademark.

Best Songs: “Christy Ellen Francis,” “Fallen By the Wayside”

6. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light

My expectations may have been a little high after 2009’s amazing Dear Science. Still a solid album, though.

Best Songs: “Will Do,” “Second Song”

5. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

Who I was reminded of while listening to this album: Bob Dylan (“Best Night”), Bruce Springsteen (“I Was There”) and Arcade Fire (“Baby Missiles”).

Best Songs: “Baby Missiles,” “Brothers”

4. The Antlers – Burst Apart

Lead singer Peter Silberman’s haunting falsetto combined with lyrics like “You wanna climb up the stairs / I wanna push you back down / But I let you inside / so you can push me around” makes for a great album.

Best Songs: “I Don’t Want Love,” “Parentheses”

3. Feist – Metals

I didn’t love her last album except for a few songs so was surprised to find that I didn’t find as many standout songs but instead a lot of really solid songs. A very consistent album from song to song, in my opinion.

Best Songs: “The Circle Married the Line,” “Graveyard”

2. Wye Oak – Civilian

I like every even-numbered song and love every odd-numbered song. One of the few albums I actually bought this year. Someone on Twitter had this to say about what they sound like: “Listening to some fucking band Wye Oak. Basically just this bitch strummin a guitar and makin ghost noises.” Wye Oak’s response: “Spot on!”

Best Songs: “Civilian,” “Plains”

1. Beirut – The Rip Tide

I almost didn’t bother listening to this album and was the last to be added to this list. I loved “Santa Fe” so I thought I’d give the rest of the album a shot. I’m glad I did. It is one of the few albums this year that I have no problems playing the whole thing through without getting itchy to skip songs. It has faced a bit of criticism in some reviews for being too accessible (if you can consider that a criticism) and not as quirky as Beirut’s previous album The Flying Club Cup, and while that may be true…I don’t care.

Best Songs: “Santa Fe,” “East Harlem”