Out of curiosity, I compared my top 23 albums of 2011 with some of the other popular lists to see how much overlap there was. The answer is not much. So, if nothing else my list could be some new music for you.
I bought 134 albums in 2011, since 2009 that is a typical year for number of albums.
I decided to list every album that had average song rating greater than 4, since they would all be worthy of mentioning and buying. I have 23 albums that earned that distinction.
I changed my process this year for picking favorite songs. While most frequent listens is a good barometer of my favorite songs, it is clearly not the only measure (particularly with high counts coming to songs my wife or kids love).
So, I adjusted the process. I had two rules when assembling the list:
Song must have 5 stars (177 songs)
Could not duplicate artist
Then I listed to the songs and picked the ones that stuck with me the most. I really did my best to pair the list down (I did cut 137 5-star songs), but still have 40 phenomenal songs. This list of my favorite songs of 2011 is below in alphabetical order. All great songs, I hope you enjoy. Let me know your thoughts on any standouts or omissions.
Al Scorch’s Tired Ghostly Town from Tired Ghostly Town (Self Released)
The EPs of 2011 were quite impressive. I picked my 14 favorites that were all noteworthy.
We had the debut album from the Smith Street Band, who have been on an impressive run since. We had the Mixtapes continue to dominate the extended play format. Matt Pond back on the list after a brief hiatus and many other interesting beginnings or new offerings.
Here is the list – all worth a pickup or a listen.
1. Cheap Girls & Lemuria Split (No Idea) – 9.502
2. Mixtapes’ Hope Is For the People (Animal Style) – 9.234
3. Smith Street Band’s South East Facing Wall (Jacknife) – 9.229
4. Surfer Blood’s Tarot Classics (Kanine) – 8.548
5. Big Awesome’s Better Than Numbers (A Reaction) – 8.283
6. Frightened Rabbit’s Self Titled EP (self released) – 7.443
7. Wild & Run Forever Split (Solidarity) – 7.332
8. Mixtapes’ Companions to Maps (Animal Style) – 7.152
9. Matt Pond PA’s Spring Fools (MRI) – 7.122
10. Silian Rail’s Acoustic Music EP (Bandcamp) – 7.067
11. Hard Girls & Kudrow’s Boo (Asian Man) – 6.995
12. Elvis Depressedly’s Disgraceland (Bandcamp) – 6.942
13. Annabel/Empire! Empire!/Joie De Vivre/The Repilian 4 way split (Count Your Lucky Stars) – 6.938
14. For Serious This Time’s Weird Life (Bandcamp) – 6.507
Its that time again, the annual best lists. It truly is a labor of love, going through all the music of a particular year. Remembering and enjoying the standouts, listening and rating the ones that were overlooked.
For those not initiated, my lists are always for the period two years ago. I believe that favorite album compilations should lag by two years for two primary time constraining reasons: to address the staying power of the album and to acquire a suitable number of fine albums.
2011 was a great year. I bought 134 albums and have just under 2000 songs from 2011. So, a lot of music to go through and I have nearly rated all of it. I will spend the next week finishing the rating and selecting my tops from 2011.
What a difference a year makes. Last year after I posted my all time favorite record labels, I went out and bought a lot more albums from labels that ranked high but had few albums. I also continue to rank music resulting in some movement.
The updated list of all time favorite record labels is posted here.
Here are the changes…
New Additions
From out of the top 10 to the number 1 spot: Plan It X Records
Out of the top 10 to the number 7 spot: Bandcamp (not quite a traditional label, but close enough for this list)
Exits from the Top 10
Was Number 7. Hush Records (9.410) –> Now 16 (9.070)
WAS: I only have 6 artists, 8 full lengths, and 98 songs on Hush. What gets Hush into the top ten is the high quality of the releases that I do own. Of the 8 full lengths, 1 is a 5 star album and 3 are 4 star albums. 50% of albums good/great is one of the best ratios for any label. My favorite album is definitely a Kind of Like Spitting album (one of my favorite bands). Current stats say In the Red. The other important artist on their label is Super XX Man. I have not bought a release from Hush since 2007.
NOW: Added 1 artist, 3 full lengths, 80 new songs from Hush since last update (40 still unrated). None of the albums were 4 or 5 star albums. Dropping Hush down a few spots.
Was Number 8. XL Records (9.318) –> Now 15 (9.075)
WAS: I have 14 artists, 7 full lengths, and 94 songs from XL. My favorite album is Vampire Weekend’s self titled. My favorite artists are Vampire Weekend and Titus Andronicus. I did not buy a single album from XL in 2011.
NOW: Added 4 artists, 4 full lengths, and 48 songs. Rating of new adds brought down the overall average. Still only one 5-star album and one 4-star album.
The rest of the labels shuffled a bit, but all remained in top ten. See the whole list here.
Out of curiosity, I compared my top 22 albums of 2010 with some of the other popular lists to see how much overlap there was. The answer is not much. So, if nothing else my list could be some new music for you.
Here are my favorite albums of 2010. I bought 133 albums in 2010 (most ever).
Also, I decided to list every album that had average song rating greater than 4, since they would all be worthy of mentioning and buying. I have 22 albums that earned that distinction.
