Top 20 Albums of 2011

The Thanksgiving pumpkin pie leftovers are still fairly fresh in my fridge, the high temperature has fallen below 40, and Christmas trees are appearing at breakneck speed in my neighborhood. It's the Holiday Season, which also means it's the Best of the Year Season as well. Cliche, perhaps, but when has that ever stopped me?


20. Black Keys - El Camino

As of the time I write this, El Camino is still a week away from release. However, based on the 5 pre-released songs on the band's website, I feel very comfortable putting this on any top music list for the year.

Top Track (so far) - "Lonely Boy"


19. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'

Raphael Saadiq is known for throwback grooves and Motown/Staxx homages, a tradition he continues on Stone Rollin'. I really feel like this record deserved more attention than it received this year.

Top Track - "Stone Rollin"


18. Deathcab For Cutie - Codes & Keys

I love Deathcab's intelligent lyrics and well-placed hooks. The video for "You Are a Tourist" was especially noteworthy because it was shot in one continuous take. A great record from an incredibly creative group of musicians.

Top Track - "Codes and Keys"

17. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Several music media sources have listed this in the Top 5 this year. I am not the world's biggest Bon Iver fan, but I can't ignore the splash this record made. The one word that comes to mind when I listen to this record is "subtlety."

Top Track - "Towers"

16. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

The Decembrists took a turn away from their prog-rock leanings with The King Is Dead, and the result was a very catchy, stripped-down sound. Contributors like Gillian Welch were like frosting on a cake.

Top Track - "Down By the Water"

15. Blind Pilot - We Are the Tide

The introduction of Spotify late last summer was a miracle for my musical discovery, but I am still amazed by the great music that isn't included yet. This year's offering from Blind Pilot is one glaring omission. I love the acoustic moods on this record. I also love how they sometimes catch you off guard with some unexpectedly enticing grooves from the rhythm section.

Top Track - "Keep You Right"

14. The Damnwells - No One Listens to the Band Anymore

Rock's perpetual underdogs, spearheaded by singer/guitarist/consistent member Alex Dezen, put out a self-produced gem in March. Songs about the Mid-20's Shipwreck, dysfunctional relationships and lost love are delivered with Dezen's trademark clever lyrics and pretty production.

Top Track - "She Goes Round"

13. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade

Part Fleetwood Mac, part CSNY, part countrified Beatles. I think that's the best way to describe the raw energy and tight harmonies of this brother/sister duo.

Top Track - "Losers"

12. Feist - Metals

Feist's followup to 2007's breakthrough album The Reminder is full of interesting instrumentation, eclectic styles and subtle beauty. I was lucky enough to catch her last-minute stop in Nashville in early November, and I was equally impressed with her live performance.

Top Track - "The Bad In Each Other"

11. Ari Hest - Sunset Over Hope Street

This record is also a contender for Best Album Nobody's Heard. Ari Hest has been putting out high-quality music for over a decade. Sunset Over Hope Street presents a subtle departure in sound for Hest, who teamed with producer Alex Wong to make a record that is at turns tastefully sparse and lush with wonderful string accents.

Top Track - (tie) "A Good Look Around," "Until Next Time"

10. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

When Oasis parted ways a little while ago, feuding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher were quick to start side projects (Beady Eye & High Flying Birds, respectively). While Liam beat Noel to the chase earlier this year, Noel seems to have the upper hand in quality. This is really no surprise, since Noel was always the chief creative force in Oasis anyway.

Top Track - "The Death Of You and Me"

9. Danger Mouse & Daniel Luppi - Rome

Lets talk about dream teams. There's the '92 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team with every major NBA player in attendance. There's the 1962 Yankees. In 2011, it was the Rome project, a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western concept album spearheaded by DJ Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Lupi, with vocal contributions by none other than Jack White and Norah Jones. White has some great cuts, but it's Jone's surprisingly sultry vocal delivery on songs like "Black" that stick with you.

Top Track - "Black"

8. Deer Tick - Divine Providence

I have a love/hate thing with singer John McCauley of Deer Tick. At times his voice is like rough-grain sandpaper on my ears. At other times, it takes on a sort of Tom Waits-ish slow-burner quality. Deer Tick's 2011 release manages to find the sweet spot between these two extremes, shining bright with both punk rock and Americana brilliance.

Top Track - "Miss K."

7. The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart

I will admit that my list is top-heavy with folk and Americana acts. They seem to be everywhere this year. The Head and the Heart were a great addition to the folk-rock catalog with their debut this year. Their record was full of acoustic musings and rich, 3-part harmony. Somehow, the band's three singers manage to take their own distinctive vocal timbre and blend them into a sum greater than its parts.

Top Track - "Rivers and Roads"

6. Adele - 21

Lets face it, one had to work very hard this year NOT to hear an Adele song. 2011 was Adele's big year, despite some vocal maladies and last-minute tour cancellations. Lets hope she can recover her voice and head back on tour next year.

Top Track ' "Rolling in the Deep"

5. Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

The Civil Wars are easily this year's Indie Cinderella Story. Joy Williams and John Paul White released their full-length record in January without a major label, managing to top U.S. record charts, dominate iTunes album rankings, and sneak their music onto every prime-time drama in the process. The songs are brimming with sultry harmonies and subtle instrumentation. Score one more for raw vocal talent.

Top Track - "20 Years"


4. Mute Math - Odd Soul

In the middle of the folk and Americana onslaught in 2011, Mutemath fired off a masterpiece of classic rock grooves, masterful musicianship and soul-searching lyrics with Odd Soul. Mutemath's sonic signature is on this record, but the band proves it is not afraid to take some new risks.

Top Track - (tie) "Walking Paranoia," "Cavalries"

3. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Robin Pecknold spent over two years struggling with his demanding sense of perfectionism to record Helplessness Blues. The result is arguably the sonically richest album of the year, boiling over with organically analog warmth. Definitely folksy, often poetic, and sometimes dark.

Top Track - "The Shrine/An Argument"

2. Middle Brother - Middle Brother

Middle Brother was 2011's other Dream Team. The voices behind indie groups Dawes, Delta Spirit and Deer Tick teamed up to record this gem of a record. While recorded in brief stint at a Nashville studio, the album shines like a diamond in the rough. There are definite hints of the three bands' distinctive styles, but Middle Brother still manages to create something entirely new.

Top Track - (tie) "Blue Eyes," "Blood and Guts"

1. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong

I was already in love with Nothing Is Wrong when I reviewed the album in May. Somehow over the subsequent six months, this record has managed to keep a firm footing in my iPod's play rotation. In a time when synthesizers, auto-tune and dance beats dominate both pop and indie music, Dawes stays true to the classic rock lineage of Neil Young and Tom Petty while avoiding a dip toward the derivative. Taylor Goldsmith is arguably the brightest young songsmith in America, focusing his raw energy through clever lyrical content and tasteful guitar twang. His fellow band mates also step up to the plate with apt musical chops and vintage tone.

Top Track - (tie) "Time Spent In Los Angeles," "The Way You Laugh"