2011: The Year in Music--The Albums

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What a difference a year makes.  A year ago I was lamenting the fact that albums were dying on the vine, and that I was spending far more time and money on singles.  There was a distinct reversal of that trend in 2011.  I own more new (and good) albums from this year than I ever have.

Many factors contributed to this reversal.  First, the excellent MP3 Daily Deal at Amazon would produce a new album every day--usually for just $3.99.  This prompted me to try some things I would normally have passed on.  Some were good (Peter Bjorn and John's Gimme Some); others not so much (Los Lonely Boys' Rockpango).  And if you were patient, and at times I was not, almost every major release of 2011 appeared as a Daily Deal.



Second, I became a Rhapsody user.  While their catalog isn't complete, they did provide a relatively inexpensive way to try lots and lots of different albums without having to trigger buyer's remorse.  A few of my favorite albums of 2011 (see below) were Rhapsody-play only, as they haven't become Amazon Daily Deals yet.

Third, I became quite adept at using the two services in conjunction with each other, along with a healthy (but decidedly more world music focused) sampling of NPR's First Listen program, to pluck the cherries and avoid the pits.

And there were quite a few pits this year.  Disappointing follow up albums by Fleet Foxes, Florence + The Machine, Cage the Elephant, Drake, Beyonce and Bon Iver proved that the best doesn't always being their A game.  This was buoyed in part by welcome and strong returns from Cake (Showroom of Compassion was their best album in 10 years), The Decemberists (successfully out R.E.M.-ed R.E.M. with The King is Dead) and The Beastie Boys (Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 was the wildest and craziest and the best the Boys have been in a long, long time).

Now while I don't do traditional Top Ten lists at the end of the year, I do try to limit my self to 10 (or thereabouts) items that were the highlights for the year in each of the medias.  With the 2011 albums, I couldn't pick 10.  I had 17 albums that I thought were worthy of long-lasting recognition.  17.  The top 5 were easy to rattle off, they were the easily the ones I listened to the most this year.  The other slots I could make strong arguments for each to be included.  What I finally went with were the ones that I felt needed a little extra push to get some attention.

To further complicate matters, the two albums I played the most of this year, and by far my two favorite albums were two that I bought in early 2011, but that came out in 2010:  Cee Lo Green's The Lady Killer and The Black Key's Brothers.  These are fantastic, amazing albums, and ones that I think will stand the test of time.  However, I mined them extensively for my Best Singles Lists in 2010, and didn't feel like I should go that way again.

So what were my favorite albums of the year?  Well....

Album of the Year--El Camino   by The Black Keys
This is a bit of a cheat as there were two albums from the Black Keys that I fell in love with this year, and they both factor in this "win".  El Camino and their 2010 release Brothers.  I purchased Brothers early in 2010 after putting "Howling For You" on my end of year singles list.  I fell in love with the whole kit and kaboodle, as did much of America.  The success of Brothers is felt in every track of El Camino, as the new album is a victory lap of fun for the Ohio based duo, yet there is some complex musical darkness that creeps in as well.  I especially like the Kansas-inspired riffs in "Little Black Submarines" as the boys explore a descent into love soaked madness.  They and El Camino are truly great, and I am anxious to see them in concert in March.


Favorite Rock Album--Wasting Light    by The Foo Fighters
In my mind there were few albums that were as diverse or rocked nearly half as hard as the most recent collection by the Fighters Foo.  In my original review I said that you "come to the Foo Fighters for honesty--honest thoughts, honest feelings and honest rock."  And honestly that's what they provide in spades.  Genre busting turns that play to sentimental heartstrings are the backbone of rock and roll and few bands get that like the Foo Fighters, and Wasting Light is them at the top of their game.



Favorite "Debut" Album--Wild Flag    by Wild Flag
Wild Flag, a sort of Riot Grrrl supergroup, are the only group to give Foo Fighters a run for their rock and roll money this year.  They only fall short because of the unadulterated greatness of Wasting Light.  This is not to say that their eponymously titled album Wild Flag isn't great, because it is.  Their single "Romance" should have been the song of the summer, and in my mind it was--so there.  More squarely a punk sound, the Wild Flag album meanders off into a few other notable directions, while never betraying its experienced rock core.  It's a great album that should be cherished by all ages.


Favorite Solo Album--So Beautiful So What    by Paul Simon
I cannot believe that Paul Simon can still create beautiful, worthwhile and meaningful songs after first breaking into the business nearly 50 years ago.  I cannot believe that So Beautiful So What is his greatest solo album since Graceland almost 30 years ago.  I also cannot believe that Grammy voters could fail to honor this magnificent album and Simon's significant and artistic achievement.  It's a travesty.




Favorite Sleeper Album--Build a Rocket, Boys!    by Elbow
The Kid hates it because it is low key and haunting, but that's just why I love it.  Too often writers use dream-like or magical to describe a piece of art.  It has now become hyperbole.  However, Build a Rocket, Boys! is like listening to a dream realized.  Electronica, children's choruses and electric guitars collide in unusual and intriguing ways--shifting to welcome and surprising musical landscapes that gel together in a fashion that no other album does this year.  Sure it may rely heavily on a Sting-influence, but that's not a bad thing at all.  A great album for a snowy day or a quiet evening floating in the pool.


Now here's where things get tough....


Best Gateway Drug Album--Middle Brother    by Middle Brother
Formed by the lead singers of the indie groups Delta Spirit, Dawes and Deer Tick, Middle Brother is a perfect introduction to those other three superior musical groups.  Having been a long time fan of Delta Spirit, I was excited to get some similar music this year, and thrilled to then follow up on the excellent 2011 releases by Dawes and Deer Tick.  And while I really liked both of those new debut albums (especially Deer Tick's Divine Providence), it's the introductory Middle Brother album I find myself lighting up again and again.


Best Sh*t Kickin Album--Hell on Heels    by Pistol Annies
What a fun, take-on-the-man-and-grind-him-under-your-boot album.  And it's funny and sexy, too.  I don't listen to a lot of country music, but I am glad to have this album.  My original review is here.






Best Concept Album--undun    by The Roots
The only thing I listen to less than country is probably rap, but there is something about The Roots that I cannot deny.  undun is possibly their best album ever.  It's tragic and beautiful and uplifting and powerful.  Not a strict rap album per se, but it does sample a variety of musical forms to tell the story of a young man and what happens after he gets shot.  A major shout out to their engaging and smartly produced app that you can download for free.  There was a lot of care and love that went into this production and it deserves far more attention than it is getting.


Best Groove--Scandalous    by Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears
When I first heard this album, I was sure it was a re-release of some long-forgotten Detroit group from the 1970's.  Instead it's a vital and thrilling contemporary pump guaranteed to get your juices flowing and your booty shaking.  Black Joe Lewis successfully mines the sounds of yesteryear to produce a true gem of an album for today.  Buy it now.  You won't be sorry.


Most Promising Debut Album--Celebrasion    by Sleeper Agent
A fine debut by a fine punk pop band, Celebrasion doesn't uncover any new ground lyrically or thematically but they do attack the music with a primal scrawl that is infectious and fun.  Easily the best pop punk album this year in a year when punk seems rather passe.





The Albums That Should Be On This List:

Beastie Boys are rockin' again.

Cake has matured a lot as has their music.

European import with a strong 80's new wave vibe.

More frat-house-fun than think pieces.

Put this on.  Dance.  Have fun.  Impossible not to.

Funny with good, legitimate bluegrass pieces.

Wilco's best since Hotel Yankee Foxtrot

Americana by way of R.E.M.

Buy any and all of these albums, as there's a little something in almost every musical style.  You won't be disappointed.


Okay, so I know there's a big fish missing, and I think my reasoning for leaving the biggest album of the year off this list deserves a bit of explanation.  Adele's 21 is a fine achievement and it will receive a lot of awards.  A lot.  I don't begrudge it, or especially her, anything that may go that way in the next few months.  She is an unique and astounding talent that deserves as many accolades as possible.  21, however, is not a great album.  Half of it is astounding and worth repeated listens.  There are 5 amazing tracks that are some of the best pop music this year:  "Rolling in the Deep", "Rumor Has It", "Someone Like You", "Set Fire to the Rain" and the Cure cover "Lovesong".  The rest is the sort of pablum they used to make American Idol winners sing on the final night of the competition.  Only "Turning Tables" has enough balls to move beyond the white piano and blue back light ambiance of the rest of the album to almost join the other five songs.  If I were giving award for Best Half of an Album 21 would certainly get it, but I'm not.