So we find ourselves at the end of another year, left to sort through and make sense of 365 days worth of music, and when doing so to look back on the year itself, to remember the things and times those sounds are attached to. 2010 was a year of stratification, of artists running as hard as they could in opposite directions, with genres, themes, styles, and even methods of release becoming as overwhelming as they were varied.

People were poking and prodding at the edges of what was “allowed,” off in their own little journeys with keyboards and software. But 2011 is different. It felt different. We are experiencing, to borrow some nomenclature from (believe it or not) Craig Finn, a “unified scene.” Though the opening salvo came in 2010 (that being My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a rubric of intent both in its content and personnel), 2011 was host to the full realization of that morose and opulent mission statement.

Though as potentially full of personal cheer as any year, politically, existentially, and communally, 2011 was not the greatest orbit on record. In sadness and futility, however, people often find each other. A relationship can be built off of one common trait, even if that trait is fear or despair. Luckily, within a community born of such things you can also find hope, even if it’s just a validation that you’re not crazy, and not alone.

Pictureplane

Though artists still made music that drew from every corner of the audial universe, it seems none of the truly successful records of this year were trapped in their own insular world. They were personal, certainly, sometimes bracingly so. But in those private statements was an outreach for community, and an attempt to capture the special kinds of both sorrow for the immediate and hope for the imagined that defined 2011.

We were given woozy, inebriated confessionals: the inevitable hangover from the consequence free faux-grandeur of rap and pop of years past. We were given bleak futurism in electronic music, a vision of sounds we recognize ripped apart and refigured to reflect the anxious unknowability of the road ahead. And we were given fight songs, irony free statements of “yes, this sucks, and we can probably change it if we really try.” Most of all, however, I think we were really given music for our time, music that (while not bereft of appropriation of old styles) is frankly aware of its place in history and eager to give that place a sound and feeling.

We were also given numerous takes on slowjams and R&B, perhaps the most uniting sound of the year. Now, in what I’m sure is a relief to you, we can begin with our countdown. We’ve already done our honorable mentions, so it’s time to get to the down n’ dirty. Our top 50 is finally out, and is to be followed by our favorite songs, EPs and even our most disappointing albums of 2011.

Frank Ocean

As in years past, we’ve all come together to put together a definitive list of the best albums of the year. Make no mistake, when history looks back on 2011, this will be the urtext that our descendants will reference. In all seriousness, we’re quite happy with it, and we hope you are too.

Each Bloglin reviewer submits a top 25, and we use a highly complex mathematical formula to create a super-voltron-esque list that represents all of us. As I mentioned, we decided this year to exclude the albums we released. Not at all a commentary on their quality (quite the opposite really) but a sidestep of nepotism. Without further adieu, here are our Top 50 albums of 2011.

Jump To: Honorable Mentions, #50, #25, #10, #1 | Top 15 EPs | Top 10 Disappointments | Top 10 Metal Albums | Top 20 Hip Hop Releases | Top 75 Tracks | Top 10 Grime Tunes

Best of the Bloglin 2011: The Top 50 Albums (#50 – #1)

50. TV On the Radio – Nine Types of Light [Interscope]

Calming down considerably from the fire bellied rigor of 2008′s Dear Science, TV On The Radio delivered a groovy album surprisingly full of love songs. Albeit ones that sometimes mention cannibalism or cannon balls.

Tunde Adebimpe’s strange croon is very well suited for longing, and Dave Sitek, for all his bells and whistles, turned out to be pretty damn good at producing tenderness. Though their year was sadly marred by the death of bassist Gerard Smith, Nine Types of Light is a fitting elegy for TVOTR’s original lineup.

Original Bloglin Review

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49. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread [Drag City]

For his sixth LP in only three years, and his Drag City debut, the young Mr. Segall finally refined his youthful energy, creating a well paced album that nonetheless maintained his garage rock spirit.

Comprised of sing along thumpers like “California Commercial” right up against dreamy poppy numbers like “I Am With You” that prove Segall has been dipping into his Beatles back catalogue a lot lately. Good thing we probably won’t have to wait that long for another album.

Original Bloglin Review

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48. Washed Out – Within and Without [Sub Pop]

Although Washed Out is pretty widely credited with starting the whole chillwave explosion of 2010, it wasn’t until Within and Without that we got a full length album out of him, surprisingly coming in after the rush.

Luckily, instead of seeming late to his own party, Ernest Greene instead reminded everyone why his Life of Leisure EP was a such an inspiration for a lot of artists. Within and Without is a chillwave thesis statement.

Original Bloglin Review

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47. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation [Fat Possum]

The fact that Fat Possum swooped in at the last second to delay Youth Lagoon’s debut on a boutique label so they could get in on the action is a fitting analogy for an artist that doesn’t seem to notice quite how good he is.

Bearing the attitude (if not the production value) of something constructed at home, The Year of Hibernation has a trick, but it’s a damn good one. Songs start slow and build to such good crescendo’s that you don’t really care that the same thing happened just one track before.

Original Bloglin Review

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46. Zombi – Escape Velocity [Relapse]

From the propulsive first second of the title track, it’s clear the sort of dark and black-lighted dancefloor you’re about to be dropped on. Though most of the album’s five tracks stretch past the seven minute mark, they never bore, always building.

This is also helped by the live drumming that runs throughout Escape Velocity, making it giallo-rave with a heart, very immediate, never cold, and always massive.

Original Bloglin Review

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45. Chelsea Wolfe – Apokalypsis [Pendu]

Though arriving right at the end of the year, Chelsea Wolfe came with such force that Apokalypsis easily found it’s way into the Top 50. Doom-folk is not a genre that will immediately seem necessary, but once you hear this record it will all make sense.

This thing has teeth. Reverb and down-tuned guitars surround Wolfe’s urgent vocals, and songs like “Pale On Pale” start off grimy and end up as eye-widening dirges, that angelic croon cascading down through the black.

Original Bloglin Review

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44. Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 [Top Dawg]

For completely different reasons than it used to, being a “lyrical” or “conscious” rapper takes a lot of balls. It used to be that people weren’t “ready” to hear that kind of stuff in hip-hop. Now it’s because we all realized it wasn’t the content, it was the bland and grimace-inducing self importance of the execution.

Kendrick Lamar is a smart dude, and he definitely has a lot to say across Section.80 about race/class/rap etc., but he never lets that get in the way of his music’s inherent enjoyability. Sometimes he knows to just pick a dope beat, say some fun shit, and let it ride.

Original Bloglin Review

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43. Wild Beasts - Smother [Domino]

You get the feeling that not only would Wild Beasts lay on a bed of nails for someone’s love (as proposed in “Bed of Nails”), they would probably do it with gusto, and in a fun hat, for the sheer theatricality of it all.

Each line sung on this album is given it’s own unique delivery, each backing track just slinky enough to support lyricism that borders on camp. Okay it might be a little campy. But goddamn do they sell it well.

Original Bloglin Review

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42. Ganglians - Still Living [Lefse]

Snatching up a producer Robby Moncrieff (Dirty Projectors) along the way, Ganglians sure took their sweet time crafting a follow up to Monster Head Room. Though frustrating for us waiting for more of their music, the patience paid off.

It allowed them to let the hype surrounding them calm down a bit, and then they got down to business, digging deep into the genres that inspire them.

Original Bloglin Review

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41. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake [Vagrant/Island]

In a move indicative of the year as a whole, PJ Harvey got political on Let England Shake. But while some might have guessed that abandoning her trademark introspection would adversely affect her music, this album is instead her best in years.

Building off the pared down audial strangeness of White Chalk, Let England Shake is a stirring march of auto-harp, horns, and of course Polly Jean’s powerful voice, her lyrics barbed, precise, and painful with their dismantling of the modern world.

Original Bloglin Review

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40. Wolves In the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage [Southern Lord]

With song titles like “Thuja Magus Imperium,” you’d better believe that Wolves In The Throne Room are confident that they can built an epic, nigh mythical mood and keep the listener’s interest and belief sustained.

When it comes down to it their success in this endeavor comes from pure musicianship, the ability to come up with a complex and ambitious idea and handily achieve it. Layers upon layers of noise, Celestial Lineage is accomplished black metal.

Original Bloglin Review

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39. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – S/T [Fat Possum]

Though mystery can be tantalizing, it’s always refreshing when an anonymous artist is unmasked and you find that the revelation of this secret has no bearing on your appreciation of their music. Such is the case with Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

The strange psychedelia of this full length debut are infinitely more intriguing than any sort of man-behind-the-curtain speculations. It’s also idiosyncratic enough to have painted a picture of its creator on its own. UMO is Ruban Nielson, but it’s also this record.

Original Bloglin Review

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38. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica [Software/Mexican Summer]

Daniel Lopatin spent albums exploring the edges of minimalist electronica, weaving strange soundscapes out of almost nothing. But on Replica he went entirely sample based, a departure for him, especially knowing that a majority of the samples were taken from old TV advertisements.

Though certainly a more direct listen than, say, Rifts, Replica is by no means “cheap” or, god forbid a “sellout.” Instead it’s the sign of a very talented artist letting himself loose, if only slightly, giving himself more tools, and realizing how much he can do with just a little bit more.

Original Bloglin Review

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37. Mushy – Faded Heart [Mannequin]

Faded Heart is a return to original form for gothic music: dark, unsettling, morose, and captivating as hell for anyone who ever felt left out. At the center of it all is Valentina Mushy, cooing and then wailing away.

Her oft pained voice is surrounded by what could pass as warm guitars, if they didn’t seem vaguely threatening, tranquil rhythms that replicate a funereal march. Fall in love with sad music all over again.

Original Bloglin Review

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36. The Men - Leave Home [Sacred Bones]

Punchier moments than the rapid shift in volume and intensity midway through Leave Home‘s opener “If You Leave” were few and far between this year. The Men are a band that are hard to pin down, a quality that is exceedingly attractive.

Not only across the album as a whole but even within the songs themselves, hell within 10 seconds, the music can turn on a dime. But it never feels cheap, or a gag, but instead The Men just doing what to them probably seems obvious. What fun.

Original Bloglin Review

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35. Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure [Software]

Daniel Lopatin’s second appearance on the list, Channel Pressure, finds him paired up with Joel Ford. Formerly known as Games, these two released some of our favorite EP’s of last year. So, despite the slightly obvious name change, we were quite excited for this debut.

If Replica was a place where the Oneohtrix Point Never moniker could stretch it’s legs, then Channel Pressure is the place where Ford & Lopatin straight up dance their asses off. Poppy synth nostalgia sounds like the most fun thing ever here.

Original Bloglin Review

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34. A$AP Rocky – Live.Love.A$AP [A$AP Worldwide]

ASAP Rocky was a collapse waiting to happen. Suddenly bouyed up by the internet on a sea of buzz that rivals the largest of past years, the pretty motherfucker from Harlem had a lot suddenly riding on his Rick Owens-ed out shoulders.

Despite the fact that we’d only heard a couple of his songs, anticipation for LiveLoveASAP was astronomical, and thank god he mostly delivered. Featuring excellent production from Clams Casino and Ty Beats, the aural weirdness is a great canvas for the promising young MC to try out all his burgeoning flows over. But though he may still be figuring stuff out, his confidence and innate skill made this one of the most compelling rap releases of the year.

Original Bloglin Review

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33. Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine [Carpark]

Though it was released in February, there are songs on Underneath The Pine (“New Beat,” “How I Know,” hello there) that are so catchy and enjoyable I found myself returning to them throughout the year.

It might have ruined grapefruit for me, but Chaz Bundick’s second outing turned his poppy skills towards funk and disco, distancing himself from chillwave and coming up with an easy sound that made winter feel a little warmer.

Original Bloglin Review

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32. Iceage - New Brigade [Dais/Escho/What's Your Rupture?]

Iceage are a little bit scary. Though unsavory rumors continue to float around about them, one thing people can agree on is that this is the unmistakeable sound of fucking angry young people.

New Brigade is a quick and dirty blast of youthful aggression, and it’s accordingly invigorating. It just feels extremely punk, pulled not from nostalgia or memory but from sweat and frustration. Like they just came up with it themselves.

Original Bloglin Review

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31. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient [Secretly Canadian]

Their first album after the departure of Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs took the the road for Slave Ambient, the same drifting, nameless, preferably midwestern blacktop that has been mystifying and inspiring artists for over 50 years.

These are travelling songs, drinking songs, lost in americana songs, and Adam Granduciel clearly have a reverence for their influence, but aren’t afraid to put modern touched on their sound. With 2011 continually garnering comparisons to 1968, this sort of fast-friends and empty-glasses music seems more relevant than it has in years.

Original Bloglin Review

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30. Katy B – On a Mision [Columbia]

The artist most primed to be this year’s Robyn, England’s Katy B has taken clubby, poppy-as-hell bass music and brought it to the next level. One of the most compulsively listenable releases of the year, On A Mission lives up to its title.

Working with a bevy of up and coming London producers, Katy B deploys her killer voice over a range of bass music styles, from dubstep and soul, and even to American R&B. The girl is a force to be reckoned with.

Original Bloglin Review

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29. Sepalcure – S/T [Hot Flush]

Another, albeit different dip into the bass music scene, Sepalcure’s debut album came right towards the end of the year and jumped onto everyone’s radar right quick. A supergroup of sorts made up of members of Machinedrum and Braille, Sepalcure plays with soul, funk, and house to great effect.

If anything a thrilling experiment in the fusion of disparate bass music genres, the two members of Sepalcure are not two artists in opposition but two parts of a very good whole. Let’s hope they stick around on this side project for a little longer.

Original Bloglin Review

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28. Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years [Matador]

In the process of polishing up their edges, following debut Love Comes Close, the members of Cold Cave ended up finding new quirks and ripples beneath the old, tightening up their production and finding new ways to excite.

This is dark 80s pop through and through, but done with real feeling and drive. “The Great Pan Is Dead” isn’t an opening track: it’s a rocket launch to a dark and theatrical dimension, and the ride doesn’t slow down.

Original Bloglin Review

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27. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming [Mute]

Big enough to justify the double-album, Anthony Gonzales has synthesized (with synthesizers, now that I think about it) all of the different guises he has inhabited over 3 previous albums as M83.

Incredibly epic and massive tracks are overlayed with the young love ennui he captured so well on Saturdays=Youth creating an album that really embodies how goofily and overwhelmingly large young emotion can get.

Original Bloglin Review

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26. Planningtorock - W [DFA]

Perhaps the strangest release in DFA’s history, Planningtorock’s W is essentially an album length performance piece, a space for Janine Roston to explore ideas of androgyny and the body. Lest this get too heady, make no mistake that it’s also a very listenable record (what DFA artist isn’t?).

Drawing from her work with members of The Knife, Roston manipulates her voice down into an almost inhuman drone, but these quirks are not tricks. They’re calculated decisions, mature approaches to a deep theme. DFA done gone all smart on us.

Original Bloglin Review

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25. Big K.R.I.T. - ReturnOf4Eva [Self-Released]

A sprawling mission statement from a young MC, ReturnOf4Eva may not break free from the rubric of southern rap, but then again, why should it have to when K.R.I.T. does it so well? Even the album art looks like an old Outkast album.

Despite being ready to delve into touchy subjects (see “Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism”), K.R.I.T. never lets it bog his music down. The classic production doesn’t hurt either.

Original Bloglin Review

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24. John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves [Upset the Rhythm]

Pitiless Censors finds John Maus in his comfort zone: that being an area somewhere between pop and gloom, rock and just plain weirdness. He’s never one to shy away from (if not accentuate) his eccentricities.

But if you’re a fan of Maus’ thing, then this record made you more than happy. And if it was the first time you’d heard him, then no doubt you were drawn into his synth landscapes and drawling, droning voice.

Original Bloglin Review

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23. tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L [4AD]

Discussions of Merrill Garbus’ first album, bIrD-bRaInS, always was sure to mention how she had recorded it in her bedroom, on dinky little sound equipment you could get for whatever’s in your pocket.

Though interesting, that’s the sort of twee origin story that can really hamper you. Thankfully, instead of trying to replicate that, W H O K I L L is bigger, sleeker, and much better. Garbus’ amazing voice is clearer, her ambitious instrumentation more realized. Getting out of that bedroom was the best thing that coulda happened to her.

Original Bloglin Review

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22. The-Dream (Terius Nash) – 1977 [Radio Killa]

Though we never really believed him in the first place, we’re glad The-Dream did not retire after Love King. Well, not fully at least. He never did drop that Love Affair (“6, 7, 2011…”) but instead he did actually end up taking a break from being The-Dream.

For 2011, we got Terius Nash instead, and we got the bitter, bitter, breakup album of 1977 instead of the club jams of album’s past. Who knew it would be such a good look?

Original Bloglin Review

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21. Puerto Rico Flowers - 7 [Fan Death]

In a culture where artists are quick to reference their progenitors, the different sounds of the past that they’re trying to emulate or incorporate into their own, PRF’s John Sharkey III was adamant about being their own beast.

Not to say that you can’t draw comparisons (goth, 90s alternative) but it’s the attitude behind the familiar sounds that makes them sound fresh, innovative, and exciting. One of 2011 darkest, emotional and most satisfying releases.

Original Bloglin Review

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20. Liturgy – Aesthethica [Thrill Jockey]

Our own in-house contrarian slash metal reviewer seemed to be the only person this side of heaven who didn’t jump for joy at the experimental black metal contained on Liturgy’s Aesthetica.

Maybe now that he’s in Austin he just likes to hate on the NYC metal scene, but Prolly said he just couldn’t hang with the onslaught. For the rest of us, this was the metal release of the year.

Original Bloglin Review

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19. Pictureplane – Thee Physical [Lovepump United]

No song made me want to get up and dance this year more than Pictureplane’s “Real Is a Feeling.” Thee Physical is basically an album length attempt at capturing the special magic of a club scene that many would say is long past.

But after hearing the record, you just might believe again. This is strange and sexy music, all black latex, sweat, and crystals (those are sexy right?). It’s a night you don’t want to end.

Original Bloglin Review

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18. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints [Souterrain Transmissions]

In a year chock full of uncomfortable honesty, no one wore their angry, bleeding, beat-up heart on their sleeve more than former Gowns member Erika M. Anderson (AKA EMA). Taking her noisy chameleon of a guitar with her, EMA immediately stood out as a solo artist.

Past Life Martyred Saints is like a big middle finger with a sad face drawn on it. She’s introspective yeah, sometime to the point of obscurity, but the emotion is always there, the conviction strong. It’s hard to look away.

Original Bloglin Review

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17. Pure X – Pleasure [Acephale]

Though their name might suggest some sort of rave, Pleasure instead is a place for dreamy, beachgoing pop that’s probably more suited for downers than any sort of face rolling.

The fact that the album’s haziness was achieved without the use of overdubs is not only impressive, but also lends the listener a sense of immediacy, of being in the room with the artists. Of experiencing Pure X.

Original Bloglin Review

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16. Dirty Beaches – Badlands [Zoo Music]

Often just a voice, a doo-wop bass line and oodles of reverb, Badlands is not complicated music. Nor should it have to be. The production values are the opposite of glossy, lending the record a feel not of imitative nostalgia but actual temporal age, as if transposed from decades ago.

Alex Hungtai may very well be a time traveller, come from an alternate past where we never moved past the culture of the late 50′s, where girls and boys drive far away in cars, bouncing to music as the line of the road speeds behind them.

Original Bloglin Review

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15. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up [Sub Pop]

Would you believe that the weirdest, most experimental and intergalactic rap release of the year came from a guy who used to be in Digable Planets? Black Up (released on Sub Pop, which just makes me like it more) is an enthralling and heady listen.

Our reviewer said it “is an album that sounds familiar and foreign at the same time, like when you hear those mariachi cats on the subway cover ‘Hey Ya.’” an observation so astute I need not elaborate on it.

Original Bloglin Review

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14. Real Estate – Days [Domino]

A refreshingly small album in both scope and sound, Days was the perfect soundtrack to the beautiful colors of Autumn, car rides through trees, and probably wearing a lot of hoodies.

There were many albums this year that were lyrically ambitious, political, and epic. Finding Real Estate still focused on subjects of Americana, youth, and instantly relatable experiences made Days a real pleasure.

Original Bloglin Review

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13. Rustie – Glass Swords [Warp]

Our reviewer remarked that a Rustie tarot card would “probably depict him sitting on a thrown on dead jellyfish from Super Mario 3 while he’s shredding on a purple Prince symbol guitar and lasers shooting out of his eyes.”

If that doesn’t get you interested, i don’t know what will. Once again showing what a great year bass music had, Rustie made a cohesive and exhilarating album full of blippy sounds from all spheres.

Original Bloglin Review

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12. Mellow Grave – Smoke Filled the Room, We Slept [Living Tapes]

One of the most exciting things about 2011 was watching how artists originally lumped into the Witch House scene would grow and expand, record new albums in a climate that wasn’t so driven by hype or scorn or expectations.

New Zealander’s Mellow Grave took the opportunity for growth in the genre quite literally, expanding the witch house sound to encompass aspects of shoegaze, industrial, techno and hip-hop that weren’t given the triangle treatment until now. This is sadly the best album of 2011 that no one is talking about. Listen to it. Love it. Start talking about it. Share it.

Original Bloglin Review

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11. Yuck – S/T [Fat Possum]

This album has hooks for days. As the young British band (boy do they sound young. In a good way) hops through all sorts of musical guises, whether it be 90′s alt-rock, chamber pop, and even shoegaze, the one constant is the hooks.

They will probably refine their sound, find their groove, clarify their style. But they better not lose those precious and powerful earworms (sounds sorta gross actually), because they’re doing it better than almost anyone.

Original Bloglin Review

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10. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo [Matador]

A troubadour for our times, Kurt Vile is almost impossible to picture not holding his guitar, brushing his long unkempt mane behind his ears, fiddling with knobs and pedals. He has that particular shyness which permits very personal music.

As his ouvre expands, and his sound grows and becomes clearer, Vile’s voice, intent, and talent comes through even more starkly than his newly liberated guitar.

Original Bloglin Review

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9. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact [4AD]

As to be expected, this Gang Gang Dance release is all over the place in the best way possible. Listening to 12 minute opener “Glass Jar” and you’ll hear more musical ideas than most people stretch across an album.

It can get exhausting at times, but there’s a euphoria to the journey, a runners high almost. Lizzi Bougatsos has also grown remarkably as a singer and modulator of her own voice. When everything comes together, Eye Contact is hard to beat.

Original Bloglin Review

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8. Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra. [Self-Released]

Who the hell does Frank Ocean think he is? Observe: an Odd Future affiliate who’s also a lovesick crooner (and an immensely talented one at that). A guy who, when choosing backing tracks for his mixtape, is drawn to Coldplay and “Hotel California.” A guy who repeatedly sings “sweet baby jesus” on albums with Kanye and Jay-Z.

A guy who mentions in a chorus that he doesn’t believe in the moon landing. The album may be called Nostalgia, Ultra. but this music sounds new as shit to me. I guess Frank Ocean is just a dude who just sees things like we don’t. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Original Bloglin Review

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7. Zola Jesus – Conatus [Sacred Bones]

Despite the rapidity and frequency of her releases as Zola Jesus, Nika Danilova has always seemed like an artist who was unfolding herself to us slowly. Not, of course, for shame or fear, but perhaps in an admission that we simply weren’t ready for it.

Though I wouldn’t want to limit her future, it seems Conatus is the album she has been leading up to. With more attention, much more in fact, given to the expansive backing tracks, Zola Jesus’ incredible voice is allowed to shine even brighter.

Original Bloglin Review

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6. Destroyer – Kaputt [Merge]

For a long time, though his musicianship was always solid, Dan Bejar seemed like he was trying to prove something. The hyperliterate lyrics, the concepts and heavy-but-unclear themes: the obvious effort of it all was distracting.

Kaputt, which is Bejar and Destroyer’s most lackadaisical record by a mile, is also by far their best. Instantly accessible and totally captivating, Bejar actual ends up letting his experimental side shine more than ever by implementing it subtly, never letting it get in the way of a good song.

Original Bloglin Review

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5. Danny Brown – XXX [Fool's Gold]

The first thing you will notice is the voice. The alien squawk, a bursting proclamation that sounds like it is drugs themselves, insane and unpredictable, unwilling to be categorized. Then you’ll notice the bizarrely coiffed head from which said voice is bleating. Then you’ll hear the vulgarity, the vividly disgusting nigh-body horror rap that permeates XXX. Once your eye stops twitching from sensory overload, you will finally notice how you suddenly don’t want to listen to any other rappers.

Danny Brown is the guy snooping through the back rooms of parties, snatching pill bottles out of medicine cabinets. The one you get up the courage to talk to one day only to find out that he’s blisteringly intelligent. He’s the new friend who other people think is weird but you know is just cool on some next level shit. You may later think “what was up with that dude?” Then you’ll listen to XXX and realize all over again.

Original Bloglin Review

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4. SBTKRT – S/T [Young Turks]

The culmination of bass music this year, SBTRKT (subtract, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) combined many of the aspects other artists explored without sounding like a pastiche.

It seems his inability to be pigeonholed was not necessarily purposeful but rather a result of his singular vision, not to mention a fantastic ear for guest singers, all of whom turned in stellar performances that contributed to the most solid dance record of 2011.

Original Bloglin Review

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3. Balam Acab – Wander/Wonder [Tri Angle]

Living up to the promise of its cover, Wander/Wonder is a strange and enchanting light underneath miles of water, maybe mystical, certainly obscure. Though, like many other artists this year, Balam Acab borrowed heavily from R&B, he did it in his own way.

Avoiding hooks and obvious melodies, he instead picks out small details that perhaps others would overlook, constructing arresting soundscapes from castoff sounds. Balam Acab pulls from many places, but his deft touch on all of them is unmistakeable.

Original Bloglin Review

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2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons [Self-Released]

The great musical mystery of 2011: who in god’s name is The Weeknd and where did he come from? After dropping two tracks out of nowhere, The Weeknd quickly blew the internet’s mind with his debut mixtape, House of Balloons. Somewhere up in Canada, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, 20 year old Abel Tesfaye was sitting on the internet, watching himself become a superstar.

This took all of 2010′s flirtation with “dark” R&B and surpassed them in one fell swoop with apparent ease. Grimacing and sordid tales of drug abuse, seduction that sometimes borders on assault, and endless parties that seem punitive instead of revelatory are some of the subjects here. But the woozy production is like a narcotic, hooking into you and compelling you to listen, Tesfaye’s voice a serpentine coo that’s an irresistible temptation.

Original Bloglin Review

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1. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life [Matador]

Yes, our favorite record of the year is a rock opera, and we’re damn proud of it. Take one listen to the thrilling and expansive David Comes To Life and you’ll see why. Hell, listen to the first 5 seconds of “Queen of Hearts,” and you’ll know. With David, Fucked Up cement their status as the best working rock band around, and boy howdy do they rock.

Despite coming in at well over an hour, David Comes To Life is a record that you will want to restart immediately upon finishing. Maybe it’s to hear the three soaring guitars that fill out the whole album from wall to wall, or Damian Abraham’s throat-shredding yell, or just the pure fun that permeates the whole experience. Maybe it’s to get into the narrative, a classic boy meets girl-revolutionary that’s part Les Mis, part metafiction, and never at all cloying (a feat in itself).

It’s an album that grows every time you listen to it, but is also never disappointing. Throw it on in the background, exercise to it, hunker over the lyric book with headphones on, play it for friends, blast it out of your car, listen to one song, listen to them all (repeatedly): David Comes To Life can handle it all. It’s the gleefully poppy, recklessly enjoyable, unabashedly vast, exquisitely executed epic that Fucked Up was born to make.

Original Bloglin Review

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