2011 Favorites

A list of some of my favorites from 2011.

Albums

2011 wasn’t a very deep year for music, but there were some outstanding efforts submitted. Overall the quantity of quality was lackluster compared to 2007 through 2010. I think it’s because I found less new artists. I’m finding myself now looking more forward to new albums of recent favorites, such as Grizzly Bear, Bear in Heaven (lol at bear references), Floating Points, Luke Abbott and more in 2012 than I am new artists out of the blue.

I flip flopped between Real Estate and Washed Out for months. I loved both releases. In the end, I thought Real Estate did some things that will make me listen to the album a lot more 10 years from now than Washed Out, and it was the difference.

Julian Lynch is one of the most underrated artists out there. He has a completely unique style. Terra is his best record to date.

Twerps and The War On Drugs were good finds for me this year as well. Very happy I found them. But I, belatedly, decided to go with The Field to round out my top 5.

  • Real Estate – Days
  • Washed Out – Within And Without
  • The Field – Looping State Of Mind
  • Julian Lynch – Terra
  • Twerps – Twerps

Songs

Individual songs that stood out to me. Bon Iver’s album is highly celebrated, as well it should be. But the album as a whole had gaps, which kept it off my top 5. “Holocene” though is my favorite song from this year, and shows why people are going crazy for Justin Vernon. I applaud his new celebrity!

Cass McCombs is one of my favorite artists, period. He had two albums this year! Many good singles, and “The Same Thing” was the best.

Gold Leaves was a pleasant find this year. “The Silver Lining” was an exceptional take on an “Arthur and Yu” sound. The Rapture had a very weak follow up release this year, but the single “How Deep Is Your Love” was my favorite party jam. tUnE-yArDs is as unique as it gets, and “Bizness” is a jarring yet fun exploration on being yourself.

Rdio playlists of my favorite songs from Fall and Winter. (I didn’t start Rdio until half way through 2011. I recommend it to all!)

Movies

I missed a lot of movies this year, I admit. My list is probably missing some really good ones.

  • Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Hanna
  • Bridesmaids
  • The Ides of March
  • Anonymous

Articles

I read a lot of long-form articles, which is different for me from years past. I would like to thank Instapaper for this lifestyle change. Here are the five best articles I read in 2011.