2011 is about to wrap itself up and while, personally, it was somewhat of a shitty year, musically it was fantastic. I was originally going to try and narrow it down to just 10 albums but that seemed to be an injustice to a lot of good albums that did drop this year, so i'm doing 20 instead.
Also, I hate narrowing this down, there will be a lot of albums that will be left out that probably would have made my top ten in other years, but I've got to cut it off at some point.
Wanna know something else pretty cool? There are a ton of albums that I've heard great things about that I have still not have had the chance to listen to, so I'm sure sometime in early 2012 I'll have a post about albums that should have been somewhere on this list.
And since I never really get to use my minimal HTML skills, i decided to do that here too....no idea why.
originally, i wanted to write a lot more about the albums but 20 albums is a bit more taunting than i originally thought it would be and free time is sparse for me these days so that's all you get. i'll be the first to admit that there will be a lot of albums that i've missed so feel free to let me know.
Also, two more categories....
Record Label of the Year: No Sleep Records 5 of the 20 albums on the list are No Sleep bands and if I would've done a top 25, there would have been 6 or 7 of their bands (Touche Amore & Such Gold) in the list. they continually sign good bands and their bands continually release fantastic albums. Whatever their formula is over there, it's working.
Best New Music Site: ElectricMariachi.com Stumbled across this site looking for an album stream of some sorts and i'll be damned if they didn't have that stream (trapped under ice's new one, i remember correctly) but they have a ton of other album streams, many albums that i forgot were released and all. so yea, cool site and their player works on a mobile too.
There ya go, enjoy. if you like my taste in music and haven't heard some of these releases, go pick it up somewhere. If you don't like my taste in music...i have no idea why you've read this, it's the internet, there are better things to read.
much love
X
Also, I hate narrowing this down, there will be a lot of albums that will be left out that probably would have made my top ten in other years, but I've got to cut it off at some point.
Wanna know something else pretty cool? There are a ton of albums that I've heard great things about that I have still not have had the chance to listen to, so I'm sure sometime in early 2012 I'll have a post about albums that should have been somewhere on this list.
And since I never really get to use my minimal HTML skills, i decided to do that here too....no idea why.
20
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| Kevin Devine ~
Between the Concrete and Clouds
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| one of my favorite lyricist, great mood throughout the entire album | |
19
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Manchester Orchestra ~
Simple Math
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| great hooks, great lyrics, great album | |
18
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| La Dispute ~
Wildlife
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| the whole "talk music" thing is really hard to pull off but la dispute does it beautifully | |
17
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Into It. Over It ~
Proper
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| another great artist with a knack for great, introspective lyrics and hooks | |
16
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| Four Year Strong ~
In Some Way, Shape, or Form
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| i was pleasantly surprised at how great this album is when i first bought it. if you've liked any of their previous albums, you'll love it. | |
15
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Saves the Day ~
Daybreak
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| saves the day is back! the 11 minute, 4 part opener track, Daybreak, is worth the price of the album alone. also, got to hang with these dudes about a month ago and have to say they're some of the most down to earth guys i've ever met | |
14
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| Trash Talk ~
Awake EP
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| the best 5 songs that clock in under 9 minutes; thrash metal at its finest | |
13
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The Appleseed Cast ~
Middle States
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| it's appleseed, of course it's amazingly layered and beautiful and of course it's good. | |
12
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| I Am The Avalanche ~
Avalanche United
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| if you take 6 years between albums, it better be good. and yea, this thing is beyond good. listen to "brooklyn dodgers", just an awesome song. | |
11
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Bayside ~
Killing Time
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| bayside's best album yet. it seems that every member stepped up their musicianship a few notches for this album. super proud of chris' and jack's work on this album and anthony never fails in the lyrics department. | |
10
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| The Dear Hunter ~
The Color Spectrum
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| spend the money and get the complete collection (all 9 EPs), worth every penny. just the idea, to write an EP based on the feelings of each color in the spectrum, is pretty intriguing and the fact that it was pulled off so well, i find amazing. Favorite EPs? Red, Black, White and Yellow...in that order but for real, get the entire thing. | |
9
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The Wonder Years ~
Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
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| i've gotten back into pop-punk this year, after quite a few years off (minus an album here and there), and i can owe it this album. this album reminded me of what's good about pop-punk. | |
8
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| Former Thieves ~
The Language That We Speak
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| I really wish I would've heard about this band back in April when this was released but I didn't know about them until the chariot show back in november but i love this album. reminds me some of the later poison the well stuff. sounds especially amazing on vinyl. | |
7
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Thrice ~
Major/Minor
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| probably the final album from thrice, which is sad but if you've gotta go out, go out on top and this is their best effort, which says a lot because i loved the alchemy index and beggars. it's one of the most honest albums that i've heard on the sad state of our society and yet is still a very hopeful/uplifting album. | |
6
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| Bon Iver ~
Bon Iver
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| i can't say anything about bon iver that hasn't already been said a million times over. i find this album more beautiful every time i listen to it. i can't think of a more deserving artist to be nominated for 4 grammys. | |
5
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David Bazan ~
Strange Negotiations
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| when you've spent a career as pedro the lion, you have high expectations for every album that you drop. Bazan ignores those expectations and releases his best work since Pedro's Control. | |
4
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| Hands ~
Give Me Rest
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| i don't typically listen to overtly christian bands (i hate being preached to) nor sludge metal but i can't get enough of this album. i've been listening to this album since it came out. every time i listen to it, i want to steal all of the riffs and use them in Merchants' songs. | |
3
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Balance and Composure ~
Separation
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| this was my number one at the halfway mark, back in the spring. it hasn't lost any of its luster, still an amazing album that i find on play at least once a week. it's albums like this that make the entire post-hardcore recent uprising worth paying attention to, plus they're young so i have a feeling their best work is still yet to come. | |
2
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| The Story So Far... ~
Under Soil and Dirt
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| if the wonder year's album restored my faith in pop-punk, this is the album that restored my faith that new/young bands could write good pop-punk songs. if i'm not mistaken, this is their first LP release and to start off this strong is impressive. i'll keep rockin' this until LP 2 comes out, yea it's that good. | |
1
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O' Brother ~
Garden Window
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| it's not very old, especially in comparison to 2 & 3 but i'll be damned if it's not great. it's at the point were i subconsciously just put the album on when i'm in the car (and i'm always in my damn car, it seems). each song flows into the next, everything sounds connected without sounding like a regurgitation. it's impressive on a whole different scale than the other albums i've listened to this year. there's a reason they tour with bands like Thrice, Manchester Orchestra and The Dear Hunter on a regular basis. nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done. | |
originally, i wanted to write a lot more about the albums but 20 albums is a bit more taunting than i originally thought it would be and free time is sparse for me these days so that's all you get. i'll be the first to admit that there will be a lot of albums that i've missed so feel free to let me know.
Also, two more categories....
Record Label of the Year: No Sleep Records 5 of the 20 albums on the list are No Sleep bands and if I would've done a top 25, there would have been 6 or 7 of their bands (Touche Amore & Such Gold) in the list. they continually sign good bands and their bands continually release fantastic albums. Whatever their formula is over there, it's working.
Best New Music Site: ElectricMariachi.com Stumbled across this site looking for an album stream of some sorts and i'll be damned if they didn't have that stream (trapped under ice's new one, i remember correctly) but they have a ton of other album streams, many albums that i forgot were released and all. so yea, cool site and their player works on a mobile too.
There ya go, enjoy. if you like my taste in music and haven't heard some of these releases, go pick it up somewhere. If you don't like my taste in music...i have no idea why you've read this, it's the internet, there are better things to read.
much love
X
