I know, right? FINALLY! The wait is over, and here are my 11 favorite albums from LAST YEAR, 2011. Now, this list really isn’t a surprise to me, because these are the albums that I listened to most throughout the year, and they are all stellar. However, for the first time, for me, there was a clear tie for first; I couldn’t pick one of them over the other, no matter how hard I tried. That being said, I hope you enjoy my picks for my favorite albums of 2011. I also listed several albums that were great, but just didn’t make the cut, because they weren’t up to the par of these special few. Now, on to the list!
(tie) 1. Adele – 21
I have loved Adele pretty much from the first moment I heard of her. I saw some blogs talking about this “up and coming” singer back in early 2008, and after hearing some live stuff, I was instantly on board. What came next was an amazing debut, 19, which was my number 4 album of 2008. Then, I saw her live at the Variety in March of 2009, and that concert solidified her as one of my favorite artists. Obviously, I was jazzed to here a new album was slated for early 2011, but I wasn’t prepared for this opus that she would release. This album doesn’t have a single bad track on it. It is immaculate. This is an album that is current, and one that will age well; it is a new classic. Adele is one of those singers that has such talent that it isn’t really being matched by many right now; and people are taking notice. This is one of those rare instances where there is something I love so very much that happens to make it on the radio, and gain the attention of the masses; this album made 2011 a huge year for Adele. Now, if she can just quit pushing herself so hard, take some breaks, and protect that amazing voice; I want to enjoy her for a lifetime.
Standout Tracks: Turning Tables, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You, Take It All, Rolling In The Deep.
(tie) 1. City and Colour – Little Hell
This album being on top shouldn’t surprise anyone that reads this blog regularly; I adore Dallas Green, aka City and Colour. He is another one, like Adele, that when I first heard of him, I was instantly hooked, and I realized quickly that I had found an all time favorite artist in him. His most recent album, Little Hell, is raw, beautiful, dark, poignant, flawed, and still, damn near perfect. This album takes what he does best (making amazingly well written songs and setting them to hauntingly beautiful acoustic music), and builds it to a crescendo. This album captivated my attention from when it was released in June, and continues to be on heavy rotation for me now; this is a shining example of a supremely well made album by a truly amazing artist. Little Hell showed me that I chose well when I declared City and Colour as one of my favorite artists, because he does not disappoint. I was worried that it wouldn’t meet or exceed Bring Me Your Love (which is one of my favorite albums of all time), but he met the mark, and made an album that stands proudly along side it. Excellent, excellent music, here folks, and one of my favorites of the year by far.
Standout Tracks: Northern Wind, O’ Sister, Grand Optimist, We Found Each Other In The Dark, Little Hell.
3. William Fitzsimmons – Gold In The Shadow (Deluxe Edition)
I finally got to see him live earlier this year, and I KNOW that this influenced my decision to put his album this high; the album is amazing, but hearing it live made for one of the best concert experiences of my entire life. William is an incredibly folk musician, and his music is tender, and achingly beautiful. What pushed him higher on the list was the re-release of this album as a Deluxe Edition, because it contains some of his most beautiful songs to date (which are included in the standout tracks). Another great album by another amazing artist; are you sensing a trend here, people?
Standout Tracks: By My Side, Beautiful Girl, Ever Could, Blood And Bones, Bird of Winter Prey.
4. Jessie J – Who You Are
Initially, I was a bit turned off by her (not a huge fan of Price Tag), but I listened to the whole album, and man, I was blown away. This chick can SING!! She has some amazing songs, and her debut is nothing to scoff at; it’s brilliant. Definitely one of my biggest surprises of the year; glad I gave her a second chance! Also, the re-release with Domino was smart; Domino is such a fantastic addition to an already amazing album.
Standout Tracks: Who You Are, Do It Like A Dude, L.O.V.E., Domino, Abracadabra.
5. Lady GaGa – Born This Way
What can I say, IT’S GAGA. Seriously, haters beware; this is pop music people. GaGa is still killing it, several years into the game at this point, and clearly, has no intention of slowing down. Some of the tracks on this album are the best of her career; she clearly has a knack for what it takes to make a hit. This album is excellent from beginning to end, but the Deluxe version “extras” were just so-so. Overall, GaGa has never let me down, and this album was certainly one of my favorites this year.
Standout Tracks: Heavy Metal Lover, Born This Way, Marry The Night, Americano, The Edge of Glory.
6. Patrick Wolf – Lupercalia
I love how eccentric this guy is; he clearly has his own style, and flaunts it with such, well, style, that it begs for attention. I really enjoyed his previous work, and was excited to hear a new album from him this year. However, it was all shock and awe when, low and behold, this is the happiest I have heard him! There are so many wonderful love songs on this album, and it is definitely my favorite album he’s released to date. Do yourself and watch the video for House too; it is EPIC. I love artists that aren’t afraid to be themselves, and Patrick is the definition of unique. His talent is too wonderful not to explore and share.
Standout Tracks: House, The City, Bermondsey Street, Together, The Future.
7. Feist – Metals
I am a gigantic Feist fan; I have been since I saw her live on her tour for The Reminder. That album caught me by surprise and ended up being my number 2 album of 2007. I didn’t think I’d have to wait so many years to get another fantastic album from this Canadian chanteuse, but when she announced she’d follow up this year, I was thrilled. She didn’t disappoint, either; fantastic follow up to a fantastic previous album.
Standout Tracks: How Come You Never Go There, Bittersweet Melodies, Anti Pioneer, Graveyard, Caught A Long Wind.
8. Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys
What can I say, Death Cab are one of my all time favorite bands, so obviously, I am going to be excited when they come out with new material. This time, they released some very happy and upbeat songs, and many of them channeled electronic elements of Gibbard’s seemingly abandoned side project from years ago, The Postal Service. I was more than happy to hear those influences on this album, and still hold out hope for another Postal Service album; but that’s a different story for a different time. The songs on this album are excellent, and it is yet another great album but one of my favorite bands… this seems to be the trend for 2011.
Standout Tracks: St. Peter’s Cathedral, Stay Young Go Dancing, You Are A Tourist, Unobstructed Views, Some Boys.
9. Florence + The Machines – Ceremonials
While her first album took me a little while to fully enjoy, I was waiting at the starting gate for this go ’round. Florence is truly an artist that crafts a song from the words, to their pronunciation, to the music, and the orchestration; all of these are her instruments, and the effect is a layered song that is unique and gorgeous. She uses her dynamic musical talent to craft yet another album that many people will continue to talk about for a while to come; she has proven she is truly an artist to watch, and listen to.
Standout Tracks: Shake It Out, Only If For A Night, No Light No Light, Remain Nameless, Never Let Me Go.
10. Mat Kearney – Young Love
Always a favorite of mine, Mat tries a few new things, while bringing the signature of his previous work on board, making yet another fantastic album. The blend of hip hop with pop-rock is unmistakably Mat’s signature, and he weaves more delightful music on this album, and makes some of his best music to date. While it didn’t quite wow me as much as his previous effort, it does stand out as one of my favorites of the year, and there really isn’t another negative thing I have to say about it.
Standout Tracks: Ships In The Night, Count On Me, Chasing The Light, Rochester, Hey Mama.
11. Britney Spears – Femme Fatale
Arguably, this is by and large, one of her strongest, and most cohesive albums to date. Some of the songs on this album made for some of her most dynamic, and interesting singles as well. Overall, this album will certainly be one that Britney can look back on one of her overall best. That being said, the inclusion of the complete throwaway track, Big Fat Bass, almost derails the entire effort for me, but I skip it each time I listen to the album, so I won’t let it ruin the pop masterpiece that soars throughout the rest of the record. It’s Britney, bitch, indeed.
Standout Tracks: Till The World Ends, Criminal, Seal It With A Kiss, I Wanna Go, Hold It Against Me.
Well, there you have it; my favorite 11 albums of 2011. I hope you found something you hadn’t heard, and give it a chance. I also hope that you enjoyed these albums as much as I did in 2011, and will continue to enjoy on into 2012 and for years to come.
Now, the rest… These are albums that were very good, but for whatever reason, missed the 5 star mark. Some of them just have fantastic singles, but a lot of throwaways dragging them down, and others were just good, but nothing stood out as fantastic. Either way, here’s a bunch of other music you should check out, as it was stuff I was digging in 2011:
Matt Alber – Constant Crows: Love this out crooner, he’s as easy on the eyes as he is on the ears. A great follow up to his debut, and the Madonna cover is amazing.
Beyonce – 4: Color me disppointed; some AMAZING singles, some really bad songs. All over the place.
Bjork – Biophilia: Kinda like above, an amazing lead single, the rest was weird, but interesting.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver: Love him, even though his voice is a bit weird to me.
Alex Clare – The Lateness Of The Hour: Dubstep meets soaring, chill inducing male vocals.
Kelly Clarkson – Stronger: Originally, I stated it was ‘meh’; well, it grew on me, some real stompers on here.
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead: Some of this is excellent, some just too twangy.
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues: Gorgeous, but also a bit too ethereal for me.
David Guetta – Nothing But The Beat: An album full of floor filling dance singles, what’s not to love (well, a few of them, that’s what).
Jennifer Hudson – I Remember Me: I love this girl. Practically as good as her debut, with just a few slight missteps.
JLS – Jukebox: Overall, enjoyable, but nothing really stands out of the pack.
Cher Lloyd – Sticks + Stones: Excellent, almost made my year end list. Reminds me of the spunk of Lily Allen. Swagger Jagger is a deal breaker, though.
Jennifer Lopez – Love?: Color me surprised with this one! Some MAJOR singles, but the rest is filler.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming: Pretty, weird, pretty weird… but good!!!
Jon McLaughlin – Forever If Ever: Great songwriter, but some of them felt like half-hearted efforts. The stellar songs are stellar, though!
Matt Nathanson – Modern Love: Didn’t love it as much as his previous release, but still good nonetheless.
Noah and the Whale – Last Night On Earth: Very different than their previous album, which I loved; hard not to compare the two.
One Direction – Up All Night: Fun and poppy.
Peter Bjorn and John – Gimme Some: A bit more edgy and harder than their best album, Writer’s Block, but still good.
Nicole Scherzinger – Killer Love: Damn, this almost made my best of list; but the filler songs are bland. Where she shines, however, she is brighter than the sun!
Slow Runner – Damage Points: Saw them open for William Fitzsimmons; great band, great sound!
The Saturdays – On Your Radar: A little disappointing considering their previous work, but still great girl band pop.
Vanbot – Vanbot: Almost made my best of list; excellent, Swedish pop, reminiscent of fellow Swedish pop princess Robyn. Definitely one to keep your eye on.
The Wanted – Battleground: Kinda like JLS; overall, enjoyable, but nothing really stands out.
White Lies – Ritual: Quite excellent, and maybe with more listens, I’ll love it even more; it just didn’t capture my attention last year.
Will Young – Echoes: Oh how I had such high hopes for this album, and I tried, I tried so hard to love it. It has some AMAZING singles (Jealousy being my favorite song of the year, btw), but the rest of the album was a little more dance, and little less heart for me. Will’s previous album was perfection to me, so I was pretty sure this one couldn’t stand up to it, and unfortunately, it didn’t. That being said, I really love him, and he is one of my favorite artists, and despite only a luke warm feeling for me, it’s a great album nonetheless.
Young The Giant – Young The Giant: Some great singles, but the high points far outshine the low points.
Not only is this song amazing, but the video is incredibly beautiful as well. I love Patrick Wolf; he always seems to be standing outside of the box, and yet crafts such amazing pop, that you’d think that everyone in the box would be singing his praises. This guy is eccentric, but that’s his strong suit; he really pours a lot of that eccentricity into his music, fashion, and style, and the result is a true pop superstar that never seems to get enough praise or credit for his work. His new album, Lupercalia is slated to come out in the next couple of weeks, and after hearing and falling head over heels in love with this track, as well as the first single, The City, I am simply bursting at the seams to get my hands on it. 
The new album, Little Hell, came out earlier this week, and it is incredible. After hearing O’ Sister, Fragile Bird, and Northern Wind prior to its release, I had high hopes, and pretty high expectations that this album would be yet another amazing release from Dallas Green, aka, City and Colour. After one listen, I will say that I was not disappointed in the least. It is a fantastic album from beginning to end, and represents some of his most beautiful work. While it isn’t as delicate and achingly beautiful overall as the previous release, Bring Me Your Love, it has true heartfelt moments that stand right along side that album, as well as more uptempo and more rock tracks that add a more gritty element to his previous work. Dallas is an exquisite song writer, and an incredible musician, and this album is hands down, one of the absolute best of 2011, by a landslide. With this album, Dallas has solidified his place amongst my most favorite artists, and has proven that he just gets better with each new release. I really hope that he makes a tour stop in Atlanta some time soon.Be sure to get Little Hell, which is out now.
Death Cab For Cutie are certainly one of my favorite bands, and they have been for many years. I love lead singer Ben Gibbard’s voice, and their music is epically beautiful. I was more than excited when I saw that they would be releasing a new album at the end of May, so I marked it on my calendar. As always, they did not disappoint, and the album, Codes and Keys, is pretty amazing overall. I was extra excited, when I listened for the first time, and I found a few songs like this one, that harken to the side project Ben did several years ago called The Postal Service; whose only album was down right incredible. I am sure fans of both bands squealed with delight just as I did upon hearing the infusion of some Postal Service elements into this album. I am glad they gave the fans something as wonderful as this, and continue treating us to great music with each new release. Be sure to get Codes and Keys, which is out now. 
This is the new, very peppy track by Mat Kearney. It reminds me stylisitically a lot of Pete Yorn’s track Relator that he did with Scarlett Johanson a couple of years ago. That being said, Mat Kearney is one of those artists that I have followed for years, and consider myself to be a big fan of his work. I’ve seen him in concert a couple of times, and his voice has this amazing ability to make one weak in the knees. This is a much more peppy direction for him, but I think that it works quite well, and it might be his most radio-ready track to date. As always, I am looking forward to his next release, and if this is any indication as to what it might sound like, it seems that Mat is going to be a little more upbeat, and a lot lighter this time around. Maybe this song will help him get some much deserved airplay, and allow more people to find out about this amazing artist. 
I was watching the movie Morning Glory the other night, and this delightful song started playing, and I instantly recognized it as the Weepies. While I didn’t really get into their 2010 album Be My Thrill (perhaps because of being busy with nursing school…), I do enjoy the Weepies a lot, and really loved this song when I heard it. It’s very similar to other songs by the Weepies, but when the formula works, why mess with it? The movie was very sweet, and I ended up enjoying it a lot, and I had to download this track as soon as the movie ended. This is yet another example of how using a great song at a pivotal point in a movie can really draw you in and make the experience that much more enjoyable. In this case, it made me enjoy the movie that much more, and solidified a music purchase from me; what’s not to like about that? Do yourself and see this movie too; the previews did not do it justice. It is well written, very cute, and full of laughs and sweet moments. I really enjoyed it. 
This album was probably one of my biggest surprises in 2009; considering that I had never even heard of Biffy Clyro before the midpoint of the year. I love it when I stumble onto new bands, and when I first heard The Captain, I knew I had stumbled onto a great one (a find that I happily bestow credit to BBC Radio 1!). Perhaps my favorite thing about Biffy Clyro is the complexity of their melodies and song arrangements. They do the “typical” rock and roll thing, but they craft their songs in such a way that you never know which way it is going to go; there are so many intricate elements in the layering of instruments, and the arrangement can often turn on a dime (they continually utilize unique time signatures that can change within a song). Not only do I love the way in which they make music, but the lead singer’s voice and especially his accent are both down right beautiful. On Only Revolutions, Biffy Clyro have made many songs that are clearly built with a careful attention to detail that is nothing short of impressive; I can’t even imagine how difficult some of these songs must be for them to play. The result is an album that utilizes essential elements of guitar-driven rock and roll, and twists them into something unexpected, nuanced, and extremely enjoyable. Standout Tracks: God & Satan, 
While I did enjoy several songs from his previous album, The Magic Position, for some reason, it never really resonated with me on as deep a level as The Bachelor did this year (this is a major theme in my life for some reason). However, I never forgot about Patrick, because of his seemingly endless attention to detail and innovation with both his music, as well as his entire persona; there is something about him that I completely respect, because of the way this is reflected in his seemingly care free attitude. He is truly an artist that pays attention to every inch of his music, and broadcasts his personality both in his sound, as well as his appearance. Though he may be avant-garde in nearly every aspect of his style, I find that on The Bachelor, he has also made himself accessible; this album is chock full of extremely well orchestrated pop songs that forcefully push the boundary of pop music today. Patrick captured my attention fully with this album, and I love the unexpected elements peppered throughout the record; such as the brilliant (albeit sometimes creepy) use of Tilda Swinton narrating on several tracks. Overall, he has crafted an almost fairytale-like album, filled with twisting, popping, and dancing narrative-driven music; all of which beg to be devoured and savored to their last drop. Patrick is truly an innovative artist, and The Bachelor is a reflective, and brilliantly innovative album; which you would never know by the badly photoshopped art that serves as the album’s cover. Standout Tracks: Damaris, 
Definitely more subdued and stripped down than their first debut, this album steers clear of the uber catchy pop sensibility of tracks like 5 Years Time, and instead, focuses clearly on well developed folk. The result, is some of the most beautiful songwriting to be put to music in 2009. Specifically, the track Blue Skies, is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, and it is definitely one of my favorites from 2009 (it came in at #6 on my singles chart for this year). Overall, the album has a very solemn and raw feel to it, and the band really crafts what seems like a soundtrack to a beautiful film about love (which is most likely what they were going for, seeing as they did a film to accompany the album). I must say, that this album was a complete surprise for me, because I wasn’t really able to get into them other than their first single, the aforementioned 5 Years Time, so I am glad that this album really resonated with me. Some of the songs on here are just breathtakingly sweet, delightfully delicate, and utterly beautiful. Standout Tracks: 
While this is definitely the hardest album on this countdown, I have to say that it was the “softer side” of Alexisonfire that initially captured my attention; well, sort of. Last year, my number one album of the year was Bring Me Your Love by Dallas Green’s City and Colour project; and Dallas just happens to be one of the lead singers of Alexisonfire. Because I adore him, and City and Colour so much, I had to check out Alexisonfire’s new album Old Crows/Young Cardinals when it came out in June. What surprised me most, was that, even though it is stylistically very different from City and Colour, I really enjoyed it. To say that post-hardcore is not my kind of music is a drastic understatement, so I was just as surprised as any of you reading this probably are, because not only did I really like this album, but I knew almost instantly that it would be amongst my favorites for this year. This album is consistently well crafted from start to finish. The blaring guitars, banging drums, and very well written lyrics are driven by the emotive and powerful rock and roll that is echoed in the vocal delivery, as well as the musical arrangement. I also like the they show their softer side (and more of Dallas’ City and Colour-like influence) on a couple tracks, like Burial; which is the track that I would credit as making me initially take notice of this album. Burial may have made me piqued my interest, but it was the energetic all out rock and roll of tracks like the amazing Young Cardinals that had me blasting this from my speakers for months, and enjoying the album in its entirety, more and more, with each listen. My love of this album just goes to show, that if you open yourself up to something new, you might end up really liking it; and in the case of Alexisonfire, I most certainly do. Standout Tracks: 
To describe this album in three words, I would use the following: tenacious, energetic, and fresh. VV Brown drifted onto my radar when I heard her massive single, Shark In The Water, and I immediately knew I had stumbled onto something major. Once I had a proper listen of her debut, Travelling Like the Light, my suspicion was confirmed; VV Brown is a very talented musician. If I could compare her musical style to anything, I would say that she is probably best described as a mash up of Janelle Monae and the Pipettes; both of which are musical acts that I truly adore. VV’s take on pop, using big band elements, fresh beats, and her oh so beautiful voice is certainly a wonderful addition to the music I fell in love with in 2009; and it is yet another reminder of just how much amazing music comes from Britain. VV does share a lot in common with the aforementioned Monae, not only in appearance, but in her freshness, as well as her way of using simple, tried and true elements in her music. One thing is certain, however, both ladies are talented in their own right, and there is more than enough room for both of them on my ipod. Standout Tracks: 
I got a huge, welcome surprise when I looked at the new release list on iTunes this week; one of my favorite Canadian folk artists, Hayden, released a new CD, The Place Where We Lived! You may remember that his amazing In Field and Town made my year end list for 2008, coming in at 
Well, it looks like this week, we have not one, but two Canadian singer-songwriters! I mentioned Matthew back in May when I discovered his AMAZING track, Easily Bruised. Well, after falling for that song, I went and downloaded his album Ghost Notes, from which the song hails, and I found many more amazing tracks. His style reminds me a bit of Hayden at times, as well as other folk-rock acts like Joshua Radin and even Bob Dylan. This song is achingly beautiful, and it reminds me why I love searching for new music; occasionally, I stumble onto something truly amazing. This song is just that; truly amazing.
I have featured Jack on the 5SF in the past, but I quickly lost interest in him because of how many of the songs from his debut where a bit too similar to stand out for me. Well, I heard that he was revamping his style, and releasing a new record this month, and after checking it out, I must say that I have regained my interest in him; big time! I love the changes he made to his sound, and I find myself really liking this album. Pull My Heart Away is my favorite track that I have heard so far from the aptly titled, Everything Is New; which is out June 22.
Lastly today, I wanted to pay homage to one of the greatest bands ever, the almighty Blur. When I was in high school, Blur was one of those bands that made me really realize how much music meant to me, and it helped me appreciate really great music at the same time. This song, from their AMAZING debut, Leisure, is a fantastic reminder of so many good times from those days, and a welcome stroll down memory lane every time I hear it. Leisure is one of those albums that I can listen to from beginning to end, and it will always be amongst my favorite records of all time; along with many other Blur albums too.