New M83 single ROCKS.

Girls and Dum Dum Girls returning in September. Maybe the latter will experience the acclaim it should've received with last year's I Will Be. And Real Estate also returning. Washed Out has been seen as a disappointment among some reviewers but i'm yet to listen to. The Horrors has been receiving raves and i need to check that one too.

I need to hear that one. It must have a later US release date than UK.

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact is now my #1, and Return of the Country Gentlemen has entered my top 10.

Feist releasing her new album Metals October, 2.

Shabazz Places - Black Up rocks. One of the best rap albums in years.

I was wondering whether anyone has listened to the album called "Wolf Notes" by *AR, released in June this year. I guess you can define the album as ambient music BUT don't let this put you off! This is a hidden gem and a masterpiece in my opinion.

This album along with PJ Harvey's Let England Shake are my favourites this year

I think it's okay to post this little url if you care to listen to it

http://typerecords.com/releases/wolf-notes-2

Dum Dum Girls's single Coming Down is excellent. The song bears a-little-too-much resemblance with Fade into You but is still really enjoyable. The biggest surprise is Dee Dee's delivery. A cleaner production really improved the band's sound. It will sure receive more attention than their previous effort from 2010.

Has there really been not a single post about Watch the Throne?

This is the first album release that felt like an event to me since Radiohead.

It's good. That's all I'm positive about for now.

Also, I'm a little taken aback at how much I'm enjoying Vanessa Carlton's new album.

Lana Del Rey might become the next big indie chanteuse. Her track "Video Games" is already one of my favorites breakthroughs of 2011. A vocal hybrid of Cat Power, Laura Marling and Fiona Apple.

new Girls record will be fawned over massively. Could be looking at a very popular top 5/10 AOTY choice

I love n***** in paris it is a play loud rocker and after 3 weeks it still rocks

New top ten albums of 2011-

1. James Blake- James Blake
2. Let England Shake- PJ Harvey
3. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
4. Bon Iver- Bon Iver
5. The King of Limbs- Radiohead
6. Kaputt- Destroyer
7. Cults- Cults
8. Zonoscope- Cut Copy
9. The Whole Love- Wilco
10. Whokill- Tune-Yards

I'm currently excited for albums by Justice, Coldplay, and Girls.

I just had a peek here:

http://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-music-of-2011-so-far

and downloaded 2 albums from the website from the Weeknd. Some decent R&B music. If that's your cup of tea, you should take a look as well.

The new Ry Cooder is.. well.. first and foremost, very odd. However, it's also pretty damn funny and at times incredibly good. Might be his best solo album since Paris, Texas.

I don't think much of the Cults album, I have to say. It's just too...empty for me. Perhaps easy to like, but difficult to love.

AM posters don't really go outside of the "big" releases it seems, do they? Any of the lesser known albums anyone is digging?

does someone like something apart from indie/poppy bands?

I'd like to add one more release to that list since there is a distinct lack of mentions of him in this thread, and since I saw him live Saturday and he was phenomenal. Josh T. Pearson's Last of the Country Gentlemen is awesome.

He wasn't the highlight of that night because The Tallest Man On Earth was there too and gave a fantastic show, but it was damn close. Pretty cool to have the maker of your favorite 2011 album and the maker of your favorite 2010 album at the same festival performing within 15 minutes of each other.

Stephan, that's quality, good for you! What I wouldn't give to see The Smith Westerns support Kanye, haha

Anyway, I called it about a month back: Girls are getting mad love (from some quarters). 9.3 from Pitchfork! Way too high, putting it on par with In Rainbows and many others. If I had to hazard a (very early and probably silly) guess at their EOY top 10:

1. Bon Iver
2. Girls
3. The Weeknd (3 combined, like James Blake last year)
4. Fleet Foxes
5. Shabazz Palaces
6. James Blake
7. tUnE-yArDs
8. PJ Harvey
9. Destroyer
10. St Vincent

in no order, 11-20: Atlas Sound, The Field, Fucked Up, Panda Bear, Kurt Vile, Das Racist, The Smith Westerns, Gang Gang Dance, Cut Copy, Zola Jesus

who knows though? there might be another Weeknd/Shabazz that is out of leftfield and blindsides everyone

I like playing guessing games. Here's my try at Pitchforks top ten of 2011.

1. Bon Iver- Bon Iver
2. Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls
3. James Blake- James Blake
4. The Weeknd- (All 3)
5. Let England Shake- PJ Harvey
6. Whokill- Tune-Yards
7. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
8. Kaputt- Destroyer
9. David Comes to Life- Fucked Up
10. Black Up- Shabazz Palaces

So yeah, Ddiamondd, you pretty much got it right as far as I'm concerned.

Last Of The Country Gentlemen is an excellent album.

I will also add Vanessa Carlton - Rabbits On The Run to the list of 'Best of the year'.

Also, there is a new St Vincent album coming out soon that seems to be getting no buzz at all except I saw a 9/10 on Popmatters. I'm expecting this to be easy top ten material.

The last Miossec's album is really great. "Chansons ordinaires" is the best French album of the year right now. Very rock !

Definitely, one of the best albums of 2011 is Adele's 19!

I'm currently listening to Adele's BEAUTIFUL songs:

1. Someone Like You
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Make You Feel My Love

These are great, great songs. Poetic and pleasing to the ears aren't to describe their beauty! By the way, I usually download them through Fast-Debrid.Com since I hardly have any problem using this downloading website!

By the way, the Adele's Someone Like You released the crybaby in me!

First time I can ever recall p4k giving back-to-back 9+ scores (9.3 to Girls on Monday, 9.0 to St Vincent on Tuesday). wow.

I'm listening to Laura Marling's new album, and so far it's one of those instant 'holy shit' level albums of the sort that only comes along a few times a year.

It's got the emotion of her previous albums, only she's also doing this folky stringy thing that just works perfectly.

Edit: Ry Cooder's is on the same level. I picked up these two and St Vincent's in one trip to the store. This is like that time last year when High Violet, Archandroid, This Is Happening, and Hadestown all came out within a week of each other. The overall quality of 2011 new releases just skyrocketed instantly.

Meital Dohan's "Yummy Boyz" Remix album is my favorite!

Actually, I Just saw this hilarious video of this singer Meital Dohan talking about fitness, so funny… I guess musicians really aren’t the athletic type…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZIUPY1DnHo&feature=channel_video_title

Best album of the year. The first one is, by far, better than the others. It's like the MGMT's first album. All the songs are incredibles.

1. Pete and The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
2. The Kills - Blood Pressure
3. Cults - Cults
4. Metronomy - The English Riviera
5. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome
6. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
7. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
8. Keren Ann - 101
9. The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
10. Hubert Felix Thiefaine - Suppléments de mensonge
11. Grails - Deep Politics
12. White Denim - D
13. Kasabian - Velociraptor!
14. Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval
15. Panda Bear - TomBoy

Cole World is really, really, really good.

The new Neon Indian rocks.

I kind of got lucky. I wasn't even going to pay attention to that one, but they happened to be playing it when I went into a record store. They sound like MBV.

New Kate Bush is her best since The Sensual World/Hounds of Love. I always thought that Mrs. Bartolozzi was the highlight of Aerial because of its piano atmosphere. The album creates such a chilly atmosphere, it sounds so timeless. It's a work of genius.

What else has been released this year in the vein of Yuck or Iceage? I haven't liked many albums this year. Fucked Up's is good too, but I think it's pretty unique when I like an album with those kind of vocals. The songs are just so good that it's easier to get used to the screaming.

Actually, listening to it right now, David Comes to Life is probably my album of the year in a weak year for me. I think 2010 spoiled me.

Childish Gambino's Camp is nice enough, but it really sounds like a Kanye West rip-off. There are good chorus, fun lyrics, very good flow, but you can't help but notice much too many similarities.
I think Donald Glover talked about "indie hip-hop", but in this case his definition of that is making mainstream hip-hop while citing Sufjan Stevens and Radiohead.

On a related note, Community pulled out of NBC mid season lineup is a fridging bad news. It needs a 4th season to go full circle, it's the funniest TV show right now dammit !

On the other hand, Spank Rock's new album is pretty unpredictable, you never know where he is heading and that leads to some awesome moments, though overall it does not seem as brilliant as Yoyoyoyoyo. The rythmic structure of the songs has not changed yet but he has had electronic layers, sometimes with great results.

That sucks about Community especially with NBC shoving the mediocre Whitney down our throats for the last 6 months. Up until that show Thursdays were back to being MUST SEE again. I guess NBC thought since it got no Emmy Nominations it's neither acclaimed or a rating booster.

Drake is a big let-down

Ugh, they pulled Community? Is it cancelled or just moved? I know 30 Rock is coming back midseason, but they actually picked predictable, cheesy, kitschy, stand up comedy cliche Whitney over Community?

I suppose it's better it end while it's great instead of dragging on eight seasons and falling back on the same relationship formula over and over.

(Nice woman! Dating bad guy, but has a loving friendship with good guy! Milk for an entire season, lather, rinse, repeat!)

Some change, two new album (Beirut ad dEUS) and few albums that i'm tired.

My 2011 list by far :

1. Portugal.The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud
2. Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
3. Pete and The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
4. The Kills - Blood Pressure
5. Cults - Cults
6. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome
7. Metronomy - The English Riviera
8. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
9. Beirut - Rip Tide
10. Hubert Felix Thiefaine - Suppléments de mensonge
11. Cage The Elephants - Thank You, Happy Birthday
12. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
13. Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval
14. dEUS - Keep you close
15. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
16. White Denim - D

And, finally, the album of Bashung, singing the 1976 album of Gainsbourg "L'homme à la tête de chou" (a must have for me),just before is death,is published this month.
It will end inevitably in my top list of 2011.

Variations sur Marilou :


I'm so happy.

Two new albums this time and a huge disappointment, the Tom Waits album I find not good. Far from his last albums wich are excellent (Real Gone, Alice...)



1. Portugal.The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud
2. Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
3. Pete and The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
4. The Kills - Blood Pressure
5. Cults - Cults
6. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome
7. Metronomy - The English Riviera
8. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
9. Beirut - Rip Tide
10. Hubert Felix Thiefaine - Suppléments de mensonge
11. Cage The Elephants - Thank You, Happy Birthday
12. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
13. Memory Tapes - Player piano
14. Alain Bashung/Serge Gainsbourg - L'homme à la tête de chou
15. Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval
16. dEUS - Keep you close
17. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
18. White Denim - D[/quote]

I second the recommendation of Portugal The Man.

Has anyone heard Native Speaker by Braids? It came out right at the beginning of the year, but I've only given it some airtime now. I'm really digging it. It's a really evocative album - the warm songs sound really warm and quirky, and the cold songs sound really cold. The singing takes some getting used to, but I'm really liking it now.

Lemonade

The last album of Herman Dune, Stange Moosic is very very very good.
Plenty of memorable folk songs.

Tell me something I don't know :


Ah hears strange moosic

I'm the only one to play, but whatever ;-)
Four new entries in my top 2011.
Herman Dune - Stange Moosic
The Drums - Portamento
St Vincent - Stange Mercy
The Black Keys - El Camino (this band is now huge).

1. Portugal.The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud
2. Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
3. The Black Keys - El Camino
4. Pete and The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
5. The Kills - Blood Pressure
6. Cults - Cults
7. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome
8. St. Vincent - Strange ercy
9. Metronomy - The English Riviera
10. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
11. Herman Dune - Strange Moosic
12. Beirut - Rip Tide
13. Hubert Felix Thiefaine - Suppléments de mensonge
14. Cage The Elephants - Thank You, Happy Birthday
15. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
16. The Drums - Portamento
17. Memory Tapes - Player piano
18. Alain Bashung/Serge Gainsbourg - L'homme à la tête de chou
19. Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval
20. dEUS - Keep you close
21. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
22. White Denim - D

And I just listen "Smith Westerns - Dye it blonde" right now and, it's the kind of album no one love here, but in my top 2011 for sure.

It's also my number 1.

I liked the song "Smile" from by the Smith Westerns but the whole album didn't do it for me.

I've been on a 2011 listening spree lately to catch up with some records I missed earlier in the year.

Among the good albums I'm just now hearing:

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Tune-Yards - Whokill
Beirut - The Rip Tide
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
The Weeknd - House of Balloons

I'm not sure if this is a great year, but there sure are a lot of good to very good albums out there.

2011 hasn't been as strong as 2010 for me, but it's not too bad! A few months ago I thought it was going to be a real dud for me personally, but I've dug a little deeper and had some established favorites spoil me with goodies. Still, I want to get a better feel for the year. Any recommendations? I've just seen the recommendations for Lykke Li, Blood Orange and certain songs from the Drive soundtrack, and I'll be sure to check those out (thank you, Grooveshark/YouTube!). Any others?

Here's my list so far:

1. Björk - Biophilia
2. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
3. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
4. Metronomy - The English Riviera
5. The Strokes - Angles
6. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
7. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
8. Tennis - Cape Dory
9. Magazine - No Thyself
10. The Human League - Credo
11. Kimbra - Vows
12. Lady Gaga - Born This Way
13. Roxette - Charm School
14. Gotye - Making Mirrors

I found a lot of really good albums in 2011, but it's not like 2010 when there were like three top 100 AT candidates coming out in the same week.

I think it's just in 2011, most of the great albums weren't the kind of indie albums that get hyped. There were PJ Harvey and Tom Waits who were hyped, there were new albums by Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes which most people saw as good but not as good as their previous efforts, and then the rest of them were either nonvocal or eclectic electronic albums that aren't the tastemakers' cups of tea.

So all the magazines are like "Hey, our readers don't want to hear about strange textured beeping noises, they want their skinny guys in their 20s with sensitive expressions, guitars and distortion machines!" "But...there aren't any good ones this year!" "So find some! Read Pitchfork or something, they'll have a few lying around."

Hello

Here is the list of my 25 favourite albums of the year so far. It may change until december 31st because I have to listen again all my albums then I'll publish a "definitive" list :

1. Raphael Saadiq - "Stone Rollin'"
2. Treefight For Sunlight - "Treefight For Sunlight"
3. Cut Copy - "Zonoscope"
4. Girls - "Father, Son, Holy Ghost"
5. Pugwash - "The Olympus Sound"
6. The Nines - "Polarities"
7. Nick Lowe - "The Old Magic"
8. Sondre Lerche - "Sondre Lerche"
9. Tony Cox - "On The Way"
10. The Leisure Society - "Into The Murky Water"
11. Duran Duran - "All You Need Is Now"
12. M83 - "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"
13. The High Llamas - "Talahomi Way"
14. Fitz And The Tantrums - "Pickin' Up The Pieces"
15. The Red Button - "As Far As Yesterday Goes"
16. Mayer Hawthorne - "How Do You Do"
17. Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings - "Soul Time!"
18. Brent Cash - "How Strange It Seems"
19. Fountains Of Wayne - "Sky Full Of Holes"
20. Connan Mockasin - "Forever Dolphin Love"
21. Ryan Adams - "Ashes & Fire"
22. The Black Keys - "El Camino"
23. Guillemots - "Walk The River"
24. Rumer - "Seasons Of My Soul"
25. 4 Guys From The Future - "Under The New Morning Sun"

Following Romain, Moonbeam and Dumbangel, here's my current top 25 after listening (and re-listening) to a lot of albums. Current lists by other AMers would be helpful...

1. Ry Cooder - Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
3. James Blake - James Blake
4. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
5. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
6. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
7. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & the Harvest
8. The Roots - undun
9. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
11. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
12. Melingo - Corazón y Hueso
13. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
14. The Horrors - Skying
15. Wild Beasts - Smother
16. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
17. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
18. AraabMuzik - Electronic Dream
19. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
20. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine
21. Wilco - The Whole Love
22. The Field - Looping State of Mind
23. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - A Winged Victory for the Sullen
24. Aurelio - Laru Beya
25. Piers Faccini - My Wilderness

As always, just a top 10:

1. The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions
2. Josh T. Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
3. The Antlers - Burst Apart
4. Alexi Murdoch - Towards The Sun
5. Wild Beasts - Smother
6. June Tabor & Oysterband - Ragged Kingdom
7. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
8. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
9. Ry Cooder - Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
10. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Besides those 10, I have 2 more 4 star albums on RYM for this year, which I suppose could be considered 11 and 12:
Frederick Squire - Frederick Squire Sings Shenandoah and Other Popular Hits
tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l

Still in construction, but

1. Fleet Foxes
2. Ry Cooder
3. Tom Waits
4. Anthony Joseph - Rubber Orchestras
5. Melingo
6. Black Keys
7. Decemberists
8. Gillian Welch
9. Wilco
10. Treefight For Sunlight - st
11. Charles Bradley
12. raphael Saadiq
13. James Blake
14. Seun Kuti - Rise
15. hayes Carll - Kmag yoyo

SOme good discovering this week specially Bill Callahan. Strange and very interesting music, like a good Johnny Cash (and America! is one of the great songs of the year without doubt).

1. Portugal.The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud
1. Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
1. The Black Keys - El Camino
1. Pete and The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
1. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome
2. The Kills - Blood Pressure
2. Cults - Cults
3. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
3. Smith Westerns - Dye it Blonde
3. Metronomy - The English Riviera
3. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
4. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
4. Little Barrie - King of the waves
4. Mirrors - Lights and Offering
4. Emilie Simon - Frankie Knight
4. Alain Bashung/Serge Gainsbourg - L'homme à la tête de chou
4. tUnE-YaRdS - w h o k i l l
5. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
5. Herman Dune - Strange Moosic
5. Wise Blood - These wings
5. Beirut - Rip Tide
5. Hubert Felix Thiefaine - Suppléments de mensonge
6. Charlie Winston - Running Still (incredible, but it's a good album with a lot of great songs
6. Yuck - Yuck
6. Cage The Elephants - Thank You, Happy Birthday
6. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
6. The Drums - Portamento
6. Memory Tapes - Player piano
6. Nicolas Jaar - Space is only noise
6. Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval
6. dEUS - Keep you close
6. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
6. White Denim - D

My top list:

1. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
2. Ry Cooder - Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
3. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
4. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
5. Amon Tobin - ISAM
6. Sbtrkt - Sbtrkt
7. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Part Two
8. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
9. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
10. Dalriada - Igeret
11. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
12. White Denim - D
13. St Vincent - Strange Mercy
14. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
15. Gazelle Twin - The Entire City
16. The Black Keys - El Camino
17. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
18. Christina Rosenvinge - La joven Dolores
19. Bibio - Mind Bokeh
20. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin
21. Chelsea Wolfe - Apocalypsis
22. Anna Jarvinen - Anna sjalv tredje
23. Harriet Tubman - Ascension
24. Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
25. Neon Indian - Era Extrana
26. Wilco - The Art Of Almost
27. S.C.U.M. - Again Into Eyes
28. Ambrose Akinmusire - When The Heart Emerges Glistening
29. Siriusmo - Mosaik
30. Iceage - The New Brigade

^ Nice to see so many albums from Europe and South America on your list (Amon Tobin, Dalriada, Cascadeur, Christina Rosenvinge, Anna Järvinen, Siriusmo)

@Romain

Finally got around to listening to Blood Orange. Good rec!

I think what we should do is to give the year a rating.

2011: A year with not many massive hits (at least when compared with 2010) but one that sees a dearth of electronic music as well as albums (like Destroyer) which grow ever so much. I can see myself really liking this year given a couple of years but at the moment it's only a 6/10.

It's of course too late, but if you can, look this album : Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love.
Great.

I'd give 2011 an 8/10 for albums, a 6/10 for songs, and a 10/10 for depth. But I've listened to more 2011 albums than albums from any other year, so I might be a little biased about its depth.