Welcome to the results thread of the 2011 Year-End Albums Poll.

Thanks very much to the following 37 people who participated in the poll: antonius, BillAdama, Brad, Charlie Driggs, Chris K, Dan M, Ddiamondd, dr_Robert, Evan, Gillingham, Greg, Jackson, John, Jonah, Matski, Michel, Miguel, Mindrocker, Moonbeam, musictoad, Nassim, Nick, nicolas, Otisredding, Petri, Reed, Rocky Raccoon, Romain, schaefer.tk, Slick, sonofsamiam, Spaz, Stephan, SuperFurry, Tim E, Vanillafire1000, Zorg.

Only 3 people’s #1 album didn’t get any other votes and just missed out on the top 50. So, commiserations / honourable mentions to:

The Leisure Society | Into the Murky Water (John’s #1)
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion | Bright Examples (Miguel’s #1)
Ada | Meine zarten Pfoten (schaefer.tk’s #1)


Just a couple of notes about the presentation: Your name will appear in the Biggest Fans section if you placed an album in your top 5 (or if you are the biggest fan of an album which nobody placed in their top 5). The Critics’ Rank section refers to an album’s rank in the 2011 Year-End spreadsheet which Harold Wexler compiled.

To avoid ties, if two or more albums had the same amount of points, then the album with most votes received the higher placement. In the event of two albums having the same amount of points as well as the same number of votes, the album with the better averange rank had the advantage.

This results countdown will be completed by tomorrow evening. If all goes according to plan, the rest of the results will be revealed roundabout the following times (forum time / GMT):

#40-#31 – 17:30 today (1 Feb)
#30-#21 – 21:30 today (1 Feb)
#20-#11 – 09:30 tomorrow (2 Feb)
#10-#6 – 14:00 tomorrow (2 Feb)
#5-#1 – 17:30 tomorrow (2 Feb )

But first, #50-#41...


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50 | WU LYF | Go Tell Fire to the Mountain



Score: 50 points (3 votes)

Biggest Fan: Mindrocker (#6)

Critics' Rank: #71

Genre: Indie Rock, Art Rock

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49 | Tinariwen | Tassili



Score: 50 points (4 votes)

Biggest Fan: Greg (#3)

Critics' Rank: #106

Genre: Tishoumaren, Touareg Music

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48 | Kate Bush | 50 Words for Snow



Score: 50 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (#7)

Critics' Rank: #44

Genre: Art Pop, Ambient Pop

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47 | The Horrors | Skying



Score: 51 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Reed (#3)

Critics' Rank: #17

Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Shoegaze

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46 | Explosions in the Sky | Take Care, Take Care, Take Care



Score: 53 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Petri (#1)

Critics' Rank: #142

Genre: Post-Rock

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45 | The Vaccines | What Did You Expect from The Vaccines



Score: 55 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Tim E (#3)

Critics' Rank: #107

Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock Revival

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44 | Andy Stott | Passed Me By



Score: 55 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Jackson (#3)

Critics' Rank: #112

Genre: Dub Techno, Dark Ambient

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43 | Björk | Biophilia



Score: 56 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (#1)

Critics' Rank: #57

Genre: Art Pop, Progressive Pop

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42 | Arbouretum | The Gathering



Score: 57 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Brad (#1)

Critics' Rank: #458

Genre: Stoner Rock

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41 | Metronomy | The English Riviera



Score: 59 points (5 votes)

Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (#4)

Critics' Rank: #14

Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Electronic

Good start Dan M. The presentation looks great. Genre part is very informative when I'm not familiar with some of the bands/artists.
Also thanks for the time schedule.

Thanks Dan. I'm anxious to see the results this afternoon and tomorrow.

For another year, I propose that the scoring system is like the best songs of 2011. I think it's more fun and more fair.

Andy Stott's album art and the genre definition of "Genre: Dub Techno, Dark Ambient" scares the hell outta me!

Yeah it does.
Great album cover, artist from genre that I'm fan of but listen to too little (actually I listened moderately much doom metal last year which is very close of dark ambient in many cases) and the biggest fan is Jackson.

Looks like I must check that album as soon as possible.

Regarding Andy Stott...

Yeah, Passed Me By is great, though you gotta be in the proper mood. Companion We Stay Together is just as good, though for some reason I thought that was an EP and ineligible. Jackson voted for them together, which makes the most sense.

Anyway, I recommend "Execution" as a starter track. VERY dark, heavy, and slow.

Wow, Dan M, what an elegant presentation!
How do you achieve this horizontal line? Using the underscore key?

Yes, that's correct. I'm doing the whole presentation by using Mail Merge in Microsoft Word, so fortunately I only had to create the horizontal line once.


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40 | Dum Dum Girls | Only in Dreams



Score: 65 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fans: Tim E (#2); Zorg (#5)

Critics' Rank: #79

Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop

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39 | Portugal. The Man | In the Mountain in the Cloud



Score: 68 points (2 votes)

Biggest Fan: Romain (#1)

Critics' Rank: #303

Genre: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock

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38 | Wild Flag | Wild Flag



Score: 73 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fan: Spaz (#4)

Critics' Rank: #47

Genre: Indie Rock, Riot Grrrl

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37 | Wild Beasts | Smother



Score: 73 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fan: Stephan (#4)

Critics' Rank: #21

Genre: Art Pop, Indie Pop

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36 | Big K.R.I.T. | Return of 4Eva



Score: 75 points (3 votes)

Biggest Fans: Ddiamondd (#3); Greg (#4)

Critics' Rank: #140

Genre: Southern Hip Hop

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35 | The Weeknd | House of Balloons



Score: 77 points (7 votes)

Biggest Fan: Evan (#4)

Critics' Rank: #7

Genre: Contemporary R&B

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34 | Yuck | Yuck



Score: 78 points (3 votes)

Biggest Fan: Spaz (#1)

Critics' Rank: #29

Genre: Indie Rock, Noise Pop

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33 | Josh T. Pearson | Last of the Country Gentlemen



Score: 81 points (3 votes)

Biggest Fans: Stephan (#1); SuperFurry (#5)

Critics' Rank: #54

Genre: Singer/Songwriter

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32 | Foo Fighters | Wasting Light



Score: 81 points (3 votes)

Biggest Fans: Slick (#2); Spaz (#3)

Critics' Rank: #42

Genre: Hard Rock

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31 | Bill Callahan | Apocalypse



Score: 86 points (9 votes)

Biggest Fans: Charlie Driggs (#7)

Critics' Rank: #45

Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Americana

The Weeknd ended surprisingly low...

It doesn't seem like R&B is particularly successful on this forum, but still it finished much lower than I was expecting.

Modern RnB is so ridiculous compared to what it used to be

Modern RnB is so ridiculous compared to what it used to be in the 60 70s
Only thing iliked these past 10 yrs is Janelle monae and some erikah b

I understand the complaint. The Weeknd works for me, although it probably wouldn't have finished in my top 20 last year (I didn't like this year much).

In my previous post I didn't count revival/old school acts like Raphael Saadiq, Sharon Jones, Anthony JOseph et al

I enjoyed both EP's (or rather the Compilation) too but felt it was easier to round down my lists by excluding any EPs and Compilations altogether. Hence no entries like Triptych by Demdike Stare or Enough Thunder by James Blake either.

@ Dan M: Nice work so far. Will making sure to list the few releases on this that I (shamefully) never got around to listening to.

30 | Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi | Rome



Score: 96 points (4 votes)

Biggest Fans: SuperFurry (#1); Romain (#5)

Critics' Rank: #131

Genre: Progressive Pop

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29 | Wilco | The Whole Love



Score: 104 points (8 votes)

Biggest Fans: Brad (#4); Matski (#4); Rocky Raccoon (#5)

Critics' Rank: #15

Genre: Alt-Country, Alternative Rock

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28 | Battles | Gloss Drop



Score: 107 points (4 votes)

Biggest Fans: Michel (#1); Charlie Driggs (#2)

Critics' Rank: #53

Genre: Math Rock, Neo-Prog

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27 | Smith Westerns | Dye It Blonde



Score: 108 points (5 votes)

Biggest Fans: Ddiamondd(#1); Zorg (#4)

Critics' Rank: #97

Genre: Indie Rock, Power Pop

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26 | Matana Roberts | Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres



Score: 111 points (5 votes)

Biggest Fans: sonofsamiam (#1); schaefer.tk (#2)

Critics' Rank: #133

Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz

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25 | Nicolas Jaar | Space Is Only Noise



Score: 123 points (9 votes)

Biggest Fan: Mindrocker (#2)

Critics' Rank: #24

Genre: Left-Field House

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24 | The Decemberists | The King Is Dead



Score: 129 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fans: Vanillafire1000 (#2); Slick (#3)

Critics' Rank: #46

Genre: Folk Rock, Country Rock

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23 | Cults | Cults



Score: 132 points (4 votes)

Biggest Fans: Tim E (#1); Vanillafire 1000 (#1)

Critics' Rank: #69

Genre: Indie Rock, Twee Pop

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22 | Shabazz Palaces | Black Up



Score: 139 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fans: Otisredding (#2); Evan (#3); Mindrocker (#4); antonius (#5)

Critics' Rank: #16

Genre: Experimental Hip Hop

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21 | The Antlers | Burst Apart



Score: 139 points (8 votes)

Biggest Fans: Stephan (#2); SuperFurry (#3)

Critics' Rank: #30

Genre: Indie Rock, Dream Pop

don't forget about d'angelo! who is BACK btw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xs_2JKTHYJU#%21

?uestlove said that his new album is like the "black Smile"

Funnily enough, I just returned from a Wild Flag concert, and I very much wish I had voted for them now! It's just like Sleater-Kinney, but to me it feels a little more loose. On stage they look like they're having an absolute blast.

Wild Beasts seems to have been forgotten - it got released and there was a little bit of hype around it, but I swear I've heard no one talk about it for the last 6 months. It's really curious, because I think it's a great album.

Great presentation and list so far. Having a relatively small group of voters can make for some cool results.

I voted for Passed Me By and We Stay Together as a package because that seemed to be the way most publications recognized them. Scary as hell is probably the best way to describe both of these releases--this is some of the slowest, heaviest electronic music out there. I think the cover goes very well with the music, which has a tribal, almost ritualistic feel to it. I'd recommend listening in your car or on a speaker system with good bass, as the bass on these albums is absolutely tremendous.

Only problem is there really isn't a standout track. "Execution" would be a good place to start, but my favorites are "Intermittent" and "Cracked." Really, you should just listen to Passed Me By as a whole since it's only 33 minutes long, then check out We Stay Together (which itself is only 37 minutes long) if you like what you hear.

New R&B is really just dance pop.

Great results so far. Would have liked Nicolas Jaar a bit higher, but pleased to see Ry Cooder make the top 20.

Me too.

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20 | Ry Cooder | Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down



Score: 144 points (5 votes)

Biggest Fans: Dan M (#1); nicolas (#2)

Critics' Rank: #173

Genre: Roots Rock, Comtemporary Folk & Blues

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19 | TV on the Radio | Nine Types of Light



Score: 149 points (8 votes)

Biggest Fans: John (#2); Michel (#3); Rocky Raccoon (#4)

Critics' Rank: #61

Genre: Indie Rock, Art Rock

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18 | Kurt Vile | Smoke Ring for My Halo



Score: 151 points (6 votes)

Biggest Fans: Zorg (#1); Ddiamondd (#2); dr_Robert (#4)

Critics' Rank: #12

Genre: Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Psychedelic Folk

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17 | Lykke Li | Wounded Rhymes



Score: 156 points (7 votes)

Biggest Fans: Dan M (#2); dr_Robert (#3); Rocky Raccoon (#3); Spaz (#5)

Critics' Rank: #22

Genre: Indie Pop

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16 | The Black Keys | El Camino



Score: 173 points (11 votes)

Biggest Fans: Dan M (#3); Romain (#3); Gillingham (#4)

Critics' Rank: #38

Genre: Garage Rock, Blues Rock

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15 | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | Belong



Score: 175 points (7 votes)

Biggest Fans: Slick (#1); Greg (#2); John (#3)

Critics' Rank: #87

Genre: Alternative/Indie Rock, Shoegaze

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14 | Gang Gang Dance | Eye Contact



Score: 179 points (9 votes)

Biggest Fans: BillAdama (#2); sonofsamiam (#2); Petri (#3); Ddiamondd (#5)

Critics' Rank: #35

Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Alternative Dance

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13 | tUnE-yArDs | w h o k i l l



Score: 182 points (14 votes)

Biggest Fans: Jonah (#4); Otisredding (#4)

Critics' Rank: #10

Genre: Art Pop, Indie Pop

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12 | Fucked Up | David Comes to Life



Score: 187 points (10 votes)

Biggest Fans: Evan (#1); Ddiamondd (#4); Reed (#5)

Critics' Rank: #20

Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock/Punk

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11 | The Roots | Undun



Score: 213 points (12 votes)

Biggest Fans: Charlie Driggs (#1); Dan M (#4); nicolas (#5); sonofsamiam (#5)

Critics' Rank: #73

Genre: Conscious Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop

Great placements for TV on the Radio and the Roots. Critics whiffed on those two albums.

TV on the Radio is the most puzzlingly overlooked album of the year to me. Sure it's not as good as Dear Science, but DS finished number 3 for 2008, and it's not that far off. The Fleet Foxes also put out an album that is universally considered not as good as their `08 effort, yet it was way more acclaimed. Why is TVotR not cool all of a sudden?

10 | St. Vincent | Strange Mercy



Score: 226 points (13 votes)

Biggest Fans: Moonbeam (#2); Reed (#2); Chris K (#3); BillAdama (#5)

Critics' Rank: #9

Genre: Art Pop, Indie Pop

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9 | M83 | Hurry Up, We're Dreaming



Score: 241 points (9 votes)

Biggest Fans: Greg (#1); musictoad (#1); Matski (#2); Moonbeam (#3); Chris K (#5)

Critics' Rank: #8

Genre: Synth Pop, Indie Electronic

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8 | Radiohead | The King of Limbs



Score: 250 points (14 votes)

Biggest Fans: Chris K (#4); Michel (#4); Gillingham (#5); Mindrocker (#5); Slick (#5)

Critics' Rank: #13

Genre: Electronic, Experimental Rock

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7 | James Blake | James Blake



Score: 267 points (10 votes)

Biggest Fans: Mindrocker (#1); antonius (#2); Nick (#2); Otisredding (#3); Charlie Driggs (#4)

Critics' Rank: #3

Genre: Indie Electronic, Dubstep

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6 | Destroyer | Kaputt



Score: 272 points (12 votes)

Biggest Fans: Reed (#1); Petri (#2); Zorg (#2); Jonah (#3); Nick (#3); Evan (#5)

Critics' Rank: #5

Genre: Sophisti-Pop, Art Pop

I'm surprised at the high placement of Destroyer, considering Destroyer's Rubies never placed that high and I think it's far better than Kaputt. Kaputt seems kind of like Destroyer-by-numbers.

Nine Types Of Light is a good album, but it's not top tier for me. It's not as consistent and doesn't hold up as well to repeated listening.

Good to see St Vincent in top 10, Tom Waits in top 5.

Just because the FF album isn't as good as theit previous doesn't mean it's a bad album
It's still an excellent album IMO. So it deserves good reviews. If I follow you then bands should be given just ONE acclaimed album ? That makes no sense.
And that Radiohead cover is definitely hideous. But should they shit on their covers people here would still love that (i'm kidding)

happy for Ry Cooder's placement, that all he could hope considering the number of people who probably didn't even listend to it. It's spot on the music I love with an expertise on roots music (the JLH imitation, but also the 2 first tracks). The myrics are so great. Looks like only the old guys seem to be concerned about what's happening in their country (see Waits' Hell Broke Luce). here again a nicolas provocation

I think the point Jackson is trying to make is that Nine Types of Light is always compared to Dear Science, and is therefore dismissed because critical opinion says it's less good. Similarly Helplessness Blues is always compared to Fleet Foxes, and most people agree that it's less good, but it doesn't suffer from the same level of dismissal that Nine Types of Light has suffered. The hype surrounding Dear Science was huge, but for some reason, Nine Types of Light seems to have passed by with no one noticing.

These results are great! The only one in the top 10 that I haven't heard properly is M83, but they verge on the annoying to me.

Have to agree in some respects. Nine Types... has a handful of tracks that measure up to their previous catalogue. But on the whole, the album slightly pales compared to their three, previous releases. I just couldn't include it in the top 50 for that reason. Similar sentiments go to several other big releases last year, like King of Limbs. Still, you'll always get fans who are more lenient and so long as these consistent bands deliver something half-decent their placement in many EoY lists practically becomes a forgone conclusion...

Helplessness Blues on the other hand stands close to their first album. I get the feeling that typical of most band's second albums, many people got bored of FF after all the hype around their previous album and promptly forget about them.

Good post.

Yeah, as much as I enjoyed reading Carrie's blog on NPR, there was always a feeling that being behind the guitar rather then the pen was where she's destined to be. Still to see Wild Flag live but there was no way I was leaving the album off the list.

As for Wild Beasts, Smother is a marvellous record. They can be quite a divisive band, mainly due to those wiry, falsetto vocals but if people are willing to look past that initial reaction they'll find a great balance between wonderfully tender/twisted lyrics and sublime, crystalline songcraft.

It's not that it's not as good as Dear Science, so much as it sounds like a rehash of things TVOTR has already done, and that makes the individual songs very unmemorable. Same with Fleet Foxes. It's fine not to be as good as you were before, but if you're not, you should at least be doing something different than you did before, or else why shouldn't I just listen to the original instead?

I wonder if part of Kaputt's high placement is just because it was on top of Megacritic and that got the people who listened to fewer albums to listen to it.

Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues benefits from repeated listening. After multiple spins, TV on the Radio's Nine Types of Light sounds like a good but slightly watered down version of their best work, but on closer inspection Helplessness Blues has a more expansive sound than the band's debut and there's something new and modern (and quite euphoric) happening beneath the surface IMHO.

The top 5 is still on for 5.30pm forum time.

I don't think that Helplessness Blues is the same as the one before. It's more folky, less focused, and there's a more varied instrumentation. And we're dealing with a folk band. Why would bands always do something DIFFERENT, sthg NEW ? that is typical of indie fans. Even if it's shit, it's different so it's good : nonsense.It is music, not R&D we're talking about.
FF is a traditional singer-songwriter band and I think Pecknold granted us with a fantastic album. I prefer the first one, but I still want to hear Helplessness again and again for its brilliant musical textures, and as DanM stressed, because it's a grower. ANd I don't give a f if they're not cool anymore. I like the seventies, and that band is as good as any 70s band in the same vein.I don't care if they're modern or not, that is not a criterion IMO. I like both FF and Gang Gang Dance because they have this very generous approach of music.

I agree Helplessness Blues benefits from repeated listenings more the Nine Types Of Light. It's been rising on my list, it just never cracked my top 20.

Nicolas, I was quite surprised to see Gang Gang Dance on your list considering that it's... well... electronic music. But I see your point about the album's generous approach. It seems to incorporate a lot of different sounds (my personal favourite part of the album is the South African Kwaito beat that kicks in at 25 seconds into Mindkilla), so taking into account your appreciation of global music it shouldn't surprise me that you like Gang Gang Dance.

Believe me or not, I used to be a big electro fan in the late 90's

My problem with Gang Gang Dance is that it's too front loaded - the first half is amazing, but it justs limps to the end for me. I would love it if they did a 6 song album where the song lengths are 10 minutes or so. IMO the short songs just can't keep up with Glass Jar and Adult Goth.

5 | Girls | Father, Son, Holy Ghost



Score: 298 points (14 votes)

Biggest Fans: Jonah (#1); Brad (#2); Evan (#2); Zorg (#3); John (#5)

Critics' Rank: #11

Genre: Indie Rock

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4 | Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues



Score: 312 points (21 votes)

Biggest Fans: nicolas (#1); Jonah (#2); Dan M (#5); Nick (#5)

Critics' Rank: #4

Genre: Contemporary Folk, Folk Rock

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3 | Bon Iver | Bon Iver, Bon Iver



Score: 351 points (17 votes)

Biggest Fans: Chris K (#1); Nassim (#1); Otisredding (#1); John (#4); Nick (#4)

Critics' Rank: #2

Genre: Indie Folk

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2 | Tom Waits | Bad As Me



Score: 374 points (16 votes)

Biggest Fans: antonius (#1); BillAdama (#1); Rocky Raccoon (#1); Gillingham (#3); nicolas (#3); sonofsamiam (#4)

Critics' Rank: #6

Genre: Roots Rock

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1 | PJ Harvey | Let England Shake



Score: 707 points (27 votes)

Biggest Fans: dr_Robert (#1); Gillingham (#1); Jackson (#1); Matski (#1); Nick (#1)
Chris K (#2); Michel (#2); Rocky Raccoon (#2); Brad (#3); Charlie Driggs (#3)
Reed (#4); musictoad (#5); Otisredding (#5); schaefer.tk (#5); Tim E (#5)

Critics' Rank: #1

Genre: Alternative Singer/Songwriter

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WOW. What a huge win, and deserved too. I'm very very happy with that top 5 indeed. Thanks a lot Dan M!

Looks like I should have explained myself a little more. The statement I was trying to make is completely independent of the quality of the actual albums. I happen to think TV on the Radio is the best band of the last 10 years and respect the Fleet Foxes more than I like them, but that's not the point.

Over the last two years, there are plenty of examples of critics rewarding artists with high placements while admitting their album doesn't match up to their previous work. Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, The National, and now Fleet Foxes are all huge indie artists that released albums most admitted were subpar to their previous work, yet the albums still were super-acclaimed. This must be, at least in part, because of the reputation and popularity of the artists.

What I want to know is why TV on the Radio isn't in this group. Their previous two albums had made the top five of their given years, yet Nine Types of Light barely even got attention. Even I don't think it's as good as their previous work, but that's not the point. My point, which Zorg seemed to get, was that most of the time big artists can be highly acclaimed even with a subpar album (look at Kanye and Jay-Z this year). Maybe this is because artists release fewer albums these days, maybe it's because some releases are so hyped that critics don't want to look foolish, or maybe it's some other reason. But I just wanted to know why TV on the Radio isn't 'cool' to like anymore.

As far as Nine Types of Light goes, I'll definitely disagree that the individual songs aren't memorable. Second Song, Will Do, and Repetition stand up with the band's best work. There is definitely something about the production that makes the album as a whole less memorable, and it's not a classic. But that doesn't mean TV on the Radio went from being one of the best artists in the world to being also-rans. Usually falls from grace happen when an artist releases a divisive work or something in a completely different style, like Sufjan Stevens last year.

I'm not trying to diss any of the bands I mentioned, I'm just trying to make a general point about today's music criticism that, for some reason, does not seem to apply to TVoTR.


@Zorg I think you are on the money about Eye Contact. Glass Jar is definitely the best song on there. I would like to see them either go to an album of longer songs or a shorter album with better flow like Saint Dympha. Eye Contact was a step backward for them IMO.


EDIT: Looks like my soliloquy got upstaged by the final results. I'm so glad 1 and 2 placed about 3-5. PJ Harvey really deserved this win; Let England Shake was my most played album of the year and only gets better with repeated listens.

PJ Harvey lets AM shake. Great list and thanks Dan M!

Great job. Wonders records. Beautiful photo of our favorite female rocker. And big big big PJ Harvey.

Thanks Dan

Yeesh, what a smiting result from Peej!!! Deserved it every bit.

Interesting to see that the top three here consisted of the same three from Metacritic's, consecutive #1's lists for 2011.

Furthermore, despite all this talk of whether Helplessness Blues is as good as its predecessor, it's great to see it riding so high too.

Hmmm, with Fleet Foxes critics and fans may say their new album isn't as good as the previous one but really the level of positive acclaim levelled at it has very nearly equalled its sibling. If people really do think the latter release is inferior it's not by much at all.

For TV on the Radio, there could be several reasons why the album hasn't held up well. Perhaps many critics felt that in hindsight it wasn't as strong as they originally believed or maybe it's an album that they generally admired but didn't love enough to put on personal lists, etc.

Congrats for the presentation Dan M!

I think PJ is going to dominate critic polls this year. It just came out in February and held everyone's attention all year.

Especially glad to see Waits #2.

Superb presentation, Dan M
And superb list, boys
I haven't listened enough 2011 albums to make a worthy list but the Top 5 of the ones I listened so far could have been:
1. Destroyer - Kaputt
2. James Blake - James Blake
3. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
4. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
5. Fleet Foxes - Helplesness Blues
Not too original, I know...

Nice job, Dan. Winner isn't surprising, but the margin of victory is.

I think this as well. I was shocked when she didn't win the Pazz and Jop poll, and to Tune-Yards of all albums.



But that's where the problem lied. No one thought it was ever great - it just limped. And no matter how bad Nine Types of Light is (not at all imo), it's not limpworthy. It's almost a carbon copy of the style of Dear Science, just slightly less compelling. If you liked the formula of Dear Science, I find it difficult to see how one can dislike the formula of Nine Types of Light. It's as if critics thought that they're has-beens, or that their time is up.

Tune yards won pazz n jop?

That one's kind of a head scratcher. I would have believed a few other ones beating PJ Harvey, like Tom Waits, or even a mainstream one like Adele or that Jay Z/Kanye one that came in third. This list doesn't seem to consistently fit any taste profile at all.

I guess I should give Kaputt another listen. I don't dislike it, it just doesn't seem any different from anything else in his catalog either as Destroyer or with the Pornos. I am totally clueless as to why, if this one is doing so well, why didn't Destroyer's Rubies or his other albums in the interim do this well too?

Thanks a lot Dan! Great results. PJ Harvey just ruled last year singlehandedly. Deservedly so.

I think Low's C'mon just missed out? It's probably in the top 60, I guess.

Thanks for the kind words about the presentation. I really enjoyed putting it together. But my work isn't over yet - stay tuned for next week's songs poll results.

It was #60. The album that was most unlucky not to reach the top 50 was Atlas Sound's Parallax - 6 people voted for it but it only got enough points to end up at #59.