Best Records of 2011

I should definitely be focusing on writing my ten page paper on art and propaganda rather than looking up new bands and compiling this list, but....... This is way more fun. Also, I feel this information is much more vital to society. 

These are my favorite/most listened to albums of 2011. I forced myself to limit the list to these 11, because honestly, there are probably 30 other albums that deserve credit. If you haven’t heard any of these I highly suggest stopping everything you are doing, and devoting a day to listening to every one of them. It will be a day well spent. I won’t put them in numerical order, but anyone that knows me well at all will have guessed by the second they started reading this blog what my number one is.

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes

I know their sophomore album Helplessness Blues came out this year (that is an out of control amazing album too, by the way), but I still chose their self titled album for my list. One reason being, I just discovered the gloriousness of this band/album earlier this year, and  its glory must be praised. From beginning to end my mind was continuously blown, each song is perfect. If I was forced to pick a favorite track, I wouldn’t. But maybe I would say “Blue Ridge Mountains”, and that is only because I am literally listening to that song right now. Also, I love the use of piano. Mostly, this album makes me want to wear a really long ugly corduroy skirt, lay in the grass, and let these bearded beauties serenade me for days on end...in the 70’s.

Drake, Take Care

Yeah, I freakin love Drake. I just do. Minj (my little brother) and I just cannot get enough of this guy. We had been counting down the release of this album since, well about 2 days after we bought the last album. You can never have enough Drake. This album did not disappoint, other than it could have been maybe 3 hours longer. Greedy? Yeah, I am. From the first notes of “Over My Dead Body” I knew I would be fighting off a fit of hyperventilation for the next hour plus. I succeeded, barely. “Doing It Wrong” just about did me in. 

The National, High Violet

I want to start off with an apology that I regrettably had not listened to this band before just a few months ago. I had seen this album, and heard about this band a million times before, but never really listened to them. Why? No freaking idea. For whatever reason, one day I started listening to a song of their’s, and proceeded to listen to every single album they have ever made. ....And continued to listen to them and no one else for the next couple weeks. Clearly, I fell in love. The relationship is still going exceptionally, might I add. They just know how to treat a woman. Simple as that. (Has anyone else noticed that they mention eating cake in their lyrics kind of a lot??)

Radiohead, The Bends

I listen to this album probably too much, every year. So, of course it has to be on the list. I love Radiohead more than I love most people. Often people question me when I tell them The Bends is my favorite Radiohead album. But I question them for The Bends not being their favorite, or at least among their top 3. “Fake Plastic Trees”, “My Iron Long”, “Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was” etc etc. How can you not understand the importance of this album? In all honesty, though, all the Radiohead albums (Pablo Honey excluded, sorry guys) rank at nearly the same place on the scale of “that just freakin blew my mind”...each in their own unique way, of course. Oh, I should mention that The King of Limbs was definitely listened to, by me, a lot this year.

Discovery, L P

There is no way I could not mention this album. Breanna and I have listened to this/had dance parties in the car and/or room to this album one too many times (including last night) for me to leave it unmentioned. Besides the fact that I love the album art, the whole record is freaking nuts! Just listen to “So Insane” once and try to tell me you aren’t going insane with how rad it is. Best dance party music you could ever ever wish for.

Toro Y Moi, Causers of This

By fate alone, I found this band back in February-ish. It was a day to remember. I listened to this album, as well as his others, and nothing else for weeks. I can’t even describe what you would call this type of music besides perfect. I wish more people made music like this. I absolutely love everything about it.

John Legend, Once Again

I am a huge huge R&B fan, and John Legend is one of my absolute favorites. This is probably my favorite album of his; I have short little phases of listening to it and nothing else at least once a month. “Save Room” “Another Again” “Each Day Gets Better” ....I cannot contain myself. Plus, in my opinion John Legend has definitely got that whole GQ thing going on. Well done, sir, well done.

Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago

Words cannot describe my love for this band and album. I first discovered this piece of my soul early this year, and my life hasn’t and never will be the same. I could not have found this album at a better time. It was EXACTLY what I needed at the exact time I found it. In its own beautifully depressing way that makes you want to do nothing else but cry yourself to sleep, this album will completely take over your entire life. That is exactly what it did to me. And I couldn’t have welcomed it more.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

First off, that is the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen, especially on the front of a record. The follow up album to For Emma was more than I could have ever expected. Rather than making you feel sorry for yourself and your crappy love life, this album give you a sense of hope and has an all around much happier feel to it. I bought this album the day it came out back in June and I still listen to it probably more than once a week. Bon Iver means more to me than just about anything else in the world. Overstatement? No. Weird? Sure, but I do not care.

Dear future husband, 
You better hope I feel the same way for you as I do for this music. Thus far, no one has compared. Not even close... I won’t lie, part of me might just be holding out for Justin Vernon himself. He is a genius. And he loves cats. My soul mate? Undoubtedly.

My kind of man. 

Electric Light Orchestra, Time

I had a hard time deciding whether to put this album or their Discovery album on my list, but in the end Time won. Seriously “Ticket to the Moon”, “Another Heart Breaks”, “From the end of the World” are you kidding me?! I can hardly take in such musical perfection. Jeff Lynne, you are an absolute genius.

George Harrison, All Things Must Pass

I want to marry this album. I cannot remember life before it, and I can’t imagine life without it. “I’d Have You Anytime”, “What is Life”, “If Not For You”, “I Live For You”, one of these will be my wedding song. My wedding to George, by the way. He definitely was singing about me, even if I wasn’t necessarily “alive” yet...whatever.

MARIAH CAREY (no specific album of hers was played more than others, but she is continuously played in the story of my life. She just had to be mentioned, because well it’s me, and I’ve been unhealthily in love with her since 1995)

By the way if you are curious, or don’t know me well enough to know what my number one album of 2011 is.... take a guess....

You got it.

BON IVER