Top 100 Albums of 2013

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Music year-end list time.

When I took a peak over some lists from the last couple years, it feels like 2013 was a pretty solid year for interesting music. There were a number of bands who created combinations of sounds like no one else can really lay claim to right now. There were also a number of artists who borrowed from their influences really well and wore them unabashedly on their sleeves to stunning effect. Some of the music I came across was instantly engaging, while other releases were tough listens, with rewarding endings if you were patient enough. Some veterans showed they can still compete with and even outdo the kids, while other seniors fell flat and missed the mark slightly.

As always, I threw the net quite wide in 2013, and got most of my biases and overreactions out of the way along the way. I was able to spend mostly meaningful time with upwards of approximately 250 records this year. Listening to as much new music as possible is quite simply what I like to do more than anything else. Some records were unfortunately brushed over prematurely, and hopefully they will float back into listening circulation in due course. Others just did not work for these ears whatsoever.

So this is where I landed. I reserve the right to shuffle things around, but really if that happens I will be the only one who notices or cares. I wanted to get this up, because I don't have the patience or capacity to bugger around with it anymore. The plan is to follow shortly with more detail, narrative and thoughts on the Top 10.

	Artist	Album
100	The 1975	The 1975
99	Yuck	Glow and Behold
98	St. Lucia	When The Night
97	Beastmilk	Climax
96	Depeche Mode	Delta Machine
95	Sulk	Graceless
94	Frightened Rabbit	Pedestrian Verse
93	!!!	Thr!!!er
92	Wavves	Afraid of Heights
91	Xander Harris	The New Dark Age of Love
90	Franz Ferdinand	Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
89	Visage	Hearts & Knives
88	Surfer Blood	Pythons
87	Lorde	Pure Heroine
86	The Grapes of Wrath	High Road
85	Arctic Monkeys	AM
84	Hilotrons	At Least There's Commotion
83	Johnny Marr	The Messenger
82	Kurt Vile	Walking on A Pretty Daze
81	John Grant	Pale Green Ghosts
80	David Bowie	The Next Day
79	White Lies	Big Tv
78	The Dismemberment Plan	Uncanney Valley
77	James Blake	Overgrown
76	Public Service Broadcasting	Inform - Educate - Entertain
75	My Bloody Valentine	mbv
74	Minor Alps	Get There
73	Janelle Monae	The Electric Lady
72	Queens Of The Stone Age	Like Clockwork
71	Cults	Static
70	Soviet Soviet	Fate
69	Vampire Weekend	Modern Vampires of The City
68	Frankie & The Heartstrings	The Days Run Away
67	Telekinesis	Dormarion
66	Boards of Canada	Tomorrow's Harvest
65	Washed Out	Paracosm
64	These New Puritans	Field of Reeds
63	Little Boots	Nocturnes
62	London Grammar	If You Wait
61	Gauntlet Hair	Stills
60	The KVB	Immaterial Visions
59	Asif Illyas	Synesthesia
58	Miles Kane	Don't Forget Who You Are
57	Shad	Flying Colours
56	Pet Shop Boys	Electric
55	The Black Hollies	Somewhere Between Here and Nowhere
54	By Divine Right	Organized Accidents
53	The National	Trouble Will Find Me
52	Daft Punk	Random Access Memories
51	Everything Everything	Arc
50	Jamie Lidell	Jamie Lidell
49	Jagwar Ma	Howlin
48	Oneohtrix Point Never	R Plus Seven
47	Of Montreal	lousy with sylvianbriar
46	Sebadoh	Defend Yourself
45	Arcade Fire	Reflektor
44	Sigur Ros	Kveikur
43	Chvrches	The Bones of What You Believe
42	Phoenix	Bankrupt!
41	Girls Names	The New Life
40	Haim	Days Are Gone
39	Woodkid	The Golden Age
38	Moderat	II
37	KA	The Night's Gambit
36	Goldfrapp	Tales of Us
35	Midnight Juggernauts	Uncanny Valley
34	Factory Floor	Factory Floor
33	The Hunt	The Hunt Begins
32	Adult.	The Way Things Fall
31	Gary Numan	Splinter
30	Holograms	Forever
29	Classixx	Hanging Gardens
28	The Love Language	Ruby Red
27	Tricky	False Idols
26	Weekend	Jinx
25	Superchunk	I Hate Music
24	The Knife	Shaking The Habitual
23	Suuns	Images du Futur
22	Anna Calvi	One Breath
21	Blood Orange	Cupid Deluxe
20	Mind Spiders	Inhumanistic
19	Tilbury	Northern Comfort
18	Savages	Silence Yourself
17	Sebastien Grainger	Yours To Discover
16	Junip	Junip
15	Frankie Rose	Herein Wild
14	Holy Ghost!	Dynamics
13	Crocodiles	Crimes of Passion
12	OMD	English Electric
11	Empire of The Sun	Ice on The Dune
10	Dutch Uncles	Out of Touch in The Wild
9	Disclosure	Settle
8	Primal Scream	More Light
7	Foals	Holy Fire
6	Polvo	Siberia
5	Mikal Cronin	MCII
4	Suede	Bloodsports
3	Baths	Obsidian
2	Local Natives	Hummingbird
1	Cut Copy	Free Your Mind

Top 100 Songs of 2012

I listened to a lot of music this year. I listen to a lot of music every year, but I really listened to a lot of music this year. The interesting thing, admittedly, is that usually the 100 song list gets a bit watered down after about 60 or 70. Sequencing is always an over thought exercise subject to endless scrutiny even well after the fact, but in many years the last twenty tracks have sometimes felt like a stretch. Not in 2012.

There was a lot of great music released over the past twelve months. A lot of folks said they had not heard many of the records in my recent Top 100 Albums of 2012 post. On one hand it's odd, because to me my lists feel pretty safe and almost mainstream compared to a lot of stuff I've seen out there. On the other hand though, it's cool if it means people are getting introduced to interesting music they either don't have time to find on their own.

Regardless of what people like or how they view the tracks on this list, the approach I always take is to let the strength of a song stand on its own. I don't purposely go looking for kitschy pop to mix in with pretentious Brit noise pop, nor do I avoid fun radio friendly type songs if they are well written and sincere in their intent. I was chatting with a friend tonight, and we were saying it's not cool to like Hall & Oates because they're funny or kitschy. It's cool because they wrote really solid legitimate songs. You can't fake good songwriting and regardless of whether everything on this list works for everyone, there is at least a common vibe of these artists putting together some pretty great melodies and clever words.

Anyway here's the list. Hoping to break out the Top 10 with a seperate written detail post in the next little while.

Here is also a link to the Playlist for this on Rdio
(with six replacement tracks tacked on the end to make 100 - for the ones missing/unavailable in rdio currently)

http://rd.io/x/QV5AJjNUz_s

100	Band of Horses	Knock Knock
99	Santigold	Disparate Youth
98	Neon Trees	Everybody Talks
97	Chiddy Bang	Ray Charles
96	Tribes	We Were Children
95	The Twilight Sad	Don't Look At Me
94	Spector	Grey Shirt & Tie
93	Frank Ocean	Pyramids
92	Liars	His and Mine Sensations
91	Keane	Silenced By The Night
90	The Maccabees	Pelican
89	Lightships	Sweetness in Her Spark
88	Yukon Blonde	Radio
87	Big Boi	Shoes For Running
86	Lower Dens	Candy
85	Two Door Cinema Club	Sleep Alone
84	Shearwater	You As You Were
83	Wintersleep	In Came The Flood
82	Saint Etienne	I've Got Your Music
81	Melody's Echo Chamber	You Won't Be Missing That Part of Me
80	Tame Impala	Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
79	Light Asylum	Heart of Dust
78	Miike  Snow	The Wave
77	Cat Power	Cherokee
76	Nas	You Wouldn't Understand
75	Rufus Wainwright	Out Of The Game
74	The Temper Trap	Need Your Love
73	Soul Asylum	Gravity
72	Camouflage Nights	Five Five Minutes
71	Django Django	Storm
70	Animal Collective	Applesauce
69	Of Mosters and Men	Mountain Sound
68	Grizzly Bear	Yet Again
67	Pet Shop Boys	Leaving
66	Muse	Madness
65	Amos The Transparent	Says The Spark
64	Cadence Weapon	Conditioning
63	Jon K. Sampson	When I Write My Masters Thesis
62	Ultravox	Live
61	Smashing Pumpkins	Inkless
60	Seapony	Outside
59	Richard Hawley	She Brings The Sunlight
58	Chromatics	Lady
57	The Helio Sequence	October
56	Sleighbells	Comeback Kid
55	Young Rival	Two Reasons
54	Brothertiger	Lovers
53	Deerhoof	Fete D'Adieu
52	Paul Banks	Young Again
51	Dragonette	Live In This City
50	Electric Guest	This Head I Hold
49	Alt-J	Breezeblocks
48	Minus The Bear	Steel and Blood
47	Best Coast	The Only Place
46	Memoryhouse	The Kids Were Wrong
45	Joel Plaskett Emergency	You're Mine
44	Dinosaur Jr.	Watch The Corners
43	White Rabbits	Heavy Metal
42	Van She	Idea Of Happiness
41	Cloud Nothings	Stay Useless
40	Eight and A Half	Go Ego
39	Lotus Plaza	Strangers
38	Ben Browning	I Can't Stay
37	Delta Spirit	California
36	Matt & Kim	Let's Go
35	Bahamas	Caught Me Thinking
34	Mike O'Neill	Colin
33	Crocodiles	Endless Flowers
32	The Shins	No Way Down
31	Tegan & Sara	Closer
30	Grimes	Oblivion
29	fun.	Why Am I The One
28	The xx	Sunset
27	Frankie Rose	Know Me
26	Field Music	Guillotine
25	Brendan Benson	What Kind of World
24	Jaill	Everyone's A Bitch
23	Diamond Rings	Runaway Love
22	Citizens!	True Romance
21	Imperial Teen	Out From The Inside
20	Japandroids	Adrenaline Nightshift
19	Bear In Heaven	The Reflection of You
18	School Of Seven Bells	The Night
17	Tanlines	All Of Me
16	Wild Nothing	Shadow
15	Beach House	Myth
14	Of Montreal	Spiteful Intervention
13	Ladyhawke	Black White & Blue
12	Diiv	Sometime
11	Kylie Minogue	Timebomb
10	Gypsy & The Cat	Bloom
9	The Presets	Youth In Trouble
8	Bob Mould	The Descent
7	Yeasayer	Reagan's Skeleton
6	Purity Ring	Fineshrine
5	Redd Kross	Stay Away From Downtown
4	The Walkmen	Heaven
3	Divine Fits	Would That Not Be Nice
2	Twin Shadow	Five Seconds
1	Hot Chip	Don't Deny Your Heart

Top 100 Albums of 2012

Weird year. Cool year, but weird. For these ears, my favourite records this year didn't so much push boundaries, but rather borrowed from the past really really well. Records that sound heavily influenced by another era are a delicate matter. A lot of those types of albums this year sounded like 2012 wrapped nicely in 1980's or 1960's bows and ribbons, rather than the shameful gimmicky type of homage that happens far too frequently.

So for as many year end lists that will see the likes of Animal Collective and Godspeed You! Black Emperor on top (much respect to both - they're in here), it would be pretty disingenuous if my top picks didn't showcase the tremendous sincere pop music that made it into my headphones most often throughout 2012. My lists will almost always default to clever, genuine, heartfelt melodies and lyrics, and brevity. Hopefully this one is representative of that.

As with any major list undertaking, and similar to previous years, I have a reckoning that sequencing gets inherently dodgy after about the top 50. Also no amount of additional tinkering is going to make me more okay with it, and within 15 minutes of posting, I'll regret 75% of this, but here goes.......

100	Clinic	Free Reign
99	Kid Koala	12 Bit Blues
98	Orbital	Wonky
97	Spiritualized	Sweet Heart Sweet Light
96	Ceremony	Zoo
95	And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead	Lost Songs
94	Camouflage Nights	Camouflage Nights
93	Electric Guest	Mondo
92	Actress	R.I.P.
91	The Maccabees	Given To The Wild
90	Dirty Projectors	Swing Lo Magellan
89	Sleigh Bells	Reign of Terror
88	Cloud Nothings	Attack on Memory
87	Lotus Plaza	Spooky Action at A Distance
86	The Raveonettes	Observator
85	Bahamas	Barchords
84	Tribes	Baby
83	Light Asylum	Light Asylum
82	Lower Dens	Nootropics
81	Howler	America Give Up
80	Gypsy & The Cat	The Late Blue
79	Dead Can Dance	Anastasis
78	Nas	Life Is Good
77	Melody's Echo Chamber	Melody's Echo Chamber
76	Seapony	Falling
75	Richard Hawley	Standing At The Sky's Edge
74	John K. Samson	Provincial
73	Spector	Enjoy It While It Lasts
72	Menomena	Moms
71	The Evens	The Odds
70	Missions Of Burma	Unsound
69	Crystal Castles	Crystal Castles (III)
68	Young Rival	Stay Young
67	A.C. Newman	Shut Down The Streets
66	Wintersleep	Hello Hum
65	Errors	Have Some Faith in Magic
64	Cat Power	Sun
63	Joel Plaskett Emergency	Scrappy Happiness
62	Humans	Traps
61	Citizens!	Here We Are
60	Grizzly Bear	Shields
59	Bats For Lashes	The Haunted Man
58	Deerhoof	Breakup Song
57	Jaill	Traps
56	Japandroids	Celebration Rock
55	Eight and A Half	Eight and A Half
54	Lightships	Electric Cables
53	Cadence Weapon	Hope In Dirt City
52	Matt & Kim	Lightning
51	Best Coast	The Only Place
50	Sigur Ros	Valtari
49	The Walkmen	Heaven
48	Animal Collective	Centipede Hz
47	Dinosaur Jr.	I Bet On Sky
46	Pet Shop Boys	Elysium
45	Liars	WIXIW
44	Vcmg	SSSS
43	The Shins	Port of Morrow
42	Saint Etienne	Words and Music by Saint Etienne
41	White Rabbits	Milk Famous
40	Paul Banks	Banks
39	Mike O'Neill	Wild Lines
38	Yukon Blonde	Tiger Talk
37	New Build	Yesterday Was Lived and Lost
36	Shearwater	Animal Joy
35	Mystery Jets	Radlands
34	The Helio Sequence	Negotiations
33	Brendan Benson	What Kind of World
32	Ultravox	Brilliant
31	Crocodiles	Endless Flowers
30	Godspeed You! Black Emperor	Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
29	Tame Impala	Lonerism
28	Van She	Idea of Happiness
27	Brothertiger	Golden Years
26	Bob Mould	Silver Age
25	Two Door Cinema Club	Beacon
24	Of Montreal	Paralytic Stalks
23	Frankie Rose	Interstellar
22	Imperial Teen	Feel The Sound
21	Django Django	Django Django
20	Ladyhawke	Anxiety
19	Field Music	Plumb
18	Chromatics	Kill For Love
17	Yeasayer	Fragrant World
16	Grimes	Visions
15	Alt-J	An Awesome Wave
14	The xx	Coexist
13	Diiv	Oshin
12	Diamond Rings	Free Dimensional
11	Beach House	Bloom
10	The Presets	Pacifica
9	Purity Ring	Shrines
8	Bear In Heaven	I Love You, It's Cool
7	Tanlines	Mixed Emotions
6	Wild Nothing	Nocturne
5	Hot Chip	In Our Heads
4	School Of Seven Bells	Ghostory
3	Divine Fits	A Thing Called Divine Fits
2	Twin Shadow	Confess
1	Redd Kross	Researching The Blues

Concert Review: Morrissey - Boston - October 5, 2012

The Smiths were not always my favourite band. Even during their active period between 1984-1988, as a younger pre-high school version of my current music nerd self, I had huge respect for what Marr and Morrissey were doing artistically and sonically, but it was simply just not where I was keeping my musical brain at the time. I rediscovered and embraced The Smiths in the early to mid 90's and felt better equipped to appreciate how important and influential they had been. They have now been my favourite band for about twenty years, but Morrissey's solo work has always been a bit of a different (well treated) animal.

Living in a medium sized Canadian city, slightly off the beaten path, means only occasionally having major well known artists show up to play in your town. Add to that a singer who will no longer play shows in your country until the seal hunt is abolished, and it basically means you have to travel somewhere else if you want to see Morrissey in 2012 (the irony is not lost on having to leave Canada to see Moz in the U.S. given the similar if not even shittier track record of animal treatment in the States). I could say seeing Morrissey perform live was a life long dream, but it's probably more genuine to call it a dream of sorts that was a long time in the making.

Friday night in Boston was Morrissey's first show of his 2012 American tour. The venue was Wang Theatre. A perfect setting as it turns out for an evening with my generation's finest singer and lyricist. Even before joining the ranks of legitimate Morrissey fans, I was acutely aware of how fanatical his diehards were. Friday night was confirmation of this fact, but also how generally respectful and engaged they are as concert goers. It was refreshing to be at a show where many were enjoying beers, but were there not to party or to get wasted, but to listen to his words and dance to the wonderful melodies. It was also nice to see that 1980's originated independent Brit music has not completely skipped generations and there are at least some under 30's plugged into and keeping the spirit of The Smiths and Morrissey alive and well.

There is always anticipation, and to some extent trepidation, when speculating about a setlist, especially when it feels like your one shot at seeing a really special artist you have wanted to see for such a long time. Friday night's mix of Morrissey's songs was hardly disappointing, but perhaps fascinating. Many aging artists fall into the trap of blasting through "the hits". Fair game. In many cases that is exactly what their paying fans are looking for. Morrissey however, was an "alternative" artist before the term lost all meaning. What alternative did and should mean is to not do what is typically expected by most people. The set started down a very cool and comfortable path, then evolved into something even less obvious. Brilliant I say.

The show kickstarted with "You Have Killed Me" from 2006's Ringleader of The Tormentors. Morrissey's voice was solid, having clearly lost next to no range over the years, and the band sounded incredibly tight right out of the gate, all of them of course wearing shirts emblazoned with Ringling Beats Animals. Next was the most pleasant surprise to these ears with the choice of "Alma Matters." Maladjusted has always been a bit underrated in my opinion, but this is one of my three favourite Morrissey songs and I was not expecting to hear it on this night. There was definitely some jumping up and down and ear to ear grinning, I cannot lie. Similarly was the inclusion next of "You're The One For Me, Fatty." The set continued initially with what I would describe as a nice balance of songs from his full solo catalogue and bits of The Smiths. Nothing too obscure, but no huge tracks except perhaps the full audience participated "Everyday Is Like Sunday."

Then a subtle shift happened, where the songs continued to be strong and all naturally fluid within the set, but more on the obscure, heavier and less jingly side of Moz's work. Cool lesser known Vauxhall and I songs like "Spring-Heeled Jim" and "Speedway". A song like "Fantastic Bird", which to my knowledge was only on the 2009 Sony version of Southpaw Grammar. New songs like "People Are The Same Everywhere" and "Scandinavia", which I don't believe have ever been released, but were unveiled during tour and tv spots in 2011. Throw in a Frankie Valli cover and it is fair to say that anyone who was dying for a greatest hits show might have been disappointed. My sense though, is most of us just wanted to see one of the most charming, clever, passionate, and respectful artists of all time share his words and melodies, regardless of which ones he decided on for this evening.

Of course, he took the opportunity to drop "Meat Is Murder" into the set, accompanied by a Peta prepared video graphic of animal slaughter and mistreatment. Even for those of us who already subscribe to doing our best with a cruelty free lifestyle and even with the risk of preaching to the choir, it was an important and uncomfortable reality to sit through and a reminder that this man was waving the animal rights flag well before it was at all acceptable to do so. I desperately wanted to be somewhere else during those five minutes even hearing him sing such a great song, but I am so glad he has stuck to his guns on this issue, even if like so many of us, his hypocrisies are occasionally on display for all.

The Smiths material was perfectly chosen and placed over the evening, and not necessarily what people were there to hear. Morrissey has been making music on his own almost seven times as long as he was in The Smiths. Not all of it has hit the mark, but again much like this show, he has never made the same record twice and he has never produced music that was particularly representative of what was popular or making other artists rich at a particular point in time. Ending the night with a one song encore of "How Soon Is Now?" was perfect. Right down to what should have been the ridiculous and embarrassing spectacle of a 50+ year old man ripping off his shirt and throwing it into the audience.

The lasting images I will take with me however epitomize how Morrissey is often misunderstood. I will think of him handing the mic to audience members to share "a word", knowing they could be trusted to be respectful and brief. I will think of him allowing (much to the chagrin of Wang Theatre security) fans to steal a reciprocated hug if they were able to get on stage. Mostly I will think of him, unlike so many bloated aging redundant artists from his era and beyond, as smart, classy, stylish, gracious and appreciative that so many people still adore him. Morrissey has always been the best at making people feel okay about not being alone in how they feel sometimes, in a world that makes it tough to be okay with feeling like Morrissey does.

It was a perfect evening, full of perfect songs, by a perfect artist.

Setlist:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/morrissey/2012/citi-performing-arts-center-boston-ma-53dd3fcd.html

Top 100 Songs of 2011

I spent a lot of time fine tuning the song list this year, to ultimately get to the same conclusion. The Top 20-30 are likely most representative of what my ears respnded best to over the last 12 months. After that, it's a  lot of cool songs that could be sequenced lots of different ways. This always seems more like an exercise in curation than critique, but it continues to be fun nonethlesss. One song per artist. Also, I did not purposely choose a 9 minute dance track by a Canadian elctro pop duo from the Hammer, but it's sort of cool how that worked out.  Here goes.

	Title	Artist
100	Cave Song	Wu Lyf
99	Phantoms	Young Galaxy
98	New Lands	Justice
97	Then It's White	The Field
96	Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)	Foster The People
95	Get Together	The Human League
94	Into The Trees	Still Corners
93	My House	Hercules & Love Affair
92	First Light	My Morning Jacket
91	Badaboom	Tapes N Tapes
90	Night is Young	Southern Shores
89	When I Start (To Break It All Down)	Erasure
88	Got It All (This Can'r Be Living Now)	Portugal. The Man
87	Rider	Okkervil River
86	You Was Me	Jonny
85	Every Tear Is A Waterfall	Coldplay
84	I Walked Alone	Yacht
83	She Walks In So Many Ways	The Jayhawks
82	Fragments	Thievery Corporation
81	Magic	The Sound of Arrows
80	Over You	Cat's Eyes
79	One Time	The Roots
78	Bigger Than Us	White Lies
77	Towers	Bon Iver
76	Woods	The Rosebuds
75	Katzenjammer	Big Talk
74	Bizness	tUnE-yArDs
73	Caffeinated Consciousness	TV On The Radio
72	Funny Word	Deer Tick
71	Heart Attack	Raphael Saadiq
70	Keep You	Class Actress
69	Under Cover of Darkness	The Strokes
68	In The Grace Of Your Love	The Rapture
67	End of The Night	Smith Westerns
66	Solid Ground	PNAU
65	Where Are You	J Mascis
64	L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.	Noah and the Whale
63	San Pedro	Mogwai
62	Baby Missiles	The War On Drugs
61	If You Wanna	The Vaccines
60	The Look	Metronomy
59	Beat & The Pulse	Austra
58	Gutter Rainbows	Talib Kweli
57	Annihilation Eyes	Maritime
56	Turn Off This Song and Go Outside	The Lonely Forest
55	Wilderness	The Horror The Horror
54	Palomino	Mates of State
53	Shine Like Stars	Glasvegas
52	Forever In Armitron	BOAT
51	Omega Dog	The Dears
50	Austere	The Joy Formidable
49	Alex	Girls
48	Memories of The Future	Handsome Furs
47	Living Is So Easy	British Sea Power
46	Positive	Dog Day
45	Ice Cream	Battles
44	Shuffle	Bombay Bicycle Club
43	It	Rich Aucoin
42	Able	Gavin Friday
41	Blue Cassette	Friendly Fires
40	Abducted	Cults
39	Open Arms	Elbow
38	Itchin' On A Photograph	Grouplove
37	Blue Jeans	Lana Del Rey
36	Queen Of Hearts	Fucked Up
35	Black Hand Style	Pharoahe Monche
34	Unkind	Sloan
33	Last Night At The Jetty	Panda Bear
32	Everything Works	Miracle Fortress
31	Electric Band	Wild Flag
30	Bed of Nails	Wild Beasts
29	I Might	Wilco
28	Ungrateful	Frankie & The Heartstrings
27	Days	The Drums
26	Amor Fati	Washed Out
25	Do It Again	Holy Ghost!
24	Young Glass	Hey Rosetta!
23	Bedroom Eyes	Dum Dum Girls
22	Underneath The Sycamore	Death Cab For Cutie
21	The Last Living Rose	PJ Harvey
20	Punching In A Dream	The Naked & Famous
19	How'd You Like That	The Kooks
18	Baby Don't Dance	Mother Mother
17	Get Some	Lykke Li
16	Please Ask For Help	Telekinesis
15	Pacing Around The Church	Cold Cave
14	Re-Wired	Kasabian
13	Somebody That I Used to Know	Gotye
12	The Long Goodbye	Army Navy
11	New Beat	Toro Y Moi
10	Get Away	Yuck
9	Second Chance	Peter Bjorn & John
8	Future Starts Slow	The Kills
7	Heaven's Gonna Happen Now	The Pains of Being Pure Heart
6	Take Me Over	Cut Copy
5	It's Real	Real Estate
4	Lotus Flower	Radiohead
3	Midnight City	M83
2	Still Life	The Horrors
1	Banana Ripple	Junior Boys

Top 100 Albums of 2011

Sort of a strange yet cool year in music. There did not seem to be as many of the highly innovative, boundary pushing type artists releasing music this year (whoever they are). There did however, seem to be a lot of great bands who are not afraid to borrow from other great bands, past and present, and while proudly wearing their influences on their sleeves, they are still able to put a fresh, current and relevant spin on some very familiar sounds. My number one choice this year especially speaks to this.

The other part I liked about musical 2011, was it presented a really great collection of albums where bands weren't afraid to write 3-4 minute pop songs. Some of them lean more to the jingle jangle guitar fuzz skew, while the electro pop brigade bands continue to produce danceable pop that often incorporates organic and stringed bits when necessary. Some of the albums received fairly prominant profile, while as always there was some great music that perhaps slots more snuggly into traditional indie and internet based obscura.

Regardless, after painstaking compiling and curation efforts, I have done my best to sequence things with some sense of passion and bias recognition. The Top 50 is reasonably spot on, the next 50 are great, but sequencing of course would tend to be more loose. As with any list a self proclaimed music nerd puts together, it is within minutes of hitting "post" I will undoubtedly have regrets and contempt. For the moment though, here are 100 albums that worked pretty well for me in 2011.

	ARTIST	TITLE
100	Dawes	Nothing Is Wrong
99	Erasure	Tomorrow's World
98	Mister Heavenly	Out of Love
97	Still Corners	Creatures of An Hour
96	Crystal Stilts	In Love With oblivion
95	Raphael Saadiq	Stone Rollin'
94	Portugal. The Man	In The Mountain In The Cloud
93	Tapes N Tapes	Outside
92	Okkervil River	I Am Very Far
91	Human League	Credo
90	British Sea Power	Valhalla Dancehall
89	Wu Lyf	Go Tell Fire to The Mountain
88	Gang Gang Dance	Eye Contact
87	Peaking Lights	936
86	Matthew Good	Lights of Endangered Species
85	Big Talk	Big Talk
84	The Lonely Forest	Arrows
83	Sloan	The Double Cross
82	The Sound of Arrows	Voyage
81	Rich Aucoin	We're All Dying to Live
80	White Lies	Ritual
79	The Antlers	Burst Apart
78	The Rapture	Grace Of Your Love
77	Young Galaxy	Shapeshifting
76	The Field	Looping State of Mind
75	The Horror The Horror	Wilderness
74	Austra	Feel It Break
73	The Jayhawks	Mockingbird Time
72	The Strokes	Angles
71	Thievery Corporation	Culture of Fear
70	Cold Play	Mylo Xyloto
69	TV On the Radio	Nine Types of Light
68	Talib Kweli	Gutter Rainbows
67	Girls	Father, Son, Holy Ghost
66	The War on Drugs	Slave Ambient
65	BOAT	Dress Like Your Idols
64	The Dears	Degeneration Street
63	The Rosebuds	Loud Planes Fly Low
62	Glasvegas	Euphoric Heartbreak
61	Gotye	Making Mirrors
60	Hercules & Love Affair	Blue Songs
59	PNAU	Soft Universe
58	Peter Bjorn & John	Gimme Some
57	Cat's Eyes	Cat's Eyes
56	My Morning Jacket	Circuital
55	Deer Tick	Divine Providence
54	Jonny	Jonny
53	Roots	Undun
52	Noah And The Whale	Las Night On Earth
51	Mogwai	Hardcore Will Never Die
50	Bombay Bicycle Club	A Different Kind of Fix
49	Wilco	The Whole Love
48	Class Actress	Rapproacher
47	Maritime	Human Hearts
46	The Joy Formidable	The Big Roar
45	Grouplove	Never Trust A Happy Song
44	The Vaccines	What Did you Expect From The Vaccines?
43	Washed Out	Within and Without
42	Smith Westerns	Dye It Blonde
41	Fucked Up	David Comes to Life
40	J Mascis	Several Shades of Why
39	Mates of State	Mountaintops
38	Metronomy	The English Riviera
37	Gavin Friday	Catholic
36	Battles	Glass Drop
35	Dog Day	Deformer
34	Cults	Cults
33	Mother Mother	Eureka
32	Pharoahe Monch	W.A.R.
31	Friendly Fires	Pala
30	Toro Y Moi	Underneath The Pines
29	Handsome Furs	Sound Kapital
28	The Drums	Portamento
27	Death Cab For Cutie	Codes & Keys
26	Bon Iver	Bon Iver
25	Frankie & The Heartstrings	Hunger
24	Dum Dum Girls	Only in Dreams
23	Hey Rosetta!	Seeds
22	The Kooks	Junk Of The Heart
21	Miracle Fortress	Was I The Wave?
20	Wild Flag	Wild Flag
19	Telekinesis	12 Desperate Straight Lines
18	Holy Ghost!	Holy Ghost!
17	The Kills	Blood Pressure
16	Cold Cave	Cherish The Light Years
15	Army Navy	The Last Place
14	Radiohead	King of Limbs
13	Yuck	Yuck
12	Elbow	Build A Rocket Boys
11	The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart	Belong
10	Panda Bear	Tomboy
9	Lykke Li	Wounded Rhymes
8	Real Estate	Days
7	PJ Harvey	Let England Shake
6	M83	Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
5	Wild Beasts	Smother
4	Junior Boys	It's All True
3	Kasabian	Velociraptor!
2	Cut Copy	Zonoscope
1	The Horrors	Skying

Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2011

So much more amazing music released over the past year here in the Great White North. It was really tough to narrow it all down to 10, and then to rank them. Seems like a perfect way to get the year end-end musical round up started.

10. Young Galaxy - Shapeshifter

9. Austra - Feel It Break

8. The Dears - Degeneration Street

7. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life

6. Dog Day - Deformer

5. Mother Mother - Eureka

4. Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

3. Hey Rosetta! - Seeds

2. Miracle Fortress - Was I The Wave?

 1. Junior Boys - It's All True