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