Best Albums of 2011


BY BURAK ŞAHİN (IR/IV)
burak_s@ug.bilkent.edu.tr

The time has come to talk about the year's best pieces of work. While I was preparing the list, I realized that this year's best albums consist of much more electronic sound. Honestly, although I also like electronic-based indie sound, somehow pure, smooth indie rock is the best fit for me. At least we have Bon Iver for that. Here are the top 50 albums of 2011 and five special mentions:

  • Real Estate - Days
  • Austra - Feel It Break
  • Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
  • SBTRKT - SBTRKT
  • St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
  • Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
  • Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
  • Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
  • The Kooks - Junk of the Heart
  • The Strokes - Angles
  • Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
  • The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
  • The Rapture - In the Grace of Your Love
  • The Drums - Portamento
  • The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
  • The Antlers - Burst Apart
  • Beirut - The Rip Tide
  • John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
  • Cults - Cults
  • Wye Oak - Civilian
  • The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
  • Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi - Rome
  • Feist - Metals
  • Kasabian - Velociraptor
  • Ed Sheeran - +
  • Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
  • Wild Beasts - Smother
  • Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
  • Cass McCombs - Wit's End
  • Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
  • Toro Y Moi - Underneath The Pine
  • Wilco - The Whole Love
  • tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l
  • James Blake - James Blake
  • Washed Out - Within And Without
  • Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
  • Metronomy - The English Riviera
  • Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix
  • Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys
  • Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials
  • Alex Turner - Submarine OST
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
  • Yuck - Yuck
  • M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
  • Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
  • The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
  • F***ed Up - David Comes To Life
  • Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
  • Noah And The Whale - Last Night On Earth
  • Cut Copy - Zonoscope

 

Top 5 Albums of the Year

Adele - 21
Some vocalists don't need any arrangements or instruments. These voices seem to flow all on their own, and you can only admire their fluency. Adele's voice is one of them. She did such excellent work on "21" that you start listening to the first track and go on to the end of the album without skipping a single song. Adele is following the trail blazed by Amy Winehouse in the UK, and has shown that she will keep going in that direction. By the way, Adele has broken Amy's sales record in the UK, with "21" becoming the best-selling British album of the century. Currently, 3.4 million copies have been sold.          

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost        
Two guys from California, Christopher Owens and Chet "JR" White, came together and established a band called Girls in 2007. After this indie rock duo released some singles, they presented their first studio album, "Album." This album gave an idea of how Girls could get even bigger. Now, "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" has come out, with excellent tracks and sound. Play this album and listen to what is their masterpiece to date.

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake       
The Mercury Prize is one of the most prestigious music awards in the United Kingdom, and PJ Harvey has received it for "Let England Shake," despite being up against rivals such as Adele, Elbow, Anna Calvi and James Blake. She is the first artist to have won this prize for the second time. I really liked her 10th studio album when I first listened to it, but after I saw her perform live during the summer, I understood how some people turn into legends. "Let England Shake" is one of the best things that has happened in 2011.  

The Horrors - Skying 
Without a doubt, The Horrors keep rising and are still not afraid of changing and renewing themselves. Although we can categorize them as simply a shoegaze band, they're more than that. To explore the The Horrors, take a trip with them, listen to the album with an open mind and become aware of its depth. In fact, "Skying" is listed here because of the depth that I found in the album. 

Bon Iver - Bon Iver   
You have to be very narrow-minded not to love Bon Iver and their latest self-titled album. This indie folk band from Wisconsin has released its second album, "Bon Iver." The band shines with frontman Justin Vernon, who is also the songwriter. We already knew that his voice was unique, but in these new, brilliant songs it sounds even better. "Bon Iver" might not be the best album of 2011, but it's still the album that has made the biggest impact on me this year.