afterward...

So I finished the list. It was quite hard. I don't ever intend to review albums here, I just want to share my favorite albums and why. I know I'm not the best with words, but I hope I did each of these artists some justice. Quickly, 2011 was a great year for me: love and loss, new work opportunities, new friends and old. Living in Orlando, it's hard to be connected to music, as there is nothing going on here, and good bands rarely stop by. That being said, I was super lucky to see Sebadoh this year, crossing one of my must-see shows before I die off the list. Junior Boys were great, and Yuck was awesome. M83? Not so much. I received The Smile Sessions for Christmas and am currently obsessed. I am seriously hoping to record some tracks this year as I am trying very hard to get back into my music. I would love to share with you guys, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I am so stoked for the new year, and cannot wait to see what new music 2012 has in store for us. Thanks for reading, jason

1. Main Attrakionz - 808's and Dark Grapes II

I got really into the underground hip hop scene this year. I believe 2011 is a triumph for it. Danny Brown's XXX is a game changer. Look at the success of Odd Future. Look at guys like Fashawn and Big K.R.I.T. and SPACEGHOSTPURRP and A$AP Rocky and Curren$y pushing mixtape after mixtape, that just get better and better. I mean, this is incredible. It's almost too much to keep up with. To me, it seems very much like a punk rebellion to the hip hop of mainstream, the Kanye's and the Jay Z's, the Wiz Kalifa's and the Lil Wayne's. Do you realize that this is happening? Do you realize we are a part of it? Do you realize that the boys at GREEN OVA are doing it different than everyone else? Of all the artists mentioned above, I believe that Main Attrakionz have created and are creating something that is far more relevant than all of the other hip hop releases this year. 808's and Dark Grapes II is a statement. It is the blueprint for the future of hip hop. This I believe. Main Attrakionz is the quote on quote, best duo ever, of M.O.N.D.R.E MAN and Squadda B. These are young guys, with a VOICE. It's weird, I DL I Smoke Because I Don't Care About Death, just one of the many mixtapes they dropped this year, (which is fucking amazing (Fakest Year Ever)) after 808's and when they're like "Get Ready for 808's and Dark Grapes II later this year," you have no idea. The first three tracks are, I believe, so perfect, that, had they had just stopped there, I would have hailed it as the greatest ep ever or some outrageous shit. They are so good, I had trouble getting to the rest of the album. I just found myself going back to the beginning, like I was still trying to figure out what I was listening to. Hands down, they use the best beats ever, helped out by Clams Casino, Friendzone, and others. Chutch actually sounds like they stole an Album Leaf hook or something. No one else would dare rap to to this shit. Did I mention their Voice? Some of the most down to earth, most relatable shit ever. Best line ever, I believe, is in Take 1 (which is so good A$AP Rocky used it in his own incredible mixtape, Live, Love ASAP,) "Doubting myself cause I don't think the world can relate, To my surprise everyone does, so have faith... with the tag being, "An artist in the purest form, I live that song." You want weed references disguised as Vegetables? Check. But, " It's not about the weed smoke, it's about the longevity." I mentioned how strong the first half of the album was, the truth is, the whole thing is strong. Chosen and That's Life are endlessly enjoyable, and you will have to find your way through the thick layer of smoke in Perfect Skies, arguably their strongest track. I have heard a few people tag them as "cloudrap." Call it what you want, but I will call it AOTY.

2. The Men - Leave Home

Let's start with this, my hardcore/punk days while short-lived, have been over for a while. When people talk to me about this music, a feel kind of like an idiot. Them. Do you know Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Black Flag? Me. Well kinda, I mean I've heard of them. Them. Misfits? Adolescents? Minor Threat? Me. Sorry dude. I just missed it, that's all. It doesn't do anything for me. On the other side, you got people into Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying, From Autumn To Ashes, etc. You know, that hardcore. Again, not my thing. I was always into the midwest stuff, fucking Usurp Synapse. Jerome's Dream. Orchid. More recently Daughters and The Locust. That's the stuff I'm into. I don't need to be a fucking hardcore, punk rocker or whatever. I have the few bands I like, that I believe did it better than any of the aforementioned bands above, and that is enough. And besides, I got out of it cause because Yo La Tengo and My Bloody Valentine were blowing my then young mind. Indie Rock was way cooler than hardcore and punk. I say all that to say this, I'm 25 and when I listen to The Men's Leave Home, I want to fucking rage. I want to throw a party and play this shit as loud as possible and piss off my neighbors, and drink cheap beer and get into fights and break shit. This rocks that. fucking. hard. At only eight tracks, it's remarkable how much ground they cover. Opener If You Leave... is some serious Brit Rock. Lotus is just loud and fun. I mean they just play the hell out of one note until it bursts apart. Think puts every punk song you ever heard to shame. L.A.D.O.C.H. will leave you cringing. It is sonic laceration. At around the four minute mark, you can hear what sounds like him coughing and spitting up blood because he's shredded his vocal chords screaming into the mic for so long. () - Was that a Spacemen 3 reference they just used?! Yeah. Bataille starts out heavy and fast and gets MORE heavier and MORE faster, like they can't even keep up with the beat anymore. Shittin' With The Shah is a great instrumental track just building and building, and Night Landing is fuuuzzzzed out. Guitars have never sounded better. The appeal of being a part of this scene has never been greater. They are the new pioneers. This album makes me want to throw away any music I'm writing and just make noise. This is powerful stuff.

3. East River Pipe - We Live In Rented Rooms

I listen to a lot of music while driving. That's where a lot of music finds me. I think there is a special connection there, being alone at night, driving, just you, music and The Road. It doesn't matter really, where you're going, you're just in the moment. Well, this is that special album. This guy can write a song. These are stripped down, simple pop songs. Really bittersweet. He's already been on the journey: love, loss, life, death; we are just seeing the snapshots. This album has life, and I believe it actually breathes. I love it, every single second of it. We Live In Rented Rooms has, at least from what I've seen, gone largely unnoticed, which makes me like it even more. This isn't the "blow your mind" album you look for each year. This is actually the complete opposite. This is the reminder that there are some people out there making honest, down to earth GREAT music that receives little to no credit, that demands nothing from anyone, that simply exists. And somehow it found me.

4. Destroyer - Kaputt

One of the only albums on everyone's year end lists that I agree with, Destoyer's Kaputt is I truly believe the AOTY. Released all the way back in January, this one we've had almost a whole year to sit on, and yeah, it more than holds up. The whole thing is its own world. It's one of those "sounds like the cover art looks" albums. Also, it sounds the same the entire album, like, it rarely shifts in tempo or mood (except maybe Savage Night At The Opera.) By the time you get to Downtown, which is towards the end of the album, you realize that's it. Nothing new at that point. BUT, that doesn't mean it's lost its charm or intrigue. This is an album's album, which is awesome considering I feel like bands don't make albums anymore, they just throw songs together and call it one. When you listen to Kaputt, you listen front to back, no skipping, and just let it do its thing. I am personally predicting Kaputt to be in the best of the decade list (2011-2020,) in which some asshole (hey maybe future Jason will be writing it for some snazzy internet music review site!) in the future will sit down and write for some snazzy internet music review site.

5. Death Grips - Exmilitary

A few words about this album. Abrasive. Scathing. Brutal. Evil. GENIUS. This is the most hardcore hip hop mash-up you'll hear all year, maybe ever, at least until he decides he's not done short-circuiting our headphones and shattering any boundaries we thought we knew the limits of music were. I know nothing about Death Grips. The whole project is shrouded in mystery. I THINK, Zach Hill played drums on the album, although I don't think he tours with them. That's it. I caught one sample I recognized, the Beastie Boys one. After Spread Eagle Cross The Block, the single-most unbelievable track, the one that just gets better and better with each listen, the whole thing turns into a fucking metal, space monster from Mars. It kicks the dick out of everything you thought you knew about music, and did I mention that it's so much fun to listen to?

6. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Album was my favorite album of 2009. I love it. I still listen to it regularly. Last year they released a little ep called Broken Dreams Club. Having searched the internet far and wide prior to this release, I had already heard Heartbreaker, which I thought the studio version was great. Substance, easily one of their best songs, I had found a live version of and had fallen in love with. The studio version was a lot slower and was kind of ruined. Again that's my fault, not Girls' fault (I still swear it sounds so much better faster.) So that left me with four new Girls songs. I thought it was a decent effort, but I thought it lacked direction. I mean, there was just this new sound they had, even the production was different from that of Album. I was worried that their third album would just be too different, in a bad way. If this all sounds like a bunch of rambling from an asshole or a fairweather fan, you might be half right. I promise, there is a point I'm trying to get to. I have a hard time dealing with change. I don't like it, never have. Now, change is inevitable, like Death (which Girls address.) No matter how hard you hold on to something, eventually you have to let go. It has been my own experience that, for the most part, change has been a good thing, even if I didn't realize it at first. Which brings us to Girls Record 3, I mean check out that cover. That ep was definitely their second album, although it didn't feel like one to me. My first impression? NOT GOOD. What the fuck? Why did they put all their lyrics on the cover? Did you like Vomit the first time you heard it? I didn't. Why are there choir vocals on the track? What the fuck is this?! This is not the Girls I know. Can you decide in your mind that you can not give an album a chance based on one song? Yeah you can, and I've done it (Halocene, by Bon Iver, (sidenote, never cared for them). Really, AOTY?) But we are getting sidetracked. The point of all of this rambling is simply this, I was so completely wrong. I mean, when you listen to Father, Son, Holy Ghost front to back, you realize that you are not listening to 2009 Girls, and this is a very good thing. The sound has matured. The production is different, if not better. Maybe Album was them finding their sound, and THIS is it, I don't know. What I do know is gone are the sun-soaked, jangly pop songs of Album. Gone are the bunch of stand-alone tracks with their own personalities and vibrant life. Girls have, instead, created an ALBUM, one with consistency and purpose. I will tell you this. Vomit, I believe was a hard song to choose as a single. However, in context to the album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, I can finally understand why Chris Owens chose it. It is a turning point: for the songwriter, for the band, for the change in emotion, for the transition of the middle of the album to the end of it, for the listener. And it makes total sense when you hear it in context with the album. Father is the album you didn't know they could make, you didn't think they could make... They have never sounded better; they have successfully made me feel like a dick for doubting them. This is easily one of the best albums of 2011. Repeated listens have only confirmed one thing. You are looking at a Girls fan for life.

7. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Self-Titled

Oh UMO. How do you single-handedly make me fall in love with music over again? How do you write such an amazingly simple hook, that is so catchy, that seeps it's way so far into my cranium, I find myself humming over and over throughout the day (Ffunny Ffriends)? How do you take sounds and bands we're all familiar with and make them something new and wonderful again (Bycicle)? Was Thought Ballune as fun to make as it sounds like you did? On Nerve Damage!, is that opening guitar intro a real effect, or is that a microphone with some weird effect on it? How do you sound so laid back and that this was all effortless but still sound so fucking good at the same time? (P.s. All this is true. It's a lot of pressure that you guys follow me on twitter. I"M NOBODY. I had already decided in September what my favorite albums were, apologies you weren't higher on the list. LOVE YOU, Jason

8. Roommate - Guilty Rainbow

It's weird how an album finds you. Some take a while, repeated listens, you have to shelve for a while and come back later only for it to speak to you. Others are instantly appealing. These albums seem to be connected to you before ever knowing they existed, and on only first listen everything is alive and you find yourself. I believe that Roommate's Guilty Rainbow falls into the latter. The opener was immediately engaging, and somewhere during the bridge on August Song, he sings, "No one understands why kittens purr, and why people die, No one understands why." Accompanied by strings that swirl up and come crashing down on you, I'm telling you right then and there I was like, I get it. The rest of the album takes you to unexpected places. Flicker Flame is arguably the best song on the album, and I love the line, "Nobody owes you for your righteous rage, you got paid, you got paid, you got paid move on move on." Now what is interesting is that there are two covers on the album. The first is The Country With A Smile, by Ned Collette. First off, love Ned Collette. Future Suture is an incredible album, beautiful and haunting. Roommate nails it. They make it their own and had you not known it was a cover, you would probably think it was theirs. Ghost Pigeon and Snow Globe are huge standout tracks, delivering some of my favorite moments on the album. On Ghost Pigeon, that drum beat, the driving bass, God it is so good. And on Snow Globe he sings, "If your someone no one wants to be around, where do you go at night?" as if he's asking us. The final track and second cover they do is Smothered In Hugs by GBV, which let's just be honest, as a general rule, you do not fix what is not broken, you do not tamper with perfection. YOU DO NOT COVER GBV. Trail Of Dead tried with GoldHeart Mountaintop Queen Directory, to mediocre at best, awkward at worst. And Roommate slows it down and fucking kills it, in a very good way. It's wonderful. Again, they make it their own and had you not known it was a cover... All in all I was floored on first listen. It's deeply melancholic, yet engaging. Repeated listens have just yielded more rewards. I've listened to it regularly since around its release. It deserves so much more praise than it has gotten and should be in everyones year in lists.

9. Dirty Beaches - Badlands

From the moment I heard the polarizing Speedway King, I knew I was listening to something special. I mean, to take one loop and make it so engaging... shit's not easy. Add to the fact that his sound is so familiar, I mean painstakingly. This is the album you wish you came up with. He nails it. When Horses came in the first thing I thought (first listen, so high, apologies) was this is like the soundtrack to a forgotten Tarintino flick. But rightfully so. He has this knack for taking old emotions, or rather, emotions you have about older things, and turning them into something so new. His music DOES evoke those feelings, those memories, of being younger, and hearing those 50's and 60's era songs. I was never a big fan, when I was kid, of my parents music. But it was only as I grew older that I began appreciating our music history, and artists that I knew Of, began artists I actively seeked out. And that is what I love about this album. You can hear the influences: doo-wap, rockabilly (Elvis keeps coming up,), surf, etc... But he has this great take on it. And I wouldn't be so quick to write it off on the production, which is fantastic by the way. These are cleverly thought out tracks, each one built upon the last. The first half of the album moves along pretty good, containing more of the faster and heavier tracks. Horses, Sweet 17 and A Hundred Highways all flow nicely into another, offering different variations of that classic oldies rock and roll style. Vocals are strong throughout, as he yelps and hollers his way through them. To me, words are not that important here, as they (imo) act as more a part of the music itself. But he does have his own style which suits perfect and with slower tracks like True Blue, and Lord Knows Best, you can actually get something out his lyrics: mainly love and loss. True Blue is a true stunner, a huge standout track, that transitions you into the rest of the album, which is focused on more slower songs. Lord Knows Best is focused on this main piano loop, that has this great old-timey sound to it, and the last two tracks are instrumental. Everything about Badlands is tied to this retro-meets-post-apocalyptic sound. It can be devastating and it can be beautiful, but mainly, it rocks. Needless to say, but this is a guy to definitely follow, as I cannot wait to see what he has coming next, i.e. LONE RUNNER.

10. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2 Judges

What a strange, beautiful album. Truly a grower, it demands multiple listens. I know my jazz, I know my post-rock, I've never heard something quite like this. I was actually surprised that I know him through other artists he's worked with, which include Tom Waits and Arcade Fire. Super multi-talented, this guy plays clarinet, sax, horns, you name it, and they all appear on the album. And if you've heard it, you know that he can make squelches and screeches and blares and noises you didn't think were possible with them. Seriously, how does he do that? You want to get technical? Everything you hear is recorded LIVE with one shot takes. No overdubs or looping. That is insane considering that after the haunting opener, Judges kicks in and you wonder how the guy has time to breathe. Everything that follows is a surprise. Things continue to pick up on The Stars In His Head (Dark Lights Remix) before dropping off to the horns (trumpets?) on All The Days I've Missed You (ILAIJ I.) I mean, you can hear the emotion behind those horns. This turns into From No Part Of Me Can I Summon A Voice, which if you've got the right headphones, is a sonic mindfuck. It's interesting that the next track has the first spoken word since the last five seconds of Judges. Slightly reminiscent of that first Explosions album track Have You Passed Through This Night?, it compliments the music fine. . There were those who didn't run... There were those who kissed the grey skies... There were strangers, and conmen... There were those who laid there bodies down... We are being told a tale, but a grim one it seems. A Dream Of Water appropriately ends with gentle waves washing on shore. Home is an unsettling listen that could probably easily find home in a Korine flick. Now again, surprises. Just when you think you've figured out the album, vocals on Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes are SUNG, achingly. Gone are the computerized vocals from earlier as Shara Worden delivers her powerful blues. As far as single tracks go, the following Clothed In The Skin Of The Dead has to be my personal favorite track. It's playful. It almost takes a break from the overall somber mood of the album, perhaps on purpose. Small, yet nice interlude into Red Horses (Judges 2,) where horns imitate percussion and right on till the end. The closer is a mirror to track four which breaks and bleeds and finally burns away into nothing. All in all, this is one of the most sonic, emotional and all out impressive albums of the year.

Top 25 Songs of 2011

1. Mane Mane - Skin Fox (original)
I got this all the way back in January and since then, have rarely gone a few days without listening to it. Released on the Skin Fox ep, this is just a good old fashioned ep with one original and a bunch of remixes by other artists and the original remains my favorite. It just has a brilliant beat/hook. Slightly Avalanches-esque. Maybe that's why I love it so much. Sorry I couldn't find the original, but the Danny Tanner of Gobble Gobble version is still very nice.

2. Main Attrakionz - Diamond of God
Favorite track off the album. Every line is a killer, my favorite being, "Reply to her text, she ain't givin head, but should I see her tho? nigga smash to ya said..." I love the beat, I love everything.

3. Minks - Funeral Song
On an album full of mostly chill songs (NOT CHILLWAVE), Funeral Song comes out of nowhere right smack in the middle of the album and rocks out. It's that perfect "end of summer" track that should not be missed on any mixtape. I swear if you didn't know, and you walked in on the bridge, you'd think it was The Cure, in a good way.

4. The Men - Think
First single off of Leave Home destroys everything. Nothing is the same.

5. Destoyer - Savage NIght at the Opera
What's so exceptional about this track is how much Dan Bejar does with so little. The drum beat never strays, never changes up, but somehow feels like it's building thanks to the accompaning music: driving bass, those ethereal synths, and his songwriting, which contributes like, three verses. Get lost in it.

6. Death Grips - Beware
If my ears had jaws, they dropped when I first heard this. Pretty sure I read that the opener is an excerpt from a Charles Manson quote. While it sets the tone of things to come on the album, Beware stands perfectly on its own. This is the sound of destruction and rebirth, and it's so outstandingly original.

7. The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls
While I think that this free mixtape was extremely overhyped and kind of a letdown, House of Balloons (track) is still worth checking out as it does definitely deserve all the praise. Everything you've heard and read about this one song is true. It's the embodiment of The Weeknd. It's everything they (he?) are about. It's their ace and it rules and they (he?) know(s) it.

8. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers
Like many, I had never heard of Odd Future and Tyler, The Creator until Kanye West posted on his twitter account BEST VIDEO 2011 earlier this year. I was right there, with everyone: Kanye says it's cool, I have to check it out. Obviously, there were already like a million hits, and I remember reading one comment that read, " If you're here because of the Kanye tweet, FUCK YOU. swag." The video loaded and Tyler eats a cockroach and hangs himself. I had to show my friend. So the weeks went on and I found their Tumbler and downloaded Bastard and and Earl and anything else I could get my hands on with Odd Future on it. I loved it, all the while still spinning Yonkers in anticipation of Goblin. I purchased it the day of, and after that intro, which at the time I thought to myself, holy shit, I feel like he recorded this yesterday, as the subject matter was very up to date, Yonkers played. I had heard it a hundred times by then but I will be the first to say when the beat kept going and Tyler came in for a third verse, I got chills. It was a total surprise and a holy shit moment. Later on just last month I watched as he took the Best New Artist at the Mtv Music Video Awards. The look on his face was priceless.

9. Big K.R.I.T. - Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism
Let's just consider the fact that I shouldn't relate to this song, as I am as white as they get, and the track is deeply about a black man that is fed up with racism and the the negative hatred behind the word nigger. However, there is so much more to it. It's about expectations. It's about life's struggles. And it has this sultry jazz horn and this laid back drum beat. He grabs your attention and never let's go. While I can never directly relate to this song, I can however understand the need to stand for what you believe in. Tell the world...

10. Fucked Up - Under My Nose
My favorite track off David Comes To Life. The whole thing is a concept album about who cares, but the music is so fun, and I feel like the band has grown so much since their last album. Starts off simple enough with the guys playing the hell out of a three chord progression. Later, during the bridge, Damian takes a break from yelling and the guitars take off like a swirling tornado in your brain. You find yourself wondering, "How are they doing this?" You think you figure it out and then it keeps going harder and getting faster, your head spiraling out of control. It works it's way back to the chorus, and as he knew what you just went through, he screams, "It's all been worth it!"

11. Cloud Nothings - Should Have
Proof that pop punk will never die. However, Cloud Nothings are nothing to write off. They are actually successful in sounding like their peers, but the feeling they evoke is nostalgia rather than the need to buy chucks and mosh. Perhaps it is the dreamlike production, but even the cheeky lyrics and the somewhat whiny vocals remind me of where I've been, those feelings I once had, that TIME in my life... where everything was new and wonderful and girls and punk rock and friends... this song is a trigger to those emotions and my younger self and my connection to music, and it's so much fun to go there.

12. Fashawn - Closer (Remix)
If we are to consider the spectrum of AMAZING hip hop artists out there, Fashawn has got to be the coolest. I mean, check out the cover of Higher Learning 2 mixtape; that's black Bart Simpson, skateboard and all. Also consider that he has like ten mixtapes since he debuted in 2006. Dude is hard working, and I find that he gets better with each listen. Closer is a remix of J Dilla's So Far To Go, and if you've heard both versions, you know that Fashawn totally makes it his own. Nothing crazy, just a simple song about wanting to be close to someone and them not returning those feelings. Fashawn is so comfortable and so confident, you'd forget he's only 23. I don't know, of all the tracks off Higher Learning 2, I found myself coming back to this one the most. Maybe Fashawn says it best, "It's not a love song, it's just a real song."

13. Yuck - The Wall
I thought the 90's were dead. Or at least I thought everyone was done with it. Over it. Forgotten about (much to my disappointment.) Along comes Yuck and all of my favorite fuzzy guitars are back, guitar solos, driving bass... Take everything you love about Built to Spill, Pavement, Archers, etc. and toss them in a blender and you have Yuck. Not perfect, but the aesthetic is there, and goddammit I love them for trying. The Wall is that perfect song. The mixtape completer. Catchy as hell and perfect for bringing back those air guitar solos we love doing so much.

14. Danny Brown - Radio Song
...In referencing the industry, "There's no originality, carbon-copy singles..." Enter Danny Brown to fill that void. While there are MANY songs on XXX you could claim are his best, Radio Song is the fucking kick in the balls to his peers (specifically Wiz Khalifa), the genre, you name it. "They say you need a hit, I jerked off this single..." Danny Brown is pissed. He's fucking "rattling the cage" like Batman did. He's different, and "oh so original," as he put it. And he's right. Radio Song is the biggest FUCK YOU I've heard all year, and I love it.

15. Roommate - August Song
Favorite track off this brilliant album. Every time I hear it, I like it more, and I find new things I hadn't heard before. Deeply beautiful, try not to be overcome when he loops, "No one understands" at the end. It's like waves crushing you.

16. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
What to say about POBPAH... Probably no other band I can think of so proudly wears EVERY single influence on their sleeves. If their self-titled was blatantly 80's, Belong is blatantly early 90's, and oh do they rock out. It's like watery arena rock, and Belong is their anthem. Cheesy as fuck, but you have to love it.

17. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Shore Points
I love Lenses Alien, and I love Cymbals Eat Guitars. The album is a little less grand than Why There Are Mountains, but it is a lot more focused. Coming off the amazing opener, Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name,) Shore Points is I believe the perfect balance of their old sound and the new.

18. Wilco - Whole Love
The new album might be one of their best falling behind YHF and after Summerteeth. It's really good, and I like it more and more
as I listen to it. Works to the best of Tweedy's songwriting which is blurring the line between a sad song and a happy one, you just know you feel something.

19. Dirty Beaches - True Blue
Best track off Badlands. This might be the saddest song I've heard all year (at least as far as the mood of the song), but it's also quite beautiful, which keeps me coming back.

20. Sic Alps - Cement Surfboard
Favorite off Napa Asylum. These guys have the best garage, pop, rock, sound and the album is full of these two minute gems.

21. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Thought Ballune
All I can say is UMO is the best new band of the year.

22. M83 - Midnight City
If there's one thing you can always count on, it's for M83 to put out one or two amazing songs on their new album. 2008 brought us Kim and Jessie and this time he gives us Midnight City. The album is truly epic (2xcd/lp) and just seems to get bigger as the tracks move on. While I found the album to be a bit too familiar (if you've heard Before the Dawn Heals Us and Saturdays = Youth you're covered,) there were still a few surprises, the Intro ft. Zola Jesus, Year One, One UFO, and Midnight City, the first single off Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

23. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Senator
Off the excellent new album by The Jicks, Mirror Traffic, Senator is proof that Malkmus is still on top. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyone?

24. Curren$y - This Is The Life
This was my favorite off Weekend At Burnies (love the title.) Dude is one of the hardest working out there. I think he put out 3 mixtapes this year (very well might have been more) and collaborated with who knows how many. I think This Is The Life sums it up for him.

25. Spaceghostpurrp - GET YAH HEAD BUST
This is some of the best underground rap I've heard. Complete with Mortal Kombat samples, GET YAH HEAD BUST is a pretty dark descent. Half way through it's like his words are crawling underneath your skin.

The Year In Music 2011

So it's been a while since i updated this thing. If you noticed last year all I got done was the worst music of 2010, which is stupid. I never even told you guys what the best was. Looking back, I realize that this entire thing was supposed to be about awesome music that I love and to share with anyone who was interested. It was not to bitch about music I don't care for. I thought about deleting the post, but I'll leave it up to remind myself of how big of a dick I can be. What do they say? Another year older, another year wiser? Something like that. That being said, I am super excited to give you what is in my opinion, the best music of 2011. Never before has there been so much great music put out in a year; I can barely keep up with it. I wanted to finish this before all the major sites start shitting out theirs, so no one thinks I copied anyone. This year, in addition to my top ten albums of the year, I am very proud to do a top 25 songs of the year. There is just so much awesome out there, I don't think I could have fit in to just favorite albums. I found a shitty widget that if I can figure it out, you will be able to listen as well, so you're right there with me. Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy.