Year-End Lists

Skandies: 20 Best Films of 2011 [a poll of about 40 cinephiles]

1. The Tree of Life
   Terrence Malick
2. A Separation
   Asghar Farhadi
3. Margaret
   Kenneth Lonergan
4. Certified Copy
   Abbas Kiarostami
5. House of Pleasures
   Bertrand Bonello
6. Drive
   Nicolas Winding Refn
7. Melancholia
   Lars von Trier
8. Meek’s Cutoff
   Kelly Reichardt
9. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
10. Martha Marcy May Marlene
    Sean Durkin
11. Tuesday, After Christmas
    Radu Muntean
12. Of Gods and Men
    Xavier Beauvois
13. The Arbor
    Clio Barnard
14. Putty Hill
    Matthew Porterfield
15. Beginners
    Mike Mills
16. Moneyball
    Bennett Miller
17. Take Shelter
    Jeff Nichols
18. Shame
    Steve McQueen
19. Hugo
    Martin Scorsese
20. We Need to Talk About Kevin
    Lynne Ramsay

Pazz & Jop: Top 100 Albums of 2011 (an annual poll of critics, published by The Village Voice)

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Whokill
   Tune-Yards
2. Let England Shake
   PJ Harvey
3. Watch the Throne
   Jay-Z and Kanye West
4. Wild Flag
   Wild Flag
5. Bad as Me
   Tom Waits
6. 21
   Adele
7. Kaputt
   Destroyer
8. Take Care
   Drake
9. Bon Iver
   Bon Iver
10. Black Up
    Shabazz Palaces
11. David Comes to Life
    Fucked Up
12. Strange Mercy
    St. Vincent
13. House of Balloons
    The Weeknd
14. So Beautiful or So What
    Paul Simon
15. Past Life Martyred Saints
    EMA
16. Nostalgia, Ultra
    Frank Ocean
17. Undun
    The Roots
18. Helplessness Blues
    Fleet Foxes
19. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
    M83
20. Smoke Ring for My Halo
    Kurt Vile
21. El Camino
    The Black Keys
22. The Whole Love
    Wilco
23. Hell on Heels
    Pistol Annies
24. Yuck
    Yuck
25. Father, Son, Holy Ghost
    Girls
26. 4
    Beyoncé
27. The Harrow & The Harvest
    Gillian Welch
28. XXX
    Danny Brown
29. The King is Dead
    The Decemberists
30. Born This Way
    Lady Gaga
31. Apocalypse
    Bill Callahan
32. Days
    Real Estate
33. The King of Limbs
    Radiohead
34. James Blake
    James Blake
35. Replica
    Oneohtrix Point Never
36. Ravedeath, 1972
    Tim Hecker
37. 50 Words for Snow
    Kate Bush
38. Wounded Rhymes
    Lykke Li
39. Stone Rollin’
    Raphael Saadiq
40. Civilian
    Wye Oak
41. Ashes & Fire
    Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
42. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
    Colin Stetson
43. Nine Types of Light
    TV on the Radio
44. Section.80
    Kendrick Lamar
45. The SMiLE Sessions
    The Beach Boys
46. Mirror Traffic
    Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
47. The Hunter
    Mastodon
48. Relax
    Das Racist
49. Slave Ambient
    The War on Drugs
50. No Time for Dreaming
    Charles Bradley
51. Eye Contact
    Gang Gang Dance
52. On A Mission
    Katy B
53. Femme Fatale
    Britney Spears
54. Wasting Light
    Foo Fighters
55. Only in Dreams
    Dum Dum Girls
56. New Brigade
    Iceage
57. Leave Home
    The Men
58. The Big Roar
    Joy Formidable
59. Metals
    Feist
60. Ceremonials
    Florence + The Machine
61. Instrumental Mixtape
    Clams Casino
61. Parallax
    Atlas Sound
63. Sky Full of Holes
    Fountains of Wayne
64. Circuital
    My Morning Jacket
65. All Eternals Deck
    The Mountain Goats
66. Space is Only Noise
    Nicolas Jaar
67. Return of 4Eva
    Big KRIT
68. Burst Apart
    The Antlers
69. Tomboy
    Panda Bear
70. Tassili
    Tinariwen
71. Blood Pressures
    Kills
72. C’mon
    Low
73. Collapse Into Now
    R.E.M.
74. Tryptych
    Demdike Stare
74. The Old Magic
    Nick Lowe
76. KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)
    Hayes Carll
77. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
    Beastie Boys
78. COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres
    Matana Roberts
79. Conatus
    Zola Jesus
80. Skying
    The Horrors
81. D
    White Denim
82. Within and Without
    Washed Out
83. Belong
    Pains of Being Pure at Heart
84. An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
    The Caretaker
85. Feel It Break
    Austra
86. The Magic Place
    Julianna Barwick
87. Four the Record
    Miranda Lambert
88. Aesthethica
    Liturgy
89. Build a Rocket Boys!
    Elbow
89. A Creature I Don’t Know
    Laura Marling
91. Cults
    Cults
92. The Book of David
    DJ Quik
93. LIVE.LOVE.A$AP
    A$AP Rocky
94. Lulu
    Lou Reed & Metallica
95. Here Before
    The Feelies
96. A I A
    Grouper
97. Chief
    Eric Church
98. Goblin
    Tyler, The Creator
99. Native Speaker
    Braids
100. Goodbye Bread
     Ty Segall

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2011

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012]

1. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
2. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
3. House of Pleasures
   Bertrand Bonello
4. Dreileben
   Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf, Christoph Hochhäuser
5. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
6. The Tree of Life
   Terrence Malick
7. Kill List
   Ben Wheatley
8. It’s the Earth Not the Moon
   Gonçalo Tocha
9. Sleeping Sickness
   Ulrich Köhler
10. The Kid with a Bike
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

Special Mentions

• 4:44 Last Day on Earth
  Abel Ferrara
• The Color Wheel
  Alex Ross Perry
• Drive
  Nicolas Winding Refn
• Outside Satan
  Bruno Dumont
• Take Shelter
  Jeff Nichols
• Margaret
  Kenneth Lonergan
• Policeman
  Nadav Lapid
• Target
  Alexander Zeldovich
• Two Years at Sea
  Ben Rivers

Margaret Wappler: Top 10 Albums of 2011, as published by The Los Angeles Times

1. Whokill
   Tune-Yards
2. Apocalypse
   Bill Callahan
3. Kaputt
   Destroyer
4. Metals
   Feist
5. Helplessness Blues
   Fleet Foxes
6. Black Up
   Shabazz Palaces
7. A Creature I Don’t Know
   Laura Marling
8. So Beautiful or So What
   Paul Simon
9. Last Summer
   Eleanor Friedberger
10. Days
    Real Estate

Todd Martens: Top 15 Albums of 2011, as published by The Los Angeles Times

1. Sin Sin Sin
   Le Butcherettes
2. What Were You Hoping For?
   Van Hunt
3. David Comes to Life
   Fucked Up
4. Undun
   The Roots
5. Anna Calvi
   Anna Calvi
6. Stone Rollin’
   Raphael Saadiq
7. The Whole Love
   Wilco
8. Wild Flag
   Wild Flag
9. Birds & Drums
   Bewitched Hands
10. Indestructible Machine
    Lydia Loveless
11. Whokill
    Tune-Yards
12. Metals
    Feist
13. Go-Go Boots
    Drive-By Truckers
14. Black Up
    Shabazz Palaces
15. Here Before
    The Feelies

Bleep: Top 10 Albums of 2011

1. SyMeta
   Byetone
2. Glass Swords
   Rustie
3. We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
   John Maus
4. GLAQJO XAACSSO
   patten
5. Ghost People
   Martyn
6. 936
   Peaking Lights
7. Breaking the Frame
   Surgeon
8. In Dust
   Roll The Dice
9. Space is Only Noise
   Nicolas Jaar
10. Aftertime
    Roly Porter

Hot Press: Top 30 Albums of 2011

1. Let England Shake
   PJ Harvey
2. Bad as Me
   Tom Waits
3. Passenger
   Lisa Hannigan
4. Bon Iver
   Bon Iver
5. Skying
   The Horrors
6. To the Death of Fun
   Cashier No. 9
7. Build a Rocket Boys!
   Elbow
8. The King of Limbs
   Radiohead
9. Smother
   Wild Beasts
10. Biophilia
    Björk
11. 50 Words for Snow
    Kate Bush
12. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
    M83
13. The Olympus Sound
    Pugwash
14. Born This Way
    Lady Gaga
15. The Whole Love
    Wilco
16. James Blake
    James Blake
17. Closer To You
    The Coronas
18. Suck It and See
    Arctic Monkeys
19. Ceremonials
    Florence + The Machine
20. Metals
    Feist
21. Watch the Throne
    Jay-Z and Kanye West
22. Marcata
    The Minutes
23. Wounded Rhymes
    Lykke Li
24. Camp
    Childish Gambino
25. Anna Calvi
    Anna Calvi
26. Today I Realised I Could Walk Home Backwards
    We Cut Corners
27. SBTRKT
    SBTRKT
28. Fallen Empires
    Snow Patrol
29. House of Balloons
    The Weeknd
30. An Appointment with Mr. Yeats
    The Waterboys

Rip It Up: 10 Best Albums of 2011

1. Let England Shake
   PJ Harvey
2. SBTRKT
   SBTRKT
3. Velociraptor!
   Kasabian
4. Azari & III
   Azari & III
5. Skying
   The Horrors
6. Wasting Light
   Foo Fighters
7. El Camino
   The Black Keys
8. Suck It and See
   Arctic Monkeys
9. Prisoner
   The Jezabels
10. Zonoscope
    Cut Copy

Guitar World: Top 50 Albums of 2011

1. Wasting Light
   Foo Fighters
2. Heritage
   Opeth
3. Reckless & Relentless
   Asking Alexandria
4. Worship Music
   Anthrax
5. The Hunter
   Mastodon
6. Dust Bowl
   Joe Bonamassa
7. Relentless Reckless Forever
   Children of Bodom
8. TH1RT3EN
   Megadeth
9. Thank You, Happy Birthday
   Cage the Elephant
10. A Dramatic Turn of Events
    Dream Theater
11. Set the World on Fire
    Black Veil Brides
12. 2
    Black Country Communion
13. I’m With You
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
14. Weightless
    Animals As Leaders
15. Unto the Locust
    Machine Head
16. Low Country Blues
    Gregg Allman
17. Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
    Explosions in the Sky
18. The King of Limbs
    Radiohead
19. The Flood
    Of Mice & Men
20. Man in Motion
    Warren Haynes
21. The Drug in Me Is You
    Falling In Reverse
22. The Whole Love
    Wilco
23. Scurrilous
    Protest the Hero
24. The Path of Totality
    Korn
25. This Is Country Music
    Brad Paisley
26. Forever Abomination
    Skeletonwitch
27. Revelator
    Tedeschi Trucks Band
28. Dystopia
    Iced Earth
29. Empros
    Russian Circles
30. How I Go
    Kenny Wayne Shepherd
31. Ritual
    Black Dahlia Murder
32. Green Naugahyde
    Primus
33. Balls Out
    Steel Panther
34. The Great Escape Artist
    Jane’s Addiction
35. Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites
    Jimmie Vaughan
36. El Camino
    The Black Keys
37. Digital Veil
    The Human Abstract
38. Chaos of Forms
    Revocation
39. Move Like This
    The Cars
40. 2120 South Michigan Ave.
    George Thorogood and the Destroyers
41. Dead Throne
    The Devil Wears Prada
42. Mirror Traffic
    Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
43. Carnival is Forever
    Decapitated
44. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
    Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
45. Dualism
    Textures
46. Chickenfoot III
    Chickenfoot
47. Content
    Gang of Four
48. American Capitalist
    Five Finger Death Punch
49. Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL!
    Brian Setzer
50. In Waves
    Trivium

Margaret Moser: Top 10 Albums of 2011, as published by The Austin Chronicle

1. Blessed
   Lucinda Williams
2. The King is Dead
   The Decemberists
3. 21
   Adele
4. Bad as Me
   Tom Waits
5. Barton Hollow
   The Civil Wars
6. El Camino
   The Black Keys
7. I’m Alright
   Cornell Dupree
8. Lioness: Hidden Treasures
   Amy Winehouse
9. Low Country Blues
   Gregg Allman
10. The Harrow & The Harvest
    Gillian Welch