Year-End Lists

Jon Bream: Top 10 Albums of 2011, as published by The Minneapolis Star Tribune

1. 21
   Adele
2. Blessed
   Lucinda Williams
3. Undun
   The Roots
4. So Beautiful or So What
   Paul Simon
5. Bad as Me
   Tom Waits
6. KMAG YOYO
   Hayes Carll
7. Chief
   Eric Church
8. Helplessness Blues
   Fleet Foxes
9. Black Cloud
   Davina and the Vagabonds
10. El Camino
    The Black Keys

Cokemachineglow: Top 50 Albums of 2011

[see also 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Black Up
   Shabazz Palaces
2. Native Speaker
   Braids
3. 808s & Dark Grapes II
   Main Attrakionz
4. Viscera
   Jenny Hval
5. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
   Colin Stetson
6. XXX
   Danny Brown
7. Whokill
   Tune-Yards
8. The Tape Hiss Hooligan
   L.W.H.
9. Ravedeath, 1972
   Tim Hecker
10. House of Balloons
    The Weeknd
11. Fuck Death
    Blackout Beach
12. Strange Mercy
    St. Vincent
13. Kaputt
    Destroyer
14. Return of 4Eva
    Big K.R.I.T.
15. Smoke Ring for My Halo
    Kurt Vile
16. Watch the Throne
    Jay-Z and Kanye West
17. Deerhoof vs. Evil
    Deerhoof
18. James Blake
    James Blake
19. Eye Contact
    Gang Gang Dance
20. LIVE.LOVE.A$AP
    A$AP Rocky
21. Thora Vukk
    Robag Wruhme
22. Weekend at Burnie’s
    Curren$y
24. The ONE… COHESIVE
    G-Side
25. Diaper Island
    Chad Van Gaalen
26. Replica
    Oneohtrix Point Never
27. Let England Shake
    PJ Harvey
28. The Magic Place
    Julianna Barwick
29. Guilty Rainbow
    Roommate
30. Wild Flag
    Wild Flag
31. Days
    Real Estate
32. Dracula
    Nurses
33. Past Life Martyred Saints
    EMA
34. Gloss Drop
    Battles
35. Take Care
    Drake
36. Last Summer
    Eleanor Friedberger
37. Celestial Lineage
    Wolves in the Throne Room
38. Instrumental Mixtape
    Clams Casino
39. Badlands
    Dirty Beaches
40. Space is Only Noise
    Nicolas Jaar
41. Leave Home
    The Men
42. Own Your Ghost
    13 & God
43. Was I the Wave?
    Miracle Fortress
44. Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
    Moonface
45. Passed Me By / We Stay Together
    Andy Stott
46. Smother
    Wild Beasts
47. We’re New Here
    Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx
48. The Cyrillic Typewriter
    Cyrillic Typewriter
49. Apocalypse
    Bill Callahan
50. Tarkovsky Quartet
    François Couturier

Jonah Weiner: 10 Favorite Albums of 2011, as published by Slate

1. XXX
   Danny Brown
2. Instrumental Mixtape
   Clams Casino
3. Blvcklvnd Rvdix 66.6 (1991)
   Spaceghostpurrp
4. Take Care
   Drake
5. LIVE.LOVE.A$AP
   A$AP Rocky
6. James Blake
   James Blake
7. inhale c-4 $$$$$
   BEBETUNE$
8. Eye Contact
   Gang Gang Dance
9. Severant
   Kuedo
10. Whokill
    Tune-Yards

Jody Rosen: 10 Favorite Albums of 2011, as published by Slate

1. Whokill
   Tune-Yards
2. Watch the Throne
   Jay-Z and Kanye West
3. All I Want Is You
   Miguel
4. Hell on Heels
   Pistol Annies
5. So Beautiful or So What
   Paul Simon
6. Soul Punk
   Patrick Stump
7. XXX
   Danny Brown
8. Chief
   Eric Church
9. Nostalgia, Ultra
   Frank Ocean
10. Femme Fatale
    Britney Spears

Pinpoint Music: Top 25 Albums of 2011

1. No Time For Dreaming
   Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band
2. Smoke Ring for My Halo
   Kurt Vile
3. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
   M83
4. Father, Son, Holy Ghost
   Girls
5. On the Water
   Future Islands
6. David Comes to Life
   Fucked Up
7. Bon Iver
   Bon Iver
8. Black Up
   Shabazz Palaces
9. El Camino
   The Black Keys
10. Too Beautiful to Work
    The Luyas
11. Burst Apart
    The Antlers
12. Moody, Standard and Poor
    Obits
13. Georgia Swan
    Sundelles
14. Let England Shake
    PJ Harvey
15. Cults
    Cults
16. James Blake
    James Blake
17. The King of Limbs
    Radiohead
18. A Good Woman is Hard to Find
    PAPA
19. Yuck
    Yuck
20. I Am Very Far
    Okkervil River
21. 936
    Peaking Lights
22. Whokill
    Tune-Yards
23. Carrion Crawler/The Dream
    Thee Oh Sees
24. Days
    Real Estate
25. Strange Mercy
    St. Vincent

Sarah Rodman: Top Albums of 2011, as published by The Boston Globe

1. Resolutions
   Dave Hause
2. 21
   Adele
3. The King is Dead
   The Decemberists
4. Lorraine
   Lori McKenna
5. Chief
   Eric Church
6. The Light of the Sun
   Jill Scott
7. Guitar Slinger
   Vince Gill
8. Wasting Light
   Foo Fighters
9. Undun
   The Roots
10. Go-Go Boots
    Drive-By Truckers

Austin Town Hall: Top 50 Albums of 2011

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2012]

1. Civilian
   Wye Oak
2. The Twerps
   Twerps
3. The Ornament
   Gold Leaves
4. Days
   Real Estate
5. Cloud Nothings
   Cloud Nothings
6. Pleasure
   Pure X
7. Go With Me
   Seapony
8. Burst Apart
   The Antlers
9. New Brigade
   Iceage
10. Helplessness Blues
    Fleet Foxes
11. Tamer Animals
    Other Lives
12. Light for Fire
    Light for Fire
13. Dead to Me
    Girls Names
14. Belong
    Pains of Being Pure at Heart
15. Diamond Mine
    King Creosote & Jon Hopkins
16. Laminate Pet Animal
    Snowmine
17. Portamento
    The Drums
18. Howl of the Lonely Crowd
    Comet Gain
19. The Big Roar
    Joy Formidable
20. Yuck
    Yuck
21. Idle Labor
    Craft Spells
22. Mind Spiders
    Mind Spiders
23. Parallax
    Atlas Sound
24. Fading Parade
    Papercuts
25. Ducktails III
    Ducktails
26. Slave Ambient
    The War on Drugs
27. Hollow
    Cut Off Your Hands
28. Prom
    Grooms
29. No Future
    Wax Idols
30. Dye It Blonde
    Smith Westerns
31. Hit After Hit
    Sonny and the Sunsets
32. I Am Very Far
    Okkervil River
33. Euphoria
    Devon Williams
34. Cherish the Light Years
    Cold Cave
35. In Love With Oblivion
    Crystal Stilts
36. Nothing Hurts
    Male Bonding
37. Diaper Island
    Chad Van Gaalen
38. Apokalypsis
    Chelsea Wolfe
39. Kings of the Weekend
    Bad Sports
40. Magic Trick
    Tim Cohen
41. Loud Planes Fly Low
    The Rosebuds
42. Moody, Standard and Poor
    Obits
43. Kaputt
    Destroyer
44. Only in Dreams
    Dum Dum Girls
45. Vanity is Forever
    Geoffrey O'Connor
46. Embracing the Modern Age
    Blue Skies for Black Hearts
47. Departing
    The Rural Alberta Advantage
48. Celestial Electric
    AM & Shawn Lee
49. Strange Hearts
    Secret Cities
50. The New Tigers
    The New Tigers

SFGate: 10 Best Albums of 2011

1. 21
   Adele
2. Barton Hollow
   The Civil Wars
3. 4
   Beyoncé
4. Watch the Throne
   Jay-Z and Kanye West
5. Nostalgia, Ultra
   Frank Ocean
6. The Movie
   Betty Wright and the Roots
7. Hell on Heels
   Pistol Annies
8. Undun
   The Roots
9. Own the Night
   Lady Antebellum
10. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
    Beastie Boys

Dennis Cooper: Favorite Albums of 2011

[see also 2019 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Let’s Go Eat the Factory
   Guided By Voices
2. New Brigade
   Iceage
3. Aesthethica
   Liturgy
4. Alien Observer/Dream Loss
   Grouper
5. David Comes to Life
   Fucked Up
6. A New Way to Pay Old Debts
   Bill Orcutt
7. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
   M83
8. Ravedeath, 1972
   Tim Hecker
9. Parallax
   Atlas Sound
10. L’un n’empêche pas l’autre
    Brigitte Fontaine
11. Wild Flag
    Wild Flag
12. Elegy for Beach Friday
    Bee Mask
13. Red Barked Tree
    Wire
14. Palace of Marvels (queered pitch)
    Marcus Schmickler
15. The Clearing
    Locrian

Complex: 25 Best Albums of 2011

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012]

1. House of Balloons
   The Weeknd
2. Watch the Throne
   Jay-Z and Kanye West
3. Take Care
   Drake
4. Nostalgia, Ultra
   Frank Ocean
5. Underneath the Pine
   Toro y Moi
6. XXX
   Danny Brown
7. Section.80
   Kendrick Lamar
8. Cults
   Cults
9. LIVE.LOVE.A$AP
   A$AP Rocky
10. Cole World: The Sideline Story
    J. Cole
11. Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
    WU LYF
12. Undun
    The Roots
13. Self Made Vol. 1
    various artists (Maybach Music Group)
14. Relax
    Das Racist
15. Bon Iver
    Bon Iver
16. Fear of God II: Let Us Pray
    Pusha T
17. Finally Famous
    Big Sean
18. Radioactive
    Yelawolf
19. The Dreamer, The Believer
    Common
20. Within and Without
    Washed Out
21. Hell: The Sequel
    Bad Meets Evil
22. Black Up
    Shabazz Palaces
23. Camp
    Childish Gambino
24. Tomboy
    Panda Bear
25. Rolling Papers
    Wiz Khalifa