Favorite Albums of 2011
We did it last year, so lets do it again. This isn’t necessarily a “best of” list, just my personal favorites. Obviously I did not listen to every single album released. If you think I missed something, I would love to hear it.
Here we go (in no particular order):
The Black Keys, El Camino
The Black Keys have certainly done it again. Brothers was easily my favorite album of 2010, and one of the best albums released in the past ten years. El Camino isn’t quite that good, but it’s still pretty great. Most of the albums on this list are mellow. This one is not.
Listen if: You like the Black Keys. At this point you should know what you’re getting from these guys. Hard rocking blues with solid melody and a true sense of momentum. This album may be a little “poppier,” but that’s not always a bad thing.
Don’t listen if: Rock music scares you. You’re one of the 15 people who still argue the Black Keys are just ripping off the White Stripes. I was once one of these people, but gave up on that idea long, long ago.
Best Song: I’m going to go with “Little Black Submarines” here. It starts off slow, but the section beginning around the 2:14 mark is one of the hardest rocking things you’ll here this year outside of some strange death metal song.
Gillian Welch, The Harrow and the Harvest
Harrow and the Harvest is Gillian Welch’s first album since 2003’s Soul Journey. It was worth the wait. If not for the Decemberists below, this would be my favorite album of 2011. Read more…