I've only heard two of the top 20 and wouldn't rank either amongst my favourites of the year but nevertheless this has been an interesting read, looking forward to your singles one!

 

I'm intrigued as to what they are, I'd imagine from what you've previously said it'll be Foster The People and Example but one could be Those Dancing Days? Of the others the only one I'd say you might like would be Ben Howard, I'm not sure the others would do anything for you!

 

Hopefully the singles one should have more to your taste in it! :D

53 Glasvegas 'Euphoric /// Heartbreak'

51 M83 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'

49 James Blake 'James Blake'

48 White Lies 'Ritual'

42 Tennis 'Cape Dory'

41 Destroyer 'Kaputt'

39 Coldplay 'Mylo Xyloto'

38 Tune-Yards 'Who Kill'

35 TV on the Radio 'Nine Types of Light'

31 Active Child 'You Are All I See'

30 jj 'Kills'

25 Go! Team 'Rolling Blackouts'

18 Gang Gang Dance 'Eye Contact'

12 Example 'Playing In The Shadows' // An average album with great stand-out singles.

09 Drums 'Portamento' // I realised that I actually never listened to this despite downloading it :lol:

08 Bon Iver 'Bon Iver'

05 Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' // Don't really feel this album :(

04 Pains of Being Pure at Heart 'Belong

01 Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom' // It'd have completely gone over my radar if not for you and Dandy who basically RAPED this album in your respective charts? :o

 

These are the ones I love or have something to comment on.

 

The farther end is so much better than the Top 20 :(

Edited December 19, 201113 yr by Conderella

I'm intrigued as to what they are, I'd imagine from what you've previously said it'll be Foster The People and Example but one could be Those Dancing Days? Of the others the only one I'd say you might like would be Ben Howard, I'm not sure the others would do anything for you!

 

Hopefully the singles one should have more to your taste in it! :D

 

It was indeed Foster The People and Example, both decent but neither would rank inside my top 40 of the year - personally whilst the Example album is indeed FAR better than his last overall, the singles have really underwhelmed me in comparison to those from his last era, even though he's much bigger now! Still, I'd sooner play this album than his last - which literally had only four or five listenable songs at all. Foster The People's album was good, not I'd rave over but it spawned four hit singles in my chart so it's got to be doing something right...

 

I really ought to get round to the Those Dancing Days album though, I imagine I'd like it. I've heard the name Ben Howard but I don't think I've ever heard a single thing by him so I'll have a listen later!

YAY. Excellent choice of #1 album. It's probably not technically the 'best' album of the year but it's certainly the one I've listened most often in 2011 - which is saying something considering it's only been out a few months. There's nothing on there that I would rate less than an 8/10 at the moment - plus I agree, it really is an album that could be lapped up by the general public if they only knew about it.

06 - Wild Beasts 'Smother'

 

http://pitchforksays.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/wild-beasts-smother.jpg

 

Following 'Money' and 'Post Break-Up Sex' for The Drums and The Vaccines, this is another album which I was initially a bit put off by from the first single, only for it to be the song on the album I consider to be the worst. I thought their previous album 'Two Dancers' was very good, but didn't quite love it as much as I perhaps thought I should, or as much as many others did. This third album sees them go up a notch, it's all quite similar to their last album but it's another that's a bit more refined as they continue to find their direction. I can't still quite happily skip over 'Albatross' though, the only blemish on an otherwise fantastic record. A baffling Mercury snub though.

 

I really should get round to listening to this, I quite liked "Two Dancers". I'm friends with Hayden Thorpe's sister, which makes it doubly bad that I haven't listened to it :kink:

 

Great list Mark, I've only got about six of the albums in your extended list but I haven't bought a great deal of albums this year so I wouldn't expect many more.

53 Glasvegas 'Euphoric /// Heartbreak'

51 M83 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'

49 James Blake 'James Blake'

48 White Lies 'Ritual'

42 Tennis 'Cape Dory'

41 Destroyer 'Kaputt'

39 Coldplay 'Mylo Xyloto'

38 Tune-Yards 'Who Kill'

35 TV on the Radio 'Nine Types of Light'

31 Active Child 'You Are All I See'

30 jj 'Kills'

25 Go! Team 'Rolling Blackouts'

18 Gang Gang Dance 'Eye Contact'

12 Example 'Playing In The Shadows' // An average album with great stand-out singles.

09 Drums 'Portamento' // I realised that I actually never listened to this despite downloading it :lol:

08 Bon Iver 'Bon Iver'

05 Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' // Don't really feel this album :(

04 Pains of Being Pure at Heart 'Belong

01 Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom' // It'd have completely gone over my radar if not for you and Dandy who basically RAPED this album in your respective charts? :o

 

These are the ones I love or have something to comment on.

 

The farther end is so much better than the Top 20 :(

 

 

That's a shame, although at least you like some of them! :D And yes, I suppose Ben Howard has been doing rather well in mine and Dandy's chart since October time! :D

It was indeed Foster The People and Example, both decent but neither would rank inside my top 40 of the year - personally whilst the Example album is indeed FAR better than his last overall, the singles have really underwhelmed me in comparison to those from his last era, even though he's much bigger now! Still, I'd sooner play this album than his last - which literally had only four or five listenable songs at all. Foster The People's album was good, not I'd rave over but it spawned four hit singles in my chart so it's got to be doing something right...

 

I really ought to get round to the Those Dancing Days album though, I imagine I'd like it. I've heard the name Ben Howard but I don't think I've ever heard a single thing by him so I'll have a listen later!

 

I was right then! I do think that the singles of Example's album are a little underwhelming but it's an album that I don't really fell has many highlights, it's all songs I'd rate 8 or 9/10 with only 'The Way' possibly being a 10, and and the last song 'Anything' going down to a 7. It's incredibly consistent which makes it a decent listen all the way through. As you say, much better than his previous album, its highs were higher but overall it was awful.

 

I do think you'd like Those Dancing Days, although perhaps not all of it. You might like Ben Howard, you might not but I don't see why you wouldn't really. The singles Keep Your Head Up and The Fear are certainly worth starting with.

YAY. Excellent choice of #1 album. It's probably not technically the 'best' album of the year but it's certainly the one I've listened most often in 2011 - which is saying something considering it's only been out a few months. There's nothing on there that I would rate less than an 8/10 at the moment - plus I agree, it really is an album that could be lapped up by the general public if they only knew about it.

 

I'd agree with that, it's perhaps not the best but it's certainly my favourite. It's not often I enjoy an album that much that quickly and still do so long down the line. It is a shame he's not been pushed more, looking at Compare My Radio he's only getting played by the indie stations (NME, Absoloute, Q, Nation) and a few from Radio 1. If he could get a mainstream commercial push it would be wonderful. His album has at least stayed in the top 100 since release, so I'm hoping it may climb a bit in the new year.

I really should get round to listening to this, I quite liked "Two Dancers". I'm friends with Hayden Thorpe's sister, which makes it doubly bad that I haven't listened to it :kink:

 

Great list Mark, I've only got about six of the albums in your extended list but I haven't bought a great deal of albums this year so I wouldn't expect many more.

 

You should definitely listen to 'Smother', I can't see why you wouldn't like it if you liked their previous album. Thanks for commenting! :D

Have to admit I was not expecting that at number one! (And Wu Lyf would have been so much better :wub:)

I like these:

 

51 M83 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'

49 James Blake 'James Blake'

43 Arctic Monkeys 'Suck It and See'

41 Destroyer 'Kaputt'

36 Metronomy 'The English Riviera'

34 Lykke Li 'Wounded Rhymes'

30 jj 'Kills'

23 Friendly Fires 'Pala'

20 Washed Out 'Within And Without'

17 Death Cab for Cutie 'Codes and Keys'

09 Drums 'Portamento'

08 Bon Iver 'Bon Iver'

07 Vaccines 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?'

06 Wild Beasts 'Smother'

 

05 Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' - I thought this was okay but certainly not up to the level of 'Fleet Foxes' which is up there with my favourite albums of all time I'd say.

04 Pains of Being Pure at Heart 'Belong' - again, liked this but their first album is one of my favourite of the last few years and this doesn't quite match that. But looking at it singularly it's certainly an impressive record. I can see them getting a little samey though if they keep releasing music of the same ilk...

03 Horrors 'Skying' - never been impressed by any of the Horrors stuff in all honesty.

02 Wu Lyf 'Go Tell Fire To The Mountain' - this really slipped under the radar after the press about their elusiveness ha. It was okay but certainly not up the 'hype' so to say.

01 Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom' - I never liked this... he just seemed a little bit David Gray crossed with Mumford and Sons to me. Certainly surprised to see the amount of love he has on here.

 

What did you think of the latest Los Campesinos! album Mark? ;o

COMMENTARY FOR #0 PLEASE

how can you possibly not like animal collective pre-strawberry jam???? that's their best stuff (well, merriweather is definitely great though). like seriously, when i first heard feels and sung tongs i couldn't believe how good they were.

 

some great albums here though. can't say i'm really fond of your #1 though

COMMENTARY FOR #0 PLEASE

 

00 - The Saturdays 'On Your Radar'

 

http://www.lyrics.as/images/album/thumb/On_Your_Radar16571.jpg

 

Perhaps not because of the joy this brings me musically, but this is the best album of the year for other reasons, mainly for the SIXTY SIX pages of PURE COMEDY GOLD it brought in the form of deluded, disillusioned loons having full on meltdowns as to how it ONLY charted at #23. Can it be justified or is it a flop of the most epic proportions? The loons can't decide so how should I know!

how can you possibly not like animal collective pre-strawberry jam???? that's their best stuff (well, merriweather is definitely great though). like seriously, when i first heard feels and sung tongs i couldn't believe how good they were.

 

some great albums here though. can't say i'm really fond of your #1 though

I'm not sure I've actually heard that one. Instead of going backwards I started at the beginning. Their first two albums I found were completely unlistenable and it didn't seem to get much better so just stopped, although to be fair I do quite like Leaf House and We Tigers which so I should possibly listen to it. Looking at their discography, I've definitely heard their first four albums, don't think I've listened to Song Tungs and am not sure on Feels. I think I got bored of listening to them TBH. :(

 

As long as you like some, I didn't really expect it to be the most popular #1!

Have to admit I was not expecting that at number one! (And Wu Lyf would have been so much better :wub:)

Thanks, it possibly is a surprise but the last couple of months I have loved him a lot, and I've shown it on here tbh! Wu Lyf are great though, assuming it will be high in yours then!

I like these:

 

51 M83 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'

49 James Blake 'James Blake'

43 Arctic Monkeys 'Suck It and See'

41 Destroyer 'Kaputt'

36 Metronomy 'The English Riviera'

34 Lykke Li 'Wounded Rhymes'

30 jj 'Kills'

23 Friendly Fires 'Pala'

20 Washed Out 'Within And Without'

17 Death Cab for Cutie 'Codes and Keys'

09 Drums 'Portamento'

08 Bon Iver 'Bon Iver'

07 Vaccines 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?'

06 Wild Beasts 'Smother'

 

05 Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' - I thought this was okay but certainly not up to the level of 'Fleet Foxes' which is up there with my favourite albums of all time I'd say.

04 Pains of Being Pure at Heart 'Belong' - again, liked this but their first album is one of my favourite of the last few years and this doesn't quite match that. But looking at it singularly it's certainly an impressive record. I can see them getting a little samey though if they keep releasing music of the same ilk...

03 Horrors 'Skying' - never been impressed by any of the Horrors stuff in all honesty.

02 Wu Lyf 'Go Tell Fire To The Mountain' - this really slipped under the radar after the press about their elusiveness ha. It was okay but certainly not up the 'hype' so to say.

01 Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom' - I never liked this... he just seemed a little bit David Gray crossed with Mumford and Sons to me. Certainly surprised to see the amount of love he has on here.

 

What did you think of the latest Los Campesinos! album Mark? ;o

 

Thanks for commenting! I'd probably agree with you on The Pains... I love their first two albums, but they are definitely quite similar in ways, I'm not sure a third of the same ilk would be as good.

 

David Gray and Mumford & Sons probably isn't that bad a comparison really, and I quite like both of them to be fair. I think his voice has a bit of Damien Rice in there, and not entirely dissimilar from James Morrison at times!

 

I had no idea LC! had even released their new album yet? Thought it was coming out in the new year :drama: I shall download it now!

07 Vaccines 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?' - Sometimes I feel this has been an underwhelming year for albums, especially when I look at what I've been listening to and this is one of the underachievers. I loved Wreckin' Bar but then the rest of the album just doesn't deliver.

05 Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' I dismissed this initially (apart from the wonderful Helplessness Blues) but funnily enough I listened to this last night and the harmonies really hooked me. One for further investigation.

03 Horrors 'Skying' A good album - 'nuff said!

 

Apart from these, Velociraptor definitely falls into the underachiever category while Tune-yards should have been so much higher (in my humble opinion!)

00 - The Saturdays 'On Your Radar'

 

http://www.lyrics.as/images/album/thumb/On_Your_Radar16571.jpg

 

Perhaps not because of the joy this brings me musically, but this is the best album of the year for other reasons, mainly for the SIXTY SIX pages of PURE COMEDY GOLD it brought in the form of deluded, disillusioned loons having full on meltdowns as to how it ONLY charted at #23. Can it be justified or is it a flop of the most epic proportions? The loons can't decide so how should I know!

:D!

I'm not sure I've actually heard that one. Instead of going backwards I started at the beginning. Their first two albums I found were completely unlistenable and it didn't seem to get much better so just stopped, although to be fair I do quite like Leaf House and We Tigers which so I should possibly listen to it. Looking at their discography, I've definitely heard their first four albums, don't think I've listened to Song Tungs and am not sure on Feels. I think I got bored of listening to them TBH. :(

 

As long as you like some, I didn't really expect it to be the most popular #1!

 

I really like how high The Drums are. I also totally agree with all your sentiments on it. Liked their really early stuff, dissapointed by their debut, totally underwhelmed about this album coming out. Then I heard Money and played it obsessively (though I was still hesitant when the album was released, and I remember putting it on and kind of only enjoying a couple songs). But I just kept coming back to it and discovering new favorites. It's such a catchy record, one of my favorite pop albums of the year.