I'll whiz through to #11 now.

 

30. Matt Cardle - Letters

 

Top 5:

1. Starlight

2. Run For Your Life

3. Walking On Water

4. Beat Of A Breaking Heart

5. When We Collide

 

It's a rather strong debut from Matt. But.. I'm sorry Regina (:P), not much has drawn me back to listen to it. Starlight, Run For Your Life and Walking On Water are all extremely strong tracks though.

 

29. N'Dubz - Love.Live.Life

 

Top 5:

1. We Dance On

2. Best Behaviour

3. Lovesick

4. So Alive

5. Love Live Life

 

A rather strong album on the whole. Yes, there are a few unlistenable tracks on it, which gets it marked down (because I'm not able to sit through the awfulness that is Living For The Moment, Toot It And Boot It and that Skit), but it's a fun last effort from the band, and any track that you CAN listen to is some rather amazing hip-hop. Mentions also go to Cold Shoulder, Took It All Away and Scream My Name for also being rather fun. Yes, I'm a fan of the band everyone hates. Shame :(. It's a great album.

 

28. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

 

Top 5:

1. Princess Of China

2. Paradise

3. Charlie Brown

4. Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

5. Us Against The World

 

Well... they got the singles right. Incredibly right. Similar to all the other Coldplay albums though, they get the singles right and the rest of it is mainly filler. I can't see anything else that is worth anything from here. Princess Of China and Paradise rank among some of the best things they have ever done, however.

 

27. Le Kid - Oh Alright

 

Top 5:

1. Mr. Brightside

2. We Are The Drums

3. Oh My God

4. Seventeen

5. Kiss Me

 

A rather strong effort from Le Kid. I wouldn't say they are amazing, but that cover of Mr Brightside is. The rest of the tracks are fairly good scandipop. There isn't anything that's a huge favourite though, it's all rather consistently good.

 

26. Aura Dione - Before The Dinosaurs

 

Top 5:

1. Friends

2. Geronimo

3. America

4. Masterpiece

5. Before The Dinosaurs

 

A rather strong effort from Aura, I think. And this one has the better America, Le Kid. :P It's not strong from beginning to end, the first 3 tracks are nice, it falters a bit in the middle with the exception of Masterpiece, and then picks up towards the end. The 5 tracks there are easily the best. Just be thankful I didn't post the artwork, although I do rather like it. :blush:

 

25. Avril Lavigne - Goodbye Lullaby

 

Top 5:

1. What The Hell

2. Smile

3. Everybody Hurts

4. Push

5. Goodbye

 

*sigh*. Just like The Fall, it's another of my favourite acts coming back with a rather sub-par album. There's not much on it, besides What The Hell and Smile (both amazing), although mid-album ballad Everybody Hurts is quite something. Her other 3 albums are better overall. :(

 

24. Take That - Progressed

 

Top 5:

1. Happy Now

2. SOS

3. Kidz

4. The Flood

5. Beautiful

 

So.. the singles. Beautiful was the best thing to come out of the re-release, I think. Anthemic and a little emotional, it defines the album. It's OK, I suppose. I'm counting both Progress and the extra things in here, fyi. Eight Letters, When We Were Young and Love Love are also rather good, but besides those 8 tracks, there isn't much else...

 

23. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

 

Top 5:

1. The One That Got Away

2. Teenage Dream

3. Firework

4. E.T

5. Circle The Drain

 

Hey! I only got it this year. It's a really strong pop album, I probably subconsciously docked it a few places because of the age, but it's a solid album throughout. I don't think there's a weak track there. There may be a few that have suffered from overplay *cough* Cali Gurls, Last Friday Night *cough*, but it's a very enjoyable listen.

 

22. Beyoncé - 4

 

Top 5:

1. Best Thing I Never Had

2. End Of Time

3. Countdown

4. Party

5. I Was Here

 

Something that wasn't docked anything. It's patchy. It has a few amazing tracks on it. Some really amazing tracks on it. Then it has that opening mess (1+1) and that closing mess (Run The World). I have come to expect better from Bey. :( Even Love On Top is a bit generic. So it doesn't quite make my top 20, even though there are some beautiful ballads on it that I really love.

 

21. Ed Sheeran - +

 

Top 5:

1. You Need Me, I Don't Need You

2. The A Team

3. Lego House

4. The City

5. Grade 8

 

Another album that's taken it's time to grow on me, but it's still a bit patchy in places. The singles have been right, really, and The City and Grade 8 show the side of Ed that I'm probably a bit more interested in, that is to say, like Bruno, the side of Ed that's a bit darker and faster. So while I love the two single ballads, I prefer his fast stuff. The rest of the album doesn't interest me as much, I'm sorry to say.

 

20. Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials

 

Top 5:

1. Shake It Out

2. No Light No Light

3. What The Water Gave Me

4. Breaking Down

5. Heartlines

 

A rather strong album, this is the region we start getting to them. Like I said for What The Water Gave Me, Florence wasn't one of my favourite acts before this year. She is now. The 3 singles are all absolutely superb, No Light No Light shall be something for next year, expect to see Shake It Out in the top 100 though. Breaking Down is also really good. The album tracks haven't, for the most part, grown on me properly though, but it's still a very enjoyable effort.

 

19. Katy B - On A Mission

 

Top 5:

1. Broken Record

2. Easy Please Me

3. Go Away

4. Perfect Stranger

5. Witches' Brew

 

Another strong effort that I really wasn't expecting to like quite this much, as I didn't particularly rate Katy B before 2011. Then she comes up with Broken Record and I fall in love. Fortunately, the album had more of the same on it, with the glorious Go Away being the best of the album tracks themed in that way, Easy Please Me being cute as hell, and Perfect Stranger benefiting from excellent production.

 

18. Nicola Roberts - Cinderella's Eyes

 

Top 5:

1. Beat Of My Drum

2. Lucky Day

3. Gladiator

4. Take A Bite

5. Yo-Yo

 

A pop album that I held off for a while before getting, but when I did, I was rather glad. Gladiator in particular was a wonderfully produced track. It's not quite the pop revolution I heard everyone on the internet (what seemed like it at least) proclaiming it to be the second coming. That does remind me though. With that Amazon gift card I got for Christmas, I ought to invest in Melanie C and J.Lo's albums. They seem rather similar. Just a silly reminder...

 

17. The Saturdays - On Your Radar

 

Top 5:

1. Faster

2. All Fired Up

3. Get Ready Get Set

4. Notorious

5. White Lies

 

The most recent album on this list that I've listened to, and I love it already. It'll probably be even higher in my next EoY, but for now, it's a great pop album. Get Ready Get Set is particularly cute, and Faster is all kinds of awesome. It's a very strong album overall, so it jumps straight above the halfway point of my albums as it's already become one of my favourites of the latter half.

 

16. The Wombats - This Modern Glitch

 

Top 5:

1. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)

2. Jump Into The Fog

3. Techno Fan

4. Our Perfect Disease

5. 1996

 

Making it almost to the top 15 mainly on the strength of Tokyo and Jump Into The Fog, This Modern Glitch is still a rather enjoyable listen. It's a little high on indie filler, but I've got used to all the tracks now. It's better when they don't try ballads, however, Schumacher the Champagne and Anti-D are the weak links on the album.

 

15. Tinie Tempah - DISC-overy

 

Top 5:

1. Written In The Stars

2. Invincible

3. Wonderman

4. Pass Out

5. Simply Unstoppable

 

Another 2010 album sneaking in, DISC-overy is a very enjoyable mainstream listen. Singles are the highlights, but there's only a couple of weak tracks on here, then again, he released half the album, didn't he? :lol: It's still leaving me salivating for a follow up though.

 

14. Same Difference - The Rest Is History

 

Top 5:

1. Karma Karma

2. The Rest Is History

3. Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)

4. Souled Out

5. Euphoria

 

An album that is stronger than I first expected, highlight is obviously the Alcazar collaboration though. The bottom half of the album is also a little weak compared to those first 5 tracks. It's all great pop though, so perfect for me. And remarkably more mature than I expected. Same Difference remain one of my favourite X Factor acts, they are probably gone after this sold about 10 copies or so though... Didn't deserve that.

 

13. Nightwish - Imaginaerum

 

Top 5:

1. Storytime

2. Imaginaerum

3. Turn Loose The Mermaids

4. Taikatalvi

5. Ghost River

 

A favourite act of mine that got reawakened after my love for them laying dormant for so long. I rediscovered them and their new album last month, and it is a rather trendy effort. Storytime is by far the standout, but there are several moments of symphonic brilliance on here, and I'm glad I finally managed to get it.

 

12. Far East Movement - Free Wired

 

Top 5:

1. Rocketeer

2. White Flag

3. 2 Is Better

4. If I Were You

5. Like A G6

 

If you told me last year that Far East Movement would produce a good album, let alone my 12th favourite of 2011, I would have laughed in your face. Like A G6 being all over the airwaves had grated on me something fierce. But Rocketeer was superb, and the amount of good collaborations on the album is quiet amazing. White Flag is especially enjoyable, as are some of their club tracks. While it's not the best thing on the album, the Keri collab is rather good also. It's an album that I bought on a whim and it surprised me with its strength.

 

11. Christina Perri - Lovestrong.

 

Top 5:

1. Arms

2. Jar Of Hearts

3. Bang Bang Bang

4. The Lonely

5. Bluebird

 

Surprisingly, it missed the top 10. That's because it's half parts AMAZING ON SO MANY LEVELS, and half parts dreary ballads. Bang Bang Bang and The Lonely, along with Mine, Bluebird and the singles are worth keeping. The others aren't... So it's with regret that it misses my top 10, but the 10 are all incredibly strong masterpieces.

 

Top 10 I will plough through tomorrow. Speculation very welcome. ^_^

10. Kelly Clarkson - Stronger

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ca/Kelly_Clarkson_-_Stronger.jpg/220px-Kelly_Clarkson_-_Stronger.jpg

 

Mr. Know It All - 10/10

What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - 10/10

Dark Side - 9.5/10

Honestly - 8/10

You Love Me - 8.5/10

Einstein - 9/10

Standing In Front Of You - 8/10

I Forgive You - 10/10

Hello - 9.5/10

The War Is Over - 8.5/10

Let Me Down - 9/10

You Can't Win - 8/10

Breaking Your Own Heart - 8/10

Don't You Wanna Stay - 7.5/10

Alone - 7.5/10

Don't Be A Girl About It - 8/10

The Sun Will Rise - 8.5/10

 

An album I got towards the end of the year, and quite a while after it got released, it has made enough of an impression on me in a few short months to become one of my favourite albums of 2011. I hadn't gotten an album by Kelly Clarkson before this, so when I got this and Breakaway together on Amazon I was rather impressed. The highlights are Mr Know It All, Stronger and I Forgive You, Stronger especially took a little while to grow on me before I was going to admit this though. Dark Side and Hello also really stood out. The rest of the album is consistently rather strong throughout, (with a rather generous rating system), and the extra tracks on the end are the weakest, but it's an album I'm incredibly glad I bought. I wasn't considering it at first. As for what I hope is the single pattern after Stronger, it should definitely go I Forgive You, Dark Side, Hello. That is if Stronger doesn't flop. The best thing is that I have a feeling it isn't Kelly's strongest work. Breakaway is for sure greater than this, and I bet that one of the other two is better than this too.

 

9. Adele - 21

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/55/21Adele.jpg/220px-21Adele.jpg

 

Rolling In The Deep - 10/10

Rumour Has It - 8.5/10

Turning Tables - 9/10

Don't You Remember - 8/10

Set Fire To The Rain - 11/10

He Won't Go - 8.5/10

Take It All - 8/10

I'll Be Waiting - 9/10

One And Only - 7/10

Lovesong - 7/10

Someone Like You - 9/10

 

When I first got this album, at the point where it was selling bucketloads every week, I didn't know what to expect, and I was, to be honest, a little disappointed. It felt quite weak throughout, a lot of the songs felt samey, and it was hard to see why everyone was falling in love with it. Fast forward about 8 months. I go listen to the tracks again. Most of them are quite amazing. While the album falters its pace after the great I'll Be Waiting, with Lovesong and One And Only not being quite up to par with the rest of the album, the rest of the tracks are rather superb. It's less consistent than Stronger, but it's a well-crafted album, and has far better highlights. Set Fire To The Rain is by far the best thing Adele has done. Certainly a better effort than 19 for me, which singles aside, was rather boring.

8. Chase & Status - No More Idols

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c6/No_More_Idols.jpg/220px-No_More_Idols.jpg

 

No Problem - 7.5/10

Fire In Your Eyes - 8/10

Let You Go - 10/10

Blind Faith - 10/10

Fool Yourself - 8.5/10

Hypest Hype - 9/10

Hitz - 9/10

Heavy - 9/10

Brixton Briefcase - 7/10

Hocus Pocus - 8/10

Flashing Lights - 7/10

Embrace - 7/10

Time - 10/10

Midnight Caller - 8.5/10

End Credits - 11/10

 

Another album I got on a whim, it turned out to be a great listen. I love all of Chase & Status' singles, even though Blind Faith *ahem* took a while to grow on me (I despised it at first), End Credits is a flawless song, Let You Go and Time are at opposite ends of the scales, but they are both wonderfully produced, Hitz, Hypest Hype and Heavy are very catchy, as are No Problem and Fool Yourself. Midnight Caller is a great penultimate track, and it's only towards the middle of the album where quality falters, if at all. The guest list is very impressive, and as such, each guest artist brings something different to each song, which in some ways, is what really appeals to me about this album, each track can be sifted from the others extremely easily, even after only a few listens. And I've listened to all of these quite a lot. Even though, as I said, each track is different from the next, it still works as a coherent effort. A very well produced album, and my favourite from the drum and bass and dubstep side of things this year.

 

7. Rihanna - Talk That Talk

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Rihanna_-_Talk_That_Talk_-_Cover_-_Deluxe.jpg/220px-Rihanna_-_Talk_That_Talk_-_Cover_-_Deluxe.jpg

 

You Da One - 8.5/10

Where Have You Been - 11/10

We Found Love - 10/10

Talk That Talk - 9/10

Cockiness (Love It) - 9/10

Birthday Cake - 5/10

We All Want Love - 8/10

Drunk On Love - 7/10

Roc Me Out 8/10

Watch N Learn - 9/10

Farewell 10/10

Red Lipstick - 7/10

Do Ya Thang - 8/10

Fool In Love - 8/10

 

Comparatively disappointing. I know Rihanna's capable of producing better albums than this. Having said that, this is still a very enjoyable listen all the way through. Obvious standout is obvious in Where Have You Been. We Found Love is a strong lead single, Talk That Talk is incredibly catchy, Watch N Learn is (very, looking at the results of the Talk That Talk vote in the Rihanna forum) underrated :cry:, Farewell is the Rihanna ballad this era that I will fall head over heels in love with. It's really good. You Da One isn't perhaps the best choice for a second single, but it's still passable. It's overall rather pleasant, but it's only her 4th best album all things considered. I wouldn't mind if Rihanna takes a slightly longer break after this, she's been going all out. I love her dominating the airwaves, but even so, I think a break would produce a slightly better album than this. It's amazing, but she's capable of better than amazing.

 

6. Alesha Dixon - The Entertainer

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/TheEntertainerAlesha.jpg

 

Baddest Chick - 9/10

Radio - 11/10

Every Little Part Of Me - 10/10

Drummer Boy - 7/10

Take Control - 10/10

The Entertainer - 8/10

Colour - 9.5/10

Tug Of War - 9/10

On Top - 8.5/10

La La La - 7/10

Cool With Me 9/10

Radio Remix - 9/10

Love In A Box - 8/10

Download Me 8/10

 

A very strong album that should absolutely not have flopped on its arse the way it did. With the exception of lead single (:lol:) Drummer Boy and La La La, it remains a very enjoyable listen all the way through. While I haven't actually listened to The Alesha Show, this has sated my need for Alesha enough. I love her as a singer, so it's quite criminal that this'll probably be her last effort, with Radio, one of the best songs of her career sitting in pride of place. Radio is even better than her wonderful Breathe Slow for me...

The rest of the album is rather more electro, but Baddest Chick, Colour, Tug Of War, and On Top are all very catchy with some lovely backing instrumentals, and early standouts The Entertianer and Every Little Part Of Me are still good, even though they peaked in my affections a long while ago. Cool With Me sums it up best, a beautiful ballad to close the album with, and it really makes me happy. It's stayed with me throughout the whole of 2011 ever since I got it in February and will for a long time; it may be a bit generic, but it's on the good side of generic.

 

------------------------

 

Top 5 I will reveal later. This contains 3 female lead artists, and 2 male lead artists. 3 of them are American, only 1 was a UK #1 album, one didn't make the top 40, yet all 5 made the top 100. Between them, the 5 albums produced 12 UK top 10 singles. Excitement! :D

5. Nicole Scherzinger - Killer Love

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Killer_Love_(album_cover).jpg/220px-Killer_Love_(album_cover).jpg

 

Poison - 10/10

Killer Love - 9.5/10

Don't Hold Your Breath - 11/10

Right There - 8/10

You Will Be Loved - 7.5/10

Wet - 9/10

Say Yes 8/10

Club Banger Nation - 9.5/10

Power's Out - 8.5/10

Desperate - 9.5/10

Everybody - 9/10

Heartbeat (Open Heart Remix) - 9/10

Casualty 9/10

AmenJena - 7/10

(Try With Me - 10/10)

 

NICOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A ridulously strong album from start to er... Casualty. The opening 3 tracks give the most power to that vox from Flopzinger-no-longer, and are all extremely impressive, Poison is all kinds of *.*, and Don't Hold Your Breath has been my favourite UK #1 this year, more on that later though. Urban (kinda) single Right There isn't as great as the other singles, but still rather good. Wet I struggled to get into, but it's still a rather good song. Club Banger Nation and Desperate stand out among the rest, and Everybody is rather beautiful too, on a par with Casualty, which is one of the more interesting tracks on there. It's an excellent pop album, and while I haven't tried the deluxe, a superb decision to get this. Don't know what she's done with the deluxe part of the era. It was all going so well for her when Killer Love was released.

DAT BAD GIRL POWAH I GOT...

4. Rihanna - Loud

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Loud_-_Rihanna.jpg/220px-Loud_-_Rihanna.jpg

 

S&M - 8.5/10

What's My Name - 9/10

Cheers (Drink To That) - 9/10

Fading - 10/10

Only Girl (In The World) - 9.5/10

California King Bed - 11/10

Man Down - 10/10

Raining Men - 8/10

Complicated - 7.5/10

Skin - 8.5/10

Love The Way You Lie Pt 2 - 10/10

 

The highest album on here that was released in 2010, it was the first album I bought for myself. Ever. In January of this year. And it's one of the greatest pop albums in existence. I wasn't completely sold on the first 3 singles at first either. But Only Girl has grown on me throughout the year, I do rather like What's My Name now and S&M is fairly good, if still one of Rihanna's weakest singles. Many of these tracks are still to come in my top 100 at some point, I'm probably covering half the tracks on here at some point in my single rundown :lol:. California King Bed is amazing. Like Teenage Dream, I think it could be read as a mini Greatest Hits, all of these tracks are so good, and yet they never get old. The weakest link is Complicated, but even that is good enough, there isn't any REAL weak link on here, like there was with Birthday Cake on Talk That Talk. Also, LTWYL Pt 2! :wub:

3. David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/Nothing_But_the_Beat.JPG/220px-Nothing_But_the_Beat.JPG

 

Where Them Girls At - 9/10

Little Bad Girl - 6/10

Turn Me On - 10/10

Without You - 8/10

Nothing Really Matters - 6/10

I Can Only Imagine - 8/10

Crank It Up - 9/10

I Just Wanna F - 9/10

Night Of Your Life - 10/10

Repeat - 9/10

Titanium - 11/10

Lunar - 9/10

 

Yes, it has two 6/10s, but the rest of the album is total amazingness. Where Them Girls At was a good lead single, even if it did get a bit overplayed at the time, I Can Only Imagine is the best thing I've heard Chris Brown on this year, which wasn't hard , Crank It Up was a worthy successor to Sexy Bitch, in fact, more than a worthy successor, it's rather brilliant. And then we come to the rest.

Turn Me On has the power of Nicki in action, Night Of Your Life and Repeat are lifted by J. Hud and Jessie J quite brilliantly, Titanium is well... Titanium, and Lunar is easily the best of the instrumentals (and the only one I've bothered ranking, although Little Bad Girl's instrumental improves it ^_^). I Just Wanna F is a strange one. It's very well produced, and Dev's parts are INCRED. catchy, so it's good, but I feel like it's a guilty pleasure. All in all, almost everything on this album could and should be a single, although I'm relieved he's finally chosen Titanium for early next year, it should have been there from the start, as has been shown by it's overwhelming success abroad. Yes, the female vocals in general beat the male vocals, but it isn't just that. Titanium in particular has some of the best production I've ever seen Guetta do. More like this for the next effort please. It was very appreciated.

 

So the top 2... will be revealed soon. Or now.

2. Owl City - All Things Bright And Beautiful

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3a/Album_All_Things_Bright_and_Beautiful_Cover.jpg/220px-Album_All_Things_Bright_and_Beautiful_Cover.jpg

 

The Real World - 9/10

Deer In The Headlights - 10/10

Angels - 8.5/10

Dreams Don't Turn To Dust - 10/10

Honey And The Bee - 10/10

Kamikaze - 9/10

Galaxies - 8/10

Hospital Flowers - 5/10

Alligator Sky - 10/10

The Yacht Club - 9/10

Plant Life - 9/10

How I Became The Sea - 9/10

Shy Violet - 8/10

Lonely Lullaby - 8.5/10

 

Now, the reason I'm an Owl City loon: My brother loons for Owl City FAR FAR FAR MORE than I do. It's rubbed off on me, and I have to admit, he's quite good when he wants to be. I would recommend anyone who was bought Ocean Eyes and was put off by the patchiness, or even just liked Fireflies to invest in this cruelly underrated album (It only got to #50-something in the album chart :cry:).

 

While it doesn't have a huge standout like Fireflies on it, hence why I haven't assigned an 11/10, it's far far stronger overall. The one track I skip at all is Hospital Flowers (note to Adam Young, leave medical issues alone, Dental Care was the weakest track on Ocean Eyes too). The rest I would give any time of the day to. Honey And The Bee, Dreams Don't Turn To Dust, Deer In The Headlights, and Alligator Sky are all almost perfect tracks, and exactly what I wanted from a follow-up album. Kamikaze is wonderfully different from all else he's done, Plant Life and The Yacht Club have perfect progression, and the latter is rather good at the end. Of the bonus tracks, How I Became The Sea is rather good.

 

I didn't expect to enjoy the album this much. Through the proxy of my brother, I have every Owl City album (and probably every Owl City track ever created) and I can safely say that this one is by far the best. Why he's lost all commercial appeal in such a short time after Fireflies really baffles me.

 

-------------

 

I'm sure you all know what the #1 album is. I'll be up with it, as soon as I have prepared my ESSAY on it! :D

1. Alexis Jordan - Alexis Jordan

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/AlexisJordan_album.jpg/220px-AlexisJordan_album.jpg

 

Happiness - 11/10

Good Girl - 9/10

How You Like Me Now - 10/10

Say That - 8.5/10

Love Mist 8/10

Habit 8/10

Hush Hush - 10/10

High Road 9/10

Shout Shout - 9/10

Laying Around 9.5/10

The Air That I Breathe - 9.5/10

 

Of course. ^_^

 

The singer I loon over. Would it be anything else? It's partly because she's about the CUTEST person to walk this earth, and it's partly, and more importantly, about the wonderful music. It doesn't have a flashy title, which I do tend to like, but hopefully, her next one will give us both a good title and some more amazing music.

Every track on here I have played at least 14 times on my iTunes, which is the highest collective plays I have for an album ever, according to my last.fm (Heh!) There is also not a single track below 8/10 on here for me, it's really consistent.

Happiness and Hush Hush are the best two tracks on the album as can be shown through their success in my singles chart. I've been wanting an excuse to show off Happiness' chart run (You'll see Hush Hush's later, and that isn't fabricated) so here it is: 20-7-1-1-1-2-1-6-1-2-3-6-7-5-11-12-26-29-46, and that's just the initial one It's all fabricated, but I did it because I wanted to see how much of a loon I would have been if I kept a chart back then. It's.. weird.

Anyway, enough about chart runs (WHO'S EVEN INTERESTED IN THAT STUFF ANYWAY? :drama: :o), some of the tracks on the album...

How You Like Me Now is one of the most inspiring tracks I've ever heard, Say That is a beautiful gift from Alexis to the fans that I accept with open arms, and I think it's one of her favourite tracks on the album. :wub:

Love Mist and Habit are, if anything, the weaker ones, but they are still rather incredible.

High Road and Shout Shout are another great pair of upbeat tracks, while the two ballads at the end are beautiful beautiful beautiful.

I don't know what else to say, except that this album is by far the best cohesive 11 tracks I have heard in 2011, and while it's not my favourite album of all time yet, it's going quite close to the top. Maybe it's an album of pop fluff. Maybe Alexis doesn't have much to her. BUT a brand of pop fluff that is all very appealing to me, and as unlikely as it may seem to myself a year ago, Alexis Jordan has become my favourite minor singer just through this alone. And she's very sweet on Twitter too.

 

If you were afraid of looning, you can look back now. I'm done.

 

There's the album chart done. I shall continue with the singles tomorrow.

Right, I'm getting into the most important part of the countdown, the top 100 singles. I love everything up here to bits, it's all at least a 9/10. So, here we go...

 

100. Ciara ft. Usher - Turn It Up

 

04-07-18-43-45

 

Actually, there was one more to come from XXXVI. It took a while to grow on me, because I saw Ciara and Usher and didn't listen to it much. It's a superb song, and by far the best thing on Basic Instinct, which I bought off the back of this. It's possibly a bit questionable including it on premise, but I was really loving it throughout this year, it feels so epic throughout, and I charted it rather high because I simply couldn't resist it. I always seem to forget it WAS in BJSC though.

 

 

17-21-10-17-09-10-17-33-44

 

I quite like Ain't Nobody, and this beautiful song, sampling part of it, quickly grew on me as one of my favourite haunting pieces. It kept having random revivals with me, and had this been the earlier part of the year, it would have gone top 5 with me for sure. Love You So hasn't wowed me as much as this... yet, but between this and another appearance that Delilah will have on this countdown, I am quite excited for her album in 2012.

 

 

18-23-33-46

 

A chart regret of mine, at the time I thought I was debuting Marina too high, but I should have moved it up rather than down. It's nowhere near as interesting as Hollywood was, but it's a good pop song nevertheless and I found myself enjoying it loads throughout the remainder of the year. When you're around me, I'm radioactive!!!! :wub: There are worse chart regrets to come though...

 

 

DNC

 

I remember coming across Oh Land midway through the year. I liked the song, it didn't really register with me though. As the year went on, I slowly grew to love it, and it's become one of my favourite Scandipop songs. It was only later that I discovered it was entered into BJSC, and I was half surprised it didn't win. Because of the way it slowly grew into my affections, I never got round to charting it, but it's still amazing.

 

 

28-24-26-27-43-48

 

Is this pushing it as far as flops go? It definitely continued to quietly grow on me, to become my 3rd favourite Peas track. It's good because it's mainly Fergie dominated. And it's rather friendly on the ears. And it keeps pushing at you. It's one of their best works overall, even if the 'switch-up' at the end isn't their best moment. Fergie's chorus is one of the best things she has done on her own too.

 

 

Sun Of A Gun! :wub:

 

Not surprised to see Alexis at the top of the albums :kink: . Great to see Same Difference and Nicola Roberts in the top 20, two of my favourite albums this year!

Sun Of A Gun! :wub:

 

Not surprised to see Alexis at the top of the albums :kink: . Great to see Same Difference and Nicola Roberts in the top 20, two of my favourite albums this year!

 

I don't think anyone was surprised, but I have to be honest. :lol:

Both of those albums are very strong, I think all my top 20 is. Same Difference's especially. I didn't expect such a good effort from them.

 

 

28-16-39-26-25-11-16-35

 

It never quite went top 10 for me, but it should have. It's by far Rizzle Kicks's best single, although I shall admit that Mama Do The Hump is growing on me. Down With The Trumpets contains some very clever lyrics and a catchy beat, and is worth that rather crazy chart run, which is also rather long by my standards. Yes. One of my favourite hip-hop songs this year.

 

 

19-46-x-38-28-29-34-22-24-24-27-30-28-44

 

It's peaked when I first got the album! :lol: It's a rather good song, not the best on Loud though. The excellent music video probably contributed to my love for it, but I never put it top 20 again. It's very Bajan, and since I love Barbados music ( B-) ), this endured with me a lot. The confusing thing about the single releases probably messed up my love a bit too...

 

 

33-21-14-13-14-21-31-34-40

 

The 90s region the region of the long running low peaking hits anyone? This was the initial standout from 4, Best Thing I Never Had aside, and I thought it was a certain 3rd single, so I charted it early in preparation. Then of course, the record company did some messy things with the era, snubbed this completely and I stopped caring. It's one of the better Beyoncé songs in her career. And End Of Time is such an epic title. I do enjoy its rather symmetrical chart run though.

 

 

11-04-02-04-10-19-30-40

 

The first of 3 appearances for Ed Sheeran in my top 100. It's a very good choice of single from +, especially with it's ballady epicness. And at one point, it was challenging to overtake The A Team in my affections. I got a little bored of it rather quickly though, so don't expect to see the other two for quite a while. The video is very cute though. Nice to see something that was a genuine hit in my chart turning up, it's a little embarassing all these turnarounds of opinion. :lol:

 

 

16-07-13-21-33

 

My second favourite of the songs from this year's Eurovision. It was very pleasing to see him come 3rd, although I would have much preferred he came second... It had a short chart run due to being a Eurovision song, really. It's simple Scandipop, but it's very catchy and my 2nd favourite Saade I've come across behind It's Gonna Rain. More like this for next year Sweden, please? So what will be the highest ESC song in my chart? :o

 

DNC

 

Yes, I didn't chart this originally. The reason? Because I loathed it at first. I have softened a hell of a lot since then, and although I was thinking it would end up somewhere in the 101-200 region, I wasn't expecting to put it this high. I surprised myself. It's got some rather epic lyrics, and it really gives an atmospheric feel of cold winter mornings, which is really quite nice. This is probably a contender for my biggest turn around of opinion throughout the entirety of 2011. It deserves it though.

 

 

06-13-09-17

 

The most recent winner of the BJSC, it stood out to me from the minute I opened the semi, and I knew it would do well. However, I was incredibly pleased when it won, I thought it would come 3rd at best (although I was hopeful in the predicta). In most other contests, it would have received my 12 easily, and it's easy to see why, Rachel has the same airy but epic sound as artists such as Owl City and Breanner Duren have. With a hook line that's positively glorious: 'So keep your eyes set, on the horizon', it's very deserving of getting this high.

 

 

23-25-20-10-25-37-47

 

Another recent winner. This one grew on me though. At first I thought it was a simple pop song, nice enough to get a few points. Then later, it became one I was listening to loads, and it was clear it had become a favourite, through the medium of what would be a ballad if it wasn't so uptempo. It's one of the best definitions of a perfect pop song for me, and has become my favourite song overall from XXXIX.

 

 

27-43-28-40-35-45-14-25-39-42

 

You might have noticed that longevity counts here. Especially this one. It only spent one week in a decent position, but it's one of Jason's most decent and long-lasting hits for me. I don't know what it is about the Derulo, I always tend to think his songs are rather good, even if he isn't my sort of thing at all. Fight For You is also a rather good song. I mean, leading Future History with that nothing of a song Don't Wanna Go Home.. *shakes head*. The lead-in to the chorus is rather brilliant, even if it is 'Much more than a Grammy award, that's how much you mean to me'...

 

 

08-06-10-13-16-22-44

 

A long lasting top 10 hit for me, I didn't think much of Agnes Carlsson's comeback single at first. It grew on me. I might even think it's better than Release Me now. It's definitely more exciting. And it should have been a hit in the UK, with the progression from an uptempo to a ballady chorus. And those strings on it! Agnes certainly outdid herself with this one.

 

Oh well IU was a 8/10 I guess :P

 

Not surprised at your #1 album :kink:

Oh well IU was a 8/10 I guess :P

 

Not surprised at your #1 album :kink:

 

Not at all. Good Day's an easy 9/10 as well. In fact, probably, the 9/10 range goes down to about #150, maybe #230 on a good day. I'm generous like that. ^_^

10/10 range starts about #45, with the 25 or so before that being 9.5/10.

 

The challenge is, will she do the double on the singles front? :o

 

 

05-11-20-29-50

 

A 5 week run, but one held back for BJSC. Yes, it's that again! This was a rather superb song, with a rather disturbing video, that I was very happy to award my 12 points to in BJSC XXXVIII, a strong contest in of itself. The slightly indie Scandipop song gives such an atmosphere, with such emotion held in one word: 'NO!' that it immediately made it a song I knew I was giving points to.

 

 

23-21-27-38-47-47

 

Another example of the chart run not reflecting the love properly, I was apprehensive about Glee doing an original song. On the one hand, I was interested, because I'd long since gotten fed up of their covers-that-weren't-mashups. On the other hand, it was Glee, and I'm really not a Gleek. I tried watching the show and just wasn't interested in it. So when this hit the charts, I was surprised that this was such a decent song. The verses weren't up to much, but there's no denying that powerhouse of a chorus. And so, when I look back at Glee, barring them coming up with anything better in the future, I look at this as their defining moment, and what a moment it was.

 

 

20-50-x-47-44-24-22-32-49

 

Oh. It's another Rihanna single that didn't manage to repeak when we got to it's actual release. Oh, dear. This is getting RIDICULOUS. But I like it. My friendship group are fairly big fans of RiRi collectively, so I was hearing this on nights out from the beginning of the year. It got overshadowed by We Found Love a bit, but it was a great song to finish the Loud era with, and it samples one of my favourite songs (Those of you who've been following my thread in the Lounge will know this), even if it was the weakest bit.

 

82. Devlin ft. Labrinth - Let It Go

 

14-27

 

Messed up chart in early part of year, yada yada. Nevertheless, it was one of my favourite songs on those January mornings, and I loved Labrinth's chorus for an age, and following up Runaway, which was AMAZING, it didn't disappoint at all. Well, in terms of it's success it did. Devlin's rapping is so good. Labrinth is capable of a bit better though... *hint hint*

 

Really hoping that #81 had a good chart run to save my credibility....

 

 

16-22-15-28

 

Oh...

 

Still, it's my favourite JLS song by a mile (not incl. Kickstarts), and it was one of my favourite songs in the early part of the year. Also, the title. *.* I'm wide shut.

Alexis' debut is on the whole a great listen, with some truly excellent moments! Hope she continues to be successful with her next album. :wub:

Enjoying this so far :D pop dominated

Alexis' debut is on the whole a great listen, with some truly excellent moments! Hope she continues to be successful with her next album. :wub:

 

It is, really. :wub: That's another thing, will she get the #1 album two years in a row?

 

Enjoying this so far :D pop dominated

 

Of course, but not entirely. A few of my more 'out there' penchants will appear towards the top of this thing.

 

 

27-18-32-38

 

An album track that starts off with a bang, and is the 2nd of the holy flopping Trinity from Progress (of which Kidz was also one. Love Love and The Flood don't count). It's got this high because it's rather superb, and is simply Kidz but with a few more endearing qualities.

 

 

37-02-01-02-03-03-08-12-20-23-35

 

Well thank God for that. It was getting mildly embarrassing with all the flops in sight. This isn't much better though, it's too far towards the other end of the scale. Something with 5 weeks in the top 3 at #79! It's is, however, the best thing I've heard from Kelly Rowland this year, and a worthy 2011 version of Commander/When Love Takes Over, if not as great as either of those two. Kelly Rowland doing dance is irresistible though (except when it's a cheap knockoff of On The Floor). It hit me quite hard, so to see it flop rather in the charts wasn't pleasing, but THERE YOU GO. I seem to be the song's biggest fan as well. One of my songs of the summer.

 

 

09-15-22-36

 

Hmm, it's Loreen. It was an absolutely stunning BJSC entry, and winner, Loreen is amazingly talented, and it shows effortlessly on Sober, a emotional track to the core. I gave it 8 points, and despite it being such an obvious thing, I didn't mind. Sometimes there are these juggernauts of songs that are really undeniable. Oh, the short chart run. Well, I think we're past caring about THAT.

 

 

37-39-47-26-38-49

 

My chart was RUBBISH in early 2011. This was the single that I got quite obsessed with for a long while and ended up persuading me to buy the album. It was the perfect single from Katy B in regards to that, it's by far the best thing on On A Mission (although Go Away and Easy Please Me run it close). It feels so effortless and trancey, and it goes all the way through the track so easily, not forced at all, until you get to the wonderful breakdown 'like a broken rec-ord' that is almost orgasmic in the way she says it. Go Katy B (and have a second album much like this) :wub:

 

 

34-09-11-17-35 (still charting)

 

It is an unwritten rule that X Factor winner's second singles (not counting winner's singles) have to be better than their first. So far, it has proved true for Leona, Alexandra, Joe and

now Matt. Run For Your Life was rather good. Starlight is EPIC. It entered a busier time of year for my chart, so it did well to get top 10. I even heard this on a store radio today, so it's still getting a little recognition. Still, this looks like Credible Cardle's swan song, and what a swan song. Epic all the way through, and should have easily been the lead single, it's atmospheric, and the best thing on Letters by a long way (still a rather good album).

 

13-15-18-05-05-08-12-18-27-40

 

'I'll never stop following you'

 

Top 5 for two weeks at a slow time of year, Nova is still AMAZINGLY incredible. It was my introduction to Sound Of Arrows, I have searched out their other tracks, and only M.A.G.I.C is superior to this, I think. But only just (and it doesn't really go in a 2011 chart). Epic all the way through, with a wall of sound that leaves you hungering for more, Nova is a fine discovery, and one I'm pleased to have made.

 

74. Wynter Gordon - Dirty Talk

 

30-42-48-50-50

 

'I wanna fight, all through the night'

 

Again, the longevity is more of an indicator of how much I liked this. I never got bored of it at all, it just got naturally pushed down out of my chart. Til Death, the followup, I discovered late, but it's almost as good. One could consider this a double entry for both of them, since I never charted the latter. Hmm... Anyway, Wynter. :wub:

 

 

15-07-01-03-03-05-11-18-31-42

 

'What goes around comes around, my baby'

 

Another #1 I assigned rather lightly. I did really like it, but it began to grate rather quickly. It's still the best thing Beyoncé got from this era she should have never had. It's fairly epic, not a patch on Halo though.

 

 

13-09-09-09-08-14-24-40-49

 

'There's nowhere you can hide'

 

This was a UK #1, right? I had almost forgotten about it until a few weeks ago. But it was one of the better tracks to hit the top spot this year, and had some amazing longevity with me. The backing instrumental is particularly amazing. It's a perfect summer tune, doesn't fit very well in the winter, listening to it now, but come next summer, I'm sure I shall be loving it again.

 

 

11-02-09-16-23-50

 

'I'm running out scared tonight, I'm running out scared of breathing'

 

Only stopped going to #1 by Alexis Jordan, this was my favourite track from Eurovision this year, and I was SO excited when it won. Believe it or not, when I first looked at the videos of all the songs in ESC 2011, this one stood out, and I made a prediction to myself that this would win. Hopefully I can do that for a second year in a row. Far from being the dry ballad many decry it as, and being a forgettable winner, it's full of emotion and excitement all the way through, and I still love this track 7 months later. If Azerbaijan can come up with anything nearly as good for next year in Baku, I will be behind them all the way. I can't wait to see all the 2012 tracks though. :D

 

18-12-10-12-17-24-35-43-35

 

'I wanna get beside you in the backseat'

 

One of the many hip-hop tracks I got a little obsessed with in the middle of the year, it contains Dev, who I have fallen in love with over the year for her catchiness, as well as her omnipresence. New Boyz' rapping is rather good too, but the highlight is the chorus. One of the highlights of my trip to Switzerland was hearing this in a McDs. Switzerland have rather good music taste. I mean, they put Got 2 Luv U at #1, didn't they? They do feel like an unsuccessful Rizzle Kicks, and while this was good, I have a feeling I wouldn't like any of their other tracks, so I'm fine with this flopping. I mean it. :cry:

 

 

09-11-10-13-13-15-21-34-46

 

'Whenever you need me, whenever you want me...'

Another flopping rap track, this one, something a little serious from Wiz, it's better than Black And Yellow. Rappers like him going serious doesn't always work, but this does. I find it unlikely he'll top this, it's about the best I could expect from him, even though he's one of the better new rappers this year. This hasn't been a vintage year for hip-hop, but this is one of the best 2011 had to offer.

 

 

26-27-14-32-48

 

'Cause I am taking back what's mine, I am taking back the time'

 

With an intro that blows you away with it's intenseness (+ tribal cries!!!), this was a stunning comeback from Kasabian, and one of my favourite tracks of the genre this year. It's was also one of the most successful. RIP huge rock hits. :snif: Nevertheless, this was a favourite, despite a short time in my chart, I surprised myself how high I charted this, as I've found Kasabian a bit hit and miss, Fire aside, but this was clearly one of their hits. So is Re-Wired.

 

 

DNC

 

'If this is the last time we make love, lets make it unforgettable'

 

Nope, never charted it. SO, SO, SO should have, and would have if I'd known about it when it was at the height of it being discovered. An absolutely stunning pop track, and one of FSR Rontvia's best entries to the contest, (and I've checked out several of them). If this is what Sheelah were capable of, it's a shame they split up, because this is almost perfect in it's ability to capture emotion and joyfulness. Sure to become a future favourite for me.

 

 

46-34-37-31

 

'We could have had it all'

 

When I was compiling this countdown, I kept thinking 'Should Rolling In The Deep be this high'? I never fell in love with it hugely. But the answer is yes, I couldn't put it any lower than this. Someone Like You didn't make it in here, I like it, but not enough. Rolling In The Deep, however, is such a wonderful construction that I had to put it up this high, regardless of what that chart run says.