Albums I enjoyed in 2011.

I hate doing these, because there's really nothing more subjective than music, and inevitably what I like may be horrible to other people. With that in mind I will preface the following by saying that I do not believe this is the best of 2011. Such a thing does not exist. This is merely the things I enjoyed the most, I will almost certainly disagree with it next year, but I always love reading my past year end music articles because they fascinate me.

The truth is though, this was really difficult to do. From the casual perspective of listening to the radio and hearing "Moves like Jagger" 3,500 times a day one could easily conclude that music has gotten much, much worse over the years. I loved 2011 though. I don't listen to the radio, and there is no shortage of excellent stuff for those willing to look for it. 

So anyways. Here we go, these are my favorites from 2011. Also known as the albums I hope to own on vinyl at some point :)

10. Josh Garrels - Love and War and the Sea in between

This album blew my mind. Noisetrade has grown into an increasingly reputable place to get great music, but this album took that to another level in my head with 18 tracks, none of which disappoint. 

9. The Black Keys - El Camino

Raw, simple, maybe a little predictable. But with that said, if you like one of their songs, you will like all of them. The Black Keys are what they are. And what they are is good.

8. Mute Math - Odd Soul

I almost gave up on this band as I had started to grow tired of what they were doing, and then Odd Soul came out. This album was a huge risk as it is nothing like what they had been doing, but their musicianship and talent really came through. 

7. The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart

Such a good record. This album, as well as albums from The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes came out at similar times and all of my folk music needs have been satisfied ever since. 

6. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

I wouldn't say that this was the Foo Fighters' best record, but if the Foo Fighters ever decided to have the ashes of their career pressed into one record, this is the one they would choose. The Foo Fighters have been a lot of things over the years, but at this moment in time they are the world's last great hope for rock. 

5. Phil Wickham - Response

This isn't really the kind of music I usually like, but the man can sing, and this album works for me and has become my go to album when I need a pick me up. 

4. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

John Paul and Joy can sing anything and make it sound amazing. I really can't say enough good things about this duo. 

3. John Mark McMillan - Economy

Raw, raucus, simple, emotional yet somehow manly to a point of being "lumberjack-like", John Mark has yet to disappoint me. As the Christian music genre has continued to devolve into a lot of predictable music that often sounds like terrible love songs with God's name thrown into them a couple times, John Mark refreshes me. 

2. Foster the People - Torches

This is my guilty pleasure for the year. Indie pop at it's finest. Every car ride is made better by Foster the People. 

1. Gungor - Ghosts upon the earth

I wore this album out for a good month after it came out. "Ghosts upon the Earth" is really everything I want out of a record. Their musicianship is on display from the get go, and they get bonus points for making a "concept album" that attempts to tell the story of everything that ever was, is, and is yet to come. 

Stuff I liked, and thought were worth mentioning, but couldn't quite fit into my list (not exhaustive)

Wilco - The Whole Love

I cannot think of one negative thing to say about this album, but if you removed it from their catalog I wouldn't really know the difference. The fact that this didn't make the list really says more about how much stuff came out that I enjoyed in 2011 than anything. 

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Loved this. Not as much as seemingly everyone else, but this record is delicious. 

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Well done. I liked this more than Viva la Vida. However, the longer a band is around the harder it is for them to do something I haven't heard before. 

Switchfoot - Vice Verses

See above review. I liked this a lot, "Dark Horses", "Thrive", and "Restless" may have become my 3 favorite Switchfoot songs, but I skipped more songs on this album than I'm used to skipping on a Switchfoot album, so I couldn't quite include it on the list. 

Adele - 21

I liked this a lot initially, but when your music gets played so much that even people like me who don't listen to the radio get tired of it, that's not a great sign. 

The Undeserving-Almost Alive

It's crazy to include this on a 2011 list, given how long it's been since a lot of these songs were written, but it really held up for me. I'm already eager to hear where they go from here.

Relient K - K for Karaoke

This is legitimately my favorite cover album of all time. 

Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire

I've always liked Adams, but right off the bat with "Dirty Rain" it's obvious that he's really evolved. Between this and the Bon Iver record, I may never have difficulty chilling out again. 

The Decemberists - The King is Dead

The bluegrass infused direction they've chosen really worked for me. "Don't Carry it All", "Rox in the Box", and "Down by the Water" were highlights for me as I played this album once a day for about a month at work. 

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Really good follow up to their debut, there's really no reason that doesn't belong in a top ten other than the fact that there can only be ten...and I enjoyed those ten slightly more. Great stuff though, check it out if you haven't already.

I liked a bunch of other stuff too. The Roots, Jay-Z/Kanye, Eddie Vedder, Incubus, Matt Nathanson, Steve Moakler, Cake, Burlap to Cashmere, Radiohead, Cool Hand Luke, Childish Gambino, M83, Needtobreathe, Leeland, and one track from Five Iron Frenzy that made me so happy I almost included it in my top ten. Well there we go. Another year down. I'll certainly think of things I forgot as this week rolls on, but this is a picture of what I enjoyed in 2011. You're welcome, future Ben.