I decided to compile a list of the best one-hundred songs of the past year that music had to offer, and put them in order too. Thought long and hard about the order, and it took a very long time. I even compiled them into a Spotify playlist that you can listen to here. 2011 was a really great year for diverse and innovative music, and it showed a lot of potential for new bands and musicians as well. Some of the albums that are in the top fifty, although brilliant, stand out as a whole, whereas other weaker albums still had really strong tracks on them, so there's a lot of variation on the list. Here is the list in full, in order:
- SBTRKT - Trials of the Past (featuring Sampha)
- Bon Iver - Calgary
- The Antlers - Putting the Dog to Sleep
- Jamie xx - Far Nearer
- M83 - Midnight City
- tUnE-yArDs - Gangsta
- Los Campesinos - By Your Hand
- Gang Gang Dance - Adult Goth
- Real Estate - Green Aisles
- CITIZENS! - True Romance
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
- Youth Lagoon - 17
- St Vincent - Cruel
- Drake - Marvins Room
- James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
- Girls - Magic
- Cass Mccombs - County Line
- Yuck - Get Away
- Washed Out - Amor Fati
- Bon Iver & James Blake - Fall Creek Boys Choir
- Atlas Sound - Mona Lisa
- Future of the Left - Polymers are Forever
- Civilian - Wye Oak
- Wise Blood - Nosferatu
- Times New Vikings - Fuck Her Tears
- EMA - The Grey Ship
- The Black Keys - Sister*
- TV on the Radio - Will Do
- Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers
- Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Forever 28
- Patrick Wolf - Bermondsey Street
- John Maus - Hey Moon
- Fucked Up - Ship of Fools
- Deleted Scenes - Bedbedbedbedbed
- The Weeknd - House of Balloons*
- Destroyer - Chinatown
- Panda Bear - Slow Motion
- Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks*
- Gil Scott Heron & Jamie xx - I'll Take Care of U
- Frank Ocean - Novacane
- Toro y Moi - Freaking Out
- Das Racist - Girl
- Hey Sholay - Wishbone
- Death Cab For Cutie - St. Peter's Cathedral
- Alex Turner - Piledriver Waltz
- Kanye West & Jay-z - No Church in the Wild (Featuring Frank Ocean)
- Cults - Abducted
- Bright Eyes - Triple Spiral
- Theme Park - A Mountain We Love
- Dananananaykroyd - Think & Feel
- Active Child - Playing House (Featuring How to Dress Well)
- Lana Del Rey - Video Games
- Okkervil River - Lay of the Last Survivor
- Pulled Apart By Horses - V.E.N.O.M.
- Radiohead - Lotus Flower (SBTRKT RMX)
- Beirut - Vagabond
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Jello and Juggernauts
- Blood Orange - Forget It
- Cut Copy - Take Me Over
- BRAIDS - Lemonade
- Kurt Vile - Jesus Fever
- Big Troubles - Misery
- The War on Drugs - Baby Missiles
- New Look - Relax Your Mind
- Veronica Falls - Wedding Day
- Austra - Beat and the Pulse
- WU LYF - Summas Bliss
- The Horrors - Still Life
- Laura Marling - My Friends
- Johnny Foreigner - (Don't) Show Us Your Fangs
- Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
- My Morning Jacket - You Wanna Freak Out
- The Wild Boys - Walking Two by Two
- Thurston Moore - Illuminine
- Wild Flag - Something Came over Me
- Bjork - Crystalline
- Cave Singers - Haller Lake
- Chad Valley - Now That I'm Real (How Does It Feel?)
- Manchester Orchestra - Virgin
- Neon Indian - Polish Girl
- Iron & Wine - Me and Lazarus
- Bird of Youth - When My Wings Hit the Shed
- Beach Fossils - Out in the Way (featuring Wild Nothing)
- Cat's Eyes - The Best Person I Know
- Battles - My Machines (featuring Gary Numan)
- Rustie - All Nite
- Total Slacker - Magical Date Night
- Tom Vek - Aroused
- Craft Spells - Party Talk
- Bear Driver - Never Never
- Jonathan Keevil - Blind, Deaf Too
- Wild Beasts - Loop the Loop
- Cymbals - Totally Over
- Metronomy - The Look
- Wilco - Sunloathe
- Oneohtrix Point Never - Nassau
- Emmy the Great - A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep
- Gross Magic - Sweetest Touch
- Memory Tapes - Sun Hits
- Surfer Blood - Miranda
Agree with the list? Disagree? Let me know what you think, and tell me what your personal favourite songs of the year are.
*not available on Spotify.