Song Operated Best Albums of 2011

The year is almost over, and what good and long year this has been. Though Song Operated has been around since 2010, I feel like 2011 was really our first year, and since I make all the rules, I am now officially declaring 2011 as our Freshman year. With that said, it is time to round up the freshman year with the best albums of 2011.

I never realized how difficult it would be to judge and put these albums in order of most favorite to least favorite, but at the end of the day, these are all winners. The hardest part is leaving the order as is, but this is my final answer. If any of these artists are unfamiliar to you, I urge you to check them out. A couple of these artists weren’t really featured on the site, but I felt it would be unfair to leave them out. Anyway, enough talk, enjoy the list.

ps: Most albums are linked to Spotify, but if you can’t use Spotify in your area, you can search through youtube for songs.

01 – The Weeknd: House of Balloons + Echoes of Silence
The Weeknd is not only the “best new artist”, but also released the best albums of the year. When House of Balloons dropped, no one knew who the hell he was but his music brought some serious heat, and it had that “what the fuck” factor that is impossible to recreate. When his second mixtape, Thursday dropped, it didn’t have nearly as much of an impact as HOB did, though if dissected as an individual effort, (should he have released it before HOB, or if HOB didn’t exist at all) it would have created quite a buzz. Then along came Echoes of Silence, his third and final mixtape of the year.

We were already getting used to his style, his lyrics, his fire, and weren’t completely in love with Thursday, but getting a new mixtape from The Weeknd is [or I would image it would be] like going to Oprah’s show knowing you’re gonna leave with some dope ass free shit, you don’t know what it is but you know Oprah and her shenanigans, so you just know it’s gonna be the shit. Yeah, that was Echoes of Silence. I’m still undecided on which is better, HOB or EOS, but they’re both amazing, so they will each take the number 1 spot. OVOXO

02 – Jay-z + Kanye West: Watch The Throne
Two of the baddest rappers alive. I can’t stress this enough: Kanye is a genius, Jay-z is legendary. The quality of Hova’s work isn’t the same as it once was, which made this the perfect time to get together with Yeezy, whose work only keeps getting better and more creative, to release this mind-blowing album. Lately, Kanye had been putting out really heavy tracks, concept-style albums, and though they were amazing, were difficult to listen to without playing the entire collection. Watch The Throne can be listened to on shuffle, on mixed playlists, as an entire album, or even as a gym soundtrack. The album collected a very different side by both rappers, who certainly pushed each other’s skills during the making. I got a chance to see the Watch The Throne show live, and it was recreated flawlessly.

03 – M83: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
M83 finally returned with an ambitious project: a 2-CD album that works similar as the relationship between a brother and a sister, and how they communicate. The intro-track with Zola Jesus is to me one of the best tracks on the album. It is difficult to say this is their best album ever, but I can definitely say this is one of my favorite albums of the year.

04 – Bon Iver: Bon Iver
How do you top one of the best albums there is? Maybe you don’t. I think this is the approach Bon Iver took with his self-titled, sophomore, full-length effort. I think we all know the stories (some exaggerated) about him recording For Emma, Forever Ago in a cabin by himself, which in addition to the heartfelt music, made that album even better. This time around, instead of writing specific lyrics, and guiding each listener by the hand, Bon Iver made the album and lyrics much more vague, leaving the listener to come up with his own versions of the songs, in accordance to how it made them feel. Aside from Beth/Rest sounding like an early 90′s soft-rock jam (thanks Tate), the album is indeed timeless.

05 – Girls: Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Following up one of ’09′s best album would be a difficult task, especially when your fans REALLY, REALLY like how it sounded. Christopher Owens surprised and amazed everybody with the release of “Vomit”, the 7-minute roller coaster ride that was first single off the long-awaited follow up album. I still get goose-bumps when listening to it. “Vomit” gave us a sneak-peek at the diversity that Father, Son, Holy Ghost had. The album hits so many different genres, and they all work great, better yet, perfect together.

06 – Drake: Take Care
The softest rapper of all time. Take Care boasts collaborations with Rihanna, The Weeknd, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, Tyga (but he doesn’t count) and Birdman. When recording this album, Drake was listening to Jamie xx (and used his beat on the song with Rihanna), James Blake, Little Dragon and all sorts of other underground artists, which goes to show that he is different from all the rappers. Doesn’t matter if he’s writing gangsta rap, club bangers or songs for women to get ready to, Drake really is talented, has a good ear for good music, and tries his best to bring the best of all worlds together and it shows in his music. He also does a killer job of putting Toronto on the map by playing up The Weeknd and repping his OVO crew all over the place. Take Care has mostly slow jams with that r&b vibe, and it works for me. OVOXO

07 – Frank Ocean: Nostalgia, Ultra
Some call it a mixtape, but according to Frank Ocean it is an album. Though there is no label involvement, it is mixed and mastered, so it’s an album. “Novocaine” was the song that really made Frank Ocean a popular name, but underground hip-hop fans knew about him as soon as his album popped up on Tumblr. The Weeknd and Frank Ocean really show a side to r&b – we need a new name for this genre, “dark r&b” isn’t cutting it. Frank Ocean, I really expect more hits from him in 2012.

08 – Cults: Cults
Cults making it onto this list is no surprise at all. The duo’s album is 100% solid, psychedelic indie-pop, with a 60s-pop, almost surf-rock vibe. Perfect for summer. Though the sound is some serious pop, and has a cheerful attitude, the lyrics are surprisingly deep and sometimes shocking. Give it a good listen.

09 – Dawes: Nothing Is Wrong
I love Dawes. I listen to Nothing Is Wrong at least four times a month. Dawes is one of those bands that don’t ever seem to get enough credit. The only thing I dislike about them is the fact that they only have two albums.

10 – Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues
Robin Pecknold took some serious time off after releasing his debut full length, Fleet Foxes. He really felt the pressure of releasing a follow up to one of the best albums of the year. Unlike Dr Dre and his Detox saga, Robin Pecknold got his shit together, recorded Helplessness Blues and actually put it out. It lived up to the expectations and life went on. I really did expect a spectacular album, and he delivered.

11 – Tennis: Cape Dory
12 – Destroyer: Kaputt
13 – James Blake: James Blake / Enough Thunder
14 – SBTRKT: SBTRKT
15 – Kendrick Lamar: Secion.80
16 – Lykke Li: Wounded Rhymes
17 – My Morning Jacket: Circuital
18 – Atlas Sound: Parallax
19 – Arctic Monkeys: Suck It And See
20 – Modeselektor: Monkeytown
21 – Panda Bear: Tomboy
22 – Real Estate: Days
23 – Young Galaxy: Shapeshifting
24 – The Black Keys: El Camino
25 – Ford & Lopatin: Channel Presssure
26 – Adele: 21
27 – Sleep ∞ Over: Forever
28 – Big Sean: Finally Famous
29 – Korallreven: An Album by Korallreven
30 – A$ap Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP
31 – Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation
32 – Gil Scott-Heron + Jamie xx: We’re New Here
33 – Gotye: Making Mirrors
34 – SebastiAn: Total
35 – The Rapture: In The Grace of Your Love
36 – Bibio: Mind Bokeh
37 – Gang Gang Dance: Eye Contact
38 – Cut Copy: Zonoscope
39 – Active Child: You Are All I See
40 – Radiohead: The King of Limbs
41 – Metronomy: The English Riviera
42 – The Kills: Blood Pressures
43 – Toro y Moi: Underneath The Pine + Freaking Out
44 – Little Dragon: Ritual Union
45 – Washed Out – Within and Without