Top 50 Albums of 2011 - The Preliminary List

It’s that time of year: When I compile my list of the Top 50 Albums of the Year. 2011 has seen a lot of great music, and I definitely have my work cut out for me on this list. After compiling a list of all of the albums on Pitchfork’s, Stereogum’s, Paste’s, and Spin’s respective end-of-year lists, as well as suggestions from friends and other prominent music bloggers and albums found on my own accord, I have come up with these 150 albums to consider for the Top 50. In the next few weeks, each album will be listened to (some for the first time, some for the 1,000th), reviewed, and ranked. The Top 50 Albums will become part of a list that will be published on all of my blogs/social media sites.

If you have any suggestions for additions to the list below, please let me know. I will begin reviewing these albums once I acquire them all.

The Preliminary 150 Albums (in alphabetical order, the order in which they will be listened to):

1. Adele - 21
2. …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Toa of the Dead
3. And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs
4. Animals As Leaders - Weightless
5. AraabMuzik - Electronic Dream
6. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
7. ASAP Rocky - LIVELOVEA$AP
8. Atlas Sound - Parallax
9. Austra - Feel It Break
10. Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder
11. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee
12. Beirut - The Rip Tide
13. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade
14. Beyoncé - 4
15. Big K.R.I.T - Return of 4Eva
16. Bill Callahand - Apocalypse
17. The Black Keys - El Camino
18. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
19. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
20. Boris - Attention Please
21. Boris - Heavy Rocks
22. Bright Eyes - The People’s Key
23. British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall
24. Burst Apart - The Antlers
25. Cage the Elephant - Thank you Happy Birthday
26. Cake - Showroom of Compassion
27. CANT - Dreams Come True
28. The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond this World
29. Cass McCombs - Wit's End/Humor Risk
30. Charles Bradley - No Time for Dreaming
31. Childish Gambino - Camp
32. Chris Bathgate - Salt Year
33. The Civil Wars - Barton Hallow
34. Clams Casino - Instrumentals
35. Cold Cave - Cherish
36. Colin Stetson - New History of Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
37. Cults - Cults
38. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
39. Dale Earnheardt Jr. Jr. - It's a Corporate World
40. Danny Brown - XXX
41. Das Racists - Relax
42. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong
43. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
44. Deer Tick - Divine Providence
45. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
46. Destroyer - Kaputt
47. DJ Quik - The Book of David
48. The Dodos - No Color
49. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
50. Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
51. Eisley - The Valley
52. Ella Riot - Love Child
53. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
54. Eric Church - Chief
55. Explosions in the Sky - take care, take care, take care
56. The Feelies - Here Before
57. Feist - Metals
58. The Field - Looping State of Mind
59. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
60. Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness
61. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra.
62. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
63. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
64. G-Side - The One…Cohesive
65. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
66. Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair
67. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & the Harvest
68. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
69. Gotye - Making Mirrors
70. Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)
71. The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart
72. Holyghost - Holyghost
73. Iceage - New Brigade
74. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
75. James Blake - James Blake
76. Jay-Z/Kanye West - Watch the Throne
77. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
78. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
79. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
80. Katy B - On a Mission
81. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80
82. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo
83. Liturgy - Aesthethica
84. Low - C'mon
85. The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
86. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
87. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
88. Martyn  - Ghost People
89. Mates of State - Mountaintops
90. The Men - Leave Home
91. Middle Brother - Middle Brother
92. Mister Heavenly - Out of Love
93. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die but You Will
94. the Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
95. Mungolian Jetset - Schlugs
96. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
97. Neon Indian - Era Extrana
98. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
99. Noah and the Whale - Last Night on Earth
100. Oddisee - Rock Creek Park
101. Oneothrix Point Never - Replica
102. Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender
103. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
104. Panda Bear - Tomboy
105. Paul Kalkbrenner - Icke Wieder
106. Pictureplane - Thee Physical
107. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
108. Portugal, the Man - In the Mountain of the Cloud
109. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
110. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
111. The Rapture - In the Grace of Your Love
112. Real Estate - Days
113. Robert Pollard - Space City Kicks
114. The Roots - Undun
115. Rustie - Glass Swords
116. Rwake - Rest
117. Sandro Perri - Impossible Spaces
118. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
119. Sepalcure - Sepalcure
120. Seryn - This Is Where We Are
121. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
122. Siriusmo - Mosaik
123. Smith Westerns - Dye if Blonde
124. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
125. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic
126. The Strokes - Angles
127. Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows
128. Tapes ‘n Tapes - Outside
129. Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
130. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
131. Tom Waits - Bad as Me
132. Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine
133. tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l
134. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
135. Twin Sister - In Heaven
136. Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread
137. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
138. Viva Voce - The Future Will Destroy You
139. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
140. Washed Out - Within and Without
141. The Weekend - House of Balloons
142. Wilco - The Whole Love
143. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
144. Wire - Red Barked Tree
145. Woods - Sun and Shade
146. Wye Oak - Civilian
147. Yop - Atma
148. Youth Lagoon - The Years of Hibernation
149. Yuck - Yuck
150. Zola Jesus - Conatus