Best Albums of 2011

After a few years with very little (in my eyes) in the way of great, or even good, music, I was pleasantly surprised with all the great stuff that came out in 2011. There was great stuff from The Naked & Famous (yay for Kiwis!), The Aquabats! (they require exclamation points!), Childish Gambino, The Roots, The Bosstones, Screeching Weasel (yes, BW is a douche, he still makes great music though), Tune-Yards, and many more. However, there are 2 that come to the top of my mind as my favorites from the year. I present them in no particular order:

Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch The Throne

Kanye and Jay's wonderful tribute to narcissism. I have never heard anything so self-absorbed in my life and it is tremendous. I think a lot of my enjoyment of this stems from the pure (unintentional?) comedy of the whole affair. If you can listen to "H.A.M." and not laugh you are an odd individual, that's all I can say. But beyond that, Ye's production here is nearly impeccable. He truly is at the top of his game with samples and beats and all. In most people's hands "Otis" would be a complete mess, but here it is one of the best tracks on the album. Plus, you need to watch the video just for Aziz Ansari's dance moves (at about 2:30). This needs to turn into the next "Macarena" or something. I still think Jay-Z is overrated as a rapper (sacrelige to rap fans, I know, but it's true), but his shortcomings seem to be minimized here. As most people know, I'm not a big rap guy to begin with, but this album is fantastic.




The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules

After a few years off (hiatus/breakup), the Get Up Kids are back and as good as ever! If you are looking for "On A Wire"-style campfire singalongs, look elsewhere. This is TGUK at their most vibrant, energetic, and experimental. If Matt Pryor's voice weren't so distinctive, you'd almost swear that this couldn't be the Get Up Kids. The biggest difference between this and the last few TGUK albums, though, is that it sounds like they are excited to be a band again. Towards the end of their first go-round, it almost seemed like they were going through the motions. Case in point, in the "On A Wire" days I saw them live and they were ok, but nothing special. Caught them again a year or two ago (after the reformation) and it was like a whole other band. Energetic, excited, and engaging - and this album is an extension of that. This is a truly great album, right up there with "Something To Write Home About". Check it, yo. Now if we can only talk James into a new Reggie or Fluxuation album...



I almost forgot! I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the plethora of great comedy albums that came out in 2011. My runners up for Comedy Album of the Year are "Hendersons and Daughters" by the Sklar Bros. and "Potty Mouth" by Doug Benson. Both hilarious and highly recommended. They also both do great podcasts (Sklarbro Country and Doug Loves Movies respectively). But comedy in 2011 really belonged to Louis C.K. (and if you haven't gone to his website and bought his new special for $5 you are missing out). "Hilarious" is just that. Certainly not for kids, but Louis is certainly on the top of his game. If you need a laugh, this should be your first stop.