Last week we published our Top 20 Albums Of 2011 So Far. Bon Iver came out on top — he also has the #2 album (and #1 ruralwave album) on this week’s charts — followed by Gang Gang Dance, Austra, Iceage, and Fucked Up. Our list was perfect, of course, and based on science. But! We value other perspectives, especially those of our opinionated readers. Arguing about oversights is fun and if it were up to me you’d all be hired at Championship Vinyl. Until then, here are the dozen releases Stereogum commenters most frequently cited as wrongful omissions.
12 Tyler The Creator – Goblin (XL)
11 Cut Copy – Zonoscope (Modular)
10 tunE-yArDs – w h o k i l l (4AD)
9 TV On The Radio – Nine Types Of Light (Interscope)
8 Wild Beasts – Smother (Domino)
7 Battles – Gloss Drop (Warp)
6 Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes (LL)
5 Cults – Cults (In The Name Of/Columbia)
4 The Antlers – Burst Apart (Frenchkiss Records/Transgressive Records)
3 Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
2 Radiohead – The King Of Limbs (Self-Released)
1 James Blake – James Blake (Atlas/A&M)
What’d we (read: you) miss this time?
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yea this is basically my top ten list right here, and they were like all left out.
Isn’t it handsome?
Minus Goblin I agree
Nicolas Jaar!
I second that notion.
thriced.
You missed Bill Callahan and The Skull Defekts.
You made that original list for subversive reasons and you know it. I’m not saying that you had to list any of those listed above, but to leave some of those out and include something like Puro Instinct or Adele is flat out insane.
Amrit, Brandon, and I each assigned a point score to our favorite albums and that’s how the final list was tallied. Many albums in this list above would’ve made the final cut if we did Top 30 and not Top 20.
I’ll go to bat for Adele — love that album. I know it’s “uncool” but so is a lot of the music on my Zune. (I don’t really have a Zune.)
And Panda Bear was definitely thisclose to my Top 10. Just not enough votes/points from among the ‘Gum team.
I don’t think Adele is uncool, but the album (much like ’19′), while half great, is half full of duds…in my opinion.
Dead on. It turns into total schmaltz, sadly.
Have you actually listened to that Puro Instinct albums? It’s really really good. Gorilla vs. Bear has it in their best of 2k11 list so far as well, so it’s not that insane.
somehow tUnE-yArDs got dissed again. it’s my favorite album of the year.
going back and doing some nombers, Kurt Vile’s name was dropped 10 times in the comments, while tUnE-yArDs 23. So no, we didn’t miss her, you did.
Well, I figured since I listed tUnE-yArDs in my honorable mentions it wasn’t completely ignored, but you make a good point
hadn’t looked at it that way. great album.
I changed my mind — you’re right it should be on this Overlooked List. Swapped Kurt & Merrill… Thanks for the heads up.
STILL no Julian Lynch? I’m sad. I don’t get it. :-(
The Julian Lynch record, aside from a couple great tunes, is such a bore.
Yay! Wild Beasts, James Blake, Radiohead, Tune-yards and Panda Bear, bands that actually deserve it! Oh, wait….this isn’t the actual list…
really no wye oak-civilian again? otherwise pretty good list
much more like it
Young Widows – In and Out of Youth and Lightness
David Bazan – Strange Negotiations
Touche Amore – Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me
Saigon, Big K.R.I.T., Shabazz Palaces, and G-Side (basically just non-OF hip-hop in general) should get at least some recognition on some sort of list. Also, as far as OF albums that should be getting props on these lists, I’ll take Nostalgia/Ultra over Goblin any day.
the Saigon album is legit. So far not really into Shabazz Palaces yet.
overlooked is an understatement
My favorites of the year so far aren’t on most lists anyway; I’m never too caught up in lists.
I really like David Thomas Broughton’s Outbreeding, also:
Roommate – Guilty Rainbow
some stuff that made the lists I also enjoyed: James Blake, Wild Beasts. Some stuff I haven’t given enough time yet: Panda Bear, tune-yards. I haven’t bought or stolen Shabazz yet but I am wiling to bet I’ll like it. Stuff I listened to enough but wasn’t as bowled-over by: Cults, John Maus. I just like talking shop with music fans, I try not to take it personally when an album I didn’t care for is beloved or vice versa.
Jessica Lea Mayfield- Tell Me
Also, Mountain Goats, Frank Ocean, Arctic Monkeys.
the new arctic monkeys album is quite mediocre at best
Tell Me is a very good record and I don’t understand why she doesn’t get more love for it. It’s good all the way through while being pretty varied, musically speaking (especially compared to her first album).
Unrelated, but I’ve been more into punk (using that term loosely) this year. Joyce Manor’s s/t debut and the new Lemuria album are a couple favorites. And hip-hop wise, Danny! finally officially released Where Is Danny? after a two year wait and everyone should listen to that too.
The new Mountain Goats and new Okkervil River albums are probably my favorite thus far. I found it strange they weren’t even mentioned much in the comments.
perhaps starfucker doesn’t have as many fans outside portland as i’d like to believe.
No matter what happens in the next six months, Starfucker is in my top 3 for 2011.
*waves at Portland all the way from Amsterdam
i like you.
Starfucker has some fans in Bloomington, IN as well. Each time I listen to that album I think it is too short. Thats a good thing.
Now grab 5 from each list to make the *right* list! :p
NICOLAS JAAR!
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see
Whoops, must of missed it on the other list. It deserves to be much higher though.
this isn’t exactly a ratings list, more of a “we didn’t give enough recognition” list
True Widow’s As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth? anybody?
Yup. Think the s/t is a little better, though.
The True Widow album is leaps and bounds better than anything on either list except for TVotR (who have finally put out a solid album that interests me) and maybe the Tuneyards album.
I think it’s a bit too subtle and dark for this crowd, though–definitely not pop enough.
I’d put “As High As The Highest Heavens,” Helms Alee’s “Weatherhead” and Atari Teenage Riot’s “Is This Hyperreal?” as the best three albums of the year so far.
I echo the selections tUnE-yArDs, Wild Beasts, The Antlers, and Cults. I’m glad that James Blake made first, because I didn’t think the Radiohead album was very good at all. Whatever they do is a bit hyped, if you ask me.
I mentioned it on the last post but I really like the Holy Ghost! album. Probably my favorite “dance – centric” album of the year thus far. Just curious if anyone else got into that one as well. I think, taking both lists together, we’ve got a pretty good snapshot of 2011. Still haven’t listened to the Yuck or Cults albums…
Definitely. It’s my favorite album of the year so far period. It’s as strong as LCD’s debut album, which is a lazy comparison to make, but it feels like that kind of pronouncement.
I liked Holy Ghost! a good, strong album. Friendly Fires – Pala, I wanted to liek it but it had some songs I just didn’t like.
Others to note:
Black Light Dinner Party
Theophilius London – Timez Are Weird These Days
Cass McCombs
The Drums
Thurston Moore
Tom Vek – Leisure Seizure, which I think was mentioned already.
If you took this list, stabbed it, drained its blood, then infused its blood with the other list, you’d get my list… Except Nicolas Jaar is missing.
Black Lips…overlooked again. I kind of hate you, stereogum
Yeah their new one is definitely one of their best, falling behind only “Good, Bad, Not Evil” and their real masterpiece “Let It Bloom”
way to cover your ass sgum haha
God, stop whining you whiney hipsters. Have you ever met any of the dopes that write for this rag? I bet if you did, you would just scoff and drive off on your mopeds.
Stereogum’s taste sucks. And that goes for the rest of (most all of) the rest of you douchenozzles that demand validation about what you music like through these dumbass lists. Get over it.
Douchenozzle, nice. The rest of your post isn’t that great but I have to respect someone that says Douchenozzle.
You mad bro?
well, aren’t you a peach.
Tommy, it’s too bad you never learned grammar/spelling while sitting in your tower.
I don’t understand why you waste your time coming here and then actually wasting far more time vomiting out your post. Get out in the world and make yourself happy, jeez.
I’m still entertained by the douchenozzle bit. I mean, what is a douchenozzle anyway?
“Douche usually refers to vaginal irrigation, the rinsing of the vagina, but it can also refer to the rinsing of any body cavity. A douche bag is a piece of equipment for douching—a bag for holding the fluid used in douching. To avoid transferring intestinal bacteria into the vagina, the same bag must not be used for an enema and a vaginal douche.”
The nozzle goes on the end of the douche bag.
Also, “The vaginal nozzle is longer and thicker and has lateral holes.”
Ah, ok, then my opinion of this post has changed. This man has most certainly been very deliberate when choosing his demeaning phrases.
We love you, Tommy. If I were there I wouldn’t let you leave without a great big hug. Stay positive…and get a moped, they are actually a lot of fun.
thumbs up for trolling.
I know Im gonna get crap for this but, the reason for so much grief is that Brandon represents a third of the power. He is a metal fan writing for a indie rock website. Im not taking anything away from his taste, writing, or opinions. It’s just that he is not going to see eye to eye with many of the readers of this site.
Brandon not being a 200 proof adolescent cliche is the only reason I even look at Sterogum!
Hey Eddie. The thing to remember is that I do like non-metal, too. If you search the archives here, you’ll see that. I wrote the Band To Watch post on the beloved Tune-Yards, for instance. Ditto Austra, Iceage, HEALTH, Fuck Buttons, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Gayngs, Cold Cave, Real Estate, El Guincho, Pictureplane, etc. Before I came to Stereogum I wrote 200+ reviews for Pitchfork. If you do a search on “Stosuy” over there, you’ll see Best New Music posts on Michigan (the same month I gave praise to Swans and Wolf Eyes), Liars’ Drum’s Not Dead, Antony’s I Am A Bird Now, M83′s Before The Dawn Heals Us, fucking Wolf Parade, etc. I did P4K’s first Joanna Newsom, National, Beirut, No Age, Marnie Stern, etc., reviews. Was praising Gang Gang Dance in 2004. And all this time, covering the metal and noise and Finnish weirdos and spazz-punks. This is traceable/hard-fact stuff. Outside of that, though, people can (and, ideally, should) have diverse listening tastes, you know? So, yeah, I listen to a lot of metal and noise — a ton — but I’ve been thinking hard about “independent music” since I was 12 or 13 and listen widely. I always have. I like what I like. And find boring what I find boring. Hell, I just co-curated a summer of dance music (albeit dark dance music, ha ha) for MoMA/Ps1.
Sorry for the long response. Just tired of people oversimplifying my record collection.
I understand that I meant it more as a way of explaining how you pull the site in a slightly darker direction than some people are used to. I know you like other music as well, I wouldn’t be listening to unknown mortal orchestra without you ;) I was oversimplifying your views. Plus I enjoy pissing you off
I hear you. I am a goth at heart.
Brandon, don’t let the people get to you! You’ve given Stereogum some much needed variety.
I like the original list a lot more. This one just reads like what you “expect” music blogs to have. The last one helped me stumble into some records I might not have otherwise.
Ha ha. Don’t worry about me! I was just offering clarification. But thanks for the support…
some of my favorites that didn’t make either list (but i didn’t expect them and also i’m not an asshole so this isn’t a complaint, just a personal list):
tennis – cape dory
youth lagoon – the year of hibernation
best coast – itunes session ep
seapony – go with me
dale earnhardt jr. jr. – it’s a corporate world
love inks – e.s.p.
big k.r.i.t. – return of 4eva
generationals – actor-caster
I like your list! Not sure why the Seapony album hasn’t received more praise. It sounds unassuming at first but really grows on you after time. Agreed on DEJJ and Tennis as well. Feel like people didn’t check these albums out because Pitchfork and other blogs gave them very mediocre reviews. I’m surprised Metronomy didn’t make this leftover list either because I and several others mentioned it enough times in the comments and it was also a Stereogum Heavy Rotation. This will all be different by the end of the year though. I expect we’ll see Beirut, Twin Sister, Memoryhouse, and Washed Out near the top.
James Blake – James Blake
Limerence – Young Montana?
Who Kill ? -Tune Yards
Tomboy – Panda Bear
Cults – Cults
Goblin – Tyler The Creator
Shangri La – YACHT
What did you expect from the vaccines – The Vaccines
In Love With The Oblivion – The Crystal Stilts
Gloss Drop – Battles
Rome – Danger Mouse Y Daniel Luppi
Dedication – Zomby
Colour Of The Trap – Miles Kane
Naive To – Is Tropical
Hot Sauce Committee pt.2 – Beastie Boys
93 Million Miles – Africa Hitech
Hyper Nomads – Jazzsteppa
Thee Physical – Picture Plane
Arabia Mountain – The Black Lips
Discodeine – Discodeine
1,2,3, They are pretty sick
Cashier No. 9 too
Substitute Gobln with the new My Morning Jacket.
I myself really loved Cloud Nothing’s album but I feel like nobody else is really pay attention to them so I’m not surprised to have not seen them on either list.
That album was great. Yeah, I feel like they got a burst of hype last year and then sort of went unnoticed after that.
Tyler the misogynistic homophobe makes the list, but Wye Oak gets slighted again? Seriously, dude…
I agree with all of this except Burst Apart.
Probably the most overrated album in a long time.
In the independent persuasion anyway.
Don’t really ‘get’ James Blake. Only thing I liked in that album was the cover of that Feist song and I still prefer the original.
My opinion is better than yours!
I think it’s funny when people talk smack and trash lists and each other’s personal music tastes. My personal list would include Figurines – Figurines (though it did come out last year in it’s home country), Panda Bear – Tomboy, Antlers – Burst Apart, Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues, Battles Gloss Drop, Strokes – Angles, Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside
Wu Lyf
We Are Augustines
Joy Formidable
Yeah don’t forget to hype James Blake again. You must be on the payroll like Pitchfork. There’s a reason no one is buying any of this guy’s “music” despite all the blog hype. Move on to someone that can play more than a damn keyboard.
Loving The Wild Beasts album. Cut Copy is good but yet soooo boring. Cut Copy & Junior Boys could be placed side by side in a bland contest and Cut Copy would win being less boring by like an inch. Nine Types of Light is good and so close to being great. I think TV on the Radio rushed it a bit and could’ve spent a few more months tightening things up.
That being said, lists are great fun and very human. To quote: the list is the origin of culture. It’s part of the history of art and literature. What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. It also wants to create order — not always, but often. And how, as a human being, does one face infinity? How does one attempt to grasp the incomprehensible? Through lists, through catalogs, through collections in museums and through encyclopedias and dictionaries. – Umberto Eco.
So you people being “above” lists and “I don’t make lists” are lying to yourselves.
Listen again. The best tracks on the new Junior Boys and Cut Copy albums are toward the end. They actually know how to build an album, not just flashy singles.
My favorites this year have been:
Handsome Furs, The Naked and Famous, The Witches, Viva Voce, Friendly Fires, Junior Boys, Priory and YACHT. For some reason a lot of the albums I thought I’d love and were so looking forward to were pushed aside by those 8 (Bon Iver, MMJ, etc.).
One album that completely surprised me was Bell X1′s new album. I’ve never liked any of their stuff before (always lumped them in with crappyness like Athlete, Keane, Coldplay), but I totally dug the new album.
Picking a #1 so far is tough. Going strictly on number of listens, it’d have to be The Witches.
Bell X1 released again? Holy cow, they toured on the back of “Flock” for like 4 years. I saw them on Conan playing “Rocky Took A Lover” when it had been out for over 3 years. Now two more records in 2 years? Thanks for the tip.
Nicolas Jaar.
Does no one else like the new ones form Okkervil River, The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, and The Dodos? Decemberists and Iron & Wine came out early in the year, so I could see people forgetting that they came out in 2011, but Okkervil River and The Dodos were just a couple of months ago and they’re still not getting the praise they deserve.
Overlooking STONE ROLLIN’ by Raphael Saadiq is criminal. Truthfully, it’s better than anything Stereogum has mentioned on its little lists.
Haha that is a great joke!
Can I just say thank you to the writers of Stereogum. You seem to have a thankless job.
I look at these lists to see what artists are included that I may have overlooked, not to validate the exact list I have in my head.
The first list was fine as is……this one obviously serves as a remedy to all of the bitching…..pretty funny
Best of ’11 So Far… super stupid.
No love for Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 on either list?
Action Bronson- Dr Lecter
I’ll add the Vaccines and Generationals…
Oh, and Lonely Island (in it’s own category, of course).
And a couple months ago, people thought Anna Calvi was the Best Thing Ever. Now, nothing for her on 2 lists of 32 records… and only one mention in the comments. Fickle world, this business of music…
So glad to see someone else thought that Lonely Island deserved a bit more recognition; I have a feeling Turtleneck and Chain has generated a *lot* of smiles this year.
We are all aware that twenty or thirty years from now Bill Callahan’s music will have far outlived the forgettable likes of Battles, Cut Copy, Cults, Lykke Li, and all this other claptrap, right? We’re all on board with that idea? Because it really makes you look silly, stereogum, to exclude ‘Apocalypse’ not only from your Best Of list, but not your Overlooked as well. Seriously the album is top five of the past few years and it’s not even his best work.
but *now* your Overlooked list. my bad.
I like Apocalypse OK, but still think Callahan’s best work is the material under the Smog moniker. I bought all that shit on vinyl when it came out and still listen to it regularly. (Also: Scott had Apocalypse on his published list last time. I had it on my expanded list.) Anyhow, yeah, I agree with you that he’ll outlast Cults and a bunch of other ’11 flavors.
Seeing as 2011 is already half over, can we be expecting a best of 2012 pretty soon?
Dear Stereogum,
It seems that you have, yet again, taken a moment to express your profound vacuousness. Initially, I entered this thread with a sense of jubilance and anticipation, hoping to find that your opinions were reflections of my own. Much to my dismay, I discovered that you favor desultory and contrived music – thus affirming my belief that I am the superior musical connoisseur. Evidently, you are all fools. My favorite band(s) is (are) better than your favorite band(s) and you are an imbecile for not understanding that.
But I’m still going to visit your site every day, if only to incessantly question the qualifications of your writers…
Sincerely,
OddlyEnragedMusicFan
U mad bro?
No, not at all, actually. Was my sarcasm lost on you?
I guess it was. It’s hard to tell over these internets. My bad.
It’s all right.
CTFU!!
Interesting. I’ve never seen ‘CTFU” before.
I don’t see much love for Arctic Monkeys. I guess people have just moved on.
Two lists? That’s bullshit..
Congrats James Blake? Oh wait you didn’t win actually.
Oh yeah, and no mention of the Arctic Monkeys Suck It and See after you guys raved that this was their best album yet?
Arctic Monkeys’ Suck it and See!!
Who is Stereogum’s Resident Hip-Hop Connaisseur?
I think it’s Amrit.
Now it sounds fair to me! James Blake is definitively my top album of the year so far!
Metronomy – The English Riviera
I guess this is one of the albums that initially receives praise, but when it’s time to actually decide which albums were the best it tends to be forgotten. Why why why!?
I don’t know why. It’s an utterly fantastic album. Maybe one day people will understand.
Covering yer arses, eh? If you don’t like King of Limbs, nut up and admit it, pussies. Anyway, The Sea and Cake’s mini album Moonlight Butterfly should be on the original list (and so should King of Limbs.)
You missed The Decemberists on both lists. Lame….
Didn’t get a chance to listen to Lil B – I’m Gay yet huh? Check out what Lupe had to say about it on his Tumbler (I found the link @ BasedWorld.com) and you’ll get a just a little bit pumped. Let me just list off a few more for the people, like me, that go through the comments to solidify some downloading ideas: Shabazz Palaces, Black Lips (3 awesome singles on that one), Tomboy (Alsatian Darn is a beast…the whole album is genius), Lil B – Bitch Mob/Respect Da Bitch Vol 1. (super rare -lol) try to wrap your head around that one (don’t be pissed off like the crowd in Borat when he sang the national anthem)…and its just a mixtape so don’t expect it to be serious, Big Krit had some amazing tracks which are good on a cookout mix.
BTW I forgot to say thanks for making the list. Here’s some unsolicited advice:
I always think that you guys should completely overshoot the number when titling music lists. I mean put “The Top 20 Albums We Missed” and then just list your 10. That way everyone else can comment on the other ten…This is the one part of blogging (lists) that the commenteurs definitely are a part of (whether people like it or not) and it would be more of a nod towards them (us) and would take away a lot of the fist shaking towards you and the people listing songs that you “missed”.
Shout out to all the homies giving love for KRIT. He’s the greatest hope hip hop has in 2011.
make a blog if you have a list
read a blog if you want a list
Fuck ya, Radiohead.
Can’t express my appreciation for this far superior list. I don’t get the reason behind the exclusion of The King of Limbs nearly anywhere there’s mention of the year’s best. Also, I’m too glad Wild Beasts made this. I couldn’t be more obsessive over the most addictive drug.
Still no mention of Arctic Monkeys, Suck it and See? Easily one of the top 5 albums of the year.
Foo Fighters! J Mascis! Seriously, come on! Otherwise I think you did fine.
It’s a pity that no one cares about Explosions In The Sky.
It’s a huge shame WU LYF aren’t on there…most moving album of the year; but I guess this was made before their album was even taken into consideration..
And Destroyer and Smith Westerns also need to be taken into account..but apart from that, solid list.
Let England shake!
Where’s Kurt Vile?
What about ROME by Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi?
What about Givers?! Such a great summer album!
where is the love for julianna barwick?! her record “the magic place” is the most beauitful music i’ve heard all year, and for some reason she is criminally overlooked!
am I the only one who thinks that tUnE-yArDs just sounds like NPR segue music? other than the lack of completely inexplicable bassoon solos, that is. I hear her and think that Marketplace is probably up next.
lol – so true! Thanks for explaining it better than I could’ve.
Why has no one mentioned Loch Lomond – Little Me Will Start A Storm. That has to be the best album of the year hands down. Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion is not mentioned either and its its also in my top 5. Others like Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!, Alexander – Alexander, and Daniel Knox – Everyman For Himself deserve at least an honorable mention.
I’m afraid I’m also gonna chime in and say how overrated James Blake is. While he’s a great producer his songwriting is terrible. His two singles are covers (yeah “Wilhelm Scream” is a cover of an obscure 80′s song). It also doesn’t make since why they would include a bad album like King of Limbs and leave out Discoverer which is loads better. lastly I have to admit that I too am a fan of “Yonkers” and “Sandwiches” but the rest of Goblin was compete dreck. I mean look beyond the overly hyped albums. If you honestly think they’re better than fine, but don’t just put stuff on the list because you’re “supposed to”.
Almost forgot The Manitoba Wilderness – When You Left The Fire. Another great album that has also gotten little attention.