Almost Halfway Through 2011: Favorite Albums of the Year (So Far)

started last year's thread -- Halfway Through 2010: Favorite Albums of the Year (So Far) -- on june 14th. it wasn't really halfway through the year then, and it's not really halfway through the year now, but i don't want to wait, so it's close enough!

favorite albums of the year so far, y'all

i tried this a few years back and was beaten down for it.

anyways, if you start the thread than you need to name your favorite albums first.

britney spears
wild beasts
friendly fires

Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Jamie Woon - Moonwriting
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

maybe...

tUnE-yArDs - whokill

curren$y - covert coup
lady gaga - born this way
katy b - on a mission
beyonce - 4
big krit - return of 4eva
jhene aiko - sailing souls
beth ditto - ep
schoolboy q - setbacks
cam'ron & vado - gunz n butta
lykke li - wounded rhymes
j*davey - evil christian cop
radiohead - king of limbs
kurt vile - smoke ring for my halo
squadda b - i smoke because i don't care about death
britney spears - femme fatale
frank ocean - nostalgia ultra
jennifer hudson - i remember me

oh and:

raphael saadiq - stone rollin

destroyer: kaputt
swahili: swahili*
in solitude: the world, the flesh, the devil
moritz von oswald trio: horizontal structures
thursday: no devolución
gang gang dance: eye contact
shabazz palaces: black up
katy b: on a mission
ulver: wars of the roses
beyonce: 4
clams casino: instrumentals
bill callahan: apocalypse

*these dudes are friends of mine; record is psychedelics and drumming if you are into that: http://swahili.bandcamp.com

still so much to listen to but yeah

Cut Copy - Zonoscope
Colin Stetson - Judges
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Holy Ghost!

Kate Bush
Gang Gang Dance
Black Devil Disco Club

Kogumaza - s/t
Clams Casino mixtape
Chain & the Gang - Music's Not For Everyone
Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania
Various Artists - ILx: The Sounds of Sciento_Ogy

Not heard the new David Thomas Broughton properly yet but I'm holding out hope it'll be good.

Wild Beasts-Smother
The Go Team-Rolling Blackouts
Gang Gang Dance-Eye Contact
Art Brut-Brilliant! Tragic!
Britney Spears-Femme Fatale
Lykke Li-Wounded Rhymes
TV On The Radio-Nine Types of Light
Cut Copy-Zonoscope

frank ocean - nostalgia/ultra
e40 - graveyard/overtime
young dro - equestrian dro
dj quik - book of david
tuneyards - whokill
tyler - goblin
bricksquad - bricksquad mafia
elzhi - elmatic
white denim - d
young buck - back on my buck shit v2
killer mike - pl3dge
p j harvey - let england shake
trae tha truth - 48 hours

Metal Mountains - Golden Trees
Peaking Lights - 936
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Mountains - Air Museum
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Trembling Bells - The Contant Pageant
Fabric - A Sort of Radiance
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Zombi - Escape Velocity
Vijay Iyer - Tirtha

Iceage
Psychic Paramount
Katy B
Fucked Up
Kellies (haven't seen this mentioned on ILM but it's totally great - Argentinian postpunk/grrrl stylings w/ a big Delta 5, ESG type thing - Dennis Bovell at the controls)
Liturgy
American Heritage

probably some other ish I'm forgetting

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
Robag Wruhme - Thora Vukk
White Denim - D
Wolf + Lamb vs Soul Clap - DJ-Kicks
Katy B - On A Mission
James Blake - James Blake
Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
Bella Hardy - Songs Lost & Stolen
June Tabor - Ashore
Tamikrest - Toumastin
Trichotomy - The Gentle War
Cornershop - Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of
The Pierces - You & I
Owiny Sigoma Band - Owiny Sigoma Band
Planningtorock - W
Le Trio Joubran - As Far
Vinicius Canturia & Bill Frisell - Lagrimas Mexicanas
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
Lone - Echolocations EP
The Decembrists - The King Is Dead
Boxcutter - The Dissolve

Kellies (haven't seen this mentioned on ILM but it's totally great - Argentinian postpunk/grrrl stylings w/ a big Delta 5, ESG type thing - Dennis Bovell at the controls)

!

• PJH -- let england shake
• dirty beaches -- badlands
• ghost -- opus eponymous
• burial -- street halo EP
• lykke li -- wounded rhymes
• hollie cook -- milk & honey
• earth -- angels of darkness, demons of light

sorry, hollie cook's disc is self-titled.

Oh yeah, I've seen the name Kellies around but wasn't sure if it was gonna be another disappointing hype thing. Your description sounds good, though.

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Junior Boys - It's All True
Colin Stetson - 'Warfare...'
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Hatchback - Zeus & Apollo
The Sandwitches - Mrs Jones' Cookies
Belong - Common Era
Grouper - AIA: Alien Observer
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Destroyer - Kaputt
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

Jennifer Hudson - I Remember Me
Death Grips - Ex Military
Britney - Femme Fatale
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
GGD - Eye Contact
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2562 - Fever

Black Zone Myth Chant - Straight Cassette
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Demian Johnston & Mink Stole - Trailed & Kept
EMA - Past Life Martyred Saint
Grouper - AIA
Peaking Lights - 936

Demian Johnston & Mink Stole - Trailed & Kept

I was very startled by this, but it turns out it's not actually the Mink Stole...

Death Grips - Exmilitary
The Unthanks - Last
Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On
Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Liturgy - Aesthetica
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Grails - Deep Politics
Junior Boys - It's All True
Aidan Moffatt/Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older
Coma Cinema - Blue Suicide
Marissa Nadler - Marissa Nadler
KEN mode - Venerable

loving:

Colin Stetson
Grails
Destroyer
Gang Gang
Oneida
Death Grips
Braids

Giorgio Tuma 'in the morning we'll meet'

Top 14: 10 + 4 reissues. PJ missed it by a hair, and I guess I better listen to this Frank Ocean character.

Neil Diamond--The Bang Years: 1966-1968 (Legacy)
Monotonix--Not Yet (Drag City)
Steel Magnolia--Steel Magnolia (Big Machine)
Gucci Mane--The Return of Mr. Zone 6 (Warner Bros.)
Quintron--Sucre du Sauvage (Goner)
Lady Gaga--Born This Way (Interscope)
Various Artists--Nigeria 70 -- Sweet Times: Afro-Funk, Highlife & Juju from 1970s Lagos (Strut)
The Dirtbombs--Party Store (In the Red)
Various Artists--Fania Records 1964-1980: The Original Sound of Latin New York (Strut)
Charlotte Martin--Dancing on Needles (Test-Drive)
Bacilos--20 Grandes Exitos (Warner Music Latina)
Locussolus--Locussolus (International Feel)
Iron and Wine--Kiss Each Other Clean (4AD/Warner Bros.)
Group Doueh--Zayna Jumma (Sublime Frequencies)

Ford & Lopatin: Channel Pressure
Moritz von Oswald Trio: Horizontal Structures
Hyetal: Broadcast
Destroyer: Kaputt
Earth: Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light
Tyler: Goblin
Mist: House

Exciting year so far, and still so much to catch up on and so much more of it to go...

soulja boy - 1UP
the weeknd - house of balloons
sky ferreira - as if!
dj quik - the book of david
squadda b - i smoke because i don't care about death

Been way way out of it this year, but I can't see anything unshaking Destroyer from my tops of the year. It's like '79 Steely Dan delivering a new album to us.

Haven't heard much yet this year, but I'm liking the new Tune-yards and Destroyer.

Other Lives
Lykki Li
Givers
Panda Bear
Bon Iver
James Blake
Cults
Junior Boys

PJ Harvey
Wild Beasts
Patrick Wolf
Nicolas Jaar

Then a gap. Then:

Iron & Wine
Panda Bear
Bill Callahan
Mountain Goats
Radiohead
Robag Wruhme
Destroyer

Looking forward to St Vincent and Beirut.

1. Destroyer - Kaputt
2. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
3. Selebrities - Delusions (to quote DavidM "they're like a female-fronted New Order")
4. Junior Boys - It's All True
5. Panda Bear - Tomboy
6. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
7. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
8. Friendly Fires - Pala
9. Peter Murphy - Ninth
10. The Cars - More Like This
11. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys
12. Wild Beasts - Smother
13. Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
14. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
15. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

Also enjoying:

Beastie Boys
Joan As Policewoman
King Creosote and Jon Hopkins
British Sea Power

Demian Johnston & Mink Stole - Trailed & Kept

I was very startled by this, but it turns out it's not actually the Mink Stole...

― emil.y

Haha also my first thought. The first thing about the album that piqued my interest. Was a bit dissapointed when I found out it's not really her but it turns out it's a pretty decent drone/rock album... riyl: Luasa Raelon or Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker.

Matt Berry - Witchazel
TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
Paul Simon - So beautiful or so what
King Cresote & Jon Hopkins -Diamond Mine
Discodeine - FACT mix
kd Lang and the Siss Boom Bang
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Human League - Credo
Metronomy - English Riviera
Keren Ann - 101
Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
Jenny Hval - Viscera
Acid House Kings - Music Feels Better With You
Ghostpoet - Ghostpoet
Johan Johannson - The Miner's Hymns
Sarah Nixey - Brave Tin Soldiers
Colin Steston - New History Warfare vol 2

The Ghostpoet album is actually called 'Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam', and the kd Lang album's 'Sing it Loud', just couldn't remember the titles.

xpost: These two are growing on me:

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine
Keren Ann - 101

Gave Sarah Nixey a listen and she sounded to me like late- Morcheeba. Interested in checking out Ghostpoet. Also had no idea the Acid House Kings were still together.

killer mike - pl3dge
evan caminiti - when california falls into the sea
mountain goats - all eternals deck
curren$y - covert coup
low - c'mon
destroyer - kaputt
dj quik - the book of david
e-40 - revenue retrievin' / graveyard

Accidentally posted this somewhere else:

When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie
I heard this for the first time yesterday and it didn't leave my iPhone playlist all day - must have listened to it on repeat about 5 times round.

Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles
Mixed feelings about this album, but on the whole it's a decent encapsulation of where partisan dance seems to be/be going right now.

Frivolous - Meterology
Great fun. Upbeat house with a cheeky twist, but not at all in an annoying way.

Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
Perhaps a little impenetrabel at 78 minutes long, but it's still a notable record - one of, if not the only, hardcore punk concept albums.

Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Post-everything retro-futurism done properly.

Art Department - The Drawing Board
Deep deep vocal house. Dance music to chop onions to.

― The Boy Who Can Go Inside The TV (dog latin), Monday, 13 June 2011 09:21 (36 minutes ago)

Most mentioned above but these are ticking my boxes

Andy Stott-Passed me by
Alexander Tucker - Dorwtch
Ekoplekz-Fountain Hill
James Ferraro - Night dolls...
KSHE reissue
Virgo 4-Resurection
Todd terje- Ragysh
Rene Hell-Terminal Symphony

In no order:

DJ Quik – The Book of David
Destroyer – Kaputt
Britney Spears – Femme Fatale
Marsha Ambrosius – Late Nights and Early Mornings
Wire – Red Barked Tree
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Nicholas Jaar – Space is Only Noise
Mountain Goats- All Eternals Deck
El DeBarge – Second Chance
Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots
Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What
tune-YARDS – w h o k i l ll
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'

Forgot to add:

Mark McGuire - A Young Person's Guide To Mark McGuire

which is great.

My approximate top 20 so far, in approximate order (minus ones I haven't listened to yet -- Lady Gaga among them):

Randy Montana – Randy Montana (Mercury)
Cauldron – Burning Fortune (Earache)
Nazareth – Big Dogz (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
John Waite – Rough and Tumble (Frontiers/No Brakes)
Kultur Shock – Ministry Of Kultur (Kultur Shock)
Stealing Angels – Stealing Angels (Skyville)
Yaron Herman Trio – Follow The White Rabbit (ACT)
Thompson Square – Thompson Square (Stoney Creek)
The Dirtbombs – Party Store (In The Red)
Gutbucket – Flock (Cuneiform)
Garland Jeffreys – The King Of In Between (Luna Park)
Ghost – Opvs Eponymovs (Metal Blade/Rise Above)
Too Slim and the Tail Draggers – Shiver (Underworld)
Black Spiders – Sons Of The North (Dark Riders)
Britney Spears – Femme Fatale (Jive)
Carl Sims – Hell On My Hands (CDS)
Endangered Blood – Endangered Blood (Skirl)
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Cotonou Club (Strut)
James Carter – Caribbean Rhapsody (Emarcy/Decca)
Blame Sally – Speeding Ticket And A Valentine (Ninth Street Opus)

Top 5 2010 albums I didn't hear until 2011 (the top couple of which I might consider for a 2011 year-end list):

Carl Marshall – Love Who You Wanna Love (CDS)
The Band Perry – The Band Perry (Universal Republic)
Mel Waiters – I Ain’t Gone Do It (Waldoxy)
Gerod Rayborn – Call Before You Come!!! (Ecko/New Groove)
Kultur Shock – Integration (Kultur Shock)

Probably forgetting a few but...

Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
Implodes - Black Earth
Jenny Hval - Viscera
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Grouper - Alien Observer
Mountains - Air Museum
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Deaf Center - Owl Splinters
Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Horizontal Structures
Andy Stott - Passed Me By
Xander Harris - Urban Gothic
Arthur's Landing - Arthur's Landing
Zwischenwelt - Paranormale Aktivitat
Art Department - The Drawing Board
Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony
Robag Wruhme - Thora Vukk
Lucy - Wordplay for Working Bees

I was left a bit cold by Arthur's Landing -NickB, what did you think?

Yeah tbh I thought the Arthur's Landing was utter tripe.

I was gonna ask about that Garland Jeffreys record.

Aw, Arthur's Landing is a fun record imo

Death in Vegas and Go! Team are growing on me.

Also:

Ty Segall
Thee Oh Sees

Found them boring at first but have found myself playing their albums quite a lot this month.

The Lindsey Buckingham album is good then? Couldn't get into his last one.

Can't really compare as this is my first Buckingham solo experience outside of the credit sequences for National Lampoon's Vacation, and its still too new in my life for me to have had time to go back and explore the back catalogue yet. But yeah, it's lovely.

I don't get out much anymore, so thus far it's:

Comet Gain - Howl of the Lonely Crowd
The Fall - Ersatz G.B. (that didn't take long)
Fucked Up - David Comes To Life (easily #1)
Britney Spears - Femme Fatale
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
The Voices Factory - Velvet Underground Tribute (actually 2010, but nobody bothered to tell me about it...like Slapp Happy cover a smattering of everything VU ever did, including Squeeze. Has had the most play of any album this year in terms of man-hours.)

And fuck everybody, I still like the Go4 album.

I prefer the Braids album to Julianna Barwick. Same sort of sound but it's got more interesting details imho.

Haven't heard that much by Braids but they've got more of a Dirty Projectors thing going on iirc. I don't actually mind that kind of African-ish indie guitar sound, but it feels very much part of a specific trend, whereas Barwick is just the vocal loops with minimal use of other sound sources and there's a definite *something* that she gains from that. She might come from a similar background, I don't really know, but it liberates her sound from this specific moment and makes me think of stuff like Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares and Virginia Astley and Juana Molina and Enya and a whole bunch of other stuff instead. Still not sure what that *something* is btw, it's tempting to say 'purity' but eek, that's a dodgy word.

I get your point. Personally i think they both share a common ground with Panda Bear, but whereas Panda Bear samples this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQjqZm6q0Q

making him closer to Juliana Barwick, Braids are more akin to the Guincho sort of loops... so yes Braids sound closer to afropop and the whole chillwave schtick than medieval choirs and 60s pop.

Both are great IMO.

So i'm listening to Braids and they don't sound like Dirty Projectors or Panda Bear, they sound exactly, and i mean exactly, like Animal Collective circa Feels. Quite nice though.

I think on one hand that's right - Feels was the first thing I thought of as well - but the tunes are also much more structured and loopy than Feels, even though the music is designed to sound like a band playing it's got a very jigsaw puzzle sensibility, which is where maybe the comparisons to Panda Bear and the first El Guincho album fit in.

BNJMN - Black Square

he's coming on like shake shakir with this

I've got a feeling my top 20 will be something like:

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Mastodon - The Hunter
Arabrot - Solar Anus
Azari & III - Azari & III
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia Ultra
Yob - Atma
Uncle Acid & The Dead Beats - Blood Lust
Alex Tucker - Dorwytch
Fucked Up - David Comes Alive
Elzhi - Elmatic
Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
Cornershop - The Double 'O' Groove
Death Grips - ExMilitary
Battles - Gloss Drop
Rustie - Glass Swords
Walls - Coracle
Amebix - Sonic Mass
Obake - Obake
Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts
Liturgy - Aesthetica

In no order:

DJ Quik – The Book of David
Destroyer – Kaputt
Britney Spears – Femme Fatale
Serengeti - Family and Friends
Pistol Annies – Hell on Heels
Marsha Ambrosius – Late Nights and Early Mornings
Wire – Red Barked Tree
Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra
Beyonce – 4
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Nicholas Jaar – Space is Only Noise
Mountain Goats- All Eternals Deck
El DeBarge – Second Chance
Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots
Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What
tune-YARDS – w h o k i l ll
Bill Callahan – Apocalypse
Poly Styrene – Generation Indigo
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin‘
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
Junior Boys – It’s All True
R. Kelly – Love Letter
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See

What are Rolling Gun Sounds crew listening to? E-40 ? Danny Brown? mixtapes by ????

I've still got various African items and Southern soul ones in mind

Jah Youssouf & Bintou Coulibaly
Tamikrest
Carl Sims
still deciding on the rest

Another one I just got recently: The Advisory Circle - As the Crow Flies

My EOY list will probably something like this (not ranked, except the first one will probably be the first):

Boy Better Know - Tropical 2
Kimbra - Vows
Maria Rita - Elo
Miranda Lambert - Four the Record
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Various - Pakistan: Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976

Less certain:

Michael Stuart - Tributo A Louie Ramirez: Amanece y Sigue Caliente
Romeo Santos - Formula Vol.1 [Haven't actually even heard much of this]

Opeth - Heritage will definitely be in my top 10.

Still can't make up my mind re DJ Quik and Kendrick Lamar.

my albums list seems to be shaping up easily enough, bar a very boring internal debate about whether to count kandi's kandi koated, released last dec but too late for me to hear before doing my 2010 lists.

tracks on the other hand. hundreds. so many people made such good music this year!

Are UK writers treating Last Train To Paris as 2011 or what? Didn't get a release here until late January.

x-post-
Both (Lamar and Quik) are so retro. Maybe I should just go with Watch the Throne and Drake! Ha.

xp i'm not, voted for it last year (albeit not in the #1 spot i realised it deserved towards the end of jan)

I face the same dilemma with R. Kelly's Love Letter, released in mid December.

Possible additions:

Various: Bangs & Works II
Rustie: Glass Swords
Author: Author
Machinedrum: Room(s)
The Rapture: In the Grace of Your Love
Tom Waits - Bad As Me
Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

My Top 25:

1 When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie
2 Jon Hopkins & King Creosote - Diamond Mine
2 Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
3 Console - Herself
4 Panda Bear - Tomboy
5 Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
6 Art Department - The Drawing Board
7 Sully - Carrier
8 Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles
9 Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
10 St Vincent - Strange Mercy
11 John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
12 EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
13 Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
14 Katy B - On A Mission
15 Yuck - Yuck
16 Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
17 Toddla T - Watch Me Dance
18 James Blake - James Blake
19 Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder
20 Zomby - Dedication
21 Chrissy Murderbot - Women's Studies
22 Ekoplekz - Memowrekz
23 Austra - Feel It Break
24 The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
25 Moon Duo - Mazes

Did you listen to the Walls album dog latin? Think you might enjoy it.

No, I haven't. I keep getting confused between them and Baths (who I don't like much). I'll check it, thanks Nick.

Gah. Had my list all neat and tidy and ready to go for when the Voice calls for it and then Take Care had to come out and throw a wrench into the whole thing. Fuckin' Drake, indeed.

I face the same dilemma with R. Kelly's Love Letter, released in mid December.

Not that you vote in our eoy poll, but it placed last year (I think). So did DDM.

of all the albums released in the last quarter that would have thrown a wrench into an EOY list (yelawolf, kate bush, mary j blige), you choose drake?

Not that you vote in our eoy poll,

I may have! I don't remember.

'Fraid so. I didn't quite see it coming, either.

Everyone posting here had better vote in this year's EOY! If you've already gone to the trouble of making a list, it can't be much effort to submit it a second time.

Actually I meant to post that on the List-Making Process-Discussion thread, but it holds here too.

So this is what I'm thinking atm:

1. Various Artists - Tropical 2
2. Dawn Richard - Prelude to 'A Tell-Tale Heart'
3. Destroyer - Kaputt
4. Blue Sky Black Death - Noir
5. Patrick Stump - Soul Punk
6. Braids - Native Speaker
7. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow (this might move up or down)
8. Luomo - Plus
9. Pistol Annies - Pistol Annies
10. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
11. P J Harvey - Let England Shake
12. Beyonce - 4
13. White Denim - D
14. Hatchback - Zeus & Apollo
15. V/A: Dave Nada - Blow Your Head 2
16. Various Artists - Ines
17. V/A: Ame - Primary Structures
18. Maria Minerva - Cabaret Cixous
19. High Wolf - Atlas Nation
20. Gus Gus - Arabian Horse
21. Nikkiya - Speakher
22. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
23. Gucci Mane - Writing's On The Wall 2
24. Canyons - Keep Your Dreams
25. Various Artists - If This Is House I Want My Money Back Zwei

What am I obviously missing that I would love?

18. Maria Minerva - Cabaret Cixous

If you haven't heard Tallinn at Dawn, you should. "California Scheming" is one of my favorite tracks of the year and, over all, it's a better set of music (though Cabaret Cixous is quite fine).

this is prob my rough top 30. everything can still move up or down

Beyoncé - 4
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Katy B - On A Mission
Pistol Annies - Hell On Heels
Dawn Richard - The Prelude To A Tell Tale Heart
Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
DJ Quik - The Book Of David
Nikkiya - SpeakHer
Boy Better Know - Tropical 2
Cher Lloyd - Sticks & Stones

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
Frivolous - Meteorology
Meshell Ndegéocello - Weather
Rustie - Glass Swords
Young Bleed - Preserved
Roll The Dice - In Dust
Sunny Sweeney - Concrete
Cousin Fik - Hacksaw Ben Thuggin
Angel Haze - Altered Ego

Yelawolf - Radioactive
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Tom Trago - Iris
Wiley - 100% Publishing
Hyetal - Broadcast
Gucci Mane - Writing's On The Wall 2
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
Almunia - New Moon
Damu - Unity
Marsha Ambrosius - Late Nights & Early Mornings

so many little items have "bobbed to the surface" during the year that it's going to be hard to remember them all. i just heard songs from myths and street gnar, which reminded me about two albums i liked that i likely would have forgotten about entirely.

Approve of the DJ Quik, Damu, Wiley, Sunny Sweeney, Nikkiya and Katy B on yr list Lex (all just hovering outside on mine) - still need to hear Raphael, Yelawolf, Me'Shell, Cher Lloyd, Laura Marling and Roll The Dice.

Tim F, some nice leads (for me) on your list. (I'm still not sure to what extent my ears are changing and to what extent dance and electronic music are going in new directions.) Liking, to some extent, Blue Sky Black Death, Dave Nada (of course I know about moombahton but have never been very sold on it), and Maria Minerva.

(My openness to some of this music may have something to do with health-enforced isolation and downtime, plus nearly constant attention to political and economic issues, because some of it sounds like it could be a soundtrack to that.)

Unconditional Love:

Tom Trago - Iris
Hauschka - Salon Des Amateurs
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

Love:

Escort - Escort (possibly about to shift to unconditional)
Isolee - Well Spent Youth
Luomo - Plus
Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting
Junior Boys - It's All True
Demdike Stare - Triptych (partly because it feels like it should be their 2010 entry)
Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Roman Fluegel - Fatty Folders
John Maus - We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
Boof - Shhh, Dandelions At Play

Gimme some more time/the right mood

Grouper - Alien Observer/Dream Loss
Patrice & Friends - Cashmere Sheets
Kuedo - Severant
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
Portable - Into Infinity
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

Approve of the DJ Quik, Damu, Wiley, Sunny Sweeney, Nikkiya and Katy B on yr list Lex (all just hovering outside on mine)

i was very surprised at katy b's absence!

Various Artists - If This Is House I Want My Money Back Zwei

Permanent Vacation Selected Label Works 3 is currently "out there" and while on first impressions I don't think it's as strong as last years effort it's still of the high standard you'd expect from the label.

Wow, Braids are great! Hadn't heard them before, thanks Tim!

PJ Harvey
Wild Beasts
Patrick Wolf
Tune-Yards
St Vincent
Destroyer
Nicolas Jaar
Laura Marling

These are all really big favourites. Then there's lots of stuff bubbling under like Robag Wruhme and Wilco and Iron and Wine and Panda Bear and Bill Callahan and Mountain Goats and Radiohead and Elbow and Joan as Policewoman and Atlas Sound and Walls and Gang Gang Dance and The Field and The Necks and Blanck Mass and Wire that is either old favourites doing stuff I'm still enjoying (if not blown away by) or else people just making really good, well crafted, pretty close to awesome music, or that I've only just got and want to get to know better. Plus there's Kate Bush, which I've not even heard yet.

Maria Rita's voice and phrasing are incredible. The material is good. The accompaniment can be a bit boilerplate at times, but it doesn't bother me. It saddens me slightly that she is so overlooked.

1. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
2. Colin Stetson - Judges
3. Washed Out - Within and Without
4. Friendly Fires - Pala
5. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
6. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
7. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
8. Dirty Beaches - Badlands
9. Wild Beasts - Smother
10. Holy Ghost!

being overlooked: kelly clarkson - stronger