50. tUnE-yArDs, "w h o k i l l"
49. Mary Mary, "Something Big"
48. Youth Lagoon, “The Year of Hibernation”
47. Laura Cantrell, “Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country”
46. Tinariwen,"Tassili"
45. Destroyer,"Kaputt"
44. Steve Reich and Kronos Quartet, "WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns"
43. Tycho, "Dive"
42. F*cked Up,"David Comes to Life"
41. Sunny Sweeney, "Concrete"
40. Wild Flag, "Wild Flag"
39. Toro y Moi, "Underneath the Pine"
38. Switchfoot,"Vice Verses"
37. Morphosis,"What Have We Learned"
36. AA Bondy,"Believers"
35. Caveman,"Coco Beware"
34. Cults,"Cults"
33. SMOD, "SMOD"
32. Radiohead, "The King of Limbs"
31. North Mississippi Allstars , "Keys to the Kingdom"
30. Rihanna, "Talk That Talk"
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With love-drunk lyrics and throbbing club beats, much ofTalk sounds like Rihanna recorded it while joyously spinning in circles. Don't worry, she's still a naughty girl, too--more than ever. But in place of Loud's themes of strength in submission, Riri climbs on top this time, making demands, acting the aggressor, even requesting you suck her "Cockiness." Her "Red Lipstick" marks her claim on hip-hop masculinity, rather than on a man, but even her self-presentation as a "Birthday Cake" feels like a finger-snapping command.Talk is a sexy, confident play on notions of power. [R.D.]
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29. Drake, "Take Care"
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For Take Care, Drake re-ups the lush R&B romanticism of 2010's Thank Me Later, albeit with a twist. "I know I exaggerated things/ But now I got it like that," he says on "Headlines," where he threatens to use his bodyguards on haters. (What happened to Gang Starr's "Suckas Need Bodyguards"?) Big cars, pliant women and deliciously ambient beats from Boi-1da and Noah "40" Shebib inspire this tastefully appointed exercise in debauchery. But Drake's not too famous to beg girls on "Marvin's Room" and the title track, even if it sounds more like a booty call than true love. [Mosi Reeves]
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28. Lydia Loveless, "Indestructible Machine"
27. Beyoncé, "4"
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Four solo albums in, Beyoncé's earned the right to experiment. And 4 is a bold, risky test of the parameters of 2011 pop stardom. Eschewing the day's dance trends (and really, club-ready tracks in general), Beyoncé spends most of the album growling through gut-punching slow and mid-tempo jams steeped in solid-gold '70s soul and '80s R&B (think synth-y horns and Prince, not robo-disco). Then there's a militaristic march that culminates in the post-apocalyptic "Run the World." In short, there may not be a smash single in the bunch, but it might be some of Queen B's most interesting work ever. [R.D.]
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26. Colin Vallon, "Rruga"
25. Miranda Lambert, "Four the Record"
24. Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
23. Mungo's Hi-Fi, "Forward Ever"
22. Ryan Adams, "Ashes & Fire"
21. The Antlers, "Burst Apart"
20. Cauldron. "Burning Fortune"
19. Wilco, "The Whole Love"
18. Shabazz Palaces, "Black Up"
17. Washed Out, "Within and Without"
16. SBTRKT, "SBTRKT"
15. Kode 9 & The Spaceape, "Black Sun"
14. Pistol Annies, "Hell on Heels"
13. Charles Bradley, "No Time for Dreaming"
12. Metronomy, "The English Riviera"
11. Oneohtrix Point Never, "Replica"
10. Dum Dum Girls, "Only in Dreams"
9. M83, "Hurry Up We're Dreaming"
8. Eric Church, "Chief"
7. Kurt Vile, "Smoke Ring for My Halo"
6. Ximena Sariñana, "Ximena Sariñana"
5. Foster the People, "Torches"
4. Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Watch the Throne"
Quote:
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When superstars join forces, we expect blasts of energy, and Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne succeeds magnificently, from the joyous old-school roundelay of "Otis" to the street-hop of "Welcome to the Jungle." But the duo's attempt to turn Throne into the scepter of the hip-hop diaspora proves trickier. They deplore black-on-black violence in "Murder to Excellence," tout their success as "Made in America," and scold their many haters on "Why I Love You." "I tried to teach n*ggas how to be kings," says Jay. Unfortunately, as Langston Hughes once wrote, "Life ain't no crystal stair." [M.R.]
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3. Bon Iver, "Bon Iver"
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Proud Wisconsinite Justin Vernon is the rare star to truly stick to his roots--by identifying every song as a place, it's as though he's reminding himself to stay grounded. Bon Iver is all ambiance: not as stark as 2008's For Emma, Forever Ago, but just as riveting. And though Vernon employs similar instrumentation, it's with greater aplomb: the pitter-patter of a snare; the weaving of horns, synths and guitar; and that inimitable falsetto manipulated into its own class of emotion. The lyrics melt together, but they reveal a still very modest man: "And at once I knew I was not magnificent." [S.B.]
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2. James Blake, "James Blake"
1. Adele, "21"
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Adele's shtick seems to be album titles that completely belie the old soul inside. 21 sounds like no 21-year-old; she spends most of her sophomore album dominating styles she has no business knowing how to sing so intuitively, from the rafters-shaking, revival-ready "Rolling in the Deep" to the big, brassy '70s rock of "I'll Be Waiting." Elsewhere, she croons weathered ballads that sound more lovelorn than someone so young should (see "Turning Tables," a "Chasing Pavements" redux down to the syllabic structure). Still, her rich, distinctive, well-aged vintage pop has serious legs: 21 sent Adele skyrocketing to the top of the charts. [R.D.]
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SOURCE: http://www.rhapsody.com/blog/2011/12/50albums
50. Randy Montana, "1,000 Faces"
49. Tyler, the Creator, "Yonkers"
48. Ke$ha, "Blow"
47. Paulina Rubio, "Me Gustas Tanto (3Ballmty Remix)"
46. Mutemath, "Odd Soul"
45. Buraka Som Sistema, "Hangover (Ba Ba Ba)"
44. James Blake, "The Wilhelm Scream"
43. The Dirtbombs, "Sharivari"
42. Pitbull, "Give Me Everything"
41. Skrillex, "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"
40. LMFAO, "Sexy and I Know It"
39. OneRepublic, "Good Life"
38. Chris Brown, "Look at Me Now"
37. Lady Gaga, "Judas"
36. Raphael Saadiq, "Stone Rollin'"
35. Los Tigres del Norte ft. Paulina Rubio, "Golpes en el Corazon"
34. PJ Harvey, "The Words That Maketh Murder"
33. M83, "Midnight City"
32. Bon Iver, "Holocene"
31. Miguel, "Quickie"
30. Glen Campbell, "Hold on Hope"
29. Gang Gang Dance, "Glass Jar"
28. Florence + the Machine, "Shake It Out"
27. Little Big Town, "The Reason Why"
26. Rihanna, "Man Down"
25. Feist, "Graveyard"
24. DJ Khaled, "I'm on One"
23. Kreayshawn, "Gucci Gucci"
22. Martin Solveig, "Hello"
21. Kurt Vile, "Baby's Arms"
20. YC, "Racks"
19. Dev, "Bass Down Low"
18. Cobra Starship, "You Make Me Feel"
17. Foo Fighters, "These Days"
16. Drake, "Marvin's Room"
15. Britney Spears, "Until the World Ends"
14. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX, "I'll Take Care of U"
13. tUnE-yArDs, "Gangsta"
12. Jay-Z and Kanye West, "*****s in Paris"
11. Pistol Annies, "Hell on Heels"
10. Dum Dum Girls, "Coming Down"
9. Toby Keith, "Red Solo Cup"
8. Wilco, "I Might"
7. Miranda Lambert, "Baggage Claim"
6. Frank Ocean, "Novacane"
5. Martina McBride, "Teenage Daughters"
4. Foster the People, "Pumped Up Kicks"
3. Eric Church, "Homeboy"
2. Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"
1. Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
SOURCE: http://www.rhapsody.com/blog/2011/12/50songs
