The Prophet hath spoken to me. And He said: "Omega, it is time for you to return to ATRL and let them knoweth my favorite tunes of the previous year." And I sayeth "But I usually do that anyways."

On the menu (for a limited time only)
Top 45 albums of 2011
More if the Prophet chooses to share them



Get your warface on!

Switching to a completely unrelated topic, here are "my" previous annual favorites.

2003 -- #1 song: "Faint" by Linkin Park -- #1 album: "Meteora" by Linkin Park
2004 -- #1 song: "Ch-Check It Out" by Beastie Boys -- #1 album: "Start Something" by lostprophets
2005 -- #1 song: "Helena" by My Chemical Romance -- #1 album: "Retaliation" by Dane Cook (ugh)
2006 -- #1 song: "When You Were Young" by The Killers -- #1 album: "The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance
2007 -- #1 song: "Through The Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce -- #1 album: "Sound of Silver" by LCD Soundsystem (awarded in 2010)
2008 -- #1 song: "All Nightmare Long" by Metallica -- #1 album: "Death Magnetic" by Metallica
2009 -- #1 song: "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups -- #1 album: "It's Blitz!" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2010 -- #1 song: "Dance Yourself Clean" by LCD Soundsystem -- #1 album: "This Is Happening" by LCD Soundsystem
2011 -- #1 song: "Get Away" by Yuck -- #1 album: "Something To Die For" by The Sounds

2011 albums

45. "The Black Belles" by The Black Belles
44. "David Comes To Life" by ****ed Up
43. "Lycanthropy" by Werewolf Congress
42. "Undun" by The Roots
41. "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" by Girls
40. "Blood Pressures" by The Kills
39. "The King of Limbs" by Radiohead
38. "Tha Carter IV" by Lil Wayne
37. ".OGDRULEY" by Druley
36. "Smoke RIng For My Halo" by Kurt Vile
35. "Reptilians" by Star****er
34. "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson
33. "Rome" by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi
32. "Thank You Happy Birthday" by Cage The Elephant
31. "Kaputt" by Destroyer
30. "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
29. "Wounded Rhymes" by Lykke Li
28. "Mylo Xyloto" by Coldplay
27. "Holy Ghost!" by Holy Ghost
26. "Siberia" by Lights
25. "Balls Out" by Steel Panther
24. "The Hunter" by Mastodon
23. "Angles" by The Strokes
22. "Circuital" by My Morning Jacket
21. "Turtleneck and Chain" by The Lonely Island
20. "All Day" by Girl Talk
19. "Velociraptor" by Kasabian
18. "21" by Adele
17. "Soul Punk" by Patrick Stump
16. "Divergent Spectrum" by Bassnectar
15. "Suck It and See" by Arctic Monkeys
14. "Wild Flag" by Wild Flag
13. "Torches" by Foster The People
12. "Watch The Throne" by Jay-Z and Kanye West
11. "Codes and Keys" by Death Cab For Cutie
10. "Audio, Video, Disco" by Justice
9. "Yuck" by Yuck
8. "I'm With You" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. "Hot Sauce Committee Part 2" by Beastie Boys
6. "Nine Types of Light" by TV On The Radio
5. "The Double Cross" by Sloan
4. "Wasting Light" by Foo Fighters
3. "El Camino" by The Black Keys
2. "The King is Dead" by The Decemberists
1. "Something To Die For" by The Sounds

can't wait for your countdown.<333

Without further wait, here are the words of the Prophet, translated by myself.

45. "The Black Belles" by The Black Belles

If you like The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, or The Dead Weather then you'd recognize Jack White's signature guitar style anywhere. White does not actually play any instruments here, rather serves as a producer to an all girl punk band. So we may not have gotten a (full) new White album this year, this serves as a good substitute.

44. "David Comes To Life" by ****ed Up

On the first listen of this album I though "this is really long" and "I have no idea what is going on with this story". It is a grand story though, a rock opera by a hardcore band called ****ed Up. Not something one sees every year. I guess it is about a guy who fights with the narrator of his story. There is much more to it than that, but that is not for me to delve into. ****ed Up somehow mixes hardcore, irish punk, and new jersey springsteen all into one album and somehow comes out alive.

43. "Lycanthropy" by Werewolf Congress

This album begins with a quote from Al Gore: "We need to defend our planet against pollution as well as dark wizards". Very goofy stuff. It then goes into a sample of "We Are Rockstars" by Does It Offend You Yeah, which is an awesome song. Last years #1 song "Dance Yourself Clean" is mixed with "Rhinestone Eyes" by Gorillas. It is like a nerdy really hyped up Girl Talk album.

Enough for now.

Great list, Mr. Tebow! I enjoy how you play football, and you like ****ed Up????? How cool is that? I love ****ed Up, too!

In all seriousness, happy to see you doing this list again, O! And yeah, ****ed Up are The Best Band, and i'm glad you gave the album a shot, and included it on your list. Plus! Black Belles! Can't go wrong there.

Hope I get to catch something that I know, it's interesting to discover new acts though.

Yet again, O comes through with the single best year-end countdown thread title. And that opening proverb is just...it's wonderful. As is ****ed Up.

The neonazi is back!

And as usual, I don't know any of those songs

The Prophet has heard your prayers, and promises that more recognizable artists will appear on the future of His top 45 albums of 2011.

In the meantime, I'll get you all some links so you can at least listen to a few seconds of the artists I'm posting about.

42.


"Undun" by The Roots

This the most recent album that will appear on the top 45. I'm not even sure if it has been released yet. The Roots find some time away from Jimmy Fallon to create a concept album.



41.


"Father, Son, Holy Ghost" by Girls

Girls may seem pretty chippy on first listen, but this guy is seriously depressed. His breakup did create a really great album though. Sometimes even channelling the sounds of the past we so dearly love. I've always wondered if sadness indirectly leads to great music, now I have some more evidence.

40.


"Blood Pressures" by The Kills

This is a two piece rock outfit, one a brit and one a yankee. These two have historically been at odds about things like taxes and impressment, yet musically the two countries mash like monsters.


Hope this helps out with the not knowing who I am talking about. That way, everyone wins. The reader needs entertainment, and the writer needs readers. And Tim Tebow only needs the 4th quarter and overtime. Let that be a lesson in life.

The Kills video is good, song amazing

The last sentence of your The Kills write-up is your finest moment, O.

I love all the artists listed. A SLAM-DUNK /wrongsport.

That Girls album is one of my favorite albums of 2011. The depression brooding under the surface of the happy-sounding music put it over the top for me. Well, that, and the awesome songs.

The Kills, The Roots and Girls all released some of my favorite albums of the year. Well done!

The Prophet is busy practicing for his upcoming game agains the evil Boston Patriots. When the Holy Book is written this will be featured as one of The Prophet's greatest triumphs. Unfortunately, he has not had time to speak to me. Luckily, I am already aware of what comes next.

Side note, I just watched the final Harry Potter again. Great flick, but I still think it should have all been one movie.

39.


"The King of Limbs" by Radiohead

It is easy to go negative when discussing The King of Limbs. After all, this is Radiohead, anything less than perfection is unacceptable. There is plenty to like on here though. It reminds me of Thom's solo album "The Eraser" more than any other Radiohead album, including Kid A, the success of which was trying to be replicated. As a Radiohead album, this probably ranks lowest. As a singular experience, The King of Limbs ranks #39 among the top albums of 2011.


38.


"Tha Carter IV" by Lil Wayne

Straight out of prison, Lil Wayne couldn't wait to make and release some new music. Weezy doesn't miss a beat, he comes out guns blazing with the above song "Blunt Blowin" with some of the funniest lyrics of the year. It is amazing that this and The Throne came out in the same week. Three of the four (with Eminem) biggest rappers releasing new stuff, competing with one another. I like it! Competition leads to innovation.


37.


".OGDRULEY" by Druley

Some dubstep that was a free leech off pancakes.fm. If you listen to the above song, as well as any other dub and don't get what the big deal is, don't worry - it just means you're sober. It is hilarious to me that the bigwhigs are trying to commercialize dubstep without understanding why people like it. Druley doesn't exactly break any new ground here, but it is still fun to wild'n'out too. He is also one of the few to actually put his songs together in a collection like this, most people just release individual songs. So you won't have to put up with much more dub on my list if you don't like it.


The Prophets beckons me. Down the rabbithole I go. If only I had taken the blue pill!

Blunt Blowin
Nice choices so far.

I like that you put The King of Limbs on your list. Though, like you said, it is probably my least favourite of their albums (I like The Eraser far more, even though that isn't a Radiohead album, as you said). But yeah, there's definitely some great songs on there.

The Wayne album, too, i thought was unfairly maligned. He couldn't top Carter III, so instead he just made a really solid/great hip-hop album, as opposed to a GREAT album for the ages. And you are right that "Blunt Blowin'" is one of the top songs on that record.

O! Great Job, yet again!

Tha Carter IV and also Radiohead
The last song was awesome! I love dubstep more songs like this please