Albums 35-26: Well, you had me at 21, and then I see MALKMUS~!
Songs 30-21: I respect The Rapture, love "Heavy Metal Lover", adore "Gangsta" and enjoy Fleet Foxes. THOOMBS UP! (*shrugs*)
Albums 25-21: 4 Words for Snow?
Songs 20-16: I'm still mad at myself for not getting into "Holocene" sooner. Oh, and take care, lotus flower.
Songs 15-11: Yet again, MALKMUS~! And even he couldn't possibly be the highlight in a set that features SLY and "Vomit". Seriously, if you enjoy rock even in the slightest, you are missing out if you haven't listened to "Vomit".
50. Blood Pressures, The Kills
49. In The Mountain In The Cloud, Portugal. The Man
48. Rapprocher, Class Actress
47. Born This Way, Lady GaGa
46. Pickin' Up The Pieces, Fitz and the Tantrums
45. Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi
44. El Camino, The Black Keys
43. undun, The Roots
42. Strange Mercy, St. Vincent
41. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
40. Metals, Feist
39. The Whole Love, Wilco
38. Days, Real Estate
37. Rome, Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
36. Camp, Childish Gambino
35. Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li
34. In The Grave Of Your Love, The Rapture
33. The King Of Limbs, Radiohead
32. Biophilia, Bjork
31. Coastal Grooves, Blood Orange
30. Mirror Traffic, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
29. The Year Of Hibernation, Youth Lagoon
28. 21, Adele
27. Lights, Ellie Goulding
26. Watch The Throne, Jay-Z & Kanye West
25. Space Is Only Noise, Nicolas Jaar
24. 4, Beyoncé
23. 50 Words For Snow, Kate Bush
22. Ravedeath, 1972, Tim Hecker
21. Conatus, Zola Jesus
20. Burst Apart, The Antlers
19. Tomboy, Panda Bear
18. Circuital, My Morning Jacket
17. Smother, Wild Beasts
16. True Loves, Hooray For Earth
100 The Strokes "Machu Piccu"
99 Ganglians "Things To Know"
98 Dreamers Of The Ghetto "Connection"
97 Active Child "Hanging On"
96 Real Estate "Out Of Tune"
95 Matthew Herbert "December"
94 Frank Ocean "Novacane"
93 Unknown Mortal Orchestra "FFunny FFriends"
92 Butcher Boy "Imperial"
91 The Kills "Future Starts Slow"
90 Cults "Rave On"
89 Release The Sunbird "No Light"
88 Penguin Prison "Don't **** With My Money"
87 Forest Fire "They Pray Execution Style"
86 Waters "San Francisco"
85 Little Dragon "Ritual Union"
84 Future Islands "Balance"
83 Radiohead "Bloom"
82 Jay-Z & Kanye West "Gotta Have It"
81 Blood Orange "Sutphin Boulevard"
80 Lady GaGa "Born This Way"
79 Adele "Set Fire To The Rain"
78 Mara Carlyle "Weird Girl"
77 Nerves Junior "Swimmer's Ear"
76 The Black Keys "Little Black Submarine"
75 Atlas Sound "Flagstaff"
74 Wild Beasts "Bed Of Nails"
73 Cant "The Edge"
72 Neon Indian "Future Sick"
71 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Norah Jones "Problem Queen"
70 M83 "Wait"
69 The Weeknd "Life Of The Party"
68 I Break Horses "Pulse"
67 High Places "Sonora"
66 Britney Spears "Till The World Ends"
65 Beyoncé featuring André 3000 "Party"
64 New Look "The Ballad"
63 Class Actress "Weekend"
62 Florence + The Machine "Shake It Out"
61 Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks "Tigers"
60 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins "John Taylor's Month Away"
59 St. Vincent "Surgeon"
58 Kreayshawn "Gucci Gucci"
57 Foster The People "Helena Beat"
56 The Roots featuring Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw "Make My"
55 Other Lives "As I Lay My Head Down"
54 Milagres "Glowing Mouth"
53 Drake featuring Stevie Wonder "Doing It Wrong"
52 Wild Beasts "Plaything"
51 A$AP Rocky featuring Schoolboy Q "Brand New Guy"
50 Sepalcure "Breezin'"
49 Widowspeak "Gun Shy"
48 Rihanna "Where Have You Been"
47 Lykke Li "I Follow Rivers"
46 Okkervil River "We Need A Myth"
45 My Brightest Diamond "Be Brave"
44 Drake "Marvin's Room"
43 Real Estate "All The Same"
42 The Antlers "No Widows"
41 The Horrors "I Can See Through You"
40 Ellie Goulding "Lights" (Bassnectar Remix)
39 Youth Lagoon "17"
38 Nicolas Jaar "Space Is Only Noise If You Can See"
37 Adele "Rolling In The Deep"
36 My Morning Jacket "Holdin On To Black Metal"
35 Feist "Graveyard"
34 Tinariwen "Tamiditin Tan Ufrawen"
33 Björk "Crystalline"
32 Kate Bush "Snowed In At Wheeler Street"
31 The War On Drugs "Brothers"
30 The Rapture "In The Grace Of Your Love"
29 Tim Hecker "In The Fog II"
28 Lady GaGa "Heavy Metal Lover"
27 Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"
26 St. Vincent "Cheerleader"
25 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Jack White "Two Against One"
24 Bobby "Tomb Bloom"
23 Zola Jesus "Seekir"
22 A$AP Rocky "Houston Old Head"
21 tUnE-yArDs "Gangsta"
20 Bon Iver "Holocene"
19 Hooray For Earth "No Love"
18 Elbow "lippy kids"
17 Drake featuring Rihanna "Take Care"
16 Radiohead "Lotus Flower"
15 Beyoncé "1+1"
14 Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks "No One Is (As I Are Be)"
13 PJ Harvey "All & Everyone"
12 Adele "Someone Like You"
11 Girls "Vomit"
Cults burst on the scene in 2011 with their self-titled debut, and second single "Go Outside" is one of the main reasons for their instant success. The tune would absolutely have been endorsed by Timothy Leary in the 1960s. It's a laid back summer jam in the same vein as The Mamas and the Papas, and will no doubt be played during those summer months for the years to come.
9. Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay "212"
"212" is the type of bizarro hip-hop song that we've come accustomed to in this post-Kanye rap world. Azealia Banks will no doubt land comparisons to Nicki Minaj because of her dual ability of being a really good rapper and perhaps an even better singer. "212" is one of the filthiest rap songs of 2011, with Azealia Banks talking about receiving cunnilingus from this guy's girlfriend, as she eloquently puts it, "I guess that **** gettin' eaten."
8. Wilco "Art Of Almost"
Wilco is one of the steadiest American rock bands of our time, consistently releasing quality recordings every few years. In 2011, the band released The Whole Love, and the opening track, "Art Of Almost" is one the year's best. It's a 7+ minute epic, full of strings, guitars, and amazing synths. But through it all, the song is still undeniably the work of Jeff Tweedy and co. The last 2:30 minutes of the song is some of the best music of the year, and a big reason why "Art Of Almost" is the 8th best song of 2011.