Best (or Favorite) Music of 2011: A Roundup of the Critics' Picks

What was the best music to come out in 2011? Such lists are all over the Internet and print media this time of year, so I thought I'd present a look at some of the opinions from some major music critics and journalists, as well as music fans who I follow. (Note: I've never really done a list of top 10 or so best or favorite songs/albums/artists of the year, because it's always been too hard to narrow them down to such a small number, and to quantify what makes one album or band with a certain sound "better" than another with a different sound or approach.)


PJ Harvey's "The Last Living Rose," from "Let England Shake."

Here are links to some opinions of the best (or favorite) music of 2011, many of which include streaming songs from the artists:

• Paste's 50 best albums of 2011 (#1: "Bon Iver" by Bon Iver) 
• The Sound Opinions top picks of 2011, with separate lists from hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. (Kot's #1 album: Wild Flag's self-titled debut album; DeRogatis had "Sin Sin Sin" by Le Butcherettes in the top spot)
• NME's 50 best albums of the year (link is to top 10; #1: "Let England Shake: by PJ Harvey)
• Pitchfork's top 50 albums (link is to top 10; #1: "Bon Iver" by Bon Iver)
• NPR Music's top 50 albums (list presented in alphabetical order, for some reason. They also have an equally baffling version, two letters of the alphabet at a time, with audio clips)
• WFUV's best of 2011, staff picks and listener picks (listeners' #1 album: "The King is Dead" by The Decemberists)
• Ken Tucker (of Entertainment Weekly and NPR's "Fresh Air") top 9 albums (#1: "Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two" by the Beastie Boys)
• The No Depression community's 50 favorite albums (Americana/roots music) (#1: "The Harrow and the Harvest" by Gillian Welch) 
• Fellow music blogger Ben at I Have 19 Voices: his best songs, albums, and gigs of 2011 (#1 album: "Go Tell Fire to the Mountain" by WU LYF)
• List by music blogger Will of We All Want Someone to Shout For, with 31 best albums of the year (#1: "The Year of Hibernation" by Youth Lagoon)

Besides hearing songs from many of the artists at some of the links above, the hosts of Sound Opinion have put up their annual mixtape podcast, which features some of their favorite new songs from 2011. The podcast has excerpts of the songs, but you can stream full versions from the shownotes page.

As usual, I love poring over these year-end lists not because I care about the scorekeeping of who made it onto the most lists, but because they're valuable for discovering new albums and artists that I may have overlooked.

OK, those are the opinions of some music critics, fans, and bloggers. What are your favorites?

Free Album Previews: New St. Vincent and Ivy, the Latest "True Blood" Collection, & More

St. Vincent - "Cruel"

There aren't a lot of new albums for free preview this week, but there are some good ones available. One of the most anticipated is the new release from Annie Clark, the singer-songwriter and guitarist who performs under the name St. Vincent. She's back with "Strange Mercy," her first album in several years (release date: Sept. 13), and NPR Music is calling it her best yet. It's available for free streaming there and at KCRW (for a longer period).

Also available this week are new albums from a number of singer-songwriters including A.A. Bondy, Joe Firstman, and Tom Russell (with contributions from Calexico, Lucinda Williams, and others) … the album by the Horrible Crowes, the side project of Brian Fallon from the Gaslight Anthem … and the latest album by Ivy (the trio including Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne).

One album I've been enjoying is "True Blood: Music From The HBO Original Series Volume 3,"with music by Neko Case and Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and Gordon Gano, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nick Lowe, Massive Attack, and others. Some songs (or their performances/arrangements) don't do anything for me or seem like filler (does the album really need four versions of "She's Not There"?), but I really like some of the contributions, and there's a great range of artists on the album.  

Album previews from NPR Music and AOL/Spinner are usually available for one week, from Monday to Sunday; KCRW's album previews are up for a longer time and the date is given when known.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Strange Mercy" by St. Vincent (streaming through Sept. 18)

NPR First Listen:
"Believers" by A.A. Bondy  

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Hanna - Original Soundtrack" by the Chemical Brothers
"True Blood - Music from the HBO Series, Volume 3" by various artists

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Mesabi" by Tom Russell
"Swear It Was a Dream" by Joe Firstman
"Elsie" by the Horrible Crowes  

Amazon.com Album Preview:
"All Hours" by Ivy

Which of these albums do you like, and which other new albums are you enjoying? Leave your comments below!

Free Live Music Podcasts: PJ Harvey, Land of Talk, Great Big Sea, & More

Here are some recent live music podcasts for your listening enjoyment. These free, fun performances span a wide range of musicians and styles, but all of the artists are veterans at the top of their game.

* PJ Harvey live in San Francisco — this excerpt from a recent concert has the British singer-songwriter playing songs from her acclaimed new album, "Let England Shake."

* Land of Talk live in Toronto — Liz Powell leads the Montreal-based indie-rock trio in a set at Canadian Music Week, including tunes from its latest album, "Cloak and Cipher."

* Great Big Sea live in Edmonton, Canada — the Celtic-influenced rock band always gets the audiences up and dancing with its guitar, mandolin, and fiddle party music.

* Booker T. Jones live in the NPR offices — the legendary leader of Booker T. and the M.G.'s performs a 17-minute set in the radio network's offices.

Coachella Ends, But the Videos Live On

The Coachella Festival in California ended in the wee hours of Monday morning Eastern time, and I admit I was up quite late watching some of the closing sets. I caught PJ Harvey's entire set and part of Kanye West's, and even saw a song or two by Duran Duran (a group that seemed a very odd choice for Coachella).

Sadly, the festival is over for another year, but whether you caught any of the live webcasts or not you can watch the four dozen or so videos that are on the Coachella YouTube site (above, Broken Social Scene ending its set with "Meet Me in the Basement"). Among the other videos you can watch are more from BSS as well as tunes by Mumford and Sons, Two-Door Cinema Club, Chromeo (below), Health, and Jack's Mannequin (and yes, even Duran Duran if you like).

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from PJ Harvey, Adele, Nicole Atkins, Foo Fighters (Sort of), & More

Above: Foo Fighters performing "Rope," from their forthcoming album. You can preview live versions of what's said to be all the songs on the new album at the link at the bottom of this post.

Some much-anticipated new albums are up for free streaming, including Adele's follow-up to her acclaimed "19," the latest twist in the ever-changing musical journey of PJ Harvey, the sophomore album from New Jersey native Nicole Atkins, and the new work from Bright Eyes. And you can preview the new Foo Fighters album (sort of: a blog has put together videos of live versions of what it says are every song on the band's new album).

See the respective websites for a full listing of album previews being offered. The date that streaming ends is given, when known.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Let England Shake" by PJ Harvey (streaming until March 8; release date: Feb. 15)
"21" by Adele (streaming until March 8; release date: Feb. 22)
"Bella" by Teddy Thompson (streaming until March 1; album out now)

NPR First Listen:
"The People's Key" by Bright Eyes (streaming until Feb. 15, its release date)

Spinner.com's Listening Party has albums including:
"Mondo Amore" by Nicole Atkins"Tao of the Dead" by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
"The Long Surrender" by Over the Rhine
... and three albums by legendary Nigerian singer, songwriter, and activist Fela Kuti

AOL Music Listening Party has album previews including: 
"Now That's What I Call Music! #37" by Various Artists
"Now That's What I Call Music! Modern Songbook" by Various Artists
"The Sing-Off: The Best of Season 2" by Various Artists
"The Music Inside - A Collaboration Dedicated to Waylon Jennings, Vol. I" by Various Artists

Music blog Consequence of Sound has put together videos of what it believes to be all the songs on the new, so-far-untitled Foo Fighters album, which comes out in April, in the order they'll appear. These videos were made at different times and places by different people, so the quality may vary widely.