Best Albums of 2011

26 December 2011

Out of the thousands a new albums released in 2011 we’ve managed to whittle it down to 10 of the best. From Adele to Foo Fighters and Lady Gaga to Jay-Z and Kanye West, there is something for everyone, so get down to your local music store and put these in your basket. You don’t want to miss out!

10 Drake - Take Care

After the success of Drake’s debut album ‘Thank Me Later’, ‘Take Care’ had big shoes to fill, and fill them it has. ‘Take Care’ mixes elements of R&B, pop and electronica to create an atmospheric sound. Drake felt his debut album was rushed in its production and so made the choice to take his time in the production and release of this album.

The gamble paid off and saw critics give high praise to the album with Metacritic giving the album 81/100 rating it at a ‘Universal Acclaim’ status. The charts reflected this as it debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and the Canadian Album Chart.

The album also topped two other US charts and has featured in a number of magazines, newspapers and TV shows as one of the top albums of 2011

9 Beyonce - 4

Hence the name, 4 is Beyonce’s fourth studio album and blends R&B, pop and soul to create heartfelt ballads with mid and up tempo’s. As is often with Beyonce’s music, the common themes portrayed in the album are womanhood and monogamy. Both a present throughout the album, from the fierce ‘Run The World (Girls)’ to the soft ‘Best Thing I Never Had’.

The album was praised by critics for it’s look back to 1980’s R&B, saying that it stood out and was refreashing in an era of Rihanna style music. Despite being leaked before it’s release date in June the album still debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 chart and also peaked at number one in 11 other charts around the globe.

8 Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

‘Wasting Light’, Foo Fighters’ seventh studio album, brought back a taste of the old Foo’s flavour. Dave Grohl himself described it as their “heaviest album yet” and to add to the rock ‘n’ roll, it was recorded in Grohl’s garage.

It received strong praise from critics, in particular Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine who gave it a four-and-a-half star review naming it “the fiercest album they’ve ever made”. The album debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 chart as well as the Canadian Albums Chart. It topped the album charts in a further 10 countries and has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of The Year.

The heavy guitar riffs and combination of soft and grungy vocals has made this album a hit with the critics and fans. It’s safe to say the Foo’s are back on form with this album, very nice work guys.

7 Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay have done it again, Mylo Xyloto is their filth studio album and became their filth album to debut at the top of the UK Albums Chart, it was also their third album to debut at the top of US Billboard 200.

The album is a ‘concept album’ and follows a story throughout it’s tracks. Front man Chris Martin said that the story was based on a love story with a happy ending. The narrative is told through beautiful music and the first two songs from the album ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ and ‘Paradise’ have already received three Grammy Award nominations.

The album received average reviews from critics, with Alexis Petridis saying, “A lot of it just sounds like standard-issue Coldplay, replete with echoing guitars, woah-oh choruses and vocals that signify high drama by slipping into falsetto.” He’s right, it’s classic Coldplay, but that is certainly not a bad thing.

6 Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch The Throne

This album simply had to happen, two of the greatest hip hop artists of this generation coming together to make an album? It was destined for success. When you listen to any of the tracks off this record you can’t help but smile at how perfect they sound together, it makes you wonder why it never happened before now.

It’s typically filled with swagger, boasts of fame, power, and explores materialism and the burdens of success. All of this resulted in it’s debut at the number one spot on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaking at number one in 9 other charts around the world.

Critics generally favoured this album with many complimenting the chemistry between the two artists, with Claire Suddath of Time saying it is “a beautifully decadent album by two of hip-hop's finest artists — men with a lot of things to say and a lot of money to spend.”

For those who think this album is distasteful gloating, what did you really expect? Of course it is, that’s why it works, that’s why we love it. This cocksure, adrenaline-fuelled album shows Jay-Z and West at their best.

5 Radiohead - The King of Limbs

In typical Radiohead fashion, virtually nothing was known about this album until it was released. It is once again a self-released album and even though there wasn’t a huge buzz about it’s release, it has still been nominated in five categories at the 54^th Grammy Awards.

This album did not perform well in the charts and was the only album since ‘The Bends’ not to reach number one in the UK charts. Debuting at number seven in the UK made it the lowest debut for the band since ‘Pablo Honey’ in 1993. It did a little better in the US Billboard 200 chart, debuting at number six and then peaking at number three.

Despite poor charting, critics raved about this album. It received 80/100 on Metacritic and BBC’s Mike Diver said it was “a fans-pleasing eighth album from Britain’s most consistently brilliant band.” PopMatters gave the album a 9/10 claiming it was a “beautiful record” that gave them chills.

Radiohead are a refreshing band in the current climate, they don’t do it for the sales or the money, they do it because they like doing it and that’s what makes them brilliant.

4 Lady Gaga - Born This Way

This was arguably the most anticipated album of the year from one of the most famous woman on the planet and it did not disappoint. The hype around the release in the forms of album photography and stills from the single of the same name was intense, everybody was dying to see what Gaga had created.

Following the release, it debuted at number one in album charts all over the world including the US, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, France, New Zealand and Japan and peaked at number one in 29 charts around the world. The album also went an impressive 4x platinum in Russia.

With it’s combination of music, from heavy electronic beats to old school rock ‘n’ roll, there is something for everyone on this album. Critics gave credit to Gaga for pushing the boundaries of music, Dan Martin from NME said, “Gaga doesn’t know when to hold back - and it’s a damn good thing”. Gaga was also praised for “putting a bit of imagination and effort back into pop” by BBC Music.

There were some who weren’t so impressed by Gaga’s latest offering. Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune said the album resembled the sound “of a major artist sprinting to please everyone at the same time.” Surely it’s diversity is what makes this album so amazing? The fact that one person can bring so many millions of different people together and give them a common ground? Whatever you thought of this album, you cannot deny how incredibly influential Gaga has become and this album most certainly added to that.

3 Florence and The Machine - Ceremonials

Florence and The Machine made a huge success out of their first album ‘Lungs’ and have managed to go bigger and better with their second album ‘Ceremonials’. This album takes Florence’s capturing, unique voice and amplifies it with help from soft electro vibes, gospel choirs, resounding drums and beautiful harps to make one killer collection of songs.

The album won a score of 77/100 on Metacritic and also gained a four-and-a-half out of five from Allmusic critic James Christopher Monger, he said, “Bigger and bolder than 2009's excellent Lungs, Ceremonials rolls in like fog over the Thames doling out a heavy-handed mix of Brit-pop-infused neo-soul anthems and lush, movie trailer-ready ballads that fuse the bluesy, electro-despair of Adele with the ornate, gothic melodrama of Kate Bush and Floodland-era Sisters of Mercy."

The album debuted at number one in the album charts of the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and shot to number one in a further three charts across the globe.

2 PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

This album is the 11^th offering from PJ Harvey and has so far been included in the top albums of 2011 of 13 publications. It has also won the 2011 Mercury Prize.

The album has been seen as a superb account and metaphor for England’s situation at this current time has won widespread acclaim from critics. NME’s Mike Williams said, “Francis Ford Coppola can lay claim to the war movie. Ernest Hemingway the war novel. Polly Jean Harvey, a 41-year-old from Dorset, has claimed the war album.” and have the record a rare 10/10 rating.

There isn’t a bad review about this album and for good reason. It’s an emotional, truthful and layered album of warfare that see’s Harvey peak her talent.

1 Adele - 21

So here we arrive at the number one album of the year, and what a worthy winner it is. Adele’s 21 is an all-round success, from the vocals, to the sales and back to reviews.

The theme of the album stemmed from the heartbreak she felt after the breakdown of a relationship and the portrayal enables you to feel her pain right the way through the album. There are influences present from her first album ‘19’ such as folk and Motown, but this time they are laced with American country and southern blues which she encountered on her tour.

Many critics praised her on her incredible voice and her emotion fuelled performances, and many commented on how it was hard to believe that her voice was that of a 21-year-old, saying that it far outweighed her years.

This record has broken many records, one being that it spent 29 weeks atop of the chart in Ireland, and went an incredible 14x platinum in the UK. The album topped 26 charts from all over the world and is currently in the UK Album Chart at number 6, having been in the chart for 47 weeks.

Clearly Adele is a worthy winner, she’s broken numerous records, been nominated and won multiple awards and rose to be one of the biggest stars in the world, all by the age of 23. Here’s hoping she doesn’t stop anytime soon.