Top 50 Albums of 2011 (Individual Writers' Lists)
By No Ripcord Staff
Now you've digested our Top 50, here's the final word on what each of our writers voted for. If you're statistically-minded, you might like to partake in a little light analysis. For instance:
- Despite placing in our Top 5, no writer placed St. Vincent's Strange Mercy in their Top 3 records of the year.
- Katy B's On A Mission - which placed inside the Top 10 - received the same number of votes as TV On The Radio's Nine Types of Light, which didn't make the Top 50 at all.
Any more interesting facts and figures, or just good, old-fashioned differences of opinion, can be shared and debated using the Disqus form below.
For the original Top 50, click here.
Andrew Baer
1. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
2. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
3. James Blake - James Blake
4. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
5. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
6. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
7. Atlas Sound - Parallax
8. Destroyer - Kaputt
9. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
10. Clams Casino - Clams Casino
11. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
12. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2
13. Schlomo - Bad Vibes
14. Real Estate - Days
15. The Antlers - Burst Apart
Andrew Davison
1. Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
2. Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
3. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness
4. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
5. Glaxie - Tigre Et Diesel
6. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
7. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
8. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
9. Feist - Metals
10. Memphis - Here Comes The City
11. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
12. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
13. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
14. Elliot Brood - Days Into Years
15. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Andrew Hirst
1. The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
2. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
3. Dutch Uncles - Cadenza
4. Cloud Control - Bliss Release
5. Givers - In Light
6. Battles - Gloss Drop
7. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
8. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
9. Active Child - You Are All I See
10. Fair Ohs - Everything Is Dancing
11. The Dodos - No Color
12. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
13. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
14. Is Tropical - Native To
15. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Angel Aguilar
1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. Wilco - The Whole Love
3. Amor De Dias - Street Of The Love Of Days
4. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
5. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
6. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
7. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
8. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
9. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
10. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
11. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
12. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
13. Fountains Of Wayne - Sky Full Of Holes
14. The Strokes - Angles
15. Matthew Sweet - Modern Art
Ben Jones
1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
3. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
4. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
5. Adele - 21
6. James Blake - James Blake
7. The Antlers - Burst Apart
8. Cults - Cults
9. Beirut - The Rip Tide
10. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
11. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
12. Mandolin Orange - Haste Make/Hard Hearted Stranger
13. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
14. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
15. Low - C'Mon
Craig Stevens
1. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We're New Here
2. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix
3. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
4. The Antlers - Burst Apart
5. Braids - Native Speaker
6. Drake - Take Care
7. Real Estate - Days
8. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
9. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
10. The Field - Looping State Of Mind
11. The Horrors - Skying
12. Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
13. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
14. James Blake - James Blake
15. Wolf Gang - Suego Faults
Daniel Dylan Wray
1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
3. Peaking Lights - 963
4. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
5. Death Grips - Exmilitary
6. John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
7. The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
8. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
9. Mikal Cronin - Mikal Cronin
10. Destroyer - Kaputt
11. The Fall - Ersatz GB
12. Prince Rama - Trust Now
13. Still Corners - Creatures Of An Hour
14. Yann Tiersen - Skyline
15. Big Deal - Lights Out
David Coleman
1. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
3. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
4. Real Estate - Days
5. Wild Beasts - Smother
6. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
7. Phoenix Foundation - Buffalo
8. Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts
9. The Horrors - Skying
10. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
11. Marissa Nadler - Marissa Nadler
12. James Blake - James Blake
13. Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings
14. Destroyer - Kaputt
15. Iceage - New Brigade
David Hogg
1. Handsome Furs - Sound Capital
2. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
3. James Blake - James Blake
4. DeVotchKa - 100 Lovers
5. Feist - Metals
6. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
7. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
8. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
9. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
10. Wild Beasts - Smother
11. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
12. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
13. Washed Out - Within And Without
14. The Kills - Blood Pressures
15. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
David Wood
1. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
2. Grouper - A|A
3. Björk - Biophilia
4. Zomby - Dedication
5. Rustie - Glass Swords
6. Battles - Gloss Drop
7. Martyn - Ghost People
8. Thundercat - Golden Age Of Apocalypse
9. Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles
10. Machinedrum - Room(s)
11. Master Musicians Of Bukkake - Totem Three
12. Pinch & Shackleton - Pinch & Shackleton
13. Nettle - El Resplandor: The Shining In Dubai
14. Blut Aus Nord - 777 Sect(s)
15. Luomo - PLUS
Forrest Cardamenis
1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
3. The Antlers - Burst Apart
4. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
5. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
6. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
7. Wilco - The Whole Love
8. Wild Beasts - Smother
9. The Horrors - Skying
10. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
11. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
12. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
13. Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls
14. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
15. Okkervill River - I Am Very Far
Gabriel Szatan
1. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
2. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
3. Big K.R.I.T. - Return Of 4Eva
4. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
5. Panda Bear - Tomboy
6. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
7. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
8. Rustie - Glass Swords
9. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
10. Zomby - Dedication
11. Tom Vek - Leisure Seizure
12. Danny Brown - XXX
13. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
14. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
15. Mastodon - The Hunter
Gary McGinley
1. Katy B - On A Mission
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
3. Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting
4. Friendly Fires - Pala
5. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
6. Monarchy - Around The Sun
7. Yelle - Safari Disco Club
8. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We're New Here
9. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
10. Rihanna - Talk That Talk
11. Lady Gaga - Born This Way
12. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
13. Britney Spears - Femme Fatale
14. Example - Playing In The Shadows
15. Björk - Biophilia
Joe Gastineau
1. Tennis - Cape Dory
2. Beirut - The Rip Tide
3. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
5. Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell - Kite
6. The Horrors - Skying
7. King Creosote & John Hopkins - Diamond Mine
8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
9. Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
10. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
11. Sparrow & The Workshop - Spitting Daggers
12. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
13. James Blake - James Blake
14. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
15. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
Joe Iliff
1. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
2. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
3. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
4. Friendly Fires - Pala
5. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
6. Katy B - On A Mission
7. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness
8. Destroyer - Kaputt
9. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin
10. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
11. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
12. Cults - Cults
13. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
14. Wild Beasts - Smother
15. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Joe Rivers
1. James Blake - James Blake
2. Katy B - On A Mission
3. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Everything's Getting Older
4. Slow Club - Paradise
5. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
6. Washed Out - Within And Without
7. Nicola Roberts - Cinderella's Eyes
8. Metronomy - The English Riviera
9. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes
10. Rihanna - Talk That Talk
11. Fatoumata Diawara - Fatou
12. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
13. Braids - Native Speaker
14. Little Roy - Battle For Seattle
15. Cats And Cats And Cats - Motherwhale
Joel Stanier
1. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
2. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
3. Death Grips - Exmilitary
4. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
5. Akron & The Family - Akron & The Family II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT
6. Thundercat - Golden Age Of Apocalypse
7. Battles - Gloss Drop
8. The Field - Looping State Of Mind
9. Atlas Sound - Parallax
10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
11. The Dodos - No Color
12. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
13. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
14. James Blake - James Blake
15. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
Juan Edgardo Rodriguez
1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
3. Real Estate - Days
4. Iceage - New Brigade
5. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
6. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
7. Wild Beasts - Smother
8. Marissa Nadler - Marissa Nadler
9. James Blake - James Blake
10. Destroyer - Kaputt
11. The Field - Looping State Of Mind
12. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
13. Drake - Take Care
14. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
15. Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
Lukas Clark-Memler
1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. James Blake - James Blake
3. Cults - Cults
4. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin
5. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
6. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We're New Here
7. Washed Out - Within And Without
8. Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
9. Tennis - Cape Dory
10. Real Estate - Days
11. Panda Bear - Tomboy
12. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
13. Summer Camp - Welcome To Condale
14. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
15. Portugal, The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud
Luredo Marbery
1. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
2. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
3. The Black Keys - El Camino
4. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
5. Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi - Rome
6. The Kills - Blood Pressures
7. Seasick Steve - You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
8. Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
9. Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
10. Adele - 21
11. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
13. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
14. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
15. The Strokes - Angles
Mark Davison
1. Feist - Metals
2. Three Trapped Tigers - Route One Or Die
3. Planningtorock - W
4. Katy B - On A Mission
5. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
6. Nicola Roberts - Cinderella's Eyes
7. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
8. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
9. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Everything's Getting Older
10. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
11. Washed Out - Within And Without
12. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
13. Low - C'Mon
14. Tori Amos - Night Of Hunters
15. Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
Michael Iovino
1. Teebs - Collections 01
2. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
3. Andy Stott - Passed Me By/We Stay Together
4. Burial - Street Halo
5. John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
6. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
7. Sun Araw - Ancient Romans
8. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
9. Holy Other - With U
10. Morgan Zarate - Hookid
11. Demdike Stare - Tryptych
12. Floating Points - Shadows
13. Zomby - Dedication
14. Miles - Facets
15. Fennesz - Seven Stars/Flumina
Pierce Brown
1. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
2. Wire - Red Barked Tree
3. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
4. Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania
5. Destroyer - Kaputt
6. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
7. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
8. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
9. Wilco - The Whole Love
10. David Kilgour - Left By Soft
11. Robert Pollard - Lord Of The Birdcage
12. Mates Of State - Mountaintops
13. Cave - Neverendless
14. Gillian Welch - The Harrow And The Harvest
15. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Ryan Pratt
1. Junior Boys - It's All True
2. Jesu - Ascension
3. Miracle Fortress - Was I The Wave?
4. The Weather Station - All Of It Was Mine
5. You Are My Symphonic - I Found Your Faces Of Montreal
6. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
7. True Widow - As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth
8. Mombi - The Wounded Beat
9. Various Artists - SMM: Context
10. Tycho - Dive
11. Burial - Street Halo
12. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
13. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
14. Cass McCombs - Wit's End
15. Benoit Pioulard - Plays Thelma
Sean Caldwell
1. Boris - Attention Please
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
3. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
4. Mastodon - The Hunter
5. Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light Vol. 1
6. Grails - Deep Politics
7. Empty Space Orchestra - Empty Space Orchestra
8. Hella - Tripper
9. Sic Alps - Napa Asylum
10. Russian Circles - Empros
11. J Mascis - Several Shades Of Why
12. Locrian - The Clearing
13. Six Organs Of Admittance - Alone On The Floodplain
14. Parts & Labor - Constant Future
15. Noxious Foxes - Légs
Stephen Wragg
1. Jenny Hval - Viscera
2. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness
3. Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens De Couleurs Libres
4. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
5. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
6. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
7. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Everything's Getting Older
8. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons
9. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
10. Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer
11. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
12. Braids - Native Speaker
13. The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
14. Destroyer - Kaputt
15. Grouper - A|A
14 December, 2011 - 19:31 — No Ripcord Staff