It is that time of year again were it is time for me to list the albums that I purchase throughout the year in order from my least favorite to my number one favorite. Now please keep in my that I obviously bought these albums because I liked the music on them, so even if one is listed last, that doesn’t mean I hate the album. This year my album list is heavily dominated by women and British women at that. The 2011 list is for any album that I bought or was given to me between 12.01.10 thru 11.30.11 no matter what the release date was. So you will see some albums that came out in 2010 on this list, but that is due to the fact I didn’t own them untill after December 01, 2010. First you will see the list in descending order to number one. Below that I will explain some of the albums placement which I am sure some will question.
22. Treats(2010)… Sleigh Bells
21. Down The Way(2010)… Angus & Julia Stone
20. Science & Faith… The Script
19. When The Sun Goes Down… Selena Gomez and The Scene
18. Welcome Reality… Nero
17. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy(2010)… Kanye West
16. 21- Adele
15. Saxobeats… Alexandra Stan
14. Goodbye Lullaby… Avril Lavinge(Biggest Disappointment)
13. Siberia… Lights
12. Who You Are… Jesse J
11. Perfectionist… Natalia Kills
10. Love?- Jennifer Lopez
9. Body Talk(2010)- Robyn
8. I Am The Dance Commander… Ke$ha
7. Lights… Ellie Goulding(Biggest Surprise)
6. Talk That Talk… Rihanna
5. Pink Friday(2010)… Nicki Minaj
4. Nothing But The Beat… David Guetta
3. Ceremonials… Florence + The Machine
2. Born This Way… Lady Gaga
1. Femme Fatale… Britney Spears
Okay, now you have seen my list and am probably wondering why I placed some albums where I did. I decide this really on how I responded to each album. What kind of music it is, how fun it was, what was the meaning, how does it compare to the artist past work, ect. I have no set standard and that is what makes this enjoyable to do each year. Depending on how I feel each year makes different types of music take top honours.
The one that I think most people will be shocked to see is where I placed the Grammy nominated Adele’s “21″ album at number 16 out of 22 albums. The reason for this is quite simply two things. First, Adele has released singles of all the songs I liked on the album. You may think that is a good thing. I don’t think so because she released all the songs that would sale. The rest of the album to me is very boring and I quite frankly dislike it. She does have a beautiful voice, but I don’t want that beautiful voice putting me to sleep. Second, Adele-fatigue. Except for the albums singles, I don’t get the buzz for the album as a whole. Again beautiful voice, but very dry and boring except for those released singles.
You may also be surprised to see Britney Spear with “Femme Fatale” in the number one spot. Everyone likes to knock Britney down and say her voice is crap and all of that other garbage. Britney has made a name for herself and she is talented despite what others may say. In second place I have Lady Gaga with “Born This Way” and in third place Flo+The Machine with “Ceremonials”. Both do have far superior voices than Britney Spears, but neither have the legacy that she has. Gaga is making a legacy that she will leave behind, but her and Britney are very different. Britney’s legacy is that of a phoenix come up out of the ashes. The mid-2000′s and on were a roller coaster ride for Britney, but I do believe in 2011 she has proven that she is back and better than ever. She’s Britney, bitch… And she isn’t go anywhere.
As I said number two went to Lady Gaga. I adore Lady Gaga and would have loved to given her the top spot, but I couldn’t. First, Britney deserved it for the reasons I listed above. Second, Britney was my first CD ever with “… Baby One More Time” and I feel like I have grown up with her. I totally go crazy for Gaga though. Again, I find that they are totally different people. “Born This Way” was an excellently crafted work of art from Gaga and I love it. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next. At the end of the day a fierce comeback and a sentimental reason is why Britney kept Gaga from number one. Again, I must stress how much I love and adore the very talented Lady Gaga. I would also love to request that at some point we get some acoustic or piano album from Gaga. Probably not as her new album, but somewhere in between the bigger albums. She has such a beautiful voice and sometimes the techno beats take from it.
Number three for me wasn’t hard to decide. Flo+The Machine were always going to be in the top five somewhere. Again, sentimental reasons kept her from obtaining the top two spots. The music Florence does is different and not exactly the same as the other two spots and that also held her back from the top two spots. Last year I gave Flo+The Machine the number one spot and “The Biggest Surprise” acknowledgement. This years “Ceremonials” is even bigger and more exciting than last years “Lungs”. This is another girl that I cannot wait to see what she will do next.
Biggest Disappointment— It always sucks when an album isn’t as good as you had hoped it would be. Last year this accolade went to Orianthi’s ”Believe”. This year it went to Avril Lavinge with her album “Goodbye Lullaby”. The thing that may be odd is that it isn’t even the a bad album by a long shot. It is at number 14 out of 22 albums. The fact is, I thought it was going to be a return to the old Avril, the “Complicated” and “Sk8tr Boy” Avril. It almost was and that is what makes it so disappointing. Another thing that makes “Goodbye Lullaby” a disappointment is the fact that we were told it will be out on this date and then this date. The date kept getting pushed further and further back. I guess in my mind she was creating a wonderful masterpiece that was going to be the most awesome thing ever. Avril use to be punk and then by her “Girlfriend” album she was more pop. Luckily, Avril herself said that she is already working on another new album that should be out sometime next year. I think she knows that “Goodbye Lullaby” was an album she did for herself. Again, not a bad album by any means and I love a lot of the songs. It just left me already waiting on the next album. So I wait…
Biggest Surprise— Last years “Biggest Surprise” accolade went to Florence+The Machine. This year it yet again goes to another British women. Ellie Goulding and her album “Lights” was defiantly a pleasant musical surprise this year. I had seen her performance on SNL, but wasn’t sold until I heard “Lights” elsewhere. Ellie Goulding satisfies that dance, electro sound with some how still managing to let her beautiful voice shine through. That probably has a lot to do with her not doing real hard dance style music. Either way if you haven’t given Ellie a try, do cause you are SO missing out. She should have another album out next year as well.
I would have to say that overall 2011 belonged to the British women who seem to be gaining air play on our US airwaves. I call it the Second British Invasion. They all have beautiful voices that deserve to be heard and enjoyed. I hope you enjoyed my view on this year in music and allowing me to list the albums I purchased over the year. I have been told I don;t buy enough albums, but they are enough for me. Please do checkout any of these great artists if you haven’t heard them before. Spotify is an awesome way to checkout many of these artists for FREE. Believe it or not this isn’t a paid ad for Spotify, though maybe they should pay me. Spotify is just the way I first listened to a lot of these artist.
