Chris is Full of Lists: 2011

New Albums:

1. Left Lane Cruiser, Junkyard Speed Ball
2. Adele, 21
3. Mayer Hawthorne, How Do You Do
4. Terius Nash, 1977
5. Tom Vek, Leisure Seizure
6. Foster the People, Torches
7. Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne
8. Beastie Boys, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
9. M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
10. Beyoncé, 4
11. TV on the Radio, Nine Types of Light
12. The Black Keys, El Camino
13. Friendly Fires, Pala
14. Money Making Jam Boys, The Prestige
15. The Weeknd, House of Balloons
16. Lupe Fiasco, Friend of the People: I Fight Evil
17. The Strokes, Angles
18. The Roots, Undun
19. Kendrick Lamar, Section.80
20. Childish Gambino, Camp
21. The Sheepdogs, Learn and Burn
22. Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
23. Mastodon, The Hunter
24. Big K.R.I.T., Return of 4eva
25. Tame Impala, Innerspeaker

Albums that Were New to Me:

1. Left Lane Cruiser, Bring Yo’ Ass to the Table
2. Driver F, Chase the White Whale
3. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, The Main Ingredient
4. The Replacements, Pleased to Meet Me
5. Big K.R.I.T., K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
6. Tom Vek, We Have Sound
7. Left Lane Cruiser, All You Can Eat
8. The Replacements, Let It Be
9. Faces, A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse
10. Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
11. The Replacements, Tim
12. Lupe Fiasco, Enemy of the State
13. Eddie Money, Greatest Hits: Sound of Money
14. Oasis, (What’s the Story?) Morning Glory
15. Big Punisher, Capital Punishment
16. Booker T. & The MG’s, Green Onions
17. Bar-Kays, The Best of the Bar-Kays
18. Thin Lizzy, Dedication (The Very Best of Thin Lizzy)
19. Slim Harpo, The Best of Slim Harpo
20. The Meters, Rejuvenation
21. Television, Marquee Moon
22. Miike Snow, Miike Snow
23. Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
24. The Ike Reilly Assassination, Salesmen and Racists
25. Metric, Fantasies

Best List of “Best of 2011″ Lists

As you might’ve noted above, I opted not to craft tiny blurbs explaining how I ranked each album. I figured I’ve been writing those blurbs all year; however, for this list I’ll provide some blurbs. I’ve spent a lot of my time writing about music because it’s one of my greatest passions. I also used to write pretty consistently about movies, cooking, and other interests. So, since I have other interests outside of music, here are a couple of the best lists I’ve seen that reflect those interests as closely as possible.

1. NPR’s “The 20 Unhappiest People You Meet In The Comments Sections Of Year-End Lists” As someone who works in editorial, there are few things that take the fun out of any day as people who write in to complain. I can handle critiques from people I respect, but when you send me a complaint from an EarthLink account or criticize my work with willful ignorance, I’m already in the right. Most of the stuff I’ve written doesn’t cost more than a couple of minutes. Maybe just think less of me and move on. This battle cannot be won by the commenters or the complainers; I’ll write circles around those fools because it’s what I do for a living. If they were truly better or completely in the right, they’d probably be doing my job–but they’re not.
2. Splitsider’s “The Year’s Best Humor Writing 2011” I haven’t read every single piece on this list, but the ones I have are beyond excellent. You can pick any link from this list and I guarantee you’ll get at least one belly laugh. For something not nearly as comprehensive, but also full of great and greatly humorous moments, consider Time Out New York‘s “Best Comedy of 2011” list.
3. Rolling Stone‘s “50 Best Albums of 2011” There’s a lot of really great stuff on here that I agree with and even some stuff I need to check out because they keep cropping up on everyone else’s lists. Though there are some other lists out there that might come closer to resembling my bizarre interests, I frequently side with Rolling Stone about new music. Pitchfork might write more insightful reviews, but their abstract numbering system and incessant need to be judgmental than everyone else kind of pisses me off. So this is a good list that’s probably a little bit more lenient and reasonable, particularly for the general public.
4. Roger Ebert’s “The Best Films of 2011” I don’t really know how not to side with Ebert when it comes to movies. Everything I’ve seen on this list deserves its spot, and everything I haven’t seen has been on my “to watch” list for a while. Terri was admittedly a little strange and my Dad and sister tell me The Tree of Life was terrible, but I’m not going to hold that against Ebert. This is still probably the best movie list you can find with quality movies throughout.
5. Metacritic’s “2011 Television Critic Top Ten Lists” There’s 21 phenomenal shows on here and not a single one is a bullshit reality television program. It’s all finely scripted comedy and drama. Sure, there’s no way in Hell I’m ever going to watch more than one episode of American Horror Story (I’ve already made the mistake of watching one whole episode and I paid for my mistake dearly with many lost hours of sleep), but I know that people who watch it get really involved in it and love it completely. And that’s something you can say about all the shows on this list. They’re well-respected programs that have had a great year. Fringe was absolutely on fire this year. Community was unstoppable. And if you don’t agree with the Metacritic list, they have all the other lists they’re compiling from provided…with all your favorite shows down there. It’s a list to end lists.