2011 Music Year in Review

2011 has been a very different year, musically speaking, for me.  2010 was filled with guaranteed successes for me.  Kanye's epic album, LCD's final and arguably best LP, and Robyn's frantic schedule of amazing dance hits were all surefire hits.  2010 was a booty shaking year and, no matter when the album was released, it seemed made for summer.

This year, my favorite albums were quieter and more subdued.  If 2010 was the party, then 2011 has been the after party.  The crowd, the strobes, and the dancing had passed and what we were left with was the hangover, the regret, and the threat of overdose.  If asked to name one album to represent 2011, it would be The Weeknd's 'House of Balloons'.  It perfectly represents the expanded 'R&B' sound that kept showing up in my iTunes this year, something that was a bit more experimental and a bit more dangerous than normal.

Below, you'll find my unranked 2011 Year End Roundup Mix.  I forced myself to get in under the 80 minute mark for CD burning purposes (sorry Radiohead).  I think its a pretty good compendium of some of the best sounds of 2011 and I'm enjoying listening to it myself.

Download it HERE (or at soundcloud)

 2K11 in Review by joshehr


1. Beyonce - Countdown
2. Patrick Stump - Spotlight (New Regrets)
3. Holy Ghost! - Wait and See
4. The Rapture - Sail Away
5. Cut Copy - Need You Now
6. Drake - Take Care ft. Rhianna
7. Adele - Someone Like You
8. tUnE-yArDs - Powa
9. The Lonely Island - I Just Had Sex ft. Akon
10. John Denver (Pretty Lights Remix) - Country Roads
11. Bon Iver - Beth / Rest
12. James Blake - Wilhelms Scream
13. HEALTH - Goth Star (Pictureplane Cover)
14. Jay-Z and Kanye West - Why I Love You ft. Mr. Hudson
15. A$AP Rocky - Palace
16. Terius Nash - Wedding Crasher
17. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
18. The Weeknd - Wicked Games
19. Big K.R.I.T. - Rise and Shine

Favorite Albums of the 2011 (in no particular order):

The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Drake - Take Care
James Blake - James Blake
Beyonce - 4
Adele - 21


Additionally, I finally got around to downloading Nicki Minaj's 'Pink Friday' (released in 2010) and its definitely a fave of the year.

P.S. to make room for this track on soundcloud, I had to remove the 2K11 Summer Mix. But you can still download it HERE

P.P.S. Check out my 2010 in Review HERE