The results are in… Your Favorite Albums and Songs of 2011 so far

By CoS Staff on July 22nd, 2011 in Editorial, Hot, Open Thread

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At the beginning of this month, we asked you — the ever-enchanting reader — to tell us your favorite album and song of 2011. Well, we listened. We also collated all the results into a tight, easy-to-read list for your leisure. Why are we so good to you? Who knows!

Despite such an eclectic readership — c’mon, we have fans of 311, Skrillex, and Eleanor Friedberger co-existing together — you collectively assembled quite a knock out of a list. If there’s one thing we learned, however, it’s that Bon Iver wins in any party. Justin Vernon’s latest LP took off with this list, quickly claiming the throne with many votes to spare. And despite all the complaints over Radiohead’s latest effort, it still managed to squeeze in the top three, and also reign over the top songs with, of all tracks, the very Thom Yorke-heavy “Lotus Flower”.

Not too many surprises, either. In fact, most of the entries in the top 10 albums were all CoS Top Star winners, with the exception of Radiohead, TV on the Radio, and Arctic Monkeys. What does that tell us? Nothing really, but something intriguing to note. We were a little surprised to see Panda Bear so low and The Strokes so high — how did that happen? Perhaps those comments on the reviews aren’t always telling. Hmm.

Anyways, it’s a pretty nifty list. Hard to argue too considering, well, you put it together. Ah, it feels good to take the proverbial “weight” off our back. Enjoy.

Best Albums:

01. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
02. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
03. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
04. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
05. James Blake – James Blake
06. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
07. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
08. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
09. The Antlers – Burst Apart
10. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
11. Yuck – Yuck
12. Cults – Cults
13. The Strokes – Angles
14. The Decemberists – The King is Dead
15. Panda Bear – Tomboy
16. Tyler the Creator – Goblin
17. Destroyer – Kaputt
18. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2
19. Wild Beasts – Smother
20. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

Best Songs:

01. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”
02. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”
03. Tyler the Creator – “Yonkers”
04. Bon Iver – “Holocene”
05. Foo Fighters – “Walk”
06. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
07. Battles – “Ice Cream”
08. Panda Bear – “Last Night at the Jetty”
09. Radiohead – “Separator”
10. The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”
11. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
12. Fleet Foxes – “The Shrine/An Argument”
13. My Morning Jacket – “Circuital”
14. Bon Iver – “Towers”
15. My Morning Jacket – “Holdin’ on to Black Metal”
16. Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound”
17. TV on the Radio – “Will Do”
18. Beirut – “East Harlem”
19. Cults – “Abducted”
20. Bon Iver – “Perth”

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  • Chad Shores

    Lol, Paste Magazine. They’re best of lists are usually dead wrong. As in their “Best of the Decade List.”

    Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise was the best album of the entire decade?! I beg to differ.

  • Claire

    I just discovered this website a few hours ago, and can i just say that so far i love what you guys do here? It feels like it was custom made for me. Keep up the good work, this list is awesome!

  • KidKharma

    Why would you compare the COS READER list to the pastemagazine STAFF list?

    • Bhaley

      He didn’t compare it he actually mentions they are different. He just thought someone might enjoy it.

  • Dylan

    C’mon guys, how did Circuital not make it on the albums list?

  • Clark

    It technically hasn’t been released yet, but The Rapture – How Deep is Your Love? gets my vote for best song.  Also how the fuck aren’t the Kills on this list?  They were in the 40s in the NPR poll as well.  Am I seriously the only one who heard that damn album this year?!?!  And finally full support for the Strokes here.  Not as good as their previous albums, a little all over the place, but still new music from the Strokes is better than no music from the Strokes.  Definitely in my top ten in a year that’s been kind of weak music wise.

    • NJmiami

      Good point about The Strokes… it’a a good one.

      • http://twitter.com/cloneradio Rory Biller

        Strokes and Kills…both brilliant records. PJ is tops for me so far

  • http://profiles.google.com/evanlummer Evan Lummer

    Just as a heads-up, if I had heard Skying by The Horrors before I had seen this, I would have voted it #1

  • Anonymous

    that’s one of my favorite albums this year. it’s really enjoyable for me.

  • NJmiami

    Ugh… love Radiohead as much as the next person… but come on.  Voting this material so high is more of an insult to them than anything… not to mention the slap in the face it represents to bands like MMJ and Destroyer… two groups who put out an amazing song/album (respectively).  And James Blake… ya, okay… whatever.

  • guest

    kurt vile – smoke ring for my halo? probably my fav so far and definitely better than Limbs and Tomboy

  • Luke J.

    Why is Lotus Flower number 1. Just, why.
    And why isn’t Glass Jar by Gang Gang Dance on the top songs? BLAHH.

  • http://twitter.com/cerealplague Caleb Adams

    I’m bummed about Company of Thieves being shut out. It was a great sophomore album.

  • http://twitter.com/free_earl222 tim peters

    The King Of Limbs was meh. It’s not horrible but top 10? hell fucking no.

  • Daniel Worcester

    I’ll say it again, Jessica Lea Mayfield.  Such an extremely underrated album this year

  • Andrew Overton

    this is the best list i’ve seen so far

  • Dan

    I am surprised by a few of these too.  I really don’t know why everyone is so amped on the new Foo Fighters.  To me, it sounds like an album full of identical songs.  I listened to it twice through and was already bored with it.  I sort of see @6dda87056f989641b63f5e3a58d889c7:disqus point.  Suck it and See is a terrible album in comparison to their last three albums.  It’s generic and boring, similar to Wasting Light.  How can an album that’s worse than all three of the other albums be on a best of 2011 list.  I will disagree with most people’s thoughts on Angles though.  Yeah, it wasn’t nearly as good as their other three albums, but it was still a decent album, better than Suck It and See, and better than so much of the bullshit that’s on the radio these days.  The problem with these lists are that people just pick their favorite bands.  It’s very much like voting for an all-star team.  Alot of fans, like myself, will vote based on who they believe should be on the team, where as alot of people will fill the whole card with Cubs or Yankees players.  It’s the reason why people like Derek Jeter get voted to the all-star team every year, even during shitty seasons.  Anyways, I’m going on a tangent.  The point is, Wasting Light, King of Limbs, Suck It and See, Nine Types of Light were not great albums and should not be on this list, but they are because of the name in front of the album title.  Yuck, Fleet Foxes, Shabazz Palaces, and some others on the list actually did put out great albums. 

    • http://profiles.google.com/evanlummer Evan Lummer

      I see what your saying with the Foo’s but its nice to see them return to their roots. I strongly disagree with Suck It and See. I’m a huge Arctic Monkeys fan, have been since “Whatever People Say I Am…” and I think Suck It and See is the best album they’ve ever put out. 

  • willllllllll

    I love the list.
    I’d like to suggest that from the look of both lists that the correlation between poll respondents and Pitchfork readers is extremely high (Foo Fighters and Adele aside).

  • American Idols

    Just goes to show that most people’s taste in music blows.  Foo Fighters…The Strokes…Arctic Monkeys…really?  Those three should be on the “Worst Albums of 2011″ list.

    • Alecsye

      oh my god it’s not all hipster bullshit! Some of the artists on this list didn’t get best new music for a boring ass, overrated record. PITCHFORK 4 LIFE!!!

      I hate hipsters.

      • American Idols

        Incidentally, I think their best of list for this year (most year’s) suck as well.  The whole “BNM” system they employ is pretty much rubbish and mostly a vehicle to pump bands playing at their festival. 

  • JJ

    No mmj album…surprising

  • Butcha Oats

    I, too am wondering why Panda Bear is a little low on the list. I thought the album was pretty damn good..

  • hot tub foot

    no tune-yards. bummer.

  • Joeblow

    bon iver is incredibly overrated.

    • Lee Harvey

      Bon Iver is worse than Bon Jovi.

    • Lee Harvey

      Bon Iver is worse than Bon Jovi.

      • Anonymous

        Really? Worse than Bon Jovi? Fine if you dont like the guy but worse than Bon Jovi?

      • http://hi.im/luke_johnson Luke Johnson

        Worse than Slipper When Wet Bon Jovi or NOW Bon Jovi. Because old Bon Jovi was awesome.

  • http://twitter.com/panoramiccolors berna fett

    I don’t like this list.

    • berna fett

      My taste in music is superior to this list. Blah blah blah. I’m so pretentious.