10. Cymbals Eat Guitars

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien
>progressive / alt rock

I enjoyed Why There Are Mountains very much, so I had high hopes for this one. The first listen through I was slightly dissapointed, but the more I listened, the better it got. There aren't really any hooks to the actual music, yet it still seems very catchy after repeated listens. Also, the lyrics are cryptic and awesome as fuck, one of the main reasons I love this band so much.

>bring me to the world of guilt and sorrow for the races tonight
>where the boats go cutting through undulating mirror images of incandescent spires
>the roads there are parabolas with nameless water towers near the exits
>you could turn it all on end still wouldn't be taller than the biotic arch at the crown of creation
stuff like this, yeah. <3

[youtube] [mediafire] [lsatfm]

9. Toro y Moi

Toro y Moi - Underneath The Pine
>Alternative / Electronic / Funk / some trippy chillwave parts

This album isn't really chillwave at all, and it bugs me when people label it as so. Amazing intro/closing tracks. There is one short track that is sort of a sequence track, and that's the only real chillwave song on the album if you ask me (Good Hold). The trippy effects on that song sound best when played on a good system and realllly loud. I don't understand when people call this album bland, because every song is sick and pretty different from one another. The one problem I have with this album is a couple of the songs I wish would last longer.. :( This album has been on heavy rotation ever since it's release in february.. too many good songs on it and it's just too fun to listnen to all the way through. I actually had to stop myself from listening to it for fear of it being overplayed/getting old. Luckily, it still hasn't.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

8. James Blake

James Blake - self titled
>Electronic / Experimental / Soul

The first time I listened to this album, I thought it was laughably bad. A troll album, perhaps. Disregarded it as p4k hipster shit, until one of the songs realllly started to get stuck in my head (Measurements). Then ever so slowely i started to listen to more and more tracks from the album, until I found myself listening to it all thru completion, over and over and over. I guess it all really clicked when I actually invested money into a good pair of headphones... and because of that SICKEST DUBSTEP DROP OF 2011: JAMESBLAKE- LIMIT TO YOUR LOVE @ 0:55. Makes me want to crap myself it's so beautiful. If i could ever call any sort of music 'ear candy', it would be this album.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

7. Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings - self titled
>lofi / garagepop

Best album this year @ under 30 minutes. Yet they still managed to pick 4 tracks to make music videos off of? Oh and all the music videos are amazing. Reminiscent of Superchunk & early smith westerns. My most listened to album from this year, according to lastfm.. but it's probably because of how short it is. Short and sweet as hell

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

6. Neon Indian

Neon Indian - Era Extraña
>Psychedelic / Chillwave

Another case of 'wow-the-debut-album-sucked-ass-but-their-sophomoric-album-is-god-tier'syndom. Chillwave artist at his best, doing what they're supposed to do. Making fun, beautiful sounding electronic trippy music, and that's all that this album is. I could just drone out with my headphones and fall into the wonderful sounds created by this dude. Lovely.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

5. Krallice

Krallice - Diotima
>Black Metal

Typically I think that alll black metal bands should be atmospheric, and this is the best example of it. Pretty progressive sounding at times, lots of tremolo picking and whathaveyou. The tone of the shredding tho & especially how lenghty the songs can be, really do work at making it sound atmospheric and are reasoning why I love it. The lyrics & vocals aren't what leads the songs, it's the guitars. I get emotional & crazy goosebumps at multiple points through this album, just because of the mood & tone of the tremolo pickings.. especially around 4:50 of Telluric Rings, the final song on the album. Fuck. 7 Songs, over an hour long. With what I feel is amazing production & very fitting album art. Best metal release of the year.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

4. Seapony

Seapony - Go With Me
>Surfy Tweepop

12 songs. 35 minutes. Every track is catchy as fuck. Wonderful guitarwork. Cute lyrics that aren't too cute (see best coast). I don't even know how else I can reason that this is my number 4. It's pretty much flawless tweepop :3. Listening to the track "Nobody Knows' (song I linked) on headphones and hearing the drums switch from the left to the right ear, so sick. It's little things like that alll throughout this album that make me love it tha tmuch more, and why i can't stop listening to it.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

3. The Horrors

The Horrors - Skying
>NeoPsychedelic / Shoegaze / Postpunk

Another change in sound for the horrors, this time to a more psychedelic sound that's reminiscent of older bands like my bloody valentine. very large sounding songs with subtle brass instruments thrown in at times, really great stuff. The ending track is 7 minutes and probably the best song on the album.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

2. Cut Copy

Cut Copy - Zonoscope
>Electronic / Alt Rock / Synthpop

Flawless album from the start to the final 15 minute epic closer. Great dancy tracks, some slower ones thrown in too. Cool lyrics which is a plus. They've released some pretty great music videos for songs off this album as well.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

1. Real Estate

Real Estate - Days
>Psychpop / Indierock

An amazing follow up album to their self titled. Where their first was more sunny feeling and had songs about pools and sun, Days is a tad darker with songs about fall, leaves, and night. Someone related it to me as their self titled is the soundtrack of the drive to the beach, while Days is the drive home. A cleaner sounding album, with more emotion in the lyrics. Alex Bleeker sings on a track too, and like Cut Copy & The Horrors, it has an epic, lenghty closing track. They added a fifth member who plays the keyboard and it's subtly hidden in the back of tracks. I didn't even notice it the first few times I listened. Such a chill album, really. Best of the year, in my opinion. If you don't like, whatever. Hope you found at least something that you did. Cheers.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

Honorable Mentions

Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies
Apollo Brown - Clouds
Austra - Feel It Break
Boris - New Album
Cat's Eyes
Defeater - Empty Nights & Sleepless Days
Eleven Tigers - 111
Friendly Fires - Pala
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
Kinoco Hotel - Marianne no Kokotsu
The Loose Salute - Getting Over Being Under
Man Man - Life Fantasic
Memory Tapes - Piano Player
M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming
Metronomy - The English Riviera
Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
Portugal. The Man - In The Mountains In The Clouds
Rangers - Pan Am Stories
Pure X - Pleasure
Robot Science - Good Luck
Starscream - Future, Towards the Edge of Forever
Sun Araw - Ancient Romans
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Tartar Lamb - Polyimage of Known Exits
Teenage Bad Girl - Backwash
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason
Wye Oak - Civilian