40. Ducktails

Ducktails - Arcade Dynamic III
>psychedelic / lofi / tropical

Solo project from the guitarist of Real Estate, Matt Mondanile. Wonderful lofi tropical psychpop, what's not to love. Youtube video features lead singer of real estate & katy from vivigirls & lasera.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

39. Smith Westerns

Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
>Alternative / Garage / Indie noise rock

Second album to be released by this band, much much better than the first. A lot less fuzz, more sexy guitars, great lyrics & hooks.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

38. Destroyer

Destroyer - Kaputt
>Alternative / Smoothjazz / NewWave / Disco

The dudes voice & lyrics makes this album for me. I love the jazzy touch he's added to his tracks as well, really superb album with little weak tracks.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

37. Defeater

Defeater - Empty Days & Sleepless Nights
>post hardcore / punk [with a couple acoustic bonus tracks]

Picks up in the story where Travels leaves off, but you don't really have to have heard it for this album to be good. Concept album, so pretty much all lyrical driven. Only album this year that brought tears to my eyes, and if you're paying attention to the story idk how you could not tear up, especially at the end. There are a few bonus/acoustic tracks at the end that don't really progress the story, but they still relate to it.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

36. Mariachi El Bronx

Mariachi El Bronx 2
>Mariachi / Folk / Punk

Second folk album by hardcore punk band The Bronx, and it's much much better this time. A lot more polished& refined, sounds like an full on mariachi album. Too fucking good, seriously.

I never figured Jesus for the jealous kind. A stronger man you'll never know, until you see him singing from a church window.
She said, 'Everyone wants to be alone, until they are alone.. Everyone wants to be alone until they are alone.'

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

35. Disasterpeace

Disasterpeace - Rise Of The Obsidian Interstellar
>Chiptune / Progressive / Postrock

Not your typical, breakbeat/house chip, but actual 8bit that's worth listening to. Beautiful album from a god of the genre. Also, album art of the year.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

34. Harald Grosskopf

Harald Grosskopf - Synthesist [2011 Re-Issue]
>"progressive electronic" / psychedelic / synth / ambient

Re-release of an amazing album from 1980. Check out da sample, if you like it you should love the rest. Includes Re-Synthesist, re-workings from Stella OM Source, Oneohtrix Point Never, James Ferraro, Arp, CFCF, Blondes, ARP, Optimo’s JD Twitch and James Ferraro under his Keyhole Voyeur guise.

[youtube] [mediafire (synthesist)] [mediafire(re-synthesist)] [lastfm]

33. Psychic Ills

Psychic Ills - Hazed Dream
>alt / experimental / psychedelic / spacerock / shoegaze / some electronics

Trill as fuck, sexy guitars, spacey, it sounds like Sun Araw & Real Estate mixed with Kurt Vile. ie the shit.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

32. Rustie

Rustie - Glass Swords
>Electronic / Grime / sort of dubstep at times, but more Electro.

These beats go fuckin' HAM. I'll admit I wasn't too into the album when I first got it, but the more I listened to the songs, the more I got used to them and then they'd get stuck in my head for days. The navi samples during Hover Traps are adawwwable. But really, give it a try, maybe twice. I thought the songs sounded awkward at first but again, more i listened the better they got.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]

31. Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
>folk, rock, acoustic

When I heard Kurt Vile was releasing another album, I didn't really expect anything like Smoke Ring. I was pretty used to his psychedelic / ambient / non linear songs/albums.. So what I heard SRFMH and realized it was more of a typical folk album, i wasn't sure how I felt. It's quite accessible compared to his other albums, more straightforward folk songs with a lot less emphasis on the pysch part of it. And it's fucking amazing.

[youtube] [mediafire] [lastfm]