One Thirty BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2011

Clark is more divulgent of her true personal feelings than we’ve come to expect, and she’s created a dense collection of songs to reflect this atmosphere.

An explosive debut unlike most of whatever is on Hot 97 or whatever your city uses to listen to Drake.

Fleet Foxes have become a band who will not stop pushing, who will challenge themselves to avoid stagnancy, who will work with both their instruments and their minds.

Burst Apart is much more complex than its predecessor, both emotionally and musically.

Shabazz Palaces have pushed the music forward, so that it once again can be raw, real, and unconventional.

Each track has a moment where it hits anthem-status and a chorus of Roberts’ voice embody it with some abstracted notion of us-ness.

It’s still the work of a band firing on all cylinders.

This focus on musicality over atmosphere allows for a solid set of pop-rock songs that succeeds on its own melodic merits.

It takes a few listens for all its subtle nuances to emerge; repeat visits draw attention to just how well-constructed these songs are

The album serves as a bit of a soundtrack for anyone who’s managed to retain a romantic outlook past the age where such a thing is likely realistic, and the bitter struggle of rediscovery that follows.

It is able to deftly blend the vividness and conviction of a protest album with all of the yearning of what just has to be a genuine patriotic outcry.

It shows an artist at the top of his songwriting game, but perhaps without the thick and palatable sense of cohesion definitive and prevalent on past releases.

It’s all about the moment, and Section.80 is about as relevant as it gets.

David Comes To Life is a liberating album that represents a giant step forward in every genre that it tackles and incorporates.

Unlike so many elder statesmen who reach a point of clear decline, Waits has seemingly yet to come anywhere near that point.

Both Ways Open Jaws will strike you as both new sounding and classic, as both fresh and rooted in tradition.

It’s a rich and intricate collage that shows restraint in its cascade of ideas as well as Vernon’s maturity as a songwriter.

These tracks are sparse but airtight, haunting but unrelentingly gorgeous

Past Life Martyred Saints is an album that captivates, provokes, and pleases.

Biophilia is Björk, the sum total, and this album is her continued claim to the throne as the monarch of avant-pop.

Suck It And See is an almost seamless step forward, reaffirming the notion that the band’s shelf life is probably much longer than initially estimated.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost seems like a step backward from their previous work.

Any apprehensions about whether or not Cults could turn “Go Outside” into a successful full-length should be hastily put to rest.

Most rapper’s putting out as much material would have lost energy by now, or at the least compromised, but Spitta only seems all the more himself with each record.

Parallax can’t help but feel like a win for this cause because it symbolizes growth more than out-and-out excellence.

It is a rare album that can cause a genuine swirl of emotions, sometimes within the same moment, but in the heat of August, The Rip Tide demands to be celebrated.

Wander / Wonder is the sound of a producer whose talent exceeds his skill.

Smother may lack the proper drive of Two Dancers, but it succeeds in whittling down what has become Wild Beasts’ motif.

They’re not reinventing the wheel, hell they’re barely even reinventing themselves, but that’s a good thing on this occasion

There are no real weak spots, just slow spots, and lots of high points that will have you skipping back to listen again.

Her voice is the best it has ever been. Her music is the best it has ever been.

It’s an imaginative album of contrasts loaded with subtleties and potentially alienating nuances that necessitate a long-term commitment.

Only In Dreams is rich enough that it is not hard to imagine people bickering about the standouts.

This is a really banging collection by a poet honing his craft, still experimenting and learning and having fun.

By reaching every-damn-where he could, ASAP Rocky both sidesteps this pitfall and becomes one of the year’s most exciting voices.