One Thirty BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2011

One Thirty BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2011

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50.

April 12, 2011
Critic Score
81
31 reviews

49.

October 31, 2011
Critic Score
79
14 reviews

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

48.

February 14, 2011
Critic Score
84
19 reviews
It makes its own statement, and it does so with the level of maturity and succinctness that we've come to expect from Hecker, an artist who has well earned his place as a leader amongst his peers.

47.

August 30, 2011
Critic Score
76
24 reviews

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

46.

September 27, 2011
Critic Score
71
26 reviews

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

45.

July 26, 2011
Critic Score
74
32 reviews

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

44.

June 24, 2011
Critic Score
70
34 reviews

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

43.

October 4, 2011
Critic Score
78
35 reviews

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

40.

September 13, 2011
Critic Score
81
29 reviews

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

39.

February 4, 2011
Critic Score
72
35 reviews

Sure Zonoscope is splattered with stumbled-upon gems, but a little more editing and maybe some more focused songwriting sessions could have really brought Zonoscope into focus.

38.

May 9, 2011
Critic Score
81
33 reviews

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

37.

August 30, 2011
Critic Score
76
12 reviews

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

36.

August 30, 2011
Critic Score
75
28 reviews

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.

34.

November 8, 2011
Critic Score
80
33 reviews

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

33.

June 28, 2011
Critic Score
73
12 reviews

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.

32.

June 7, 2011
Critic Score
72
32 reviews

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

31.

September 13, 2011
Critic Score
79
31 reviews

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

30.

March 8, 2011
Critic Score
78
27 reviews
Though it may seem like Vile tends to waver on just how he wants to be perceived, the lack of commitment is nothing if not intensely deliberate.

29.

June 7, 2011
Critic Score
75
37 reviews

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.

28.

August 16, 2011
Critic Score
78
31 reviews

Hopefully Slave Ambient will do for The War On Drugs what Smoke Ring For My Halo did for Kurt Vile and place Adam Granduciel as one of the musicians with serious talent and songwriting acumen in modern indie rock.

27.

October 11, 2011
Critic Score
80
38 reviews

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

26.

February 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
41 reviews

The material here is as strong as we’ve come to expect from this band, but its pleasures aren’t nearly as surface-level as even Kid A’s. The best way to judge The King of Limbs in the long run may simply be to hope someone spurs Radiohead on in this direction.

25.

May 10, 2011
Critic Score
80
29 reviews

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

23.

November 21, 2011
Critic Score
86
38 reviews

These tracks are sparse but airtight, haunting but unrelentingly gorgeous

22.

April 19, 2011
Critic Score
85
33 reviews

Though the album now comes with studio polish and masterful songwriting, W H O K I L L still feels like an underground tape, challenging the listeners with oddball melodic choices.

21.

January 18, 2011
Critic Score
78
32 reviews

20.

June 21, 2011
Critic Score
85
41 reviews

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

19.

February 15, 2011
Critic Score
75
34 reviews
Yes, it's clearly obvious what Yuck's main influences are; they're placed very firmly on the band's sleeve. But with sounds that tie the band to modern indie as much as alt-rock, Yuck have crafted something incredibly refreshing, and more importantly, good.

18.

The Dø - Both Ways Open Jaws
March 9, 2011
Critic Score
74
17 reviews

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

17.

October 25, 2011
Critic Score
87
42 reviews

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

16.

June 7, 2011
Critic Score
82
31 reviews

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

15.

February 4, 2011
Critic Score
82
37 reviews

He achieves a lot with a little. He never gives us filler. He continues to innovate. He has provided us with a great album, one that is a sure sign his velocity has not been slowed.

13.

July 2, 2011
Critic Score
80
8 reviews

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

12.

October 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
40 reviews

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.

11.

February 14, 2011
Critic Score
89
44 reviews

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.

10.

February 25, 2011
Critic Score
80
34 reviews

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.

9.

January 25, 2011
Critic Score
85
30 reviews

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

8.

October 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
32 reviews

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

7.

July 26, 2011
Critic Score
81
33 reviews

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

6.

June 21, 2011
Critic Score
71
19 reviews

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.

5.

June 28, 2011
Critic Score
84
30 reviews

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

4.

May 10, 2011
Critic Score
80
29 reviews

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

3.

May 3, 2011
Critic Score
83
40 reviews

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.

2.

March 21, 2011
Critic Score
79
18 reviews

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

1.

September 12, 2011
Critic Score
86
37 reviews

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.

Original Source: http://onethirtybpm.com/features/the-top-50-albums-of-2011/
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