No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2011

No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2011

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50.

October 11, 2011
Critic Score
82
19 reviews

48.

May 10, 2011
Critic Score
71
28 reviews

This is mostly clever, intelligently designed rap, intended to give a greater conceptual sense than mere boasts and anecdotes, which is something too often unseen these days.

46.

July 12, 2011
Critic Score
78
30 reviews

Dedication seems like a bit of a missed opportunity; as collection of ideas it may be incredible, but as an album it's just insubstantial.

45.

April 12, 2011
Critic Score
73
37 reviews

Catchy choruses remain, arpeggios hardly make an appearance in favor of volatile hooks, and quiet-loud dynamics are still the norm.

44.

August 30, 2011
Critic Score
75
28 reviews

42.

January 18, 2011
Critic Score
78
32 reviews

This features Smith Westerns focusing in on the things that really succeeded the first time around, then fixes up that with some more of their songwriting style.

41.

January 18, 2011
Critic Score
72
21 reviews

For a brief thirty minutes, Riley and Moore opt to share a reliable set of savory pop nostalgia.

40.

July 12, 2011
Critic Score
71
37 reviews

It’s just flat out dull, and sounds worn out in 2011.

38.

April 25, 2011
Critic Score
79
6 reviews

It’s a record that’s quite open to cynicism – Exmilitary is easy to dismiss as excessive and carelessly noisy. It’s going to polarise listeners, but it’s useless to criticise it for being so angry and unlistenable because that’s Death Grips’ prerogative. It’s kind of like reading a good book entirely in caps lock. It’s a spot-on realisation of their themes, but relentlessly, perhaps brilliantly, inaccessible.

37.

June 7, 2011
Critic Score
75
37 reviews

The Arctic Monkeys of 2011 have produced, probably by a significant margin, the best British Rock 'n' Roll album you will hear this year.

36.

January 25, 2011
Critic Score
79
39 reviews

It showcases a more than self-sufficient songwriter who prefers to discover the fruits of collaboration.

35.

June 7, 2011
Critic Score
72
32 reviews

34.

February 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
41 reviews

It’s largely cerebral music to appreciate rather than adore; music for the head rather than for the heart or feet. Sadly, The King of Limbs – while a brave side-step – is a case of style over substance.

33.

March 29, 2011
Critic Score
78
27 reviews

This album is hard work, but, inch by wretched inch, it becomes worthwhile.

32.

January 25, 2011
Critic Score
79
30 reviews
As it stands, Deerhoof seems to have lost its footing a bit with this one.

30.

July 26, 2011
Critic Score
81
33 reviews

With Skying, The Horrors continue to explore familiar territory whilst refining their idiosyncratic slant like proficient tastemakers.

29.

February 25, 2011
Critic Score
80
34 reviews

In moving firmly away from the happier pop tone of her debut Lykke Li has nonetheless made a better record.

28.

May 23, 2011
Critic Score
77
12 reviews

This is perhaps his most beautiful work to date; its vulgarity is restrained but a sense of humour remains, and Wells and Moffat reach new emotional heights.

27.

April 12, 2011
Critic Score
82
28 reviews

It is not the finest album that Elbow have made but, I suspect, it is one that ‘everyone and everyone’s mum’ will be glad they did.

26.

September 27, 2011
Critic Score
81
37 reviews

The Whole Love is precisely an answer to those who relegate the kind of music Wilco makes as old-timey.

25.

June 28, 2011
Critic Score
84
30 reviews

It’s fresh and idiosyncratic, compellingly cryptic, but it’s difficult to pinpoint the effect it has on the listener.

24.

March 21, 2011
Critic Score
79
18 reviews

He commands the mood better than artists who have been in the game for years and yet this his first release.

23.

February 14, 2011
Critic Score
84
19 reviews

The record is awash with the feeling of isolation and teaming with crushing amplified annihilation.

22.

May 9, 2011
Critic Score
81
33 reviews

Smother is an exercise in moderation, trying to find the precise balance between audacious beauty and emotional intelligence.

21.

January 31, 2011
Critic Score
82
19 reviews

Space Is Only Noise might occasionally overstay its welcome, but it’s mostly an intriguing, excellent listen from a very promising young producer.

20.

November 21, 2011
Critic Score
86
38 reviews

If every song here had been of the same standard as the opening suite of three, and the final two, 50 Words For Snow would have been an all-time classic

19.

February 22, 2011
Critic Score
78
28 reviews

While it may not attain the dizzy heights of I'm New Here, Smith's deftness ensures that We're New Here is far more than just a vanity project

18.

October 4, 2011
Critic Score
78
35 reviews

As much as an album can be, it's pretty damn close to being flawless; not only matching the quality of The Reminder but actually bettering it.

17.

October 25, 2011
Critic Score
87
42 reviews

Bad As Me is contained and precise with each of its 13 songs hitting its target full on.

16.

May 10, 2011
Critic Score
80
29 reviews

Burst Apart is a passable follow-up to an incredible record, but that’s all it is. Passable.

15.

November 15, 2011
Critic Score
75
27 reviews

14.

August 16, 2011
Critic Score
78
31 reviews

Vile may get all the end-of-year glory, but his comrade’s first full-length effort is just as laudable and commendable.

13.

January 25, 2011
Critic Score
85
30 reviews

This is a solid album with some great ideas, and when it’s given the attention it really deserves, those qualities come out in droves.

12.

October 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
40 reviews

It’s a sweeping, expansive album, that covers a lot of ground and leaves the listener satisfied.

11.

October 18, 2011
Critic Score
75
32 reviews

The air of careful conception surrounding Days is one of its most unmistakable and undeniable characteristics.

10.

September 13, 2011
Critic Score
79
31 reviews
A record that is both this good and a display of a band with so much more to show us does not come along often.

9.

May 10, 2011
Critic Score
81
28 reviews

An album that plays like a voyage or single composition, taking twists and turns within gloriously maze-like arrangements.

8.

April 5, 2011
Critic Score
77
28 reviews

On A Mission deftly mines non-commercial genres and repackages them for crossover success.

7.

March 8, 2011
Critic Score
78
27 reviews

John Agnello has helped Vile to refine his lo-fi aesthetic and at times Smoke Ring For My Halo sounds nothing short of stunning.

6.

June 21, 2011
Critic Score
85
41 reviews

Bon Iver embarks on a sustainable new direction for the band and is evidence of a successful transition from one-off wonder to durable outfit.

5.

September 12, 2011
Critic Score
86
37 reviews

The role of the music in conveying Annie Clark’s message has been upped, the lyrics are more personal, the production is richer, and Clark’s velvety voice is now threatening as often as it is beautiful; Strange Mercy is a more ambitious record featuring improved songwriting that is littered with Clark’s personal tribulations.

4.

May 3, 2011
Critic Score
83
40 reviews

Helplessness Blues is a cosmic, bombastic record, undaunted and ready to expose itself on every corner with a whole lot of heart.

3.

February 4, 2011
Critic Score
82
37 reviews

James Blake is an astonishing record, an early contender for album of the year and could well change the face of popular music.

2.

April 19, 2011
Critic Score
85
33 reviews

It’s a massive improvement from her last album, yet it never sacrifices any of her style.

1.

February 14, 2011
Critic Score
89
44 reviews

Harvey sounds spellbound, portraying the subject matter in hand with a fervid spirit. She’s not sermonizing on the issue, but gently urging for something to be done.

Original Source: http://www.noripcord.com/features/top-50-albums-2011-part-one
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