30. Beirut – The Rip Tide
I knew I had to give The Rip Tide a listen after reading a tweet from a Beirut fan wondering, “How many people have had stoned sex to this music in dorm beds under Nepalese peace flags?” I’m really happy I did, too. Beirut’s dedication to this record was undoubtedly present, and every beat was generously executed. The band implemented exciting instruments and wholehearted vocals for a truly resounding set. Something about the album made me want to blast it from the top of the Alps and dance all alone like Maria does in The Sound of Music. Whether or not it is good for college hippie sex is ultimately not for certain. –Jason Radford
29. Cults – Cults
Cults’ self-titled debut is filled with nostalgic, bedroom pop and 1960s vintage appeal. Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion mindfully blend their throwback bliss in songs such as “You Know What I Mean” with modern-day experimental rock in “Walk at Night.” Their style is trendy but differentiates itself with Follin’s youthful, echoed vocals and Oblivion’s hard-edged guitar riffs. This album is a dreamy compilation of innocence, heartache and love. Lyrics of conviction and swaying beats make this debut ideal for a warm summer night. Cults is simplistic and straightforward, but sometimes that’s a good thing. –Kim Manning
28. Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls
Veronica Falls’ self-titled debut was one of those records that seemed to be created by a focus group of nerve endings found in the pleasure centers of my brain. While drawing a straight line from The Mamas and the Papas to The Velvet Underground and obviously being influenced by their C-86-inspired twee/indie popster siblings such as The Pastels, The Vaselines, Beat Happening, Black Tambourine and The Cannanes, this UK quartet somehow has made a giddy and beautiful superhighway out this well-traveled road. Mainly, it’s because the songs are so good that they overcome the considerable burden of their influences. While it’s fun to spot the early R.E.M. riff here and Bangles-inspired break there, the melodies and hooks are so charming and winsome that you can’t help but bop your head and smile with joy, despite the Gothic scenery and dark subject matter (hint: lost love comes up quite frequently). –Craig Bechtel
27. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Even if Radiohead produced a lackluster album, it would still be genius in some weird way. Luckily, The King of Limbs was not lackluster. While it’s highly unlikely Radiohead can live up to OK Computer standards, it is unlikely anyone else could either. These experimental gurus have woven yet another intricate masterpiece of loops, layers and distortion far better than those who try to mimic them. The King of Limbs is an atmosphere in itself. The keyboard floats through Thom Yorke’s falsetto while the organic instruments complement every second of the synthetic beats. The black-and-white music video for “Lotus Flower” of Yorke dancing is a perfect match to this album. –Kim Manning
26. Childish Gambino – Camp
I’ve gotten to do a lot of cool stuff in my short lifetime. I’ve rapped at a few clubs/bars, performed stand-up inside a standing-room-only Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre, written a sitcom that made its rounds around the desks of Hollywood, and been fortunate enough to act in a few movies. I’ve done these things; Donald Glover has taken these things and made them his bitch. He’s almost too talented and with Camp. He sheds any doubt as to whether he could be accepted as a rapper and made one of the definitive albums—hip-hop or not—of 2011 (no matter what another unnamed Chicago-based music site might have to say about it). He writes like he’s the lost love child of J.D. Salinger, Tupac and Tina Fey (in what may be the weirdest threesome metaphor I’ve ever come up with) and holds back nothing from his past or the world, as he sees it. –Matt Wink
25. Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
Scotland’s Mogwai has been near the forefront of the post-rock movement for more than a decade, and the group’s seventh full-length proved its relevancy. While tracks such as “San Pedro” were short bursts of energy, these were balanced with sparkling, laidback numbers such as “How to Be a Werewolf,” a track that could have easily found its way onto alternative-rock radio if it weren’t a six-minute-long instrumental. Hardcore Will Never Die shows Mogwai building upon its strongest elements while not merely sticking with what it knows it can do well. Seven albums deep, Mogwai still feels urgent and important. –David Anthony
24. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What
“This is the best thing I’ve done in 20 years,” Paul Simon said of recording So Beautiful or So What. It was music to the ears of fans and unbelievers wondering whether he had finally lost the magic touch that spanned five decades. If you were born at the right time, it’s possible your grandparents put Sounds of Silence on their turntable, your parents cherished Rhythm of the Saints on CD, and you filled your iPod with So Beautiful or So What. The guy has longevity, and on this one, he tackles God, mortality, love, loss and regret with his trademark simplicity. The couplet in “Questions for the Angels,” “Will I wake up from these violent dreams/With my hair as white as the morning moon?” is one of the most succinct encapsulations of a life I know of. Simon has so thoroughly created a sound of his own that you can’t miss it—so too does he carry each album before, a dizzying array of world and American music styles. He’s always been a lighthearted bard, but he seems to be having more fun with it now than ever. –Taylor Cowan
23. Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4Eva
I’ve always been a fan of Big K.R.I.T., well, at least since his first release last year, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. I liked Return of 4Eva from the first moment I played it, but then I listened to “Sookie Now” and realized the last five seconds of that song are spent sampling a line from Don Draper. Yes, that Don Draper. As if I didn’t already dig K.R.I.T. enough, he had to go ahead and use a Mad Men sample. I mean, is that even fair? The rest of the album, although lacking in further Mad Men references, is crazy dope. And although K.R.I.T. sings more often than many southern-rap aficionados would like, his use of soulful instrumentals and funky beats lend themselves to a smoother, heartfelt aesthetic, and he blends them together beautifully, eliciting just the right amount of bump and grind. Big K.R.I.T. Forever. Forever ever? Forever ever. –Christi Warren
22. Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
While I have no interest in dying my hair blonde (been there, done that, tragedy ensued), the interest I have in Smith Westerns going a little Marilyn is practically unparalleled. These swoony, starry-eyed, “fresh outta our parents’ basement and into the studio” romantic rockers show big promise with their second full-length release. While still mostly lo-fi, they’ve grown up. Their music has become more polished: tighter beats, crisper sound, clearer vocals. They are pretty much doing everything to launch themselves from their platform as garage-rock kings. With Dye It Blonde, these Chi-Town boys officially enter the big leagues. –Christi Warren
21. Gillian Welch – The Harrow & the Harvest
If more people actually had a back porch, The Harrow & the Harvest would rank higher on almost everybody’s list. Combining the ease of listening of a great hang-out record and the elegylike poetry of Middle American identity, Gillian Welch captured a slice of life that too often goes unnoticed in the search for the bicoastal new. From the beautiful line, “We all get to Heaven in our own sweet time.” in standout “Hard Times” to the reality that this gorgeous record was created often using only four tracks (two guitars, Welch’s voice and some percussion), Harrow is testament to the idea that transcendence does not require rigorous editing or a piling-on of effects. Sometimes the best result is gleaned from the sparest of moments. –Tyler Remmert
