Best of 2011: Mike Hotter’s Top 10 Albums

These aren’t necessarily what I consider the “best albums” of the last year, just the ones I listened to the most:

10. J Mascis’ “Several Shades of Why”
9. Richard Buckner’s “Our Blood”
8. St. Vincent’s “Strange Mercy”
7. Girls’ “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”
6. Wild Flag (self-titled)
5. Radiohead’s “King of Limbs”
4. Low’s “C’mon”
3. Atlas Sound’s “Parallax”
2. Megafaun (self-titled)
1. Kurt Vile’s “Smoke Ring for My Halo”

The Kurt Vile is far from a perfect album – some of the songs tend to be very similar and can blend in together. But I like the over-all mood and the subtle production choices throughout. It’s a fairly straight-forward album with rock and folk instrumentation; it just fit my mood, especially in the first part of this year – resigned and confident exhaustion.

By Mike Hotter, Nippertown contributor

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Brian Patneaude’s Top 5 CDs
American Film Institute’s Top 10 Movies
Stanley Johnson’s Top 10 Concerts
Richard Brody’s Top Books
Sebastien Barre’s Best of the Year
New York Magazine’s Top 10 TV Shows
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Steve Nover’s Top 10 CDs
Greg Haymes’ Top Music Video
Paste Magazine’s Top 10 Albums
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