Everybody loves to finish up the year with some sort of “Best Of” list. So I decided to create my own list, which I discovered was easier in concept than in reality. This is only part of the reason why this post is so belated. My first challenge; should I limit my list to music that came out in 2011 or should I comprise my list of music that I just discovered and started listening to in 2011. And then I pondered whether it should be the top tracks or top albums? Clearly, my type A personality was getting the better of me and I was stalling before I even began! So without getting to hung up on the specifics, I started going through my iTunes library as well as the playlists that we created in 2011 and came up with the following lists:
Top 10 Albums:
10. The Beautiful Girls – Learn Yourself
9. Lissie – Catching A Tiger
8. Joshua Radin – Simple Times
7. Andrew Belle – The Ladder
6. The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
5. This Is Reggae Music 1 Train To Skaville (1960-1968)
4. The Avett Brothers – I And Love and You
3. Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside – Dirty Radio
2. Adele – 21
1. The Muppet Show Soundtrack
Albums 6-10 were ones that I listened to more than others in my family. I’m pretty sure that I’ve written about each of these artists in posts this past year, so feel free to go back and check them out if you are interested.
Album #5, the reggae compilation cd, seems to have a permanent home in our cd changer and gets played often, especially when the iPod has been left in my car or is low on juice. I highly recommend this whole box set if you are a reggae fan: This Is Reggae Music: Golden Era 1960 – 1975.
Albums 1-4 were family favorites (the girls and I probably like Sallie Ford a bit more than Rob) and got lots of playtime this past year. The Muppet Show Soundtrack made a strong showing at the end of the year and is pretty much all we have been listening to the last month and half. Sasha’s wish is that the soundtrack had the whole movie (speaking parts and all) so she could replay every funny moment in her head. Hee hee!
And due to the fact that I am bit of a playlist junkie, there were lots of singles that we loved and listened to all year long. Here is a list of the top 36 in alphabetic order. I am sure that I missed quite a few, but oh well. I love the variety of music that we listen to. Just the other day Ilana told me that her new favorite songs were “Yes, Maria, Yes” by David Wax Museum and “Hot & Cold” by Katy Perry (discovered in the Wii “Just Dance” game). If you don’t already know these two songs, take a listen on iTunes and you will hear just how different they are from one another.
Singles:
1. 5 Years Time – Noah & The Whale
2. All Summer – Kid Cudi, Best Coast & Rostam
3. Call It What You Want – Foster The People
4. Comeback Kid – Brett Dennen
5. Do You Believe In Magic – Lovin’ Spoonful
6. Dog Days Are Over – Florence & The Machine
7. Down in the Valley – The Head & The Heart
8. Electric Feel – MGMT
9. Far and Away – Ingrid Michaelson
10. Forget You – Cee Lo Green
11. Hey, Hey, Hey – Michael Franti And Spearhead
12. Honeypot – Bob Schneider
13. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
14. I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix) – Jackson 5
15. Ice, Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
16. I’m Yours & Lucky – Jason Mraz
17. Let’s Go Fly A Kite – Mary Poppins Soundtrack
18. Lost in My Mind – The Head & The Heart
19. Love Lockdown – Kanye West
20. Maculele – Nazare Pereira
21. Montego Bay – Amazulu
22. People Say – Portugal. The Man
23. Pretty Please – Estelle
24. Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People
25. Put Your Hands Up – Nerina Pallot
26. Rain – Anjulie
27. Raise Your Glass – P!nk
28. Shut Up and Let Me Go – The Ting Tings
29. So What – P!nk
30. Something, Somewhere, Sometime – Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
31. Sydney (I’ll Come Running) – Brett Dennen
32. The Sound Of Sunshine – Michael Franti And Spearhead
33. Tragedy – Peter Wolf (With Shelby Lynne)
34. What The World Needs Now – Jackie DeShannon
35. You and I – Ingrid Michaelson
36. You’ve Got The Love – Florence & The Machine
So long 2011. It was a wonderful year of music. I’m looking forward to hearing what 2012 holds in store for us. I’ve already discovered some new tunes that I’m excited to write about. Stay tuned….
My Musical Muses 
Love it all, Melissa! Thanks for keeping me on top of the cool music out there in the real world. What would I do without you (probably still be stuck on my ole’ 90s grunge stuff!).
xx, AM
As you know – All I need is a copy of exile on main street – but i appreciate you keeping the household topical and fresh. With two exceptions. Please lose ice, ice baby and you built this city down a sink hole. peace out