SIT72's Top 25 of 2011

[SomewhereInTime72]

This is the cool thing to do lately, so I'm gonna do my own here. I'll do one album at a time from my own top 25 at the rate of something in the range of 0-2 albums per day. I'll keep this first post edited with the whole list so far for convenience I guess.

Not sure how much interest this thread will garner because my taste is not completely in line with a lot of this board and for the most part my nonmetal picks don't really overlap with anyone else. And there will be a few noteworthy albums that just didn't make it (or I didn't like but sshhh). For example it is with significant regret that I don't have Despond on this list, but I just couldn't make them fit into a top 25 when I've heard over 50 albums that I liked this year.

The list so far:
25. Boris - New Album
24. Motörhead - The Wörld is Yours
23. Childish Gambino - EP
22. Opeth - Heritage
21. Boris with Merzbow - Klatter
20. The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Orchestra
19. Stratovarius - Elysium
18. Yes - Fly From Here
17. KMFDM - WTF?!
16. Megadeth - TH1RT3EN
15. Hiromi - Voice
14. Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
13. Anthrax - Worship Music
12. Stick Men - Absalom
11. Childish Gambino - Camp
10. Dir En Grey - Dum Spiro Spero
9. Evergrey - Glorious Collision
8. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
7. Boris - Attention Please
6. Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions
5. Boris - Heavy Rocks
4. Amorphis - The Beginning of Times
3. Symphony X - Iconoclast
2. Pain of Salvation - Road Salt Two
1. Pete Davis - The Pottsville Conglomerate

And the list is done.
edit: moved some albums around just gonna edit the order here and the # on the review post

[MPF]

I'll be checking it out.

[powerslave_85]

I've been waiting for your list

[SomewhereInTime72]

#25
Boris - New Album


This is not a typical album from our Japanese Drone Metal friends, or a typical album you would expect from any band affiliated with metal whatsoever. This album is basically crazy psychedelic J-Pop. I did not see this coming, and when I heard about it, I honestly wasn't sure I would like it. And speaking honestly, of the four (!!!) albums Boris released this year, this is my least favorite (spoilers for future entries oh no.) That said this album actually blew me away with it's awesomeness when I first heard it.

Since then, I've grown to like other albums a bit more and this one a bit less, but this album still holds up quite well enough to make it onto this list. I enjoy it a whole lot. It's definitely not for everyone because... well it's a fucking weird album just from the description. But it's better than the sum of it's parts. It sounds like a Boris album, despite sounding almost nothing like Boris. And that is part of the charm that makes it so good.

Recommended song:
"Hope"

[SomewhereInTime72]

Gonna do 24 while I have the time.

#24
Motörhead - The Wörld Is Yours


Two short disclaimers here: First, as we all know is the nature of lists like this the "sureness" of an album's placement is less defined the further down the list you go, so lower ranking albums like this can move up and down pretty easily. I would say that until it reaches my top 10 this is really a loose ranking, just my impression of the order I think they should be at the time of decision. Secondly, I am counting this as a 2011 album because that's when it went on sale - just because it was put out in some magazine (and interweb) in the very end of last December does not make it a 2010 release.

Ok, so Motörhead - we all know what they sound like (and if you don't I'm not sure how you ended up on this site), and that's what this album sounds like. It's hard to say much about this album because I pretty much just described it already. If you like Motörhead, you'll like this. It's a great album that pulls no punches. The only reason I haven't ranked it higher is because, while stylistic differences are negligible, the raw "goodness" of the album when compared to other modern Motörhead albums fails to compete with 2004's Inferno and 2008's Motorizer.

That said, this is a very good Motörhead album. I am a fan of Motörhead. That's why this album belongs on my list.

Recommended song:
"Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye

[Dextrimental]

Good two records to start with, I'm still trying to figure out that Boris record, I stick it on every couple of days and a little more of it clicks with me each time! Motorhead are, as you say, Motorhead, so that album is worth its salt already really!

[IrritatedTrout]

Good Motorhead album but, yeah, not as good as Inferno or Motorizer.

[Epidemic Reign]

Originally Posted by SomewhereInTime72

Not sure how much interest this thread will garner because my taste is not completely in line with a lot of this board and for the most part my nonmetal picks don't really overlap with anyone else.

I can relate to this

[SirLardsAlot]

Originally Posted by Epidemic Reign

I can relate to this

Same, clearly. Hahah

[SomewhereInTime72]

weallknowthatfeel.jpg

#23
Childish Gambino - EP


Ok, I was having trouble deciding whether or not to include this, as it's not a full-length album, but I ended up deciding to count it anyway. I'm sure most people who would be interested in this have heard it already and such, but the gist is that this is Donald Glover (of Community and Derrick Comedy fame) rapping. Yeah that doesn't actually sound very good does it? That's what I thought before I listened to it, that I like what he does but I just couldn't imagine Gambino could be good.

Well, I was pretty fucking wrong when I ended up listening to basically the best collection of 5 rap songs I've heard in over 3 years. I'll admit I'm not too genre savvy, and my tastes generally fall in line with the more "old school" stuff which this is very much not. Still, I found myself pleasantly surprised with just how good this is. The lyrics still have that comedic edge to them a lot of the time which led a lot of people to not take him seriously, but I've always thought that plenty of good rap - like good metal - knows just when to be serious and when to be silly. Overall this is a very memorable group of songs that do not fail to entertain and kept me busy for a good deal of obsession early on in the year. The only failure here is that it's only 5 great (and short) songs so it can't possibly compare to other amazing albums that have twice as much great music.

Recommended Song:
"Freaks And Geeks" (like most of you haven't heard this lol)