Pazz & Jop 2k11
It’s that time of year again: Pazz & Jop or as some call like to call it, “music critic Christmas”. Here’s my ballot for 2011; my extended top 20 albums list is after the break. I’m thrilled to see that Tune-Yards clinched the overall #1 album spot this year—that photo of Merill Garbus on the front page pretty much sums up the collective sense of surprise. It couldn’t be more well-deserved, though—Garbus is a truly idiosyncratic voice in pop, one of the few artists out there making records that are as original as they are accomplished. Also, it’s encouraging to see that female artists topped both the albums and singles lists this year—I wonder when the last time was when that happened, if ever (online results only go as far back as 2008)?
1. The Weeknd — House of Balloons
2. Drake — Take Care
3. Jay-Z & Kanye West — Watch the Throne
4. Tune-Yards: whokill
5. James Blake — S/T
6. Frank Ocean — Nostalgia, Ultra
7. ASAP Rocky — LiveLoveA$AP
8. Shabazz Palaces — Black Up
9. Parenthetical Girls — Privilege I-V
10. Lil B — I’m Gay (I’m Happy)
11. Liturgy — Aesthethica
12. Panda Bear — Tomboy
13. Serengeti — Family & Friends
14. Cold Cave — Cherish the Light Years
15. Atlas Sound — Parallax
16. AraabMUZIK — Electronic Dream
17. Deleted Scenes — Young People’s Church of the Air
18. Peaking Lights — 936
19. Danny Brown — XXX
20. Elite Gymnastics — Ruin
