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Year in Rock 2011: Top 20 Albums

When pondering this year's best albums, I was faced with a fairly difficult decision, in which I basically had to rethink my entire outlook on what makes a good album?  When it came down to crunch time (read: 20 minutes ago), I had to stop flip-flopping on the top two and choose one that would, by merit of its position on the list, be hailed as "the better album".

My conclusion (for the purposes of this list, anyway) is that a masterwork in craft, skill and substance from beginning to end should trump a collection of great songs.  I'm not saying writing a song is easy by any stretch, but writing a series of songs and building them into a sum that transcends its parts is much more difficult.  In the end, I like the top two equally, but for different reasons.  #2 is hands down the year's better collection of songs.  But my pick for top spot is a shining example of the fading art that is creating a true album.  Yes, it's a bloated, confusing mess at times.  And no, its songs don't quite stack up side-by-side with #2.  But, when played front to back, it delivers a bigger rush; it feels important, like an album destined to be revered in 15 years the way OK Computer is now.  And there can only be one explanation as to why: it is.

Willie's Top 20 Albums of 2011
(To refresh your memory as to what made these so good, click on them to scoot to its nomination write-up).

20. STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS: Mirror Traffic
19. CHEVELLE: Hats Off to the Bull
18. MARIACHI EL BRONX: Mariachi el Bronx II
17. PUSCIFER: Conditions of My Parole
16. THE HORRIBLE CROWES: Elsie
15. KASABIAN: Velociraptor!
14. ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD: Tao of the Dead
13. HEY ROSETTA!: Seeds
12. THE BLACK KEYS: El Camino
11. RED FANG: Murder the Mountains
10. DROPKICK MURPHYS: Going Out in Style
9. THRICE: Major/Minor
8. TOM WAITS: Bad As Me
7. MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA: Simple Math
6. THE DECEMBERISTS: The King is Dead
5. MACHINE HEAD: Unto the Locust
4. ARCTIC MONKEYS: Suck It and See
3. MASTODON: The Hunter
2. FOO FIGHTERS: Wasting Light
1. FUCKED UP: David Comes to Life

Again, thanks for checking out the blog over the past couple of months and sharing this weird obsession I call rock with me.  There's lots coming in the new year, so don't be a stranger, K?
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