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The Best Albums of 2011: 40 Records That Made This Year Unforgettable

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The end of 2011 is nigh, and we've listened to tons of great albums (also: 'Lulu'). Picking favorites is never easy, but this year seemed especially difficult.

We heard some amazing debuts, a sprawling punk masterpiece, a singer-songwriter hitting it big after some high-profile hip-hop dalliances, a long-lost album finally seeing the light of day, a growling old favorite making welcome return and a jilted singer dominating the charts, airwaves and hearts of millions while pouring her heart out. And that just represents our top 10 picks.

The decision-making was intense as usual: Several rounds of nominations, voting and insults, plenty of F-bombs and down-to-the-wire tweaking. But in the end, we were able to agree on the albums you can find in the gallery below (or just check out the list here, if you don't feel like reading our insights on these terrific LPs). So click through, see if your favorites made the cut and leave your blessings or curses in the comments.
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Rose

Someon'e told me Hunt'Rich.COM is the p'lace whe're you can meet milliona'ires, wh'o are sear'ching for their sp'ecial someone.DO u know it?

February 12 2012 at 9:27 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Michelle

Hey check out (and like) an interesting take on St. Vincent's album "Strange Mercy by Dusty Wright one of the founders of Culture Catch at: http://culturecatch.com/dusty/2011-music-st-vincent-dum-dum-girls-wild-flag

January 25 2012 at 1:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
neuralreset

Nice list

January 06 2012 at 3:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dating

Well. Trying to search for a single wealthy educated man or beautiful woman for a date, fun or marriage? Go to __W ea lth y cha t s . c o m_____ to figure it out?

January 06 2012 at 1:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dating

Well. Trying to search for a single wealthy educated man or beautiful woman for a date, fun or marriage? Go to __W ea lth y cha t s . c o m_____ to figure it out?

January 06 2012 at 1:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kathy

I want to know about James Durbin's 1st CD and what the critics had to say about it.

January 03 2012 at 9:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Saccade

A few others worth mentioning:

- Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
- Paradise by Slow Club
- Gimme Some by Peter Bjorn & John
- Native Speaker by Braids
- Torches by Foster the People
- Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li
- Out of My Head by Movits!

December 31 2011 at 4:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Beth

What about Foo Fighters?

December 29 2011 at 9:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dorothy

ADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELEADELE !

December 29 2011 at 8:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
zeroagenow

M83 double album ''Hurry up, we're dreaming'' is the best new album I have bought this year

December 29 2011 at 8:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply