Well, here we are again — wrapping up another year of extensive album reviews and hot band alerts. Some albums we loved and some albums we hated, how about we just stick to the ones we loved (for now). One thing I absolutely LOVE about the Grimy Goods crew, is the extreme diversity of our tastes. Some of our music snobs love that sugary electro pop that radio stations can’t seem to get enough of, while others like a more obscure, underground legion of musicians — and then there’s those of us that just mix all the shit up into one delicious cioppino of a musical treat.

Behold! Grimy Goods’ Best Albums of 2011 (Staff Picks).

    

          

Sandra Burciaga – Boss lady

• Explosions In The Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care – Temporary Residence
• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• Cults – Cults – Columbia
• Other Lives – Tamer Animals – TBD Records
• Bon Iver – Bon Iver – Jagjaguwar
• Chelsea Wolfe – Ἀποκάλυψις – Pendu Sound
• Mr. Gnome – Madness in Miniature – El Marko Records
• Braids – Native Speaker – Kanine Records
• Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose – Oh Wow Dang
• The Ettes – Wicked Will – Krian Music Group/Fond Object/Fontana
• The Kills – Blood Pressures – Domino
• Son Lux – We Are Rising – Anticon
• Las Kellies – Kellies – Fire Records
• Austra – Feel It Break – Domino Records / Paper Bag Records
• Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx (II) – ATO
• Shabazz Palaces – Black Up – Sub Pop
• Davilla 666 – Tan Bajo – In the Red Records
• Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place – Asthmatic Kitty Records
• The Black Lips – Arabia Mountain – Vice Records
• Charles Bradley – No Time For Dreaming – Daptone

Wei Shi – Senior Photographer

• WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain – LYF
• Adele – 21 – XL/Columbia
• The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? – Columbia
• The Kills – Blood Pressures – Domino
• Foster the People – Torches – Columbia
• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• St. Vincent – Strange Mercy – 4AD
• The Drums – Portamento – Moshi Moshi/Island
• Cults – Cults – Columbia
• Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness – Wichita

Emily Saex – Writer/ Contest Social Media

• Pendulum – Immersion – Warner Music Group/Ear Storm/Atlantic Records
• Holy Ghost! – Self Titled – DFA Records
• The Black Lips – Arabia Mountain – Vice Records
• The Ettes – Wicked Will – Krian Music Group/Fond Object/Fontana
• Cobra Skulls – Agitations – Fat Wreck Chords
• Gardens and Villa – Self Titled – Secretly Canadian
• Fool’s Gold – Leave No Trace – IAMSOUND
• AM & Shawn Lee – Celestial Electric – ESL Records
• Beirut – The Rip Tide – Pompeii Records
• Feist – Metals – Polydor/Interscope/Universal/Arts&Crafts

Matt Draper – Photographer

• The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World – History Always Favours the Winners
• John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves – Ribbon Music
• Pure X – Ecstasy – Acéphale
• Deaf Heaven – Roads to Judah – Deathwish
• Black Lips – Arabia Mountain – Vice
• Pictureplane – Thee Physical – Lovepump United
• Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years – Sub Pop
• Ganglians – Still Living – Lefse
• Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde – Fat Possum
• The Feeling of Love – Dissolve Me – Kill Shaman/Born Bad
• Liturgy – Aesthethica – Thrill Jockey
• Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine – Carpark
• Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo – Sub Pop
• Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania – In the Red
• The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient – Secretly Canadian
• EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints – Souterrain Transmissions
• Shabazz Palaces – Black Up – Sub Pop
• Mellow Grave – Smoke Filled the Room, We Slept – Living Tapes
• Shine 2009 – Realism – Cascine
• Prurient – Bermuda Drain – Hydra Head
• Chelsea Wolfe – Ἀποκάλυψις – Pendu Sound
• The Horrors – Skying – XL
• ZXZ – Paris – Self Released
• Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation – Fat Possum
• Gazelle Twin – The Entire City – Anti-Ghost Moon Ray

Kristie Bertucci – Writer/Contest Social Media 

• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• Thao & Mirah – Thao & Mirah – Kill Rock Stars
• Theophilus London – Timez Are Weird These Days – Reprise Records
• Florence + the Machine – Ceremonials – Island Records
• Little Dragon – Ritual Union – Peacefrog Records
• Foster the People – Torches – Columbia Records
• Cut Copy – Zonoscope– Modular Recordings
• VHS or BETA – Diamonds or Death – Astralwerks
• Toro y Moi – Underneath the Pine – Carpark
• Penguin Prison – Fair Warning – Downtown Records

Stephe Sykes – Writer

• Wye Oak – Civilian – Merge Records
• Antlers – Burst Apart – Frenchkiss
• Son Lux – We Are Rising – Anticon
• Holy Ghost – Holy Ghost –  DFA Records
• Gillian Welch – The Harrow and the Harvest – Acony
• James Blake – James Blake – Frenchkiss
• Pictureplane – Thee Negative Slave Mixtape – (self)
• Matthewdavid – Outmind – Brainfeeder
• Polls – Mouth of A Fox”b/w “Careful Way 7″ – Jaxart
• Active Child  – You Are All I See – Vagrant Records
• The Weeknd – Thursday – XO
• Atlas Sound – Parallax – 4AD
• M83  – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• St Vincent – Strange Mercy – Beggar’s
• Steve Malkmus and the Jicks – Mirror Traffic – Matador
• Radiohead – King of Limbs -(Self-released)
• Drive (original sound track)  – Lakeshore
• Gotye – Making Mirrors – Samples ‘n’ Seconds Records
• Iron and Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean – Warner Bros

Roxanne Hilburn – Writer

• Grouplove – Never Trust A Happy Song – Atlantic Records
• Mister Heavenly – Out of Love – Sub Pop
• Watch The Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West – Roc-A-Fella Records
• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will  – Sub Pop
• Explosions in the Sky –Take Care, Take Care, Take Care – Temporary Residence
• Darwin Deez – Darwin Deez – Lucky Number
• Vanaprasta – Healthy Geometry – Self-released
• Cults – Cults – Columbia
• Okkervil River – I Am Very Far – Jagjaguwar

Walter Burciaga – Writer

• Ladytron – Gravity the Seducer – Nettwerk Productions
• SBTRKT – Self-Titled – Young Turks
• SNOWMAN – Absence – Dot Dash Recordings
• Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes – LL Recordings
• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – Mute
• Triangular Ascension – Leviathan Device – Self-released
• Depth Affect – Draft Battle – Autres Directions in Music
• Phutureprimitive – Kinetik – Native Harmonix
• Tom Waits – Bad as Me – Anti, Inc.
• Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde – Fat Possum Records
• Blouse – Self-titled – Captured Tracks
• Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo – Matador
• Gary Numan – Dead Son Rising – Machine Music Ltd.
• Robin Guthrie – Emeralds – Robin Guthrie
• The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar – Atlantic Recording Corporation
• Zomby – Dedication – 4ad
• VNV Nation – Automatic – Anachron America
• Soft Kill – An Open Door – Fast Weapons
• TV Ghost – Mass Dream – In the Red

Cassie LaRussa – Photographer

• Toro y Moi – Underneath The Pine – Carpark
• John Maus – We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves – Ribbon Music
• Vivian Girls – Share The Joy – Polyvinyl Record Company
• Com Truise – Galactic Melt – Ghostly International
• Destroyer – Kaputt – Merge
• Deerhoof – Deerhoof vs. Evil – ATP/ Recordings
• Future Islands – On The Water – Thrill Jockey
• The Babies – The Babies – Shrimper
• Metronomy – The English Rivera – Atlantic/ Big Beat/ Because
• Tearist – Living: 2009-Present – Thin Wrist
• Cowabunga Babes – Going Nowhere LP – Volar Records
• Sun Araw – Ancient Romans – Seven Inch Project
• Nodzzz- Innings – Woodsist
• Beach Fossils – What A Pleasure EP – Captured Tracks
• Dirty Beaches – Badlands – Zoo
• Crazy Band – Fuck You – TD33(Teenage Teardrops)
• Sister Crayon – Bellow – Manimal Vinyl
• Hunx And His Punx – Too Young To Be In Love – Hardly Art
• Frank Alpine – Frank Alpine – Wierd Records
• TEETH – Whatever – MoshiMoshi Music Tracks

What were your favorite albums of 2011? Give us your two cents in a comment below!