Not much to say other than these are my top 30 songs of the year. There are 22 different artists. The most songs by 1 artist is 3. Check the playlist out on Spotify: The Best Songs of 2011
30. “Hunter” by Sainthood Reps
29. “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars
28. “Never Let Me Go” by Florence and the Machine
27. “When Death Dies” by Gungor
26. “Virtue” by Gideon
25. “White Owl” by Josh Garrels-Not on Spotify, so not included in the playlist. Check it out here. Also check out his fantastic album “Love and War and the Sea in Between” for FREE here
24. “Helplessness Blues” by Fleet Foxes
23. “Lippy Kids” by Elbow
22. “Vice Verses” by Switchfoot
21. “To Whom it May Concern” by The Civil Wars
20. “Royal Blue” by Cold War Kids
19. “Simple Math” by Manchester Orchestra
18. “Lay Down” by O’Brother
17. “Words in the Water” by Thrice
16. “Life’s a Happy Song” by Jason Segel and Walter
15. “Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart” by Thursday
14. “Certain” by Set Your Goals
13. “Towers” by Bon Iver
12. “Bizness” by tUnE-YaRdS
11. “Blinded” by Thrice
The Top 10
10. “Only if For a Night” by Florence and the Machine-Florence’s voice telling this tale of some ghostlike lover/friend that may or may not have died which all might be a dream makes you able to forgive her for telling such a confusing story and even actually care about whatever it is she is talking about.
9. “Deer” by Manchester Orchestra-A stripped down song basically showcasing Andy Hull’s amazing voice while simultaneously questioning God and his marriage. It is heartfelt and wonderful.
8. “Holiday Makers” by Sainthood Reps-The opening riff and vocals are just so slick and catchy and smooth that it’s impossible not to like, well I think so anyway.
7. “Old Balloons” by Admiral Fallow-It starts slow with its piano and picking and builds into a rompin’ blast of a song.
6. “June Hymn” by The Decemberists-As the title shows, this is the Decemberists version of a hymn, an acoustic harmonica riddled ballad about the past.
5. “Four Bulbs” by Admiral Fallow-A definite part of my calm down playlist as it is one of the most soothing songs I heard all year. Definitely has a depressing tone to it, but at the same time feels really reflective and full of meaning.
4. “Someone Like You” by Adele-I love a sad song and Adele absolutely nails the sad song here. The sad piano, the internal argument, the power and emotion in her voice all make it great. Kind of hated that it became such a huge hit, because it made it feel as if she was cheating on me by expressing her sorrows to the rest of the world and not just me. It’s okay Adele, I’ll be here when you record your next break up song. NOTE: Apparently Adele’s whole album has been taken from Spotify, so it is not on the playlist.
3. “A Candle’s Fire” by Beirut-A perfect Beirut song, with horns, acoustic guitar, a gypsy tone, lead by Zach Condon’s booming deep voice. It has a strange similarity to “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” which is an awesome song, so it works.
2. “Perth” by Bon Iver-It’s so small, yet reaches the highest of highs from it’s soft opening to it’s grand musical crescendo with drums and horns. This intro to the album hooked me from its first few moments and lead the way for what is one of the best albums of the year.
1. “Virgin” by Manchester Orchestra-A grand scaled creepy ode to keeping a marriage together that slowly builds toward an epic children’s choir lead all the way by Andy Hull’s passionate quivering voice. Stands alone as the song of the year.
Jacob Wilson 