Taking On 2011: Top Albums (Final List)

Continuing my year end music coverage I decided to not undergo the crazy undertaking of my second quarterly review when writing about the sixty six albums that I have listened to from the previous year. Last year was a fantastic year for music, with just about every genre delivering top notch releases. I read an article on the AV Club a while ago that brought up the idea that 2011 was a year of many very good albums without any definitive "Important Album," and that's a sentiment that I can partially agree with; however, when I started compiling my list I couldn't help but wonder if some of the higher ranked albums will have a lasting impact on the industry. Hard to know without the ability to see the future, and despite nothing hitting quite as hard as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I hope this list demonstrates that 2011 was a great year in music.

Taking On 2011: Top Tracks (Final Review)

It's that time of the year again. Mostly everything has been released, certainly this is the case with music, and it's time to start putting the year into perspective. I found 2011 to be a fantastic year for music, perhaps without the highs or 'Important Albums' of years past, but still fantastic nonetheless. We saw dubstep rise (and fall?) in about the course of twelve months, Katy Perry reached insurmountable levels of annoying, and that Lulu atrocity even released. What more could you want? It's definitely been a year, and moving on from my previous three Quarterly Reviews, the final list of best tracks has risen. Moves have been made, shakes have been shook, and as usual all titles link to Youtube versions of the songs whenever possible, and for some that are not on Youtube, I put all the songs on Spotify into a playlist!

Taking On 2011 - Top Tracks (Q3 Quarterly Review)

Another three months have passed, and as has become a yearly tradition here at Processed Grass it is about time we take a look back at all the yearly developments in the world of culture. As is also tradition my Quarterly Review will be broken in to three parts (songs, albums, film) and list some random number of these entries that have been dominating my ear space and mental functions for the past however many months! We are approaching the time of year when monumental changes occur in these lists. Don't believe me? Just check up on the first and second quarterly reviews to see how things have changed...or how orders have stayed the same.

We all like comfort, right?

Taking on 2011 - Top Tracks (Q2 Quarterly Review)

So, we have officially hit the halfway mark of the year. How are those New Year's Resolutions holding up? Mine had already been abandoned by the time I composed the first Quarterly Review, so now I have resolved to make no more resolutions. Even if that does not cure my shame and disappointment, I can at least take solace in the fact that this year has produced a number of great songs to inhabit this list. Just a forewarning, this list is going to be a good deal different from the Q1 Quarterly Review. More eclectic! More daring! More music!

Before we begin I should probably issue another short reminder: this is a Quarterly Review because I do them every three months, not because the list only contains songs released in these three months. They are all building to the final lists in January, and as such I think it is important to see the process up until that point. Both for myself and, hopefully, for you the reader. Some songs that were my favorites earlier have had time to sit, marinate, and fall or rise accordingly. These are the ideas that fascinate my mind! As usual, click the links to listen to the tracks. And with that, put the needle on the record!