| 1. Bon Iver Bon Iver |
 The much-anticipated follow-up to 2008’s highly acclaimed For Emma, Forever Ago sees Justin Vernon and his band in a less introspective mood. No log cabin or heartbreaking heroine this time but instead a more uplifting album that opens up to the world. Pitchfork marvelled that “you can feel it even as you don’t completely understand it…a testament to…the power of music”, while Drowned in Sound proclaimed it "every bit as beautiful as you might expect". The BBC summed it up as “one of 2011’s most absorbing, affecting and downright brilliant LPs”.
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• "Rooted in the emotional sincerity" 5/5 The Guardian, "no one else sounds like him" 9.5/10 Pitchfork |
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£6.99) | MP3 (
£5.90) | More from Bon Iver |
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| 2. Let England Shake PJ Harvey |
 Let England Shake, her follow up to 2007’s White Chalk, has garnered Polly Jean Harvey a second Mercury Prize, ten years after her first for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. Recorded in her home town, the whispering innocence of PJ Harvey’s voice drawing her view of ‘beautiful England’ amid imagery of war, sees The Telegraph describe it as ‘a meditation on mankind’s apparently endless appetite for self-destruction, filtered through the Dorset native’s complex feelings of love, pride and also disappointment in her own country’.
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• "richly inventive" 5/5 Guardian, "Of all her many guises this may be her most powerful." Mojo |
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£6.29) | MP3 (
£6.99) | More from PJ Harvey |
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| 3. 21 Adele |
 Spending 11 consecutive weeks at the top of the UK album charts, and returning for a few more weeks to boot, Adele's second album 21 is the biggest story of 2011. Following on from her critically acclaimed debut album, 19, 21 was hailed as "genuinely brilliant" by the BBC, who concluded that "it really is so marvellous, you’re almost compelled to stand up and applaud it after the first listen". According to the Guardian, the record "ought to ensure Adele is around for 23, 25, 27 and beyond" while The Telegraph raved that "her voice is a thing of wonder".
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• "Warmth, power and vulnerability" 5/5 The Telegraph, "Progressive, grown-up second collection" 4/5 The Guardian |
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• CD (
£7.50) | MP3 (
£6.49) | More from Adele |
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| 4. James Blake James Blake |
 The BBC tipped James Blake in their Sound of 2011 list and later commented on his self-titled debut album: “Blake moves his informed, excited mastery into yet another sphere; instead of manipulating tension through a library of beats, he now mostly draws on silence and vocal treatment”. The Guardian highlights Blake’s accessibility, despite his penchant for the unique and unchartered--“the most experimental artist in recent memory to make the annual hotly tipped lists”--while Pitchfork extols the “gorgeous, indelible tunes that are as generous in content as they are restrained in delivery”.
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• "Fragile, beautiful songs" Clash Music, "Haunting debut from post-dubstep pioneer" Q Magazine |
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£5.57) | MP3 (
£5.49) | More from James Blake |
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| 5. Helplessness Blues Fleet Foxes |
 Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut won widespread acclaim for its invigoration of the folk-rock genre, and their second album offers up more of the melodic, expressive sound that listeners fell in love with back in 2008. Pitchfork called it “more intricate…more complex…a triumphant follow-up” while The Guardian described it as “almost laughably beautiful”. The BBC agreed, calling it “bigger, braver…a thing of beauty”.
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• "Fleet Foxes triumphantly deliver" 5/5 The Independent, "Both mysterious and inviting" Q Magazine |
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£5.67) | MP3 (
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| 6. On A Mission Katy B |
 Bringing dubstep to the masses in the form of a pop-lyrics-laden dance album, Katy B’s On a Mission was described by NME as the “hands-down pop debut of the year, marking the arrival of a completely credible, fresh-faced, mischievous talent to draw the proverbial moustaches on pop’s gallery of gurning grotesques”. The BBC says “On a Mission moves through house, dubstep, drum’n’bass, rave, UK garage and RnB with ease, attacking each with such accessibility it’s not hard to imagine each track topping the singles charts". And the last word from The Independent: “On a Mission sounds like a modern pop classic".
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• "British pop debut of the year" 5/5 NME, "fantastic pop songs: hook-laden, melodically rich and crisply written" 4/5 The Guardian |
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• CD (
£5.05) | MP3 (
£4.49) | More from Katy B |
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| 7. Bad As Me Tom Waits |
 The 17th studio album released by singer-songwriter Tom Waits, who is fast approaching 40 years in the industry but shows no signs of going stale. Despite Waits’ prolificacy, Bad As Me was the first album made up of entirely new material in seven years. Switching between rock, blues and ballads, the album is a perfect reminder of where Waits has come from and how he has developed as an artist over time, as Pitchfork said it “feels as new as it does ancient”, while The Independent claimed the album “contains no filler at all”.
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• "An unstoppable demolition derby of songs” – 5/5 The Telegraph, "Exhilarating, terrifying, heartbreaking, tear jerking, bone-rattling" 9/10 Drowned in Sound |
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• CD (
£11.23) | MP3 (
£9.49) | More from Tom Waits |
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| 8. A Creature I don’t Know Laura Marling |
 Laura Marling's two previous albums were both Mercury Prize-nominated, but the young folk singer-songwriter (still just 21 at time of release) showed no signs of difficult third album syndrome with the universally lauded A Creature I Don't Know. Uncut (4*) called it "deeply impressive ... the sound of an artist setting herself new targets and hitting each one with real panache", while NME rejoiced "This real-life fairytale is made up of myriad difficult home truths but Marling's hejira, her flight to freedom, makes for absolutely compelling listening".
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• "a towering musical achievement" 8/10 NME, "Deeply impressive" Uncut |
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• CD (
£6.07) | MP3 (
£5.99) | More from Laura Marling |
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| 9. 50 Words for Snow Kate Bush |
 Kate Bush's second release of 2011 sees her first collection of new material since 2005's Aerial. A sumptuous seven-track ode to winter, Bush takes inspiration from ice, darkness and of course snow. The result is a hugely accomplished piece of work described by the Guardian as "impossibly beautiful". The Independent called it "spectacular" and of the title track (featuring none other than Stephen Fry) Drowned in Sound declared that "no one will ever make anything like it again". Pitchfork praised its "stunningly subtle and understated sounds", while the Telegraph summed it up as "quietly beautiful…music that intrudes and abducts".
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• "A lush, immersive work" The Independent, "Impossibly beautiful " 5/5 Guardian |
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• CD (
£4.77) | MP3 (
£4.99) | More from Kate Bush |
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| 10. WHOKILL tUnE-yArDs |
 This was the album you couldn't ignore in 2011. In the second outing from tUnE-yArDs, Merrill Garbus moved from the bedroom to the studio, joined by bassist Nate Brenner among others, and produced an arguably more thrilling instalment of her unique blend of folk, R&B, funk, rock and Afro-pop. With her exceptional voice and compelling songwriting, the album drew plaudits for its "personal, idiosyncratic, high-stakes music" (Pitchfork). The Observer hailed it as "euphoric, brilliant and bonkers" while Drowned in Sound felt that "2011 won't get much better than this".
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• "Merrill Garbus has somehow managed to encompass more ideas into just over 40 minutes than most artists manage in a lifetime" Drowned in Sound |
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• CD (
£9.22) | MP3 (
£7.49) | More from tUnE-yArDs |
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