Best Songs of 2011

[PhilsFan]

For those who are intimidated by the Best Albums thread.

 

[iron yuppie]

Here are 50 that stood out to me:

The Antlers: Parentheses
Atlas Sound: Flagstaff
Beirut: East Harlem
Bjork: Mutual Core
The Black Keys: Lonely Boy
Bon Iver: Perth
Burial: Street Halo
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Terrible Angels
Crystal Stilts: Precarious Stair
Coldplay with Rhianna: Princess of China
Cults: Go Outside
Cut Copy: Sun God
Destroyer: Chinatown
Dirty Beaches: A Hundred Highways
Feist: How Come You Never Go There
Fleet Foxes: Bedouin Dress
Florence + The Machine: What the Water Gave Me
Future Islands: Where I Found You
Girls: Forgiveness
Hercules & Love Affair: Painted Eyes
The Horrors: Still Life
Iron & Wine: Monkeys Uptown
James Blake: Limit to Your Love
The Kills: Future Starts Slow
Los Campesinos!: By Your Hand
Lykke Li: Love out of Lust
M83: Midnight City
The National: Exile / Vilify
Neon Indian: Fallout
Noel Gallagher: Everybody's on the Run
Okkervil River: Mermaid
Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica
Panda Bear: Slow Motion
PJ Harvey: On Battleship Hill
R.E.M.: Uberlin
Radiohead: Codex
Radiohead: Lotus Flower
Raphael Saadiq: Good Man
Ryan Adams: Dirty Rain
Smith Westerns: Still New
St. Vincent: Chloe in the Afternoon
St. Vincent: Surgeon
Tom Waits: Bad as Me
Tune-Yards: Powa
TV on the Radio: Will Do
Washed Out: Eyes Be Closed
Wilco: Black Moon
Wild Beasts: Burning
Wye Oak: Doubt
Zola Jesus: Vessel

 

[Axver]

Some of my top picks, limited to one song per band (with one exception):

The Bats: Long Halls
Casa Del Mirto: The Right Way
Ceremony: Not Tonight
Cults: Abducted
Cut Off Your Hands: Fooling No One
An Horse: Dressed Sharply
The Joy Formidable: Cradle
Laura: This Grey Earth
Long Distance Calling: Into The Black Wide Open
Meniscus: Infant
Mogwai: George Square Thatcher Death Party
Neon Indian: Hex Girlfriend
The New Division: Starfield
Opposite Sex: La Rat
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Belong
Pinback: True North
Pinback: CLOAD "Q"
Pure Reason Revolution: Tempest
Russian Circles: Mladek
Sleepmakeswaves: In Limbs and Joints
Steven Wilson: Deform To Form A Star
Thy Catafalque: Trilobita
Washed Out: Amor Fati
Wolves In The Throne Room: Thuja Magus Imperium
Woods Of Desolation: November
Yuck: Holing Out

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Since I am all over Airborne Toxic Event, I'll go with...

Airborne Toxic Event - Numb


Yup.

 

[Padj]

The Antlers: Rolled Together
Bombay Bicycle Club: Lights Out, Words Gone
Bon Iver: Perth
Cut Copy: Take Me Over
Daughter: Landfill
Feist: The Bad in Each Other
Florence + The Machine: What the Water Gave Me
Kurt Vile: In My Time
Lykke Li: Love Out Of Lust
Metronomy: Everything Goes My Way
Pj Harvey: On Battleship Hill
Real Estate: Green Aisles
The War On Drugs: I Was There
Washed Out: Eyes Be Closed
Yuck: Sunday

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Taylor Swift - "Safe And Sound"
Lana Del Rey - "Video Games", "Blue Jeans"
Jay-Z/Kanye - "Ni**as In Paris", "No Church In The Wild"
Cults - "Abducted"
Lady Gaga - "Marry The Night", "You And I"
Trent Reznor/Karen O - "Immigrant Song"
Nicola Roberts - "Yo-Yo", "Sticks + Stones"
Lykke Li - "Get Some", "I Follow Rivers", "Youth Knows No Pain"
Arctic Monkeys - "Suck It And See", "Love Is A Laserquest"
Alex Turner - "Stuck On The Puzzle", "Piledriver Waltz"
Radiohead - "Codex", "The Daily Mail", "Separator"
Those dope songs from the Drive soundtrack
The dope Jack White tracks from Danger Mouse's Rome album
Girls - "Vomit"
The Strokes - "Under Cover of Darkness", "Life Is Simple In The Moonlight"
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Heart In Your Heartbreak" (was first released in 2010, but fuck it)
Wilco - "Born Alone"
The Decemberists - "Don't Carry It All", "January Hymn"
Feist - "How Come You Never Go There"
Coldplay - "Hurts Like Heaven"
Britney Spears - "Hold It Against Me", "I Wanna Go", "Til The World Ends"
R.E.M. - "Discoverer", "We All Go Back To Where We Belong"
My Morning Jacket - "Circuital"
M83 - "Intro", "Midnight City"
TV On The Radio - "Keep Your Heart", "Repetition"
Foo Fighters - "Walk"
Okkervil River - "Wake And Be Fine"
Eddie Vedder - "Without You"
Los Campesinos! - "By Your Hand"
Adele - "Rolling In The Deep"
Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera - "Moves Like Jagger"
Rihanna - "We Found Love"
Kelly Clarkson - "Mr. Know It All"
St. Vincent - "Cruel"
Childish Gambino - "Bonfire"
Rebecca Black - "Friday"

 

[prbiker15]

My choices are kinda cheesy, but whatever...

Adele - "Set Fire To The Rain"
Alexandra Stan - "Mr. Saxobeat"
AWOLNATION - "Sail"
Benny Benassi & Skrillex - "Cinema (Skrillex Remix)"
Coldplay - "Paradise", "Charlie Brown", "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall", "Princess of China", "Don't Let It Break Your Heart"
Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar - "I Need A Doctor"
Drake & Nicki Minaj - "Make Me Proud"
Drake & Rihanna - "Take Care"
Flo Rida - "Good Feeling"
Florence + The Machine - "Shake It Out", "What The Water Gave Me"
Foo Fighters - "Rope", "Walk"
Foster The People - "Pumped Up Kicks"
Gloria Estefan - "Wepa"
Gym Class Heroes & Adam Levine - "Stereo Hearts"
Jay-Z & Kanye West - "No Church In The Wild", "Niggas In Paris"
Lady GaGa - "Judas"
Maroon 5 - "Never Gonna Leave This Bed"
Moby - "Lie Down In Darkness", "The Violent Bear It Away"
R.E.M. - "Discoverer"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie"
Reeve Carney, Bono & The Edge - "Rise Above 1"
Rihanna - "Cheers (Drink To That)", "We Found Love"
Vaya Con Dios + Milk & Sugar - "Hey (Nah Neh Nah) [Milk & Sugar Club Mix]"
Will.i.am, Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger - "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)"

Some great music this year, to be honest.

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

Songs that stood out for me (in no order):

1. The Antlers - I Don't Want Love
2. Others Lives - Tamer Animals
3. 1,2,3 - Work
3. Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles
4. Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven
5. Coldplay - Don't Let it Break Your Heart
6. Augustana - Steal Your Heart
7. The Airborne Toxic Event - Numb

 

[LemonMelon]

No order whatsoever:

Adele - Rolling In The Deep
Lady GaGa - Marry The Night, The Edge of Glory
The War On Drugs - Brothers
The Field - Then It's White
Radiohead - Codex
CunninLynguists - Stars Shine Brightest (In The Darkest of Night)
The National - Exile Vilify
Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
Arctic Monkeys - The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
M83 - Midnight City
Destroyer - Chinatown
Raphael Saadiq - Go To Hell
St. Vincent - Surgeon
Rihanna - We Found Love
Mountain Goats - Outer Scorpion Squadron
White Denim - Is And Is And Is
Los Campesinos - Songs About Your Girlfriend
Wilco - Black Moon, Born Alone
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Tom Waits - Pay Me
Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms
Kate Bush - Misty
PJ Harvey - Hanging On The Wire
Bon Iver - Michicant
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

 

[cobl04]

at once
i knew
i was not
magnificent...

 

[cobl04]

Just on the subject, I know it's a really good album, but individually tracks like Perth, Holocene and Calgary have come in for a lot of praise. I'd like to give a shout out to three tracks that haven't had a lot of individual love: Minnesota WI, Michicant and Wash.

 

[LemonMelon]

I just called Michicant my favorite like two posts ago, but I'll cosign that.

 

[cobl04]

I stopped reading at Adele

 

[u2popmofo]

Y u no list Towerz, Cobblerz?

 

[nielsgov]

That's my favourite as well from Bon Iver. I still don't get the hype though. Good album but kind of boring too.

 

[iron yuppie]

I still don't get the hype though. Good album but kind of boring too.

It's called mood, Nielsgov.

 

[nielsgov]

If it's a mood that makes you fall asleep, I agree.

 

[Reggo]

Adele - Rolling In The Deep, Someone Like You
Lady GaGa - You And I
Destroyer - Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
The Black Keys - Lonely Boys
Tom Waits - Hell Broke Luce, Talking At The Same Time
Inhale - Causality Violation
Smith Westerns - Imagine, Pt. 3

 

[Lancemc]

Just a top 5 off on a whim, the handful of songs from the year (I've admittedly not heard a tenth of what I'd have liked to have gotten around to in 2011) that absolutely floored me.

1. Bjork - Virus

2. The National - Exile/Vilify

3. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

4. Radiohead - Bloom

5. Lady GaGa - Marry the Night

Might edit in some short words about each a little later.

Spoiler

Probably not.

 

[LemonMelon]

Oh, damn, I forgot to include Exile Vilify, and it probably was my favorite of the year. At least, it left the most profound impact on me. But my list was culled from favorite albums, so I forgot about it.

 

[cobl04]

Oh, damn, I forgot to include Exile Vilify, and it probably was my favorite of the year. At least, it left the most profound impact on me. But my list was culled from favorite albums, so I forgot about it.

Exactly the same, though it was not my #1.

 

[bono_212]

I always make a list of my favorite pop songs, and I haven't done that yet, thanks for being a constant reminder to stop being lazy, thread.

 

[djerdap]

Oh, damn, I forgot to include Exile Vilify, and it probably was my favorite of the year. At least, it left the most profound impact on me. But my list was culled from favorite albums, so I forgot about it.

That one is definitely my no.1.