Looking Back at 2011: The Top 20 Albums of the Year (Part 1)

20. The Hunter - Mastodon
This one was part of a two-horse race to see which CD would finish off the list. It was either this or Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay. It was brute force vs. expert songcraft. It was beefy vocals vs. soaring falsettos. It was guitar blitzkrieg vs. swirling synth artistry. While it really was a tough call, I always believe that, in the end, you have to go with the album that rocks your face off. And with crushers like "Black Tongue," "Curl of the Burl," and "Stargasm," the fifth album by the Atlanta rock quartet does just that.

19. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Did this album have its flaws? Absolutely. Tops upon the list would most likely be "You and I," a lousy wannabe country song that probably should have been dropped from the album after the musicians started playing the first notes in rehearsals. However, it is also filled with songs that seek to push pop music forward, often while reaching shamelessly back into the past. Examples include the Giorgio Moroder-cribbing "Marry the Night" and the title track, which of course bares more than a passing resemblance to a major song by one of the fashion icon's most obvious inspirations.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Watch the Throne - Kanye West and Jay-Z

The first fully collaborative album by two of hip-hop's giants, Watch the Throne, the new full-length by Kanye West and Jay-Z, is always enjoyable, often thrilling, yet sometimes head-scratching.

After starting off with "No Church in the Wild," an ominous slow-tempo joint with guest vocals by Frank Ocean of the suddenly omnipresent Odd Future crew, Watch the Throne quickly gets into party mode with "Lift Off," an operatic, big-scale banger with an incredible strings-and-horns based opening, hectic percussion, and an insanely huge chorus by Jay-Z's wife, who quickly emerges as the star of the song despite very decent verses by the featured attractions. Another great track, wisely released as the first single off of the album, is "Otis," a soulful, bluesy burner with help from a deftly sampled Otis Redding track (hence the name). While the lyrics are quickly disposable boast rap, the beat is anything but, and the production is raw and intense, high on bass and long on guitar-and-piano fury.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: 4 - Beyonce

The third album by Beyonce Knowles, I Am...Sasha Fierce, was both a musical and an environmental disappointment. The world did not need her overly precious cover of "Ave Maria," nor did it need an 11-song album printed on two CDs just so an accomplished star could pretend to be her sassy alter ego. After the sensation that was Dangerously in Love and the underrated follow-up, B'Day, her fourth studio album, the unfortunately titled 4, found Jay-Z's main squeeze looking to prove that she did not lose ground to the Katy Perrys and the Lady Gagas of the world. Luckily, the former Destiny's Child songstress chose not to compete on their pop level and made an album that, despite having a few flaws, shows a mature artist who is still capable of churning out effortless body-movers.

Beginning with the Princely, soulful, rock-tinged ballad, "1+1," the 12-song album (yes, more than Sasha Fierce yet contained on one disc) continues quite strongly for 10 tracks. Highlights include "I Care," a bass-heavy mid-tempo joint with Squarepusher-esque airy synth and a nasty guitar solo/Beyonce vocal run (a past weakness that she is admirably restrained with throughout the album), "End of Time," a Michael Jackson-influenced banger with effectively chaotic production by producers Diplo and Switch, and "Party," a Kanye West track whose off-kilter beats and funhouse keys were attractive enough to get Andre 3000 to climb out from whatever rock he has been living under (the erstwhile Outkast MC contributes a verse that will hopefully hold the world over until he decides to put something full-length on wax). The very 80s "Love on Top" also satisfies, with Knowles putting in some of her best vocal work. I even managed to get into the one that Babyface wrote, "Best Thing I Never Had." It had to be the incredibly massive chorus, because I have to tell you: I never thought I would be able to get down with a song with piano that sounds like it was played by John Tesh in his NBA theme song era.