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: Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay

Sometimes it seems like Coldplay has multiple personalities. There's the band that is willing to constantly experiment with their sound. The one who chose to work with 70s ambient guru Brian Eno in order to find new sonic textures (and to be more like Bono and crew). The one whose guitarist, Jonny Buckland, is one of the more underrated shredders in contemporary rock music.

But then you have the band that is willing to fall into the background while Chris Martin croons for the swooning masses. You have the one with the naked commercial ambition, churning out hits for the lowest common denominator. You have the group that freely apes successful bands (U2, Radiohead) who have come before them in an effort to achieve musical immortality. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you are an optimist), both of these entities rear their heads on the band's fifth studio album, the oddly titled Mylo Xyloto.

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.

Ten Albums to Watch for the Rest of 2011, and One I Am Slightly Reluctant to Endorse

1) Watch the Throne - Jay-Z and Kanye West (August 8)
While Jay-Z releases can be a little hit-or-miss these days, Kanye West seems to be pretty much stuck in instant-classic mode, especially after the masterpiece that was 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. If you need more of a sales job, bear in mind that the thing not only features the two pre-eminent MCs of current rap music, it features additional production by Rza and Q-Tip as well. Sort of an All-Star team of hip-hop right there.

2) Mirror Traffic - Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks (August 23)
The lead singer of Pavement teams up with producer Beck Hansen on a 15-song album of sprawling guitar-based sonics and hyperliterate, nonsensical lyrics.