albums i dug in 2k11 (in a particular order)

a couple of months ago, i had lofty dreams of making a 64-album tournament bracket and writing lengthy (and undoubtedly humorous) match-up breakdowns (like bon iver vs. liturgy!) that would eventually lead to the 'best album of 2011.' i realize now that this will not come to pass. 2k11 is mercifully on its deathbed and, following what has become the overarching theme of my year, i'm just going to have to 'readjust expectations.' thus, what follows is simply a list of the albums from this year that i found to be 'the most awesome' in some kind of ordered fashion. there aren't any explanations or any mathematical equations to back it up, but if you would like a detailed justification for why an album appears/does not appear on the list (or just want to argue), send me a handwritten request via the u.s. postal service by february 14, 2012. cheers and c u in 2k12. 


30. Male Bonding: Endless Now
29. Panda Bear: Tomboy
28. Big Troubles: Romantic Comedy
27. Antlers: Burst Apart
26. Julian Lynch: Terra
25. Battles: Gloss Drop
24. Neon Indian: Era Extraña
23. James Blake: s/t
22. Young Prisms: Friends for Now
21. Stephen Malkmus + the Jicks: Mirror Traffic
20. Iceage: New Brigade
19. Atlas Sound: Parallax
18. Unknown Mortal Orchestra: s/t
17. Beirut: The Rip Tide
16. Times New Viking: Dancer Equired
15. Toro y Moi: Underneath the Pine
14. Horrors: Skying
13. Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation
12. Shabazz Palaces: Black Up
11. Hammer No More the Fingers: Black Shark
10. Gauntlet Hair: s/t
09. Cymbals Eat Guitars: Lenses Alien
08. Pure X: Pleasure
07. Cloud Nothings: s/t
06. Mikal Cronin: s/t 
05. Los Campesinos!: Hello Sadness
04. Yuck: s/t
03. Fair Ohs: Everything is Dancing
02. Fucked Up: David Comes to Life
01. Real Estate: Days