Welp, it's that time of the year again, folks: Every publication on the planet publishes top album and song lists--and we are no exception. 2011 was a great year for music. Highly anticipated albums fully delivered (Manchester Orchestra, Bon Iver), and local music is making a comeback. (P.S. Local band people and musicians, we want your favorites lists. Send them to kelly[at]raincityambience.com so we can post another blog.)

This time we are keeping it convenient: One blog for all of the staff picks. Albums and songs, with a few links for staff Best-Of-2011 Spotify playlists. If you have yet to jump on the Spotify bandwagon, I highly suggest you remedy this issue.

I'll start with my picks because I am selfish and want to be first. :D

Kelly: Spotify Playlist
Albums:
1. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
3. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
4. Balance & Composure - Separation
5. Grieves - Together / Apart
6. City & Colour - Little Hell
7. Lydia - Paint It Golden
8. The Wonder Years - Suburbia I've Given You My All And Now I'm Nothing
9. Atmosphere - The Family Sign
10. You Me At Six - Sinners Never Sleep

Honorable mention: The Weeknd - Echoes of Silence. Released the day I posted this blog but an instant contender for top 5 of the year. Go download it for free on The Weeknd's website.

Tracks:
1. M83 - Steve McQueen
2. The Naked And Famous - Young Blood
3. Russ Chimes - Targa
4. Manchester Orchestra - Pensacola
5. Bon Iver - Holocene

--

Katie
Albums:
1. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
2. Touche Amore - Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me
3. Lydia - Paint It Golden
4. The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum
5. Emery - We Do What We Want
6. Oh Dear! - Oh Dear!
7. Go Radio - Lucky Street
8. Mayweather - Mayweather
9. I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - Gold Rush
10. O'Brother - Garden Window

Tracks:
1. Gatsbys American Dream - Modern Man
2. Alabaster - Overcome
3. Yellowcard - You, And Your Denial
4. Volumes - Edge Of The Earth
5. Foo Fighters - Walk

--

Joel
Albums:
1. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
2. Life On Repeat - Struggle + Sleep
3. Bush - The Sea Of Memories
4. Four Year Strong - In Some Way, Shape, or Form
5. I Am Abomination - Passion Of The Heist

--

Dan
Albums:
1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (Top Track: "Holocene")
Justin Vernon basically captured nature in a bottle here. Sonic perfection.

2. The Dangerous Summer - War Paint (Top Track: "Work In Progress")
If music could bleed with sincerity, this album would be bone-dry by the last track.

3. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones (Top Track: "Peggy Sang The Blues")
Singer, songwriter, poet, punk; Frank Turner is easily one of the best musical storytellers around today.

4. Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride (Top Track: "Screams in Caves")
This brash indie/punk/post-hardcore group from Rochester gets better with every album.

5. City & Colour - Little Hell (Top Track: "Little Hell")
Dallas Green continues to grow his sound and fanbase at an almost frightening pace.

6. Panic at the Disco - Vices and Virtues (Top Track: "Ready To Go")
Brendon Urie will always sound better doing pop-rock than aping classic rock.

7. Go Radio - Lucky Street (Top Track: "Any Other Heart")
The pop-punk world just wasn't the same without Jason Lancaster in it.

8. iSPYSTRANGERS - The Kind Of Dirty You Can't Wash Off (Top Track: "We're All Gonna Burn For This")
This little-known outfit from the UK knows how to do catchy pop-rock/post-hardcore just right.

9. Evaline - Woven Material (Top Track: "There There")
Five years between their debut EP and LP, but the wait definitely paid off.

10. The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum (Top Track: "This Body")
Quite a project to digest at 36 tracks, but so worth your time.

--

Colleen
Albums:
1. Adele - 21
2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
3. Lydia - Paint It Golden
4. Switchfoot - Vice Verses
5. Death Cab For Cutie - Codes & Keys
6. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8. Foster The People - Torches
9. Katy B - On A Mission
10. House of Heroes - Suburbia

--

Victor
Albums:
1. blink-182 - Neighborhoods
It was hard to pick between #1 and #2 but for nostalgia's sake I'm going with "Neighborhoods" as my #1. Whereas their last self-titled release kind of made it seem like they were fizzing out, Neighborhoods picks up right where "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" left off. The album is perfect, and as an added plus Travis TOTALLY KILLS IT.
2. August Burns Red - Leveler
3. Incubus - If Not Now, When?
4. Volumes - Via
5. Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

--

Mikey
Albums
1. Nero - Welcome Reality
Cannot praise this record enough. After releasing in August, this record spawned more great remixes than I can even count. Amazing listen from start to finish. Expect more from these legends in 2012, and catch them at the WAMU Theatre on New Years Eve!

2. Uppermost - Action
A little more than a year ago, I caught wind of a French producer calling himself Uppermost. Then, in July, after drooling over his singles, he gave us a chance to get our paws on a whole album. It was entirely worth the wait.

3. Feed Me - Feed Me's Big Adventure
Now, technically this came out with 6 days left in 2010. BUT, since I absolutely adore this record, I had to throw it on here as it got most of its play time in 2011. Absolutely massive synth lines and real musical talent make Feed Me one of the best producers in EDM.

4. Porter Robinson - Spitfire EP
The long await album debut of wunderkind Porter Robinson came out in September and showed us this kid is for real. After making a name for himself with his electro-house remixes, Porter brought it all to the table with a record that showcased nearly every genre in EDM. On top of that, he picked some amazing remixers to work on the record.

5. Wolfgang Gartner - Weekend In America EP
This album could have been my #1 or #2 pick, easily. Then Wolfgang decided he needed to collaborate with R&B;and hip-hop artists. Thus is the conflict in this record. All of his non-vocal mixes on this record are pure genius. For example, 'Space Junk' might have been one of my favorite tracks of 2011. On the contrary, his collab. with Omarion, titled 'Still My Baby' is almost unlistenable. Close, but no cigar Wolfgang.

6. Kaskade - Fire & Ice
I had really been looking forward to this release all year. Kaskade is still one of my favorite producers without question and I regularly look forward to his new tracks. However, this 2 CD set was hit or miss for me I'm afraid. The format is 2 CDs, both featuring the same track list, but mixed differently. Thus the title 'Fire & Ice'. Now, had Kaskade not included the second CD 'Ice', I have no doubt this album would feature in my top 3. Unfortunately, for whatever ungodly reason, he did... and that's why this album clocks in at #6.

7. Kill the Noise - Kill, Kill, Kill
After a year full of touring, remixing, and experimenting with sound, Kill the Noise released his first, full-length EP. I'm a huge fan, personally, of this guy's sound. He's not afraid to be a little bit out there, and he produces using one of the most difficult digital synths to reign in. Literally, I'm always seeing artists tweet about how impossible this plug-in is to use. Alas, not only did he figure it out, he smashed it.

8. Childish Gambino - Camp
Had to throw this record on here. Currently, Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover of 'Community,' is about the only mainstream hip hop I can listen to. He does it well, without being over produced. Plus the guy is just hilarious and he brings that to the table on this record.

9. Nadastrom - El Baile Diabluma EP
Somewhat of a smaller release, done through the Scion A/V project, this album marked the first full-length release for the godfathers of moombahton. If you know me, you know moombah is my absolute favorite genre right now. Gotta show these legends some love here. Great collection of tracks on this one. BY THE WAY, this record is a free release, follow the link.

10. KOAN Sound - Funk Blaster EP
A lot of people struggle to understand KOAN Sound's... er... sound. With no mind for tradition, the boys of KOAN Sound assembled a record that absolutely dashes traditional EDM tempos, song structure, and format. I think this record is truly going to be huge in influencing producers of every genre. These guys are entirely unafraid of shaking things up a bit & that earned them the final spot on my list.

--

Bateson
Albums:
1. Against Me! - White Crosses
I never got into this band until this record. Punk is alive and well.

2. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Dave Grohl proves he can still write great rock songs. I love the raw production.

3. Foster The People - Torches
This is the album MGMT wish they wrote as a follow-up to "Oracular Spectacular".

4. Into It. Over It. - Proper
2011 was a good year for rock music. Listen to this band NOW.

5. Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud
Seeing this band explode from teen centers to Lollapalooza has been incredible.

6. The Strokes - Angles
You had me at "The Strokes". Not their best, but an interesting listen.

7. Moving Mountains - Waves
I thought I was over this genre until I heard "Waves". With Thrice and Thursday calling it quits this year, it's now Moving Mountains's turn to carry the torch.

8. Places and Numbers - Travels
I love Bob Darling's song writing. These are electronic Gatsbys American Dream songs. Buy this record.

9. The Naked And Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You
Highly recommended on long drives. Everyone should have a band from New Zealand on their iPhones.

10. Saves The Day - Daybreak
One of the best concerts I saw this year was this band at El Corazon. Hearing the songs live made me enjoy this album much more.

Honorable Mention: blink-182 - Neighborhoods
Even if "Neighborhoods" isn't strong as their prior albums, I'll still be a blink-182 fan for life.

Favorite Local EPs:
The Scene Aesthetic - The Days Ahead
Alabaster - Unraveled
Mayweather - Self-Titled

Tracks:
1. Against Me! - Because of the Shame
2. Foster The People - Helena Beat
3. Alabaster - Overcome
4. Saves The Day - Daybreak
5. The Scene Aesthetic - A Little Bit More


What are some of your favorite songs and albums from 2011? Post your lists in the comments!