Best of 2011: Albums, Songs and Live Acts.

This is a new start of the decade for Rock Music and it could not have been any better.  Last year was grim seeing how many excellent albums failed to chart and come into the limelight (My list for 2010’s album and songs of the year respectively: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-10-albums-of-2010.html and http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-25-songs-of-2010.html) but this year saw the release of many commercially and critically successful albums with Foo Fighters, Radiohead and Coldplay emerging as clear winners. Not only this, all the major live acts successfully entertained the audiences all year long.

Top 10 Albums of 2011

It is tough to choose among so many anticipated releases and the fact that most of them lived up to their expectations makes it even more difficult.
Somehow managing to come up with Top albums we have the following:

#1 Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (Review: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2011/05/wasting-light-by-foo-fighters.html)

#2 Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

#3 Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto (Review: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2011/10/mylo-xyloto-by-coldplay.html)

#4 Radiohead - The King of Limbs (Review: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2011/02/king-of-limbs-by-radiohead.html)

#5 Wilco - The Whole Love

#6 Bon Iver  - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

#7 Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

#8 Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

#9 Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials

#10 PJ Harvey  - Let England Shake

Top 15 Songs of 2011

This category stems from the fact that even few disappointing albums (read “I’m With You by Red Hot Chili Peppers” Review: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2011/09/im-with-you-by-red-hot-chili-peppers.html) had songs which were memorable and following is the list for it:

#1 Walk – Foo Fighters

#2 Us Against The World – Coldplay

#3 Think You Can Wait - The National

#4 Codex - Radiohead

#5 Piledriver Waltz - Alex Turner

#6 Under Cover of Darkness – The Strokes

#7 St. Peter's Cathedral - Death Cab For Cutie

#8 Love is a Laserquest – Arctic Monkeys (Album Review: http://www.the-secret-chords.blogspot.com/2011/05/suck-it-and-see-by-arctic-monkeys.html)

#9 Discoverer - R.E.M.

#10 Holecene - Bon Iver

#11 Jump Into The Fog - The Wombats

#12 Stop The Clocks - Noel Gallagher

#13 Vaccines - Blow It Up

#14 This is Why We Fight - The Decemberists

#15 Brendan's Death Song – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Top Live Acts of 2011

Huge festivals with the likes of Glastonbury, T in The Park, Lollapalooza made this an eventful year with headliners creating immense impact along with other Rock acts who made their presence equally felt. Following comprises the best among them:

#1 Coldplay

#2 Arcade Fire

#3 U2

#4 Foo Fighters

#5 My Morning Jacket

#6 The Flaming Lips

#7 Beirut

#8 LCD Soundsystem

#9 The Kills

#10 Portishead

Post in your Top Album, Songs and Live Acts in the “Comments” section.