Last year, our Twangville authors combined forces to dub Justin Townes Earle‘s Harlem River Blues as Best Album of 2010. This year official Twangille Best Album of 2011 honors go to Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit‘s Here We Rest. Let me tell you this is no small feat as we’re a picky bunch. Our Top 90 Albums of 2011 are listed below and represent individual picks from the Twangville Posse: Tom, Mayer, Todd, Chip, Kelly, Eli, Shawn, and Jeff. Congratulations to all who made the list.
- 1. JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Here We Rest (150)
- 2. THE DECEMBERISTS, The King is Dead (126)
- 3. GILLIAN WELCH, The Harrow & The Harvest (113)
- 4. WILCO, The Whole Love (106)
- 5. MY MORNING JACKET, Circuital (88)
- 6. BUTCH WALKER & THE BLACK WIDOWS, The Space (78)
- 7. KASEY ANDERSON, Heart of a Dog (70)
- 8. GLOSSARY, Long Live All Of Us (67)
- 9. HAYES CARLL, KMAG YOYO (62)
- 10. IRON & WINE, Kiss Each Other Clean (61)
- 11. FRANK TURNER, England Keep My Bones (58)
- 12. LUCINDA WILLIAMS, Blessed (48)
- 13. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, Go-Go Boots (46)
- 14. MILK DRIVE, Road From Home (41)
- 15. RYAN ADAMS, Ashes & Fire (40)
- 16 .THE JAYHAWKS, Mockingbird Time (39)
- 17. BARNSTAR!, C’Mon! (37)
- 17. FLEET FOXES, Helplessness Blues (37)
- 19. SOCIAL DISTORTION, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (33)
- 19. THE DAMNWELLS, No One Listens To The Band Anymore (33)
- 19. THE LOW ANTHEM, Smart Flesh (33)
- 22. AMERICAN GUN, Therapy (29)
- 23. ADELE, 21 (27)
- 24. DAVE ALVIN – Eleven Eleven (26)
- 25. R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now (25)
- 26. LYDIA LOVELESS, Indestructible Machine (24)
- 26. OLD CALIFORNIO – Sundrunk Angels (24)
- 28. MAXIM LUDWIG & THE SANTA FE SEVEN, This Round Is On Me (23)
- 28. MOUNT MORIAH, Mount Moriah (23)
- 28. SUZANNA CHOFFEL, Steady Eye Shaky Bow (23)
- 31. MIDDLE BROTHER, Middle Brother (22)
- 31. STEVE EARLE, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (22)
- 31. WILL HOGE, Number Seven (22)
- 34. ALISON & UNION STATION, Paper Airplane (21)
- 34. DAVID WAX MUSEUM, Everything Is Saved (21)
- 34. SONS OF FATHERS, Sons Of Fathers (21)
- 37. JEN BUXTON, Don’t Change Your Plans (20)
- 37. THE DUKE AND THE KING, The Duke and the King (20)
- 37. THE FELICE BROTHERS, Celebration, Florida (20)
- 40. AMOS LEE, Mission Bell (19)
- 40. BRETT DENNEN, Loverboy (19)
- 40. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, Ceremonials (19)
- 40. THE BOTTLE ROCKETS, Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening (19)
- 40. THE HEAD & THE HEART, The Head & The Heart (19)
- 45. FOLK FAMILY REVIVAL, Unfolding (18)
- 45. NATHAN HAMILTON, Beauty, Wit and Speed (18)
- 45. THE BARR BROTHERS, The Barr Brothers (18)
- 45. ZOE MUTH & THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS, Starlite Hotel (18)
- 49. BEN SOLLEE, Inclusions (17)
- 50. DEER TICK, Divine Providence (16)
- 50. OLD 97S, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 (16)
- 50. SARAH JAROSZ, Follow Me Down (16)
- 53. JAMES MADDOCK, Wake Up And Dream (15)
- 53. JO WYMER, Living With Scars (15)
- 53. JOHN HIATT, Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns (15)
- 53. RECKLESS KELLY, Good Luck & True Love (15)
- 53. THE BAND OF HEATHENS, Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster’s Son (15)
- 53. THE BLACK LILLIES, 100 Miles of Wreckage (15)
- 59. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ AND BEN KYLE, We Still Love Our Country (14)
- 59. MARC BROUSSARD, Marc Broussard (14)
- 59. ROBERT EARL KEEN, Ready For Confetti (14)
- 59. ROBERT ELLIS, Photographs (14)
- 63. BUFFALO TOM, Skins (13)
- 63. SINFUL SAVAGE TIGERS, The Last Night Of the Revels (13)
- 65. BLIND PILOT, We are the Tide (12)
- 65. DAWES, Nothing Is Wrong (12)
- 65. GREAT AMERICAN TAXI, Paradise Lost (12)
- 65. PORTUGAL. THE MAN, In the Mountain In the Cloud (12)
- 69. TEDDY THOMPSON, Bella (11)
- 69. YUCK, Yuck (11)
- 71. BEIRUT, The Rip Tide (10)
- 71. MA, MEYER, THILE, DUNCAN, The Goat Rodeo Sessions (10)
- 73. MATTHEW RYAN, I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall (9)
- 74. CAGE THE ELEPHANT, Thank You Happy Birthday (8)
- 74. CARY ANN HEARST, Lions and Lambs (8)
- 74. THE GOURDS, Old Mad Joy (8)
- 77. OKKERVIL RIVER, I am very Far (7)
- 77. TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, Revelator (7)
- 79. THE GREENCARDS, The Brick Album (6)
- 79. THE WAILIN’ JENNYS, Bright Morning Stars (6)
- 80. RICHARD BUCKNER, Our Blood (5)
- 80. TELEKINESIS, 12 Desperate Straight Lines (5)
- 80. THE BITERS, All Chewed Up (5)
- 80. THE NEW FAMILIARS, Between the Moon and Morning Light (5)
- 84. MIKE ERRICO, All In (4)
- 84. TOMMY KEENE, Behind the Parade (4)
- 86. MARK W. LENNON, Home of the Wheel (3)
- 87. ABIGAIL WASHBURN, City of Refuge (2)
- 87. MATT THE ELECTRICIAN, Accidental Thief (2)
- 87. MICHAEL DONNER AND THE SOUTHERN RENAISSANCE, No Better Time (2)
- 90. CAITLIN ROSE, Own Side Now (1)
About the author: Washington, D.C. area creative by day. Music is my muse. I host Twangville’s weekly Readers‘ Pick.