PMA’s 40 Best Albums of 2011

BEST ALBUMS 2011
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This time of year is perfect to catch up and reflect on the music that has released throughout the past 11 and a half months. We started our annual year-end summary of favorites earlier this month with our 100 favorite songs of 2011. We took a look at our favorite long-form releases with our 5 Favorite Mixtapes and 5 Favorite EPs of 2011 lists, and then our 30 Honorable Mentions of the Year. We wrap up our year-end retrospective with our 40 favorite albums of 2011. After this, we can officially look to 2012 – and we’re already excited about several of the albums lined up. *Note: Links lead to Spotify streams.

See also:
Our 30 Honorable Mentions
Our Favorite Mixtapes & EPs of 2011

BEST ALBUMS of 2011

WILD BEASTS SMOTHER 1024x1024 PMAs 40 Best Albums of 2011
40 Wild BeastsSmother

Wild Beasts – “Loop the Loop”

39 Smith WesternsDye it Blonde
38 AustraFeel It Break
37 The HorrorsSkying

The Horrors – “Still Life”

36 Nicolas JaarSpace is Only Noise
35 IceageNew Brigade
34 Beyoncé4

Beyoncé – “Countdown”

33 FeistMetals
32 The Roots undun
31 EMAPast Life Martyred Saints
WAR ON DRUGS SLAVE AMBIENT 1024x1024 PMAs 40 Best Albums of 2011
30 The War on DrugsSlave Ambient
29 Twin SisterIn Heaven

Twin Sister – “Kimmi In A Rice Field”

28 Active Child You Are All I See
27 Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xxWe’re New Here
26 WilcoThe Whole Love

Wilco – “Art of Almost”

25 Black LipsArabia Mountain
24 Atlas SoundParallax
23 Zola JesusConatus

Zola Jesus – “Vessel”

22 KorallrevenAn Album By Korallreven
21 DestroyerKaputt

Read on for our Top 20…

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