Best Rock Album in 2011


This was my favorite thread from last year, so figured I would start it afresh.

I'll start:

Foo Fighters "Wasting Light"---best album by the Foos in years

TV on the Radio "Nine Types of Light"---bit more ambient than Dear Science, but the music is first rate
keithr
I think it's interesting to note that the recording quality of "Low Country Blues" had to have been a conscious decision on Gregg Allman's part. Therefore making a purposeful AUDIO decision about his work. I think it a mistake to think the record was simply recorded poorly, this is the way he wanted it to sound! Records don't ALL have to have 'sparkling' audio fill-the-blank quality. Some of the finest music can be heard on lousy-sounding recordings. (and I'm sure y'all know this;)

That said, I'd give Allman's record a 3 outta 5!
audiofeil
thanks. if it sounds like that on vinyl it is probably worse on cd. I noticed when i sampled it on itunes that it was at a lower level than normal.
I have "Low Country Blues" on vinyl.

The recording quality is fair to poor.

Sounds as if it was recorded in a closet. Very muffled and lacking dynamics.
Anyone have Gregg Allman "Low Country Blues"?
I am curious about the recording quality.
many of the above do not RAWK

how about - Black Keys "El Camino" or Smith Westerns "The Weekend"

Destroyer "Kaputt" and the Girls album are really good, but I would not call them rocking. As for Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, these do NOT rock (although are both worth a listen)

By the way, the new Wilco album, while good, does not compare to their heyday of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and "Summerteeth," both exceptional and worth a purchase
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Outstanding album and my pick for album of the year for rock.
Haven't heard the new Bon Iver, it's on my list, but Wilco's The Whole Love is just a fabulous album. It didn't do much for me right away, but after a few listens, I was convinced. I actually liked the last couple of albums, but this one is miles better.

I still think that Let England Shake is a great album. It's coming out on top of a bunch of year-end lists; it would get my vote for "least overrated" album of the year. My vote for most underrated is The Strokes, Angles. It seems like it was a disappointment for a lot of people, but I think it's got a great '70s feel.
For you fans of Mastodon and heavier music, check out The Atlas Moth's album. From the Pitchfork best metal of 2011 list:

"On their sophomore LP, the psychedelic, progressive Chicago quintet uses multiple vocalists, three guitarists, bass, and drums to create a kaleidoscopic rush of colorful sludge, post-rock, doom, lighter-lifter metal, and clear-headed pop. This band makes catchy, ambitious music, and they did a better job at being Mastodon this year than Mastodon themselves"
2006! Wow, I was just at Grand Master seeing Joe's set up the other day wasn't I?
Brad
10,000 Days is a masterpiece, not only musically, but lyrically. If you follow the content through the Tool / APC catalog, 10,000 Days provides an amazing conclusion / resolution to a story that, for me, has been ongoing for 14 years. I wept upon first listen.

Unfortunately, that album was released in 2006.
I have always enjoyed Tool and A Perfect Circle - I think Aenima is my personal favorite; I have the original LP and it sounds tremendous for a modern rock recording.

Latest items of interest:

Megafaun - S/T
Siskiyou - Keep Away The Dead

I keep coming back to:

Destroyer - Kaputt
Okervill River - I am Very Far
Trans....love that album but I am a big Tool/APC/Puscifer fan. I think many do not think it is a stellar effort from those guys but personally, Wings For Marie 1 + 2 are up there with my favorite Tool songs. You reference the recording which I find outstanding. In the 2 aforementioned songs, the imaging is creepy, especially the thunderclaps which come from all over and build to engulfing thunder from behind/sides. Really cool effects but even the core music is super well recorded. DC's drums have a physical snap that resonates better than most rock albums.

I like th new Puscifer, Conditions Of My Parole (great title too!). On the mellower side and could easily be APC record. Good stuff.
What do you guys think of TOOL 10,000 Days? Recorded by Joe Baressi, maybe one of the best LA Engineers at guitar tone. The first cut off the record is amazing rock guitar. Adam Jones is a very talented (and nice guy).
Dgarretson...that Will Oldham album is a great one. Highly under appreciated artist IMO.

I'm not much of a Wilco fan but the first and last songs on The Whole Love are amazing. I could take or leave the rest but those certainly make it worth owning for me, especially the 24/96 version.

Don't care much for the Foo Fighters Wasting Light. I do really like the covers record they released this year. I'd much rather listen to their Have A Cigar than the original I've heard a zillion times over. Also like the Gary Numan cover a lot. Cool album.
Foo Fighters is very interesting and cool sounding rock record, done on tape like rock records from years ago. Butch Vig produced it -a great guy who is also the drummer from Garbage-also had an all analog studio in Madison Wisconsin for along time. Did you guys get a copy of Wasting Light with a little piece of tape in it? It was actually the real tape used for the record.

Bob Ludwig, one of the best mastering guys around, told me quite recently I should get the new Wilco record if I liked great sound. Haven't bought it yet but plan to!

Brad

Brad

Agree that it takes a few spins for The Whole Love to take hold, but well worth it. Wilco is rolling in clover and not as far from Uncle Tupelo roots as on prior efforts.

Though not rock, Bonnie Prince Billy's "wolfroy goes to town" is a stand-out, and what a lyricist: "I'm no match for those who love god, and they're no match for me."
The Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light" is a must-have rock album (especially on vinyl - 2 LP 45 RPM set + free digital download). Let me emphasize - this is a ROCK album. While My Morning Jacket's "Circuital" *is* outstanding, and Wilco's latest is growing on me (coming from long time Wilco / Son Volt / Uncle Tupelo fan), neither of these releases are "rock" like Wasting Light.
New Wilco in 24/96 is pretty great, so is the new Coldplay, and although not New the 40th anniversary Aqualung ought to be sweet.
..and a pretty good week closer to the middle of the fairway, too. I just picked up new material from Foo Fighters and Wilco on the recommendation of those above. I blow hot and cold on both bands, but these are two excellent records. I also got Matthew Sweet's and Daryl Hall's fine new records, this week. Both can be recommended, although the Sweet CD is a mess, sonically.

Several of my favorites from earlier this year are Lindsey Buckingham's "Seeds We Sow", the new Jayhawks CD, the Feelies "Gone, Again", and Kid Creole's "I Wake Up Screaming".

2011 has been a rockin' good year (so far).

Marty
This has been a great week for eccentrics, all on vinyl:

Tom Waits- Bad as Me
Magnetic Fields- Holiday
Ted Leo- Live in Nashville
Not really new, but the V-Roys just released a compilation CD from their 2 studio albums plus some previously unreleased tracks. For those that missed these guys the first time around, I highly recommend this.
Richard_stacy - lovely narrative concept album. It's been getting a lot of attention as of late during many late night sessions here in PDX...
>when your wife keeps telling me to turn it down.

You messing with my wife again? Why I oughtta....
Notec...thanks for the Richmond Fontaine post. Longtime fan and was not aware of the new album. Another to add on my list!
I got the Bon Iver on a whim while at the store based on a review I had read and remembered. It must be an acquired taste, or there is something wrong with my copy.
2011 has been a steller year for rock music!!

It's not over yet - here's what I've got so far:

1. JIM WARD - Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores, The End Begins (CD)
2. WILCO - The Whole Love (LP)
3. MY MORNING JACKET - Circuital (LP)
4. BUFFALO TOM - Skins (LP)
5. RICHARD BUCKNER - Our Blood (LP)
6. J. MASCIS - Several Shades Of Why (LP)
6. RICHMOND FONTAINE - The High Country (CD)
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I'm a huge fan of Wilco and Bon Iver but the new FOO is almost a perfect rock album. Sounds great coming through my Creek and out my EPOS speakers. It's always a good sign of a great album when your wife keeps telling me to turn it down.
Ditto Wilco's The Whole Love, excellent on LP and CD. It's probably their best album, and certainly surpasses the last one.

Also enjoying vinyl of Ry Cooder's Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down-- anti-banker depression ballads for the 2010s.
Time for an update:

I really, really like the new Wilco. That and Bon Iver (hard to say it's rock) are my favs this year.
I agree with Audofeil that Simon's album not be missed and it sounds great on vinyl. I would instead classify the music as pop.
"So Beautiful Or So What".

If you're a Paul Simon fan, don't miss this album (includes free hi-res download).

One of the best songwriters of our time and his strongest effort since "Graceland" IMO.

However, it's a stretch calling this a rock album.

YMMV
Man In Motion arrived. I've only been able to get to the DVD, but really good stuff.

I'll never forget a Gov't Mule concert I attend on Halloween a few years back. The first set was all of their stuff as expected. The second set, they came out and played the entire Dark Side of the Moon. Really caught everyone pleasantly off guard. YOu can imagine the Halloween spirit was running pretty high that night. Warren is one of the true performers.
Earlier this week new releases by Robbie Robertson and Booker T. Jones arrived.

Both, IMO, are not particularly noteworthy.
Hmmm....Coldplay? I don't hear that in Bon Iver but I guess I see where you could. Not a big fan of Coldplay's music myself. Like the song goes "...some like KK Downing, some like Glenn Tipton...".