NPR Music announces 50 favorite albums of 2011

NPR Music announces “The Year In Music” in a month-long look back at the music and stories that shaped 2011. The end-of-year coverage begins today with the list of NPR Music’s “50 Favorite Albums of 2011” and the opening of voting for the annual listeners' list. These features and all of NPR Music's coverage of the year in music can be found at npr.org/music



Chosen by NPR Music critics, staff and public radio DJs, the selections for the “50 Favorite Albums of 2011” (full list below) feature artists as diverse as pop singer Adele, the Mexican garage-punk band Davila 666, country musician Eric Chruch, opera tenor Joseph Calleja, rap group Shabazz Palaces and indie-rock singer St. Vincent. The list represents the artists and albums the NPR Music team enjoyed the most in 2011 – the ones that inspired, surprised and stayed with them more than any others. See the complete list, read reviews and hear music from each album now at
www.npr.org/series/142852713/50-favorite-albums-of-2011-from-npr-music



Also today, All Songs Considered once again gets listeners into the act with its sixth annual poll asking audiences to select their favorite records of 2011. Voting is open now until December 13 at the All Songs Considered blog:
www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/12/01/143032077/vote-for-the-best-music-of-2011



“The Year In Music” continues all month, with staff lists from NPR Music critic Ann Powers, All Songs Considered, NPR Classical, NPR Jazz, Alt.Latino and more. Top public radio DJs from NPR member stations across the country will also weigh in on the year, with lists exploring the best new artists and trends.



NPR Music celebrates great music in every genre, and is an industry leader in music discovery. The Emmy Award-winning website at www.npr.org/music offers new features daily and an extensive archive, in collaboration with NPR's newsmagazines, 12 public radio member stations and the passionate NPR community. NPR Music creates and distributes inventive music coverage across multiple platforms – from web, to radio, to podcast, to mobile, to social media, to live events – with first listens to new albums, live performances, concerts at the Tiny Desk, interviews, reviews and blogs.

NPR Music’s “50 Favorite Albums of 2011”

Adele: 21

Alexandre Tharaud Scarlatti: Sonatas

Antlers: Burst Apart

Ashton Shepherd: Where Country Grows

Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal: Chamber Music

Beirut: The Rip Tide

Beyonce: 4

Bombino: Agadez

Bon Iver: Bon Ivre

Book Of Mormon: Original Cast Recording

Bright Eyes: The People's Key

Brooklyn Rider: Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass

Captain Black Big Band: Captain Black Big Band

Civil Wars: Barton Hallow

Colin Stetson: New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges

Cormorant: Dwellings

Crash Ensemble: Gra Agus Bas

Davila 666: Tan Bajo

Demdike Stare: Tryptych

Ebene Quartet: Fiction

Eric Church: Chief

Frank Ocean: Nostalgia, ULTRA

F---- Up: David Comes To Life

Girl In A Coma: Exits And All The Rest

Glenn Jones: The Wanting

Gretchen Parlato: The Lost And Found

James Blake: James Blake

Jay-Z & Kanye West: Watch The Throne

Joseph Calleja: The Maltese Tenor

Julianna Barwick: The Magic Place

June Tabor: Ashore

Kendrick Lamar: Section.80

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins: Diamond Mine

La Vida Boheme: Nuestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Vladimir Jurowski): Mahler: Symphony No. 2 – Resurrection

Los Rakas: Chancletas Y Camisetas Bordada

Miguel Zenon: Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook

PJ Harvey: Let England Shake

Radiohead: The King Of Limbs

Roots: undun

Shabazz Palaces: Black Up

Sonny Rollins Road: Shows Vol. 2

St. Vincent: Strange Mercy

STS: The Illustrious

Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972

Tom Waits: Bad As Me

Tommy Guerrero: Lifeboats & Follies

tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l

Wilco: The Whole Love

Wye Oak: Civilian