Best of 2011

As a general rule, I hate those "Best Of" lists that pop up everywhere at the end of every year.  The reason for my distaste is that the vast majority of those lists only contain critic-friendly crap.   You know: Coldplay, Feist, Adele, Katy Perry, Radiohead...junk that for some reason the people who are supposed to "know" about this stuff always love but I always really, really don't love.  Because the things I want to listen to are inexplicably absent from the majority of the lists out there, I'm making my own damn list.  Screw the in-the-know critics/journalists, they don't know shit about what I like.  So here is possibly the only music fan oriented "best of" list that you're likely to find out here.

Here are my top 20 music items that I acquired in 2011 (it's my list so the only criteria is that I love it and came to own it this year):
20. "Sour Cherry" - The Kills (from Midnight Boom)
19.  "Liquor Store Blues" - Bruno Mars (from Doo-Wops & Hooligans)
18. Wasting Light - Foo Fighters - vinyl and digital
17. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes - vinyl and digital
16. "Get Out" - White Arrows
15. "U.R.A. Fever" - The Kills (from Midnight Boom)
14. "I Want to Forget" - Psychic Twin
13. "Lost and Found" - The Kill Van Kulls
12.  "Today" - Smashing Pumpkins (from Siamese Dream)
11. "She Talks to Angels' (acoustic) - The Black Crowes (from Shake Your Money Maker)
10. Some Mad Hope - Matt Nathanson
9. "The Boxer" - Simon & Garfunkel - (from The Best of Simon & Garfunkel)
8. Heart on Fire EP - Scars on 45
7. Airports EP - The PKO
6. Coast to Coast - Micah
5. Black Sheep, Run - Ryan Schmidt
4. "Disarm" - Smashing Pumpkins (from Siamese Dream)
3. At The Point - Matt Nathanson
2. Beneath These Fireworks - Matt Nathanson
1. Modern Love - Matt Nathanson - vinyl and digital

Just the last few months of 2011 have been a chain reaction of amazing music and people for me.  Technically, I have Train and Maroon 5 to thank for starting it all because they had Matt Nathanson on tour with them, which is how I discovered him back in July.  That discovery led me to Scars on 45 and Aaron Tap who led to Paula Kelley who recommended Ryan Schmidt.  Then by a complete fluke (because they all follow/are followed by a lot of other musicians), I found Micah through Ryan's twitter account and was inclined to follow him based on a single hilarious hashtag.  I gave him a listen with little hope (because I have sampled so many of them and not been inspired) but ended up loving what I heard.  So, as apparently awesome begets awesome, I have high hopes for 2012.