Ah, 2011. Ten years ago. Gasoline cost an average of $ 3.52, a stamp cost only 44 cents (according to this promising fact sheet, which I wouldn’t dare question) and those automatic Charlie Sheen remixes you’ve since pushed to the deeper in your brain were all buzzing.
And like pretty much any other year, the music of 2011 was absolutely spectacular. Kanye and Jay taught us – cross it, ingrained in us – about what a good collaboration album is capable of doing both commercially and critically. People talking about it again. Drake being sad, let the rest of us be sad, and there is nothing sad about that. Damn, even a few mysterious men changed their names, released music however they liked, and made us wonder if they were a band or a guy from Toronto, or made our parents wonder if they were. they had a connection with Billy Ocean. No dad, please stop asking me.
Even projects that haven’t impressed critics have made an impact on the future of music by opening the door for independent artists to consider surpassing the Billboard 200, or by proving that you can build a fan base on the internet. . What ties all of these records together, besides the fact that they all came out in the same year, of course, is the impact they had on the artists who released them and on future generations of creators and fans. .
To celebrate this music, which turns 10 this year, we took a trip down memory lane with contributions from some of our favorite artists. These 12 albums are by no means the best released in 2011, but together they paint a picture of the decade to come.
