These are my ten favorite albums released in 2011. This list does not claim to represent this year’s “best” music, to the extent that that can even be discerned; rather, it is simply what I found myself returning to again and again.

I planned to keep it to ten, but because this is my blog and I can do whatever I like, I’m starting with a list of some albums that didn’t quite make the cut but are awesome nevertheless. In no particular order:

• King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine
• Blue Sky Black Death – Noir
• St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
• Lisa Hannigan – Passenger
• The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
• Feist – Metals
• Other Lives – Tamer Animals
• Wilco – The Whole Love
• Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Now on to the top ten:

10. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

As I’ve discussed previously, this album is unlike anything Sam Beam has done in the past. I love his earlier stuff – Our Endless Numbered Days was magnificent – but this album really resonated with me, despite its differences from Beam’s past work. The opener is an epic. The album as a whole is a fusion of traditions, mixing Americana and blues with styles reminiscent of 70s pop.

9. The Antlers – Burst Apart

I almost missed this one; I played it a few times earlier in the year and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until I really gave it my full attention that I realized what the Antlers had accomplished. Lofty indie rock that positively glistens as it leaves your speakers.

8. The Head & The Heart – The Head & The Heart

Through fantastic harmonies and earnest, endearing songwriting, this Seattle band has risen very quickly from the pub scene to festival stages across the country. Their songs are folk pop at its best, sometimes stuttering from one melody to the next but always maintaining that same great feel.

7. Wye Oak – Civilian

Wye Oak is a duo from Baltimore composed of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. To appreciate their music you must first understand that the drums and keyboard parts are played by one person. Simultaneously. Stack drums with one hand (and both feet) and plays keys with the other. Knowing that, if you have a chance to see them live, do so. It’s quite awesome to watch. Moving on to the actual music, since first hearing this record I’ve felt that if everything were stripped away and Wasner given an acoustic guitar she would do very well as a folk singer. Despite the fact that she chose to rock instead, there is clearly a folk influence here among the touches of noise rock, which perhaps explains why I like this album so much.

6. Radical Face – The Family Tree: The Roots

A masterfully wrought, inviting folk album that is heavy on strings and pairs hints of Conor Oberst’s voice with Sufjan caliber songwriting (listen to the lyrics of “Family Portrait”). Though I can’t pinpoint exactly what defines some records as such, this is a perfect example of a “winter album” to me.

5. Typhoon – A New Kind of House

This record made it to number five on my list despite being just a 5-song EP, an impressive feat that speaks to just how much I completely love these songs. There are at least 11 people in this band, but their songs are so tight, so meticulously constructed and controlled. And by controlled I don’t mean restrained; their capacity for build is what makes this record such a great listen.

4. The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

It was around this time last year that I heard John Paul White and Joy Williams for the first time. “Barton Hollow” is a folk rock masterpiece – it was quite a while before I took that song off repeat – and the rest of the album is painfully beautiful. When these two sing they are in sync like no other duo I’ve heard. The awards they have earned are so well-deserved, and the fact that they have achieved such success entirely independent of a major label is a testament to the new structure of the music industry.

3. Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is An Animal

I’m sort of cheating by putting this record on my list because it has actually only been released in the band’s native Iceland and not in the U.S. yet. I don’t care. It’s too good. Anthemic and terribly infectious, My Head Is An Animal may be my favorite example – among many, many examples – of Arcade Fire’s influence on indie rock. These songs perfectly combine folk rock with indie and continue today’s trend of male and female vocalists. Of Monsters and Men kick off their first U.S. tour at SXSW in March, and I will be doing whatever I possibly can to be at that show.

2. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

The Decemberists are one of my favorite bands of all time, and one need not look further than this record to know why. I think it may even have surpassed The Crane Wife as my favorite album of theirs. That is a big deal. As superb as Crane Wife is, this album’s perfect synthesis of rock, folk, and Americana was too much for it. It is not groundbreaking, drawing comparisons to early R.E.M. (Peter Buck plays on three of the tracks) and The Smiths, along with countless Americana artists, but that’s ok with me. I like that the Decemberists have taken these influences and produced something of their own. Side note: the follow-up EP, Long Live the King, is also not to be missed.

1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Expectations for this record were higher than Vernon’s falsetto. And he delivered. From the very first note, it’s different; the bare, tender acoustic work that defined his initial success is replaced by electric guitar riffs of pure velvet and, soon thereafter, a full band. It’s not until later in “Perth,” when those machine gun drum beats start firing, that the listener learns the extent to which this one is not For Emma, both in style and in purpose. This one’s for Bon Iver. One constant across the two is, of course, Vernon’s voice, at times disparate and then blending in with the gorgeous instrumentation. Play “Calgary” and listen for the lyrics, with Vernon’s voice clear, passionate, and meaningful; or allow the vocals to submerge into the song like one staring at something out of focus, and the song takes on a stunning new form. To me, the essence of Bon Iver, Bon Iver is akin to a painting from an artist with a true mastery of color. Look closely and, though they are beautiful, it’s hard to see how the colors fit into the larger context. Step back and they meld together into something much greater.