Top 10 Albums of 2011: Melissa Fossum

St. Vincent

Maybe I'm too indecisive for my own good, but year-end lists are always a challenge. Most Up on the Sun writers posted their lists over a week ago, and I'm just now getting around to finishing mine.

My top five was easy to pick, but narrowing 40-or-so albums down to a top 10 was difficult. A lot of artists I like released new material this year; I enjoyed the new Wilco and Blink-182 albums, but didn't think they were top 10 worthy.

There were plenty of great records I left out, too. So here's a quick set of honorable mentions: Cults, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Danger Mouse And Daniele Luppi's Rome, Feist, and Givers.

10. Destroyer, Kaputt

Dan Bejar brings us another strange, yet beautiful album that combines slow jams, 80's synths, and sax.

9. Frank Turner, England Keep My Bones

From the first lines of "Eulogy": "Not everyone can be Freddie Mercury, but everyone can raise a glass and sing," it's clear that England Keep My Bones is full of anthemic songs. Turner proved this by encouraging every single person in the Rhythm Room to sing along to his set a few months ago.

8. Girls, Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls sound retro without ripping anybody off. Elements of Elvis Costello and The Beach Boys can be heard, but only as trace elements in songs like the guitar-heavy "Vomit."

7. Adele, 21

Yes, both "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" have been over-killed, but that doesn't change the fact that Adele has a fantastic voice and the songwriting to back it up. It's nice to see a female musician reach mainstream success without relying on Autotune or sex appeal.

Adele said it best herself in a Rolling Stone interview: "I love seeing Lady Gaga's boobs and bum. I love seeing Katy Perry's boobs and bum. Love it. But that's not what my music is about. I don't make music for eyes. I make music for ears."

6. Foster The People, Torches

I guess I'm just a sucker for a catchy tune, because Torches is 34 minutes of pure ear candy. Say what you will about the band, but this album reminds me of MGMT's Oracular Spectacular without all the drugs, making it a solid release full of fun indie pop.