Woody Black's Top 10 Albums Of 2011

Due to 2011 being such a grand year for music, this is by far the hardest article I have to do. But I had to get it done for y'all, so here it is.



Like I said, it's been the hardest article because 2011 offered great music right to left for all genres. Plenty I've caught, plenty I've caught later, even plenty I've missed, I cannot say that 2011 offered only lackluster albums. What makes it so hard is the fact that there are even great albums I probably haven't heard yet and/or let it marinate fully to appreciate as I do the ten you see below. It's a mixture of a many genres, so please bear with me.


10. Drake – Take Care

Of many YMCMB offerings, Drake's Take Care went mano-a-mano with Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV for this list and Drake won. Overall the CD shows Drake offering the best of both worlds, pleasing his pop fans, as well as the hip-hop fans. Who else could disguise Gil Scott-Heron in a song that'll probably get great radio play because Rihanna's in it? I mean, sure, Drake got his sangin' Aubrey Sure! on throughout his record and some probably can't stand that. But overall, Drake took proper care on his record that contains a lot more pros than cons.

9. Yuck – Yuck

As soon as I discovered Yuck by accident (as their name reminds me of the infamous Mr. Yuk sticker, so I was curious to hear). And just as I was about to lose faith for rock sounding original again, here they come to offer their debut album which is out of this world and isn't like any average record of 2011. Yuck has their own style that shows nod to the Dinosaur Jr. or the punkish Sonic Youth-era music that has been missing for a while. Yuck may be the most ironic name, because your ears will enjoy their music...at least, mines did.



8. Kendrick Lamar – Section 80

Simply put, this album boosted Kendrick Lamar as some young nobody to best lyricists of 2011 in one swoop. Thanks to many tracks that you could either bump to, reflect to, shout to, ill out to, or just chill to on this album, Section 80 gave Lamar many well-deserved accolades from peers and emcees alike. Lamar may come straight outta Compton, but he's a Nigga with an Attitude of his own. Now that's HiiiPoWeR!


7. Wilco – The Whole Love

If you always dug Wilco, you'll dig this album. If you're like, "Wilco who?," listen to this album and you may agree with the first sentence. After four years of hiatus and label change (to their own label, mind you), The Whole Love gives you the uncompromising and uncut Wilco that people know and wholly love. Wilco serves as a great Chicago band that even the Windy City cannot blow them out of style.


6. Jill Scott - The Light of the Sun

Shout out to the Grammy Awards that somehow failed to have this album nominated for some reason. Why so? I don't know. I stopped caring long ago. But as for The Light of the Sun, Miss Jill Scott brought Philly soul music back to the forefront throughout this record. Her talents as a singer and songwriter (which the lyrics were actually improvised most of the time) were largely evident and the music were as melodious and funky as, well, her vocals. The Light of the Sun gave true light to the darkened industry.


5. The Black Keys – El Camino

Looking for rock and roll in 2011 that doesn't involve Pro Tools and fancy gimmicks? The Black Keys' El Camino is there for you. Overall, it reminds you of the 50s-70s rock in a majorly positive way. It's to the point where one wouldn't even pay attention to the time at all. Just the music that takes you back in time while remaining timeless.


4. The Weeknd – House of Balloons

This Weeknd kid came out of nowhere, didn't he? This crooner from Toronto brought a new style in R&B that's very fresh, innovative, and will no doubt be repeated by many duplicators. What makes his style so unique is not the fact that he's one the latest (along with Frank Ocean, etc.) to push the boundaries of R&B, but the fact that he used eclectic samples of the 80s' sounds of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Cocteau Twins to ironically make them the music of today. It won't be long before this kid become household status where everybody works for The Weeknd.


3. Common – The Dreamer/The Believer

The return of Common Sense! This record picks up where Resurrection left off, as Common united with his longtime producer No I.D. to create one of the hardest, lyrical, and inspiring record we have seen in a long time. Folks who were concerned that Common wouldn't follow-up well after the G.O.O.D. Music days were clearly mistaken. In fact, this record showed that Common had major room to breathe and knock out a great album in his catalog that'll be bumped for many years to come.



2. Adele - 21

Mr. Adele's Ex, how does it feel to be revered as the biggest douche in the world in one of the biggest albums of the year? I don't know how Ms. Adele managed to make an entire album about how much of prick you are listenable, but boy has she done it! I don't know anything about you from the gate, let alone your name, which I don't blame you for the anonymity. But you get a lot of credit for pushing Adele close to the edge to drop one of the very soulful, yet very well-received album that even Glee enjoys making fun of you.

?uestlove recently called this album the "white version of [Mary J. Blige's] My Life" and I don't know if you ever heard My Life, but I'm sure people are very interested in hearing yours. In news reports, reality shows, whatever. But know that it won't ever touch a candle to what impact 21 has made to the world. Now hopefully you wouldn't do anything that'll make her sing about burning your house down and slashing tires on her 23 album.


1. The Roots - undun

Eighteen years since their first album dropped and eleven albums deep (if you count the collaborative albums with John Legend and Betty Wright, that is), you can say I'm a little biased on The Roots because ain't na'an one of those albums are wack...none! But undun shows that the crew can even outdo themselves, which outdoing The Roots in any shape or form is an impossible feat in itself. A concept album focusing on the life of a fictional character named Redford Stephens (1974-1999), the albums serves as a audio movie that gets you into the mind of Stephens without feeling misled or the Roots lost focus on any song. undun isn't a regular Roots album, although it contains many Roots elements (band playin', Thought rappin') we know and love. However, this album showed the Roots challenging themselves into new heights on how to create an album and they've succeeded brilliantly. This album's been playing non-stop in my MP3/CD player since the day it dropped. The Roots may have come undun portraying the life of the late Redford Stephens, but the overall effect on this album is well dun.