Good music was plentiful in 2011. Going back and listening to a bunch lately, here’s a list of some highlights from the past year.

*****

Albums:

11. Kouyaté & Neerman - Skyscrapers & Dieties (No Format)

Tracks: “Kalo Dié”, “Requiem Pour Un Con”, “Phalénes”

10. The Greg Foat Group - Dark Is The Sun (Jazzman)

Tracks: “Hello Old Friend”, “Dark Is The Sun (Harpsichord Waltz)”, “Bright Is The Sun”

9. The Stepkids - The Stepkids (Stones Throw)

Tracks: “Suburban Dream”, “Shadows On Behalf”, “Legend In My Own Mind” 

8. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX - We’re New Here (XL Recordings)

Tracks: “I’ll Take Care Of U”, “NY Is Killing Me”, “Running”, “Ur Soul And Mine”

7. Metronomy - The English Riviera (Big Beat)

Tracks: “Everything Goes My Way”, “Corinne”, “The Look”, “She Wants”

6. AM & Shawn Lee - Celestial Electric (ESL Music)

Tracks: “City Boy”, “Jackie Blue”, “Winter Sun”, “Somebody Like You”

5. Teebs - Collections 01 (Brainfeeder)

Tracks: “Cook, Clean, Pay The Rent”, “Just The Yellow Bits”, “While You Dooooo”

4. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise (Circus Company)

Tracks: “Too Many Kids Finding Rain In the Dust”, “Problems With the Sun”

3. Feist - Metals (Polydor) 

Tracks: “Caught A Long Wind”, “Graveyard”, “Get It Wrong, Get It Right”

2. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)

Tracks: “Endeavors for Never (the Last Time We Spoke You Were Not Here I Saw You Though)”, ”Free Press and Curl”, “An Echo from the Hosts that Profess Infinitum”

1. SBTRKT - SBTRKT (Young Turks)

Tracks: “Sanctuary”, “Pharoahs”, “Right Thing To Do”, “Ready Set Loop”

*****

Reissues, compilations, mixes:

11. Groove Merchant Turns 20 (Luv N’ Haight)

10. Delta Swamp Rock - Sounds From The South: At the Crossroads of Rock, Country, and Soul (Soul Jazz)

9. Motor City Drum Ensemble (DJ-Kicks)

8. Ebo Taylor - Life Stories (Strut)

7. Sofrito - Tropical Discotheque (Strut)

6. Local Customs: Pressed at Boddie (Numero Group)

5. Gilles Peterson - Masterpiece (Ministry of Sound)

4. Raphael - Stop, Look, Listen (Heavenly Sweetness)

3. Theo Parrish - Uget (Ugly Edits)

2. Invasion of the Mysteron Killer Sounds in 3D (Soul Jazz)

1. The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions Box Set (Capitol)

*****

Other memorable album cuts, singles, remixes, etc: 

• Floating Points “Myrtle Ave”
• Jacque Green “Another Girl”
• Ifan Dafydd “No Good”
• Funkineven “Rolands Jam”
• Lone “Approaching Rainbow”
• Space Dimension Controller “Transatlantic Landing Bay”
• Benoit and Sergio “Principles”
• Four Tet “Pinnacles”
• Mr. Scruff “Feel It!”
• Omar S “Nites Over Compton”
• Zomby “Labyrinth”, “Alothea”
• Homework “I’m Into This”
• Sepalcure “I’m Alright”
• J Paul Getto “Imma Let You Know”
• Chicago Damn “If I Could”
• Prommer and Barck “Sleeping Beauty”
• Latecomer “Cosmic Cart”
• Tony Lionni “Try My Love”
• James Blake “Love What Happened Here”
• Flako “Lonely Town”
• Shlomo “Places”
• Aquadrop “Soul”
• Recloose “Electric Sunshine”
• Tall Black Guy “Water No Enemy”
• Jon Phonics “The One”
• Jamie XX “Far Nearer”
• Dimlite “Loins”, “Gone-O-Tron”
• 2652 “Fever”
• Kode 9 & Spaceape “This Love Is”, “Black Sun“ 
• Falty DL “Brazil”
• Lee Bannon “Space Glide”
• Oneohtrix Point Never “Andro”
• Chromatics “Tick of the Clock”
• Lovebirds feat. Stee Downes “Want You In My Soul”
• Cerrone “Hooked On You” (Kon Edit)
• Lana Del Rey “Video Games” (Joy Orbison Remix)
• Sneaky Soundsystem “Big” (Nicolas Jaar Always By Your Side Version)
• Brandt Brauer Frick “Bop” (Pepe Bradock’s Geoduck Dive Remix)
• Dorian Concept “Trilingual Dance Sexperience” (Ogris Debris Relick)
• Roman Rauch “Can’t Get Enough” (SoulPhiction Remix)
• Noir & Haze “Around” (Solomun Vox Remix)
• System 7 “Positive Noise” (Carl Craig Remix)
• Cults “Go Outside” (Menahan Street Band Remix)
• King Midas Sound “Earth A Kill Ya” (Mala Rework)
• Classixx feat. Karl Dixon “Into The Valley” (Julio Bashmore Remix)
• Flight Facilities feat. Giselle ”Crave You“ 
• Knight One “Kiss”
• Poolside “Harvest Moon”
• Peaking Lights “Hey Sparrow”
• Jonti “Batmilk”, “Hornet’s Nest”
• Timbre Timbre “Creep On Creepin’ On”
• Raphael Saadiq “Movin’ Down The Line”, “The Answer”
• Lykke Li “I Follow Rivers”
• Mia Doi Todd “La Havana”
• Jessica Lea Mayfield “Our Hearts Are Wrong”
• Boom Clap Bachelors “Løb Stop Stå”
• Bibio “Feminine Eye”
• Robin Hannibal “Transit”
• Connan Mockasin “It’s Shoade My Dear”
• Owiny Sigoma Band “Wires”
• Pure X “Easy”
• James Pants “Incantation”
• Chain and the Gang “For Practical Reasons (I Love You)”
• Radiohead “Give Up The Ghost”, “Separator”
• DJ Shadow “Sad and Lonely”, “Scale It Back”
• J Rocc “Party”
• Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi “Two Against One”
• Toro Y Moi “Still Sound”
• Parallel Dance Ensemble “Shopping Cart”
• Kanye West & Jay-Z “That’s My Bitch”