2011. What wasn’t to love? The rise of weirdo R&B, the fall of chillwave, the end of R.E.M. We started the construction of this list over a month ago. One truly epic and extensive Google spreadsheet later, we arrived at this Top 50. We sorted and sorted and sorted, listened through a TON OF STUFF, “traded jabs” on whether James Blake or Jamie Woon put on the tougher persona, etc. Thanks for reading and we hope y’all enjoy the list!

01. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream (Buy It) (Read)

02. The Weeknd – The Morning (Buy It) (Read)

03. Lana Del Rey – Video Games (Buy It) (Read)

04. Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know (Feat. Kimbra) (Buy It) (Read)

05. Britney Spears – ‘Till the World Ends (Buy It) (Read)

06. Maverick Sabre – I Need (Buy It) (Read)

07. Drake – Marvin’s Room (Buy It) (Read)

08. Beyonce – Party (Feat. Kanye West & Andre 3000) (Buy It) (Read)

09. Jamie Woon – Lady Luck (Buy It) (Read)

10. Michael Kiwanuka – I Need You By My Side (Buy It) (Read)

11. Kendrick Lamar – ADHD (Buy It) (Read)

12. The Alabama Shakes (formerly The Shakes) - I Found You (Buy It) (Read)

13. Nneka – My Home (Buy It) (Read)

14. Rihanna – We Found Love (Feat. Calvin Harris) (Buy It) (Read)

15. DJ Khaled – I’m On One (Feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil’ Wayne) (Buy It) (Read)

16. Adele – Rumour Has It (Buy It) (Read)

17. Labrinth – Earthquake (Feat. Tinie Tempah) (Buy It) (Read)

18. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Otis (Buy It) (Read)

19. Flo Rida – Good Feeling (Buy It) (Read)

20. Bon Iver – Towers (Buy It) (Read)

21. Azealia Banks – 212 (Buy It) (Read)

22. Big Black Delta – Huggin’ & Kissin’ (Buy It) (Read)

23. Florence + The Machine – What the Water Gave Me (Buy It) (Read)

24. Flight Facilities – Foreign Language (Feat. Jess) (Buy It) (Read)

25. Cults – Abducted (Buy It) (Read)

26. Raphael Saadiq – Good Man (Buy It) (Read)

27. Spector – Never Fade Away (Buy It) (Read)

28. Marina & the Diamonds – Radioactive (Buy It) (Read)

29. Afrojack – Lionheart (Buy It) (Read)

30. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – If I Had a Gun… (Buy It) (Read)

31. Active Child – Playing House (Feat. How to Dress Well) (Buy It) (Read)

32. M83 – Midnight City (Buy It) (Read)

33. Radiohead – Lotus Flower (Buy It) (Read)

34. Madlib & Freddie Gibbs – Thuggin’ (Buy It) (Read)

35. The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love (Buy It) (Read)

36. NO CEREMONY/// – Hurtlove (Buy It) (Read)

37. Ifan Dafydd – No Good (Buy It) (Read)

38. Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle (Buy It) (Read)

39. TOKiMONSTA – Little Pleasures (Feat. Gavin Turek) (Buy It) (Read)

40. Colleen Green – Cujo (Buy It) (Read)

41. Foxes – Youth (Buy It) (Read)

42. Jacques Greene – Another Girl (Buy It) (Read)

43. Grouplove – Gold Coast (Buy It) (Read)

44. Family of the Year – St. Croix (Buy It) (Read)

45. Lucy Rose – Middle of the Bed (Buy It) (Read)

46. LIPS – Everything to Me (Buy It) (Read)

47. Trophy Wife – Wolf (Buy It) (Read)

48. Dev – In the Dark (Buy It) (Read)

49. John West – Lovely (Feat. Pusha T) (Buy It) (Read)

50. Anchorsong – Ghost Touch (Buy It) (Read)

Afrojack goes so heavy on this new heater for “London”. Listen.

Afrojack – London (Original Mix)

Afrojack (Official) (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

Our dude Star Slinger let this sharp little mix off over the Christmas holiday, a re-do of a Mount Kimbie track from 2010. Slinger pitches up the vocals, throws down the roll of the rhythm track, and wraps it up neatly into a nice synced up instrumental. We like it.

Mount Kimbie – Before I Move Off (Star Slinger Refix)

Star Slinger (Official) (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.5