***Honorable mention: The resurgence of vinyl has made Knoxville, TN a collector's hot spot with some incredible shops such as: Disc Exchange, Lost and Found Records, Raven Records, and the newly opened Wild Honey Records.
I am including the Strokes' 2011 release, Angles, in the 'honorable mention' section because the album is enjoyable and I must say that I love the 80s-flavored album cover so much that I purchased it on vinyl. With that said, the Strokes did not include a CD copy of the album or a coupon to download an MP3 version of Angles with my vinyl purchase, so I had to essentially purchase the album twice on its release date and for that the Strokes did not make the top 10 this year on merit. 10. Fitz and The Tantrums’ debut, Pickin’ Up The Pieces, was easily one of my favorite new albums over the past year. I grew up listening to old soul from Motown and Stax, and this soul/indie pop band from Los Angeles, CA ‘delivered the goods’ on their fantastic debut record.
9. The Canadian rock trio, Rush, released their classic album, Moving Pictures, re-mastered in stunning 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. Rush also followed up the reissue with their successful Time Machine tour where fans were treated to Moving Pictures in its entirety.
8. Phish has really hit a home run in my humbled opinion with their ‘Live Phish App’ which enables Phans to stream and download the previous night’s show while the band is on tour. Certainly handy for a married father and working stiff! Thanks, Phish!
7. Before calling it quits, one of my favorite bands of all-time, R.E.M., released their final album, Collapse Into Now, which was easily their strongest body of work since New Adventures in Hi-Fi. I will certainly miss R.E.M. but am pleased that they ended their career on a high note.6. Thomas Dolby released his first new music in well over a decade, A Map of the Floating City. The album is a more mature work for the 80s New Wave pioneer, but one that I have come to appreciate after repeated listen.
5. Wilco toured in the United States behind the release of their latest album, The Whole Love, and I was fortunate to see them at the Ryman in Nashville, TN. Fantastic show, and being the casual Wilco fan, I can say that I was completely blown away.
4. 2011 was a busy year for Pink Floyd, who saw the release of their entire catalog remastered in various forms-individual discs, boxed sets, etc. The sonic improvements to albums such as Meddle and Animals are only paralleled to The Beatles remasters from a couple of years ago. 3. In celebration of their 25th anniversary,Widespread Panic, returned to Knoxville for another three night stand that was one of the best runs I have witnessed in the Jimmy Herring era of the band.
2. Better late than never, but I finally showed up late to the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings party. After hearing a few tracks from their recent B-Sides and out-takes compilation, Soul Power!, I have quickly purchased most of their albums. I am really digging this band, their music, and their retro sound.
1. When I look back at 2011, the one album that I can easily say was my favorite release of the year was The Foo Fighters' Wasting Light. If songs like 'Bridge Burning' and 'Rope' don't do it for you, then I suppose nothing will. A fantastic album from a band that continues to get better with age and still know how to rock. (Be sure to check out their excellent rockumentary, Back and Forth, too!)-Will Fisher
The Showbiz Kids
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