Looking back at 2011: the music

Like a lot of publishing sales reps, I spend a lot of time listening to music, both at home and on the road. This year, with the arrival in the US of Spotify, I was able to indulge in a more expansive sort of experimental listening. And that, combined with a renewed account at last.fm which meant I scrobbled nearly every Spotify track I listened to, gave me a fairly easy base for looking back at 2011's music.

My most-played & favorite artists/tracks from 2011

(A Spotify playlist of these Top 10 tracks and the honorable mentions.)

1. Wilco - I Might (spotify)
2. Feist - How Come You Never Go There (spotify)
3. Arctic Monkeys - The Hellcat Spangled Shalala (spotify)
4. Mike Doughty - Into The Un (spotify)
5. Dave Stewart - Can't Get You Out of My Head (spotify)
6. The Belle Brigade - Lonely Lonely (spotify)
7. The Watson Twins - You Showed Me (spotify)
8. Laura Marling - The Muse (spotify)
9. The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight (spotify)
10. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Codeine (spotify)

Honorable Mentions

Bon Iver - Holocene (spotify)

Nick Cave & Neko Case - She's Not There (from True Blood) (spotify)

Real Estate - It's Real (spotify)

Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me (spotify)

Elbow - lippy kids (spotify)

Fool's Gold - Wild Window (spotify)

Beastie Boys - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (feat. Santigold) (spotify)

Beirut - East Harlem (spotify)

The Jayhawks - She Walks in So Many Ways (spotify)

The Civil Wars - 20 Years (spotify)

Kathleen Edwards - Change The Sheets (spotify)

Ryan Adams - Chains of Love (spotify)

Lissie - In Sleep (spotify)

Josh Rouse & The Long Vacations - Diggin' In The Sand (spotify)

Wild Flag - Romance (spotify)

I Break Horses - Winter Beats (spotify)

Destroyer - Savage Night At the Opera (spotify)

Drive-By Truckers - Used To Be A Cop (spotify)

Foo Fighters - These Days (spotify)

The Mountain Goats - Damn These Vampires (spotify)

The Dodos - Don't Try and Hide It (spotify)

Fleet Foxes - Battery Kinzie (spotify)

Peter Bjorn and John - Second Chance (spotify)

My most-played & favorite albums released in 2011

1. Wilco - The Whole Love (spotify)
2. The Decemberists - The King is Dead (spotify)
3. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See (spotify)
4. The Smiths - Complete (spotify)
5. Mike Doughty - Yes and Also Yes (spotify)
6. Feist - Metals (spotify)
7. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade (spotify)
8. Dave Stewart - The Blackbird Diaries (spotify)
9. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire (spotify)
10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (spotify)
11. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys (spotify)
12. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (spotify)
13. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Here We Rest (spotify)
14. Destroyer - Kaputt (spotify)
15. Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots (spotify)

Honorable Mentions

Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What (spotify)

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (spotify)

Josh Rouse & The Long Vacations - Josh Rouse & The Long Vacations (spotify)

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts (spotify)

The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time (spotify)

Wild Flag - Wild Flag (spotify)

Elbow - build a rocket boys! (spotify)

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know (spotify)

Gillian Welsh - The Harrow & The Harvest (spotify)

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (spotify)