Originally posted by Loose ScrewTh notion of "Great" might rather depend upon things like genre and your generation.
Here's mine for this moment:
Smith & Burrows - Funny Looking Angels
Please tell me yours.
Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge (2011) alternative banjo driven folk
Umphrey's McGee-20111023 South Bend, IN (live SBD) eclectic prog-ish rock by a jamband. I can tell you where you can get it.
Lou Reed - Rock 'n' Roll Animal (2011 Remastered & Resequenced) - fiddled with, no great harm done
Dave Holland Quintet - Extended Play - Live At Birdland (2003) - 8 or 9 piece post-bop ensemble stuff on the ECM label no less, can't go wrong
Calexico-Road_Atlas_1998-2011 - 9 of their Tour-only releases compiled, so not 'tour-only' anymore - eclectic progressive folk/alt-country
Allman Brothers Band-20111129 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA - soundboard. I actually bought & downloaded this one.
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow (2011) - a lush and ambient one
The B-52's - With the Wild Crowd_Live in Athens (2011) - first live album after 33 years of being The B-52's
Tom Waits - Bad as Me (2011) - best album since Mule Variations
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Per Zanussi 2011 Morning Songs - lot of Zappa influence here
William Shatner - Seeking Major Tom (2011) - so awful, it's good
King Crimson - Discipline [40th Anniversary Edition] (2011) - I'm of an age that makes this a seminal work, rereleasing it just emphasizes how I have aged, but oh well
Magazine - No Thyself (2011) - 30 years since the previous release - still plenty of mischievous lyrics and gritty/soaring riffs
Peter Gabriel - New Blood (2011) - worthy addition to the great man's oeuvre
Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I Wake Up Screaming (2011) - another resurrection album but pretty funny and well crafted
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - A Winged Victory for the Sullen (one half of Stars of the Lid in a new collaboration - neoclassical ambient drone. Wow, I actually wrote those words down. But it is excellent.)
Four Tet - [/i]Fabric Live[/i] (straight out of left field, Four Tet gives up an outstanding mix of 90s UK garage, a bit of dubstep and other bass-centric stuff. If you didn't think you liked that genre, this might change your mind.)
Our Brother the Native - Vows (Everything but the kitchen sink indie with a weird vocalist, not as good as their Sacred Psalms but still great.)
Finally, two from a friend's best of 2011 list I hadn't previously heard, but am really enjoying:
Peaking Lights - 936 (warped electronic dub-pop)
The Phoenix Project - Buffalo (sort of like a mix between Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and Fleet Foxes. Which probably isn't selling it all that well. But it's a great little album.)
Carolina Chocoilate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig...Don't let the name of the band or recording fool you. This band is the real deal. Rootsy, folksy blues at its best.
Eric Bibb -Booker's Guitar...Real blues. Sort of a Taj Majal sound.
Hank Williams III - Hillbilly Joker. Wild country to country thrash. Its fun
Apparat Organ Quartet - Polyphonia and a free download from Enemies List Records.
Eight years after their debut - and three years later on international release - the second album by Apparat Organ Quartet is worth a look. Four keyboardists, using mainly salvaged electronics following a deal with the Icelandic refuse service, and a drummer, it's a mix of electronica and rock. If you liked Kraftwerk's Computer World, this might be for you.
A track from their debut album is on the DrKF02 mix on Radio RHP.
Enemies List Records is the home of the previously discussed - and pretty amazing - Deathconsciousness. They released a free 'Christmas' album (that is, they released a free album for Christmas, not that I expect it to have a particularly festive feel, although Giles Corey from Deathconsciousness did cover the amazing Low song 'Just Like Christmas'😉. Just out today, so as yet unlistened, but there's a couple of new Deathconsciousness tracks and that's enough for me.
Here: http://enemieslist.net/newsitetest/portfolio/santa-is-real-the-enemies-list-christmas-album/