2011: The Best of Everything
We haven’t yet done our usual year end “best of” list for music or movies or TV of 2011, so I thought I’d do a combined list to kick off a discussion of all these categories. I’m a big fan of Metacritic, so, along with giving my own biased opinions, I’ll reprint some of their year-end lists here.
Music: [from metacritic]
Critics pick the best albums of 2011
Added in last update (Jan. 2): Cleveland Plain Dealer, NOW Magazine
Below is our updated running tally of the albums most frequently mentioned by individual music publications in their year-end Top Ten lists. Although most of the lists come from publications whose reviews are included on this site, we have also included a few extra lists from prominent music stores, websites, and publications not normally found on Metacritic. Note that if a source ranks more than the standard 10 albums, we will not include titles ranked 11th or worse. In case of a tie for first or second, each album will receive the full points for that position. Our points system works as follows:
•3 points for each 1st place ranking
•2 points for each 2nd place ranking
•1 point for being ranked 3rd – 10th, or for being included on an unranked list1 Let England Shake by PJ Harvey
2 Bon Iver by Bon Iver
3 21 by Adele
4 Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West
5 whokill by tUnE-yArDs
6 House of Balloons by The Weeknd
7 Strange Mercy by St. Vincent
8 Take Care by Drake
9 Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
10 Black Up by Shabazz Palaces
11 David Comes to Life by Fucked Up
12 James Blake by James Blake
13 Smoke Ring for My Halo by Kurt Vile
14 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming by M83
15 Skying by The Horrors
16 undun by The Roots
17 Kaputt by Destroyer
18 The Whole Love by Wilco
19 Father, Son, Holy Ghost by Girls
20 Bad As Me by Tom Waits
21 The English Riviera by Metronomy
22 Burst Apart by The Antlers
23 Wild Flag by Wild Flag
24 Metals by Feist
25 The King of Limbs by Radiohead
26 Days by Real Estate
27 Glass Swords by Rustie
28 The King Is Dead by The Decemberists
29 Nostalgia, Ultra. by Frank Ocean
30 So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon
I love the fact that Metacritic does these compiled lists, so you hopefully get the individual biases of all the individual publications and critics filtered out somewhat, and you get a picture of the artists that got the most aclaim from the most number of critics. The result is hard to argue with, although there are some surprises. For me, I would have included Foo Fighters and Elbow, instead of some of the hip-hop artists, but that’s just me.
For movies, the list looks like this:
Critics pick the best movies of 2011
Added in last update (12/31): Baltimore Sun, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, The Playlist, Reelviews, Reverse Shot, Salt Lake Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Time (Pols)
Below is our updated running tally of the films most frequently mentioned by individual critics on their year-end Top Ten lists. Note that if a critic ranks more than the standard 10 films, we will not include films ranked 11th or worse. In case of a tie for first or second, each film will receive the full points for that position. Our points system works as follows:
•3 points for each 1st place ranking
•2 points for each 2nd place ranking
•1 point for being ranked 3rd – 10th, or for being included on an unranked list1 The Tree of Life
2 The Artist
3 Drive
4 The Descendants
5 Hugo
6 Melancholia
7 A Separation
8 Certified Copy
9 Take Shelter
10 Moneyball
11 Margaret
12 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
13 Martha Marcy May Marlene
14 Shame
15 Beginners
16 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
17 Bridesmaids
18 The Skin I Live In
19 Meek’s Cutoff
20 We Need to Talk About Kevin
21 Mysteries of Lisbon
22 Poetry
23 A Dangerous Method
24 Weekend
25 The Interrupters
26 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
27 Midnight in Paris
28 War Horse
29 Rise of the Planet of the Apes
30 Of Gods and Men
31 The Future
32 Margin Call
On this list I was a bit surprised that “Dragon Tattoo” wasn’t higher, but I know some critics were not big fans of it. I was also surprised because there were a number of movies on this list I had never heard of, but will now make it a point to see if I can.
Here’s the TV list:
Critics pick the best TV shows of 2011
Added in last update (Jan. 2): Cleveland Plain Dealer
Below is our updated running tally of the TV shows most frequently mentioned by individual critics in their year-end Top Ten lists. Note that if a critic ranks more than the standard 10 shows, we will not include titles ranked 11th or worse. In case of a tie for first or second, each show will receive the full points for that position. Our points system works as follows:
•3 points for each 1st place ranking
•2 points for each 2nd place ranking
•1 point for being ranked 3rd – 10th, or for being included on an unranked list1 Breaking Bad (AMC)
2 Homeland (Showtime)
3 Downton Abbey (PBS)
4 Parks and Recreation (NBC)
5 Game of Thrones (HBO)
6 Louie (FX)
7 Justified (FX)
8 The Good Wife (CBS)
9 Modern Family (ABC)
10 Community (NBC)
11 Friday Night Lights (DirecTV/NBC)
12 American Horror Story (FX)
13 Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
14 Enlightened (HBO)
15 The Walking Dead (AMC)
16 Revenge (ABC)
17 Awkward. (MTV)
18 The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
19 Happy Endings (ABC)
20 The Middle (ABC)
Of these I was most surprised by The Middle, which I’ve never really watched because it seemed, well, dull, and Awkward, which I have watched, but seemed just ok. I’m glad that Happy Endings got included, because I think that’s one of the best comedies in recent years. I love a lot of the others in the top ten, although I’ve never seen Game of Thrones because I don’t take HBO anymore, and I haven’t watched much of The Good Wife, but I’ve heard good things. I like Louie, but I’m a little surprised it’s ranked as high as it is because, to me, it’s a bit uneven. I haven’t seen Boardwalk Empire or Enlightened, but I’m surprised we don’t see Dexter on this list.
Let me know your thoughts on these lists and other top things from 2011.
Posted on January 3, 2012, in Movies, Music, Reviews, Television and tagged Best of 2011. Bookmark the permalink. 25 Comments.
I’m more surprised by the absence of The Killing than I am of the absence of Dexter. Dexter in 2011 was watchable, but not nearly as good as previous seasons have been.
Also think Grimm and Prime Suspect should be somewhere on the list.
Not a big enough follower of American popular music or recent movies to add thoughts on those lists, although I do need to check out The Decemberists.
Yes, I would very much like to see Prime Suspect on the list. I haven’t seen Grimm. I didn’t see The Killing but I heard good things up until the ending.
Of those albums, I’ve only heard Bon Iver. I’ve been out of it musically. But my list would include Jesse Syke’s Marble Son.
Movies–I saw The Tree of Life but none of the others. I didn’t think it was that great. Lots of cool stuff about it, but I thought the story itself was pretty lame. And how many scenes involving water can one movie have?
TV shows–I only watch Community.
So only one from each list do I know.
Really need to hear the new PJ Harvey album.
Bon Iver, The Decemberists, and Fleet Foxes all put out really, really good albums. I can’t really speak to many of the other albums.
Tree of Life was both different and better than what I had expected. I totally understand that people don’t like it but if completely overwhelmed me. I really enjoyed Moneyball and thought Brad Pitt’s performance (especially his ability to act while eating) was great.
I’m puzzled by the love for The Descendants though Hollywood has a fascination with miserable people being miserable. Clooney was good but I don’t think it was a role that only he could have done. The jokes mostly fell flat and I didn’t really care about the characters thus the reconciliation didn’t mean much to me.
I just started watching Dexter last week. It was much better than I’d heard. No where as good as last season which I thought was one of the best. But definitely better than some of the prior seasons. However around episode 9 it starts getting a bit silly. (The whole Nebraska episode was clearly filler and having Dexter go nutso is plain silly) Which is different than typical where is starts off strong and then squanders what it built up in the middle and ends with a somewhat anti-climatic finale. This season they’re preparing next years baddie in advance. However the whole Debra subplot is pretty icky in a Woody Allen kind of way. I’ve not seen the finale yet though (tonight).
Have any of you guys watched Homeland? I’ve heard good things about it but that some of the character motivations don’t make much sense.
I just started reading Game of Thrones. Haven’t quite figured out what to make of it yet. I’m halfway into the first book. I figured I’d read it first.
I’m surprised they picked American Horror Story. I’ve heard nothing but bad things about it. Surprised about Walking Dead and Big Bang Theory too. I gave up on both of those this year. Maybe that just says something about how bad TV is. Yet Justified is fantastic. It’s my #1 pick and has been a critics favorite. Yet it doesn’t make the top 20? What’s up with that?
Tim, I’m convinced Hollywood loves movies about dysfunctional people because so many actors and directors are pretty dysfunctional. I seem to remember a study by that LoveLine psychologist who tested everyone who came on the show. He found that most were narcissistic or had other problems. I think the move away from character dramas outside of the art house circuit really bummed a lot of actors. Which is why so many Sundance films now sport A list actors. They really dig doing those sorts of characters. What connects with the Hollywood crowd and what connects with “middle America” are just radically different.
Regarding music I have to admit that now I’ve hit my 40′s I just listen to far less music than I once did. I’m hoping that’s not a sign of getting old. (I just discovered the last few months than my focus range is off too – although I’ll hold away reading glasses or bifocals as long as I can)
I’m surprised at that top 10 list for best films. I didn’t realize so many critics liked Drive that much. Once again it demonstrates why sales are flat this year though. Look at how many popular movies made the critics list. When the mainstream movies are also good Hollywood does well. When they aren’t…
I saw very few of those movies. The Descendants was odd. I usually really like George Clooney, and I liked him in this, but that was the problem. I never saw him as a character. I saw him as George Clooney in Hawaii. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because he was narrating as well as acting? Obviously the character isn’t living George Clooney’s life so I’m not sure what it was.
I also saw Beginners. I liked it. It was a funny and touching story of a dysfunctional family, an aging parent, and learning to love. Very odd though.
I also saw Bridesmaids. Twice. Not nearly as funny the second time.
TV wise I don’t really watch any of these shows. My wife loves Modern Family. I think it is very clever but I don’t feel like I need to see it each week. I watched two episodes of The Big Bang Theory recently because someone said I’d like it. They must hate me or think I’m stupid. What trash. It is like a stupid person’s daydream of the lives of smart people. Plus the constant pauses for the overdone laughter are unbearable.
I am looking forward to seeing Game of Thrones. I’ve read all the books twice. Well I didn’t read the most recent one twice. I think the books are excellent, though the last two have slowed down a lot and seem to be mostly about putting pieces in the right places for a finale. I think that the TV show will have to be a bit simplified, but that’s ok. I wish it would have come out on video for Christmas.
Game of Thrones was superb. A bit over the top with the sex, though.
Yes – which is interesting as I’m halfway through the book and there’s been very little sex in it. (Haven’t watched the series yet)
John, some actors are like that. Clooney is typically like that although there’s a bit of range in him. Ditto Jack Nicholson and quite a few others.
I was just talking about Bridesmaids with my son. I don’t know anything about it except I thought it was pretty popular. He said it’s one of those comedies with vulgar/disgusting/shocking humor, but it’s about girls.
Then he said he hates how people use the term “adult humor” to describe movies like that, when it’s actually very immature, juvenile humor.
Clark, I’ve noticed my eyesight getting worse, too.
I definitely think reading Game of Thrones first is the best approach. After reading the series several times over the last 14 years or so (or, to be more accurate, what existed of the series), the first few episodes of the TV show just didn’t do anything for me. It’s really hard for me to fairly judge the quality of the show because of my fondness and familiarity with the series. If Martin manages to finish the books before he dies I think it will go down as one of the greatest works of fiction of our time, and certainly as the second-greatest work of fantasy.
As far as Dexter goes, did anyone else notice Gerald Lund’s “The Work and the Glory” on the bookshelf of Travis Marshall’s allies? Apparently, it’s what that kind of religious fanatic reads…
Clark, your eyesight is worse than you think. Justified is #7.
Doh. Dang. Time to down some more Omega-3′s. Don’t know how I miss Justified. I even double checked before posting.
On the other hand I did notice Lund’s book on Dexter last next. I even paused it to show my wife. So my eyes aren’t always that bad. I didn’t see any other similar books on the shelf so I suspect they just went to a used book store and grabbed some books out of the religion section. Pretty hilarious. I was actually trying to decide if I should put up a screen capture here.
I saw that on Dexter, and rewound to double check. I wondered if the set decorator wasn’t a Mormon with a sense of humor. There’s a few of those around.
Funny Mormon set decorators?
My wife and I are halfway through Homeland. It’s hard to tell about the character motivations because four of them are obviously keeping pretty big secrets that we may or may not understand. It’s fantastic though. We started the first episode at 10 pm one night and couldn’t stop until we reached episode four.
We should probably have a Game of Thrones thread. The books do have a lot of sex. There is a lot of rape and implied rape as well. Oh, and incest.
I watched the first two episodes of Homeland and I liked it a lot, mostly because of Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin. The only thing I don’t like so far is that I find the whole idea of a marine turned muslim sleeper agent to be completely unbelievable. There better be more information later on about the character that makes it plausible. Otherwise, I’m not buying it.
OK, here’s an exclusion. No Sherlock. I thought the 21st century take on the character was great. I’m BTing the latest episode that aired Sunday.
I thought Homeland was really good. I’ll be interested to see where it goes in the 2nd season.
GOT was great. After the season was over I spent the next two months or so reading all of the books. I think we should have weekly recaps once the 2nd season starts.
Is there a way to get Game of Thrones without subscribing to HBO? I would love to watch it but I just want the show, not all of HBO.
MCQ,
The DVD of season 1 is out March 6. The other option is BT.
I’m 2/3rds of the way in the first book and thus far only one sex scene (which was pretty brief) and then a mention of an incestuous affair. I’m trying to figure out how there could be so much in the HBO series from what I’ve heard. They must definitely be filling in a lot that isn’t focused on in the books. I’m not sure what to think of that.
I have to admit the book started off slow. But around page 350 everything started clicking and it got quite good. I’m drawn in now. I’ve not decided if I’m going to bother with the series. I have this sneaking suspicion I’ll be pretty disappointed with how they adapt the book – especially the dire wolves.
From what I saw of the first few episodes, I was definitely disappointed in how little time was spent on the younger characters and their wolves.
For those who do Bittorrent, is there any danger? I have heard that it’s a great way to lick up viruses. Any problem with that?