Yup. It’s that time of year again, and frankly, lists like these really need no introduction. The four of us who contribute to Speakers in Code (Darren, Jason, Matt, and me, the lone female, Katie) spend a lot of our free time investigating new music over the course of each year, and these 100 songs are what really caught our attention. Granted, we’re just four people doing this in our off hours, when we’re not lawyering or teaching or parenting or collaborating on conference calls with our colleagues in India. We don’t hear it all. Yet, this list represents what we four music lovers fell in love with in 2011. Maybe you can find something to fall in love with, too.
Take a look at our favorite songs of the year, numbers 100 to 76. (And keep up with the countdown on Spotify, here.)
100 Priory – Lady of Late [buy the album] [more from Priory on Speakers]
99 Wye Oak – Civilian [buy the album] [more from Wye Oak on Speakers]
98 Middle Brother – Me Me Me [buy the album]
97 Carousel – Get Up [buy the album] [more from Carousel on Speakers]
96 Class Actress – Weekend [buy the album][more Class Actress on Speakers]
95 Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out [buy the album] [more from F+TM on Speakers]
94 Elbow – Lippy Kids [buy the album] [more from Elbow on Speakers]
93 Com Truise – Air Cal [buy the album]
92 Tyler, the Creator – Yonkers [buy the album] [more from Tyler, the Creator on Speakers]
91 Keep Shelly in Athens – DIY [buy the album] [more from KSiA on Speakers]
90 Amanda Shires – Swimmer… [buy the album] [more from Shires on Speakers]
89 William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl [buy the album] [more from Fitzsimmons on Speakers]
88 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Yellow Missing Signs [buy the album] [more from SSLYBY on Speakers]
87 I’m From Barcelona – Always Spring [buy the album]
86 Radiohead – Little by Little [buy the album] [more from Radiohead on Speakers]
85 Matthew Mayfield – Element [buy the album] [more from Mayfield on Speakers]
84 James Vincent McMorrow – If I Had a Boat [buy the album] [more from McMorrow on Speakers]
83 Black Lips – Modern Art [buy the album]
82 The Strokes – Taken for a Fool [buy the album] [more from The Strokes on Speakers]
81 The Strange Boys – Me and You [buy the album] [more from The Strange Boys on Speakers]
80 The Rosebuds – Waiting for You [buy the album] [more from The Rosebuds on Speakers]
79 The Airborne Toxic Event – Half of Something Else [buy the album]
78 The Greencards – Make It Out West [buy the album] [more from The Greencards on Speakers]
77 The Donkeys – I Like the Way You Walk [buy the album] [more from The Donkeys on Speakers]
76 Real Estate – It’s Real [buy the album] [more from Real Estate on Speakers]