Scotty Sandwich - The Sandwiches/Death to False Hopes Records

LPS:

1. Nothington - Borrowed Time
2. Samiam - Trips
3. Red City Radio - The Dangers of Standing Still
4. Banner Pilot - Heart Beats Pacific
5. Dead to Me - Moscow Penny Ante
6. Restorations - Restorations
7. Elway - Delusions
8. The Slow Death - Born Ugly, Got Worse
9. The Outsiders - Shallow Graves
10. Nightlights - So It Goes

EPS:

1. The Fake Boys - Nice Knowing You
2. Let Me Run - Let Me Run
3. Luther - Siblings and Sevens
4. Protaganist - States
5. White Wives - Situationist EP

Nate Gangelhoff - Banner Pilot

1. Breaking Bad Season 4
   Arguably the best season of inarguably the best show currently on television.
2. Joyce Manor - Self Titled
   Discovered this band late in the year but I was hooked immediately. It reminds me of this band Little Lungs that I got really into in 2009; it has some unique and interesting parts but it’s still *catchy*, and not weird or different for the sake of being weird or different.
3. Dead to Me - Moscow Penny Ante
   How many other bands have been able to pull off multiple lineup changes and multiple styles of music as well as these guys? It's rad. And it does't sound weird or forced. Like, when Vanilla Ice reinvented himself as a nu metal frontman it was awesome and everything, but it was also, you know, insane. DTM changes sounds on each record in a way that actually makes sense and seems natural. I've liked every album along the way and this is no exception.
4. The Copyrights - North Sentinel Island
   I don’t like "pop punk" (defined narrowly) that much anymore, unless it’s done really, really well. This is pop punk that is done really, really well. So, I like it! See how that works?
5. House Boat - The Thorns of Life
   See above!
6. Johnny Foreigner - Vs Everything
   This was actually a little disappointing as they’re my favorite band from the last few years and I was expecting more, especially given the great singles they’ve been throwing out since the last record. It’s growing on me, slowly, but there’s some definite throwaways here. Still, the 7 or 8 songs that are immediately awesome get this one into the top 5.
7. Candy Hearts - Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy
   If you told me, "Check it out, here’s this super good band from 1996 that no one ever discovered! They’re really catchy and cool!" I would believe you. And then when I discovered that you were lying and it actually came out in 2011 I’d be like, "What the fuck? What was the point of lying about that?"
8. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
   I think enough has already been said about this record. I will add: I like it. It’s good.
9. Samiam - Trips
   I never really checked out this band until this year. Holy shit, that was dumb of me. It’s been sweet to discover all the gems in their back catalogue, and this new album is great too. How many bands release albums this solid 20 years or so into their career? It loses a little bit of steam towards the end, but 80 West is the best song of the year so that makes up for it.
10. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
    Frank rules. There are usually a few songs I skip on each record, and then the rest I’ll listen to a million times, so it evens out. Well, I guess that doesn’t really even out; it seems kind of lopsided, actually.

Paul Koehler - Silverstein

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
3. Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip
4. Soft Kill - An Open Door
5. I Break Horses - Hearts
6. Tycho - Dive
7. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
8. Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years
9. Destroyer - Kaputt
10. Neon Indian - Era Extrana

Honorable Mentions:

• Cave In - White Silence
• Cut Copy - Zonoscope
• Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
• Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
• Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!
• Justice - Audio Video Disco
• Weekend - Red
• When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie