by Felicia DeInnocentiis| Staff Writer
I used to have a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine up until October 2011, when my fondness for procrastination withheld
the continuation fee. After walking around Target after work, I stumbled upon the magazine racks and found my favorite music mag. The cover promoted the “50 Best Albums of 2011.” Pictures of the nominated artists accompanied the headline with predictable results, and I flipped through the pages to unveil the countdown.
The first place winner was obvious: Adele’s 21. Even when the music industry was declining in sales faster each year, Adele was still able to pull off a record-setting sale of 5,824,000 hard copies (not digital singles, but actual material compact discs) in 2011 and the most ever sold in one year since 2004. 21 remained in the top Billboard spot for months and it’s singles “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” are still constantly repeated on top 40 pop radio. And why would anyone disagree with her success? Figures aside, 21 was so soul-filled and enchanting that to grant Adele with any other spot but number one would almost be insulting to one of the few actual pieces of art of the year.
For the rest of the line-up, I was a mixture of pleasant agreement and agitation, especially when I saw that the number 5 spot was occupied by Radiohead’s King of Limbs. Thom York may have been a muse of the 90’s, but King of Limbs was just insulting to loyal Radiohead fans. Either they were trying to turn over their entire fan base (which may have helped conquer the number five spot) or they were honestly experimental. In my opinion, there was nothing even remotely likable about that album. York’s vocals were whiny and the rhythm and synths were out of synch. And if they were going for enigmatic, they unfortunately succeeded.
If Rolling Stone was just merely looking for an electronic album to fill the space, I would have easily exchanged it with Korn’s The Path of Totality, whose collaboration with dub-step aficionado Skrillex was incredibly exceeding in expectations. The album itself practically avoided any critical acknowledgement, which is disheartening because the style fit quite well.
Line-ups I did take a nod for were Kanye and Jay-z’s Watch the Throne at number two, Cage the Elephant’s Thank You Happy Birthday at number 15 (although I would’ve have it switch spaces with REM’s number 16 spot, maybe even higher since it’s their farewell album),and finally The Lonely Island’s Turtle Neck and Chain which grasped the number 50 spot.
