Obligatory End of Year list: Top 10 Albums of 2011

As the label suggests.

10. Britney Spears- Femme Fatale This is her comeback record. Let's hope she progresses forward with this change in sound

9. Foster The People- Torches The whole record is brilliant, which doesn't often happen with a debut.

8. Wild Beasts- Smother Beautiful and heartfelt.

7. Metronomy- The English Riviera Soundtrack to my winter break. A cocktail in musical form.

6. Nicola Roberts- Cinderella's Eyes Pop perfection. I had high hopes for Nicola's solo debut considering I find her bandmates' solo outings lacklustre. And let me tell you, she did not disappoint me at all. Pop but from the heart.

5. Will Young- Echoes From the minute I heard the lead single 'Jealousy', I had a feeling that this album would be stunning. Really think he's hit his stride here lyrically and sonically.

4. Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto Bias? Perhaps. But there were a few tracks, namely the acoustic-esque tracks, that are growers.

3. Florence and The Machine- Ceremonials Like Lungs, but bigger, boom-ier and bassier.

2. Clare Maguire- Light After Dark Another fantastic debut. From start to finish, the only word to describe this album is 'epic'.

1. Adele- 21 Review: Need I say more? 2011 is the year of Adele.

 Special Mentions: Yelle- Safari Disco Club, Wolf Gang- Suego Faults 

Albums I had high hopes for but turned out to be a bit ho-hum in the end: Kimbra- Vows. Starts off great, but the second half is very slow. Great tracks, but they don't grab you like the opening tracks.

Lady Gaga- Born This Way. Too much going on in some songs like 'Judas'. But the album also gave us gems like 'Scheisse' and 'Heavy Metal Lover', so it wasn't a total fail.

Heavy Rotation

Currently being played over and over again are:

Depeche Mode- Enjoy the Silence: How am I only just discovering this now? Amazing and sounds so fresh even after all these years. I'm thinking I need to get my hands on their GH.

Lady Gaga- Judas: It doesn't hold a candle to the perfection that is Bad Romance, but it's still catchy and fun. Video is good too, bar the ending. Something is off with this era though. Can't seem to put my finger on it.

N.E.R.D- Hypnotize U: Sexy and hypnotic. The beat and Pharell's voice just do it for me in this track. I haven't liked a N.E.R.D song in years so this kind of a big deal.

Kanye West et al- All of The Lights: Genius. Pure genius.

Jay-Z ft Chris Martin- Beach Chair: This is quickly becoming one of my favourites from Hov. Am I biased? Maybe. Lyrically it's brilliant. Whenever I'm having a low moment, I find myself turning to this track. The sound of the piano is so strange you can't help but listen. Definitely one of the best collaborations that Chris Martin has done.