Here are my bests of 2011 with several wonderful albums and songs hitting my ears just as the year ended. A few of these entries could easily have gone into my 2011 top 10 lists with a bit more listening.

BEST SONGS

1. AnR - "Stay Kids"
2. Kimbra - "Cameo Lover"
3. Cascadeur - "Walker"
4. James Vincent McMorrow - "If I Had A Boat"
5. Lykke Li - "I Follow Rivers"
6. Gomez - "Song In My Heart"
7. Black Keys - "Lonely Boy"
8. Capital Cities - "Safe and Sound"
9. Melanie Laurent - "En T'Attendant"
10. Discodeine - "Synchronize (Featuring Jarvis Cocker)"

And the rest...

Barry Gibb - "Grey Ghost"
Adele - "Rolling In The Deep (Villa Remix)"
Retro Stefson - "Kimba"
The Bees - "Winter Rose"
Sweet Lights - "Related to You"
Puggy - "When You Know"
Metronomy - "She Wants"
Gruff Rhys - "Shark Ridden Waters"
The Shoes - "Stay the Same"
Chilly Gonzales - "You Can Dance"
L'Atra - "Winter Loves Summer Sun"
Bright Eyes - "Shell Games"
MEN - "Who Am I To Feel Free? (Antony Hegarty vocal version)"
Avril Lavigne - "What The Hell"
Oh Land "Son Of A Gun"
Brigette - "Ma Benz"
My Morning Jacket "Wonderful"
St. Vincent "Surgeon"
Rachael Yamagata "Saturday Morning"
Piers Faccini "Tribe"
Smith & Burrows - "As The Snowflakes Fall"
Nick Lowe - "House For Sale"
Natacha Atlas - "Riverman (310 Radio Remix)"
Tassili - "Tenere Taqqim Tossam"
Jonathan Wilson - "Canyon In The Rain"
Cass McCombs - "Wit's End"
Brooke Fraser - "Something In The Water"


BEST ALBUMS

1. Various Artists - 37th State
2. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
3. K.D. Lang & the Siss Boom Bang - Sing It Loud
4. Buck 65 - 20 Odd Years
5. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
6. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
7. Bill Frisell & Vinicus Cantuaria - Lagrimas Mexicanas
8. The Roots - undun
9. Sophie Barker - Seagull
10. Brigitte - Et Vous, Tu M'Aimes?

And the rest...

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
James Blake - James Blake
Bewitched Hands - Birds & Drums
Calapesce - Calapesce EP
Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming
Wire - Red Barked Tree
Gayngs - Relayted
J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
Selah Sue - Selah Sue 
Various Artists - Red Hot + Rio 2
Julia Stone - The Memory Machine
Wilco - The Whole Love
Pugwash - The Olympus Sound
Jean-Claude Vannier - Rose Rouge Sang
Baxter Drury - Happy Soup
Brazzaville - Jetlag Poetry
Smith & Burrows - Funny Looking Angels
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Stage Whisper

..........

And for what it's worth, these were the 2011 albums that rewarded my high (and sometimes years long) expectation with serious disappointment:

Cornershop - And the Double-O Groove of
Friendly Fires - Pala
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer
Gus Gus - Arabian Horse
Keren Ann - 101
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rolling
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2
Brett Anderson - Black Rainbows
Peter Bjorn & John - Gimmie Some
Little Axe - If You Want Loyalty Buy A Dog
Natacha Atlas - Ayeshteni
Ivy - All Hours