I typically stay away from making national best-of lists, but I recently cast my ballot in Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop nationwide critics poll so I figured I would share my top 10 songs of 2011 here since they’re going to end up in the Jan. 18 edition of the Village Voice anyway. Look for my list of top national records from 2011 as well as my top local releases of the year later today.
1. Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks”
2. Mastodon “Curl of the Burl”
3. The Joy Formidable “Whirring”
4. Battles “Ice Cream”
5. Fleet Foxes “The Shrine/An Argument”
6. Jay-Z & Kanye West “Niggas In Paris”
7. SHIM “Rock and Roll”
8. Das Racist “Michael Jackson”
9. The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
10. My Morning Jacket “Holdin On To Black Metal”
