The Good, The Bad and The Unknown — At the end of the day, my decision on this top 11 came down to one thing...listenability. Which albums held up to repeat listens... Which albums didn't get dated by the 3rd spin... Which albums still sounded fresh a month after the novelty wore off..... more info

Rock Sellout — I’m not sure if age has anything to do with it or not, but I found my listening preferences gravitating towards the folkier releases this year: Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, The DoDos, and Blitzen Trapper being a few of the artists I held near and dear in... more info

Said the Gramophone — The Tallest Man on Earth - "A Field of Birds" I put a letter on a kite for God to read out loud. I didn't hear anything, but I think I saw his lips move. -- "A Field of Birds" is, strangely enough, the theme song to a charity organization. Yel... more info

Pitchfork — T-shirt design by Broken Social SceneJust in time for sweater weather to kick into overdrive, it's another helping of charity t-shirts from the Yellow Bird Project! For the uninitiated, Montreal-based Yellow Bird recruits musicians of note to design ... more info

Pitchfork — T-shirt design by Broken Social SceneJust in time for sweater weather to kick into overdrive, it's another helping of charity t-shirts from the Yellow Bird Project! For the uninitiated, Montreal-based Yellow Bird recruits musicians of note to de... more info

Said the Gramophone — Sarah Siskind - "Falling Stars" It was through Bon Iver's self-damning love for "Lovin's For Fools," the heartbreaking, "You Are My Sunshine"-jacking ballad by Sarah Siskind, that I learned of this talented songwriter. Sad music and production this ... more info

Stereogum — The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner curated this one, and its contributor list reads like the contents of your iPod, including Arcade Fire, Beirut, Beach House, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Andrew Bird, Antony, MMJ, Feist, Ben Gibbard, Spoon, Sufjan, ... more info

Pitchfork — The eagerly anticipated compilation Dark Was the Night, curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National to benefit the Red Hot Organization, has now completed its all-star lineup, and man, is it impressive. As previously reported, Dark Was the Nig... more info

Pitchfork — The eagerly anticipated compilation Dark Was the Night, curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National to benefit the Red Hot Organization, has now completed its all-star lineup, and man, is it impressive. As previously reported, Dark Was the Nig... more info

My Old Kentucky — Casey Dienel's White Hinterland released two excellent works this year...Phylactery Factory and Luniculaire. Phylactery Factory was her official debut and maybe an even more aggressive release, Luniculaire, an EP of French covers (all sung in French... more info