Listen to the jams, albums, and mixes that got our writers through 2011
DAN WEISS, Phoenix music writer
1. Gotye, "Somebody That I Used to Know" (from Making Mirrors)
2. Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass" (from Pink Friday: Deluxe Edition)
3. Group Doueh, "Wazan Doueh" (from Zayna Jumma)
4. Azealia Banks, "212" (single)
5. Jason Derülo, "It Girl" (from Future History)
6. The Raveonettes, "Ignite" (from Raven in the Grave)
7. Ke$ha, "Shots on the Hood of My Car" (unreleased)
8. Lana Del Rey, "Video Games" (single)
9. Lykke Li, "Sadness Is a Blessing" (from Wounded Rhymes)
10. Lady Gaga, "Heavy Metal Lover" (from Born This Way)
11. Charli XCX, "Stay Away" (from the Stay Away EP)
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: Best of 2011: Dan Weiss's Picks | All Boston Phoenix Top Tracks of 2011
Visionary rock and rap singles were profoundly nonexistent this year, so I naturally turned to R&B and country, but those singles-oriented genres turned out their best albums in years: Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Pistol Annies, Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Raphael Saadiq. Pop also boasted career bests from Britney Spears, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Since I couldn't imagine playing "Til the World Ends" or "Novocane" without wanting to hear more where they came from, my singles list is most anomaly-heavy. Of the big hitters, only Gaga's subtle sneakup "Heavy Metal Lover" and Nicki Minaj's indisputable "Super Bass" stayed in my rotation when the albums went to bed. The multi-hooked Jason Derülo deserved to follow Taio Cruz into weightless ubiquity. The Raveonettes squeezed out just one song as miraculous as 2009's In and Out of Control. "Video Games" and Lykke Li delivered on their cavernous-sinuous choruses. I could've chosen any of three songs that finally converted me to Ke$ha so I chose the would-be hit that got left behind. Google it, you won't be sorry. Google Gotye and Azealia Banks too, who made "rock" and "rap" that blurred all the right lines and didn't skimp on the visionary, no scare quotes needed.
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