Or Top 5. Or Top 42. Or however long you want to make your list. I'll start...

My Top 13 of 2011
It was an interesting year in music. I’ve looked at a number of “year in review” lists from other online opinion-babblers, and something really struck me… no two lists are even remotely similar.

The real story of this year? A critically acclaimed group led by a quirky guitarist/singer/songwriter rediscovers the joys of compelling songcraft and puts out a consistently listenable disc that deserves notice and warrants repeated listens. There, I’ve just described 9 of my top 13 selections.

1. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
The thing is, I’m not even really a Decemberists fan. They’ve always struck me as a little too precious and too self-consciously literate to draw me in. But this collection of songs is so memorable, so consistently enjoyable, that it’s undeniable. From the sing-along refrains of “Rox in the Box” and “Down by the Water” to the apocalyptic humor of the “Calamity Song” to the fragile, heartbreaking beauty of “January Hymn,” there is a lot here to love. Your grandchildren will be singing these songs.

2. Wilco – The Whole Love
Jeff Tweedy and Co. deliver a resonant song-cycle, bookended by two stunning, epic-length musical meditations. It’s more focused than their last effort, and more challenging (at times) than the one before that.

3. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
This one is the surprise of the year for me. It’s the most engaging marriage of power-trio-pop and shoegaze-inspired noise since the heyday of Teenage Fanclub. Seeing their blistering set at Lollapalooza was simply icing on the cake. That little Welsh pixie and her two pals can bring the thunder!

4. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
I know a lot of people were disappointed by the more accessible and radio-ready sound of this disc, but I mean… come on. This group of songs needed a treatment like this. I don’t care how “pop” it seems at first blush, it just sounds right to me. It’s warm, inviting, listenable, rich, smooth and chocolatey.

5. REM – Collapse Into Now
These guys have closed out their formidable career as a band with two late releases which more than made up for their previous detours into adult-contemporary territory. And while this disc doesn’t quite measure up to the high and hard-hitting standard of 2008’s Accelerate, it does include numerous memorable moments. Farewell, and thanks for all the memories!

6. My Morning Jacket – Circuital
A step back in the right direction after Evil Urges, this album was touted as a “return to their roots”. I think it’s more accurate to say that this represents the evolutionary step they should have taken after 2006’s Z album. It’s not as hard-rocking as that disc, but it’s just as soulful and heartfelt.

7. The Black Keys – El Camino
After several albums of gritty, basic, dirty-sounding blues-rock albums, this duo decided to update their sound a bit by bringing in uber-producer Dangermouse on a few songs on their last album. This album is more of that. Not tough to understand the appeal here, but can someone please explain all the mini-vans on the album cover art?

8. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
When I first heard the obnoxious title, I cringed. When they leaked the first single, “Brick by Brick,” I cringed even harder… because that is one awful song. But most of the rest of the album is actually a very listenable exercise in 60’s-style guitar pop, with confident melodies and ridiculous lyrics.

9. The Cars – Move Like This
Apparently, what the world needed now was another Cars album. Thank god they didn’t try to “update” their sound… it’s a damn Cars album. Period.

10. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
This one takes more than a few listens to connect with, but its weirdness eventually won me over. Nervous, twitchy percussion undergirds some trippy vocal loops, guitars and electronics once again… this time taking you on a voyage from wakefulness, to dream to nightmare to reawakening.

11. Steven Wilson – Grace for Drowning
This two-disc set isn’t neo-prog, or prog-metal, or prog-space-pop or anything like that. It’s just old-fashioned, unapologetic prog that wouldn’t sound out of place in the King Crimson catalog. Listen at your own peril.

12. The Boxer Rebellion – The Cold Still
Their 2009 release, Union, was my pick for Album of the Year. This one didn’t grab me quite as much, but it still gets semi-regular rotation on my system.

13. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
I was never really much of a fan of these guys either. And there aren’t any true stand-out tracks for me on this album, but taken as a whole… it works. It reminds me of being 15 and sitting down in my best friend’s fake-wood-paneled basement, listening to Aerosmith Rocks for the first time.