Best 20 Albums of 2011. So far. According to NPR & Stereogum. On Spotify.

Justin Vernon/Bon Iver celebrates his #1 on Stereogum making funny noises

Are you ready to say goodbye to the first half of 2011? The july turning point is getting closer and some websites have made their mid-term charts of the best music of the year, so far. For example, two American heavyweights of the digital/musical age like NPR and Stereogum.

NPR's list goes alphabetically and diplomatically from Adele to Wye Oak, covering a wide musical spectrum (pop, rock, jazz, world, James Blake, new age...). Stereogum is more loyal to its indie-rock curriculum and crowns Bon Iver's Bon Iver as best album of the first six months of 2011. Just four albums are included in both charts: by Adele, Bon Iver, Fucked Up and Krallice (the last one, not available on Spotify).

Wanna compare these musical tastes with yours? Enjoy!

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NPR'S 25 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2011 (SO FAR)
Source:NPR.
Albums available on Spotify: 18 out of 25 (72%)

Adele, 21
Alexander Tharaud, Scarlatti: Sonatas
Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal, Chamber Music
Ben Allison, Action-Refraction
Big K.R.I.T., Return Of 4eva
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Bright Eyes, The People's Key
Colin Stetson, New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges
Demdike Stare, Tryptych
Diego Garcia, Laura
Dominik Eulberg, Diorama
Donnacha Dennehy, Grá agus Bás
E-40, Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift
Ebène Quartet, Fiction
Frank Ocean, Nostalgia, ULTRA
F——- Up, David Comes To Life
Gretchen Parlato, The Lost And Found
James Blake, James Blake
Jill Scott, The Light Of The Sun
Julianna Barwick, The Magic Place
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Diamond Mine
Krallice, Diotima
Tommy Guerrero, Lifeboats And Follies
tUnE-yArDs, w h o k i l l
Wye Oak, Civilian

Listen to it on Spotify:
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0703)
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0704)



STEREOGUM'S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2011 (SO FAR)
Source: Stereogum.
Albums available on Spotify: 15 out of 20 (75%)

20 Puro Instinct – Headbangers In Ecstasy
19 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
18 Liturgy – Aesthetica
17 Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine
16 Krallice – Diotima
15 Yuck – Yuck
14 Destroyer – Kaputt
13 Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
12 Prurient – Bermuda Drain
11 Pure X – Pleasure
10 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
09 The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
08 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
07 Adele – 21
06 Pictureplane – Thee Physical
05 Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
04 Iceage – New Brigade
03 Austra – Feel It Break
02 Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
01 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Listen to it on Spotify:
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0705)
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0706)

Guardian's History of Modern Music Playlists (bonus mammoth included)

"This was the week we tried to map out the entire story of contemporary music using nothing but blood, sweat and a fancy interactive gizmo"

Have you seen the Guardian's A History of Modern Music feature?

It's a gigantic series of articles, interactive timelines and playlists, published this week. They divided it in seven chapters, one for genre (pop, rock, hip hop & r'n'b, indie, dance, world & folk, jazz) and the first thing I thought when I saw it was: great! I will make some Spotify playlists that you can listen while reading the articles!

The second thing I thought, it was: oh, God, they already did it. Yes, each genre has an official playlist, on the Guardian Spotify account.

Then, it came the third thought: this is in pure Spotirama spirit! (yes, I have a Spotiramacentric vision of the world). I must link the playlists!

And so it is: below you find all the direct links to Guardian's playlist. The order is by subscribers (counted the 17/6/2011, 23:48, Berlin Meridian Time), just to get aknowledgement of the big love of Spotirama users for indie music. And at the bottom, a little big bonus messy playlist that Guardian guys didn't make. Enjoy! 

Indie (Guardian's page)

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On Spotify: HTTP, URI.

(631 subscribers)

Rock (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(578 subscribers)

Pop (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(524 subscribers)

Hip Hop & R'n'B (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(515 subscribers)

Dance (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(506 subscribers)

Jazz (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(378 subscribers)

World & Folk (Guardian's page)

On Spotify: HTTP, URI. 

(354 subscribers)

Bonus playlist 

THE MAMMOTH 

(all the seven Guardian's History of Modern Music playlists in one, 567 tracks)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI.  

BBC6 Music Playlist (week 23, commencing 4/6/2011)

Simmetronomy 

It's about one month that I don't update the BBC6 Playlist. That means that almost all songs available appear as "new entries"... Some of the artists involved? Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Guillemots, Kills, Metronomy, My Morning Jacket... Enjoy and have a great week!  

BBC 6 Music Playlist
Source: BBC6 Music
Songs available on Spotify: 22 out of 31 (70,96%)

Airship - Kids
Arcade Fire - Speaking in Tongues
Arctic Monkeys - Reckless Serenade
Bon Iver - Calgary
Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Fleet Foxes - Lorelai
Foo Fighters - Walk
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kids
My Morning Jacket - Holdin' On To Black Metal
Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill
Anna Calvi - Desire
Daughter - Landfill
Dels feat. Joe Goddard & Roots Manuva - Capsize
Guillemots - I Must Be a Lover
The Horrors - Still Life
The Joy Formidable - A Heavy Abacus
Kaiser Chiefs - Little Shocks
The Kills - Future Starts Slow
Michael Kiwanuka - Tell Me A Tale
Metronomy - The Bay
Sbtrkt - Wildfire
Sufjan Stevens - I Walked
tUnE-yArDs - Bizness
Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed
Yuck - Shook Down
The Bookhouse Boys - With You
Chad Valley - Now That I'm Real (How Does It Feel?)
Dry The River - No Rest
Dutch Uncles - X-O
Jamie XX - Far Nearer
Other Lives - For 12

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0505)

Previously on BBC6:
BBC6 Shortlisted Top 100 Songs of 2010

Acclaimed Music Top 20 Albums of 1963

Singin' at the Apollo (not Creed)

This is a kind of "history of music" project, based on aggregated charts found on Acclaimed Music. It features Top 20 playlists for decades 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and yearly Top 20 playlists (both songs and albums) for each year from 1960 to 2010. It should be a weekly project (though I'm not very good in being consistent with weekly projects). To keep track of it, I made the Acclaimed History of Music page.

1963 is the year when rock albums started to roar. The problem is that they were made by The Beatles and Bob Dylan, two of the most important artists whose recorded catalogues are not available on Spotify, yet (actually I found a Freewheelin' version, but I don't think it's really available). Anyway, jazz remained the strongest genre, with four albums by John Coltrane and many from Blue Note Records/Rudy Van Gelder Editions. Two brazilian titles make these playlists even more spicy. But the #1 is the sex machine. Enjoy!

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TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 1962
Source: Acclaimed Music
Missing from Spotify: 4 albums
(legenda: the number preceding the artist name is the ranking in Acclaimed Music Top 3000 chart)

1 (40) James Brown - 'Live' at the Apollo
2 (177) Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
* (286) The Beatles - With the Beatles/Meet the Beatles!
3 (418) Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
4 (485) Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records/Phil Spector
* (489) The Beatles - Please Please Me/Introducing...The Beatles
5 (1038) Sam Cooke - Night Beat
6 (1198) Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris
7 (1289) John Coltrane - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
8 (1405) Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
9 (1669) Jorge Ben - Samba Esquema Novo
10 (1771) John Coltrane - Ballads
11 (1881) Oscar Peterson - Night Train
** (1959) Cecil Taylor - Live at the Cafe Montmartre/Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come
12 (1976) Barbra Streisand - The Barbra Streisand Album
13 (2191) Jimmy Giuffre - Free Fall
14 (2270) Antonio Carlos Jobim - The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
15 (2362) Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue
16 (2496) Joe Henderson - Page One
17 (2516) Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond
18 (2603) John Coltrane - Impressions
** (2691) The Impressions - The Impressions
19 (2810) The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA
20 (****) Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook

Listen to it on Spotify:
Mammoth (full albums): HTTP, URI. (SR0701)
Lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0702)

The Complete Acclaimed Music Series

Acclaimed Music Top 20 Songs of 1962

Do you know his name?

Sometimes they come back! This is a kind of "history of music" project, based on aggregated charts found on Acclaimed Music. It features Top 20 playlists for decades 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and yearly Top 20 playlists (both songs and albums) for each year from 1960 to 2010. It should be a weekly project, but it's almost two months from its latest chapter. Time to re-start it.

This playlist is dedicated to 1962. The year of Green Onions, The Loco-Motion, Isley Brothers' version of Twist and Shout and John Barry's immortal theme for Mr. Bond's movies. Enjoy!

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TOP 20 SONGS OF 1961
Source: Acclaimed Music
(legenda: the number preceding the artist name is the ranking in Acclaimed Music Top 3000 chart)

1 (85) Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions
2 (325) The Crystals - He's a Rebel
3 (358) Little Eva - The Loco-Motion
4 (496) Gene Chandler - Duke of Earl
5 (551) The Miracles - You've Really Got a Hold on Me
6 (649) Ray Charles - I Can't Stop Loving You
7 (652) George Jones - She Thinks I Still Care
8 (742) The Tornados - Telstar
9 (783) John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom
10 (829) Ketty Lester - Love Letters
11 (896) The Drifters - Up on the Roof
12 (1038) The Isley Brothers - Twist and Shout
13 (1118) Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home to Me
-- (1308) The Four Seasons - Big Girls Don't Cry
14 (1433) James Brown - Lost Someone
15 (1483) The Contours - Do You Love Me
16 (1606) John Barry Orchestra - James Bond Theme
17 (1656) Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart in San Francisco
-- (1694) The Beatles - Love Me Do
18 (1706) Patsy Cline - She's Got You
19 (1938) James Brown - Night Train
20 (2071) Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP, URI. (SR0688)

The Complete Acclaimed Music Series

SONGS:
- Top 20 Songs of 1920s
- Top 20 Songs of 1930s
- Top 20 Songs of 1940s
- Top 20 Songs of 1950s
- Top 20 Songs of 1960
- Top 20 Songs of 1961

ALBUMS:
- Top 20 Albums of 1950s
- Top 20 Albums of 1960
- Top 20 Albums of 1961
- Top 20 Albums of 1962

NME's The 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time

My finest moment in Catalunya

Back from the sonic orgy of Primavera Sound in Barcelona, I need to stay tuned with the live dimension. So, this is the Spotify rendition of NME's 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, with many raw, passionate and historical performances by White Stripes, Talking Heads, Muse, Queen, James Brown, U2, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Johnny Cash, Radiohead and rather-disappointing-in-Barcelona Belle & Sebastian.

Enjoy!

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NME's 50 GREATEST LIVE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Source: NME.
Albums available on Spotify: 34 out of 50 (68%)

50 - Tom Waits - 'Glitter And Doom Live'
49 - My Morning Jacket - 'Okonokos'
48 - Metallica - 'S&M'
47 - Wilco - 'Kicking Television: Live in Chicago'
46 - The White Stripes - 'Under Great White Northern Lights'
45 - The Cramps - 'Smell of Female'
44 - Talking Heads - 'Stop Making Sense'
43 - Iggy And The Stooges - 'Metallic K.O.'
42 - Future Of The Left - 'Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires'
41 - Simon And Garfunkel - 'The Concert In Central Park'
40 - Muse - 'Haarp'
39 - The Mars Volta - 'Scabdates'
38 - Cream - 'Wheels Of Fire'
37 - James Brown - 'Live At The Apollo
36 - Queen - 'Live At Wembley Stadium'
35 - AC/DC - 'If You Want Blood'
34 - Jerry Lee Lewis - 'Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'
33 - The Band - 'The Last Waltz'
32 - George Harrison - 'The Concert For Bangladesh'
31 - U2 - 'Under A Blood Red Sky'
30 - Elvis Presley - 'Aloha From Hawaii'
29 - Bob Dylan & The Band - 'Before The Flood'
28 - Curtis Mayfield - 'Curtis/Live!'
27 - Black Lips - 'Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo'
26 - Belle & Sebastian - 'If You're Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican'
25 - Bill Callahan - 'Rough Travel For A Rare Thing'
24 - Woodstock: Music From The Original Soundtrack And More (check the gorgeous unofficial Spotirama Woodstock '69 reconstruction)
23 - The Velvet Underground - 'Live At Max's Kansas City'
22 - Jeff Buckley- 'Mystery White Boy'
21 - Pink Floyd - 'Pulse'
20 - The Monterey International Pop Festival
19 - Lynyrd Skynyrd - 'One More From The Road'
18 - Iron Maiden - 'Live After Death'
17 - Kraftwerk - 'Minimum Maximum'
16 - Aretha Franklin - 'Live At Fillmore West'
15 - Bill Withers - 'Live At Carnegie Hall'
14 - Joni Mitchell - 'Miles Of Aisles'
13 - Deep Purple - 'Made In Japan'
12 - Led Zeppelin - 'The Song Remains The Same'
11 - The Rolling Stones - 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out'
10 - Kiss - 'Alive!'
9 - The Ramones - 'It's Alive'
8 - MC5 - 'Kick Out The Jams'
7 - Jay Z - 'Unplugged'
6 - Nirvana - 'Unplugged In New York'
5 - Johnny Cash - 'At Folsom Prison'
4 - Radiohead - 'I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings'
3 - The Who - 'Live At Leeds'
2 - Neil Young & Crazy Horse - 'Live Rust'
1 - Thin Lizzy - 'Live And Dangerous'

Listen to it on Spotify:
full Albums: HTTP, URI. (SR0686)
lite (3 tracks each album): HTTP, URI. (SR0687)