“Said the Gramophone’s” Best Songs of 2011

The end of the year means the usual deluge of “Best of 2011” lists, most of which are best avoided outright. Of course, such general rules always have exceptions, and one such exception is the “best songs of the year” list that Said The Gramophone, a music blog more indie than Indie Rock Pete (pictured on the right), has been compiling since 2005.

Their 2011 list features 100 songs, which are described as follows:

65 are fronted by men, 35 by women. 47 artists are American, 26 are Canadian, 15 are British, 4 are Swedish, 3 are French, 2 are Australian, and there is one Finn, one Swiss and one Beninese.

This isn’t just a list you read, but one you can listen to as well. Every song on this list is posted for online listening and also downloadable, either individually, or in two big batches: songs 1 through 50 [259MB zip file] and songs 51 through 100 [249MB zip file]. With very few exceptions, you’re not likely to hear these songs on commercial radio, but the Said the Gramophoners have exquisite tastes, and that’s why I check in on their blog regularly. Check out their list, download the music and hear what you might have been missing!