The Best of The Best 2011

2011 was a wonderful year for entertainment and these were my favorite things.

TV

1. Friday Night Lights (NBC)

2. Parks and Recreation (NBC)

3. Breaking Bad (AMC)

4. Community (NBC)

5. Treme (HBO)

6. Louie (F/X)

7. 30 Rock (NBC)

8. Homeland (Showtime)

9. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

10. The Walking Dead (AMC)

11. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

12. Parenthood (NBC)

13. Children’s Hospital (Toon)

14. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

15. Portlandia (IFC)

16. Justified (F/X)

17. Boss (Starz)

18. New Girl (FOX)

19. The League (F/X)

20. Bored to Death (HBO)

21. Modern Family (ABC)

22. Archer (F/X)

23. Cougar Town (ABC)

24. How to Make it in America (HBO)

25. The Office (NBC)

 

Movies

1. The Interupters

2. 50/50

3. Another Year

4. Martha Marcy May Marlene

5. Hugo

6. The Artist

7. Midnight in Paris

8. Beginners

9. Bridesmaids

10. Moneyball

11. Color Me Obsessed

12. The Muppets

13. The Future

14. Cedar Rapids

15. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

16. Contagion

17. The Descendents

18. The Ides of March

19. The Trip

20. Friends With Benefits

 

Favorite Theatre Shows

1. The Book of Mormon (Broadway)

2. The Big Meal (American Theatre Company)

3. A Twist of Water (Route 66 Theatre Company)

4. Clybourne Park (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)

5. The Outgoing Tide (Northlight Theatre)

6. Northwest Highway (Gift Theatre)

7. Port (The Raven Theatre)

8. This (Theatre Wit)

9. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)

10. Red (The Goodman Theatre)

 

Favorite Concerts

1. tUnE-yArDs at Lincoln Hall

2. The Joy Formidable at Lincoln Hall

3. Allo Darlin at Schuba’s

4. Girl Talk at Congress Theatre

5. Lykke Li at The Vic

6. Jens Lekman at Lincoln Hall

7. Cults at Empty Bottle

8. Wild Flag at Subterranean

9. Tame Impala and Yuck at Lincoln Hall

10. Cut Copy at Pitchfork Music Festival

11. Okkervil River at the Vic

12. Booker T. Jones and Mavis Staples at the Hideout Block Party

13. Cass McCombs at Schuba’s

14. Fruit Bats/Vetiver at Lincoln Hall

15. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Lincoln Hall/Jukebox The Ghost at Schuba’s

16. St. Vincent at Metro

17. Disappears at Empty Bottle

18. Robyn at Riviera

19. Flaming Lips at The Aragon Ballroom or Orgone at Schuba’s

20. Magic Kids, Generationals, Pet Lions, & In Tall Buildings at Schuba’s

21. Hall and Oates at Ravinia

22. Eef Barzalay at The Hideout for The Onion’s A/V Festival

23. Jessica Lea Mayfield at Taste of Chicago

24. Iron & Wine, The Head & The Heart, and Phosphorescent at Millennium Park

25. Black Cat Heart Attack at Quenchers and Expo ’76 at Simon’s

Special Mention: Jeff Tweedy performing songs of The Black Eyed Peas at The Hideout for the @MayorEmanuel Book Release

 

 Favorite Comedy Shows

1. Reggie Watts at Mayne Stage

2. Garfunkel & Oates at Mayne Stage

3. Hannibal Buress at Zanies

4. Jeff Garlin at Steppenwolf

5. Demetri Martin & Friends Chicago Theatre

6. Todd Barry at The Hideout

7. Marc Maron at Mayne Stage

8. Chris Hardwick at Zanies

9. Patton Oswalt at Reckless Records

10. Doug Loves Movies at Mayne Stage

 

Favorite Records of 2011

1. tUnE-yArDs whokill (4AD)

2. Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes (Atlantic)

3. Beirut The Rip Tide (Pompeii)

4. Wye Oak Civilian (Merge)

5. M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)

6. Sims Bad Time Zoo (Doomtree)

7. Wild Flag Wild Flag (Merge)

8. The Joy Formidable The Big Roar (Atlantic)

9. The Weeknd House of Balloons (theweeknd)

10. Cults Cults (Columbia)

11. Shabazz Palaces Black Up (Sub Pop)

12. Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)

13. Seapony Go With Me (Hardly Art)

14. Gardens & Villa Gardens & Villa (Secretly Canadian)

15. Milagres Glowing Mouth (Kill Rock Stars)

16. Youth Lagoon Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum)

17. Roots undun (Def Jam)

18. Canon Blue Rumspringa (Temporary Residence Ltd.)

19. The Decemberists The King is Dead (Capitol)

20. PJ Harvey Let England Shake (Vagrant)

21. Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean (Warner Bros.)

22. Real Estate Days (Domino)

23. Acid House Kings Music Sounds Better With You (Labrador)

24. Tennis Cape Dory (Fat Possum)

25. Starfucker Reptilians (Polyvinyl)

26. The Lonely Forest Arrows (Trans/Atlantic)

27. Cloud Nothings Cloud Nothings (Carpark)

28. Veronica Falls Veronica Falls (Slumberland)

29. Toro Y Moi Underneath the Pine (Carpark)

30. The Poison Control Center Stranger Ballet (Afternoon)

31. Raphael Saadiq Stone Rollin’ (Columbia)

32. Title Tracks In Blank (Ernest Jenning)

33. Little Gold Weird Freedom (Loud Baby)

34. The War on Drugs Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)

35. Thao & Mirah Thao & Mirah (Kill Rock Stars)

36. Cut Copy Zonoscope (Modular)

37. Portugal. The Man In the Mountain in the Cloud (Atlantic)

38. Sleeper Agent Celebrasion (Mom+Pop)

39. BOAT Dress Like Your Idols (Magic Marker)

40. Givers In Light (Glassnote)

41. Dum Dum Girls Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)

42. Pete & The Pirates One Thousand Pictures (Stolen)

43. Telekinesis 12 Desperate Straight Lines (Merge)

44. Van Hunt What Were You Hoping For? (Godless Hotspot)

45. Okkervil River I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

46. Girls Names Dead to Me (Slumberland)

47. Yuck Yuck (Fat Possum)

48. Mayer Hawthorne How Do You Do (Universal)

49. St. Vincent Strange Mercy (4AD)

50. James Blake James Blake (ATLAS)

51. The Bewitched Hands Birds & Drums (Jive/Epic)

52. TV on the Radio Nine Types of Light (Interscope)

53. Bon Iver Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)

54. The Drums Portamento (Frenchkiss)

55. Frankie and the Heartstrings Hunger (Wichita)

56. Wax Idols No Future (HoZac)

57. Jonny Jonny (Merge)

58. Darkness Falls Alive in Us (hfn)

59. Low C’mon (Sub Pop)

60. Vetiver The Errant Charm (Sub Pop)

61. Drive-By Truckers Go-Go Boots (ATO)

62. Pepper Rabbit Red Velvet Snow Ball (Kanine)

63. Mikal Cronin Mikal Cronin (Trouble in Mind)

64. Dessa Castor, The Twin (Doomtree)

65. Bing Ji Ling Shadow to Shine (Tummy Touch)

66. Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

67. The Stepkids The Stepkids (Stones Throw)

68. Cass McCombs Wit’s End and Humor Risk (Domino)

69. The Feelies Here Before (Bar/None)

70. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. It’s a Corporate World (Quite Scientific)

71. Cloud Control Bliss Release (Infectious)

72. Alexander Alexander (Community)

73. Los Campesinos! Hello Sadness (Arts&Crafts)

74. Summer Camp Welcome to Condale (Moshi Moshi)

75. The Do Both Ways Open Jaws (Six Degree)

76. Caitlin Rose Own Side Now (Theory

77. Ty Segall Goodbye Bread (Drag City)

78. Atlas Sound Parrallax (4AD)

79. Fucked Up Turn the Season (Matador)

80. Canyons Keep Your Dreams (Modular)

81. Sandro Perri Impossible Spaces (Constellation)

82. Wooden Wand & The Briarwood Virgins Briarwood (Fire)

83. Eddy Current Supression Ring So Many Things (Goner)

84. EMA Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions)

85. Katy B On a Mission (Columbia)

86. BOBBY Loading Phase (Partisan)

87. Ford & Lopatin Channel Pressure (Software)

88. Jacuzzi Boys Glazin’ (Hardly Art)

89. Booker T. Jones The Road From Memphis (ANTI-)

90. Neon Indian Era Extrana (Mom+Pop)

91. Thee Oh Sees Carrion Crawler (In the Red)

92. Zola Jesus Conatus (Sacred Bones)

93. Wild Beasts Smother (Domino)

94. Belong Common Era (Kranky)

95. Mates of State Mountaintops (Barsuk)

96. The Mountain Goats All Eternals Deck (Merge)

97. Washed Out Within and Without  (Sub Pop)

98. Class Actress Rapprocher (Carpark)

99. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Belong (Slumberland)

100. Anna Calvi Anna Calvi (Domino)

Also enjoyed:

La Sera La Sera (Hardly Art)

Classified Handshakes and Middle Fingers (Halflife/Sony)

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside Dirty Radio (Partisan)

The Horrors Skying (XL)

Chad VanGaalen Diaper Island (Sub Pop)

Woods Sun and Shade (Woodsist)

Shannon and the Clams Sleep Talk (1-2-3-4 Go!)

Gang Gang Dance Eye Contact (4AD)

Iceage New Brigade (Dais)

An Horse Walls (Mom+Pop)

In One Wind How Bright a Shadow (Primary)

The Head and the Heart The Head and the Heart (Sub Pop)

Metronomy The English Riviera (Because Music)

Cat’s Eyes Cat’s Eyes (Co-Op)

Son Lux We are Rising (Anticon)

Evidence Cats & Dogs (Rhymesayers)

Male Bonding Endless Now (Sub Pop)

The Cute Lepers Adventure Time (1-2-3-4 Go!)

Danielson Best of Gloucester County (Fire)

Witches Forever (Bakery Outlet)

Laura Stevenson & The Cans Sit Resist (Don Giovanni)

The Antlers Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)

Architecture in Helsinki Moment Bends  (Co-Op)

Akron/Family The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Sinju (Dead Oceans)

Buried Beds Tremble the Sails (Admiral Byrd)

Hunx and His Punx Too Young to Be in Love (Hardly Art)

Lemuria Pebble (Bridge Nine)

Papercuts Fading Parade (Sub Pop)

Sloan The Double Cross (Yep Roc)

Atmosphere The Family Sign (Rhymesayers)

Chuck Ragan Covering Ground (Side One Dummy)

Peter Wolf Crier Garden of Arms (Jagjaguwar)

Brown Recluse Evening Tapestry (Slumberland)

We Were Promised Jetpacks In the Pit of the Stomach (FatCat)

Yellow Ostrich The Mistress (Barsuk)

Quintron Sucre Du Sauvage (Goner)

Blueprint Adventures in Counter Culture (Rhymesayers)