Let's start with the disappointments. This was a tough list to put together because there was some big time SHIT this year! There was also stuff that was just meh, where the band has put out some great stuff in recent years and their 2011 effort just wasn't up to snuff.
2011 Biggest Disappointments
5. Megadeth - Th1rt3en
So it's not like this album is awful, but then, neither is So Far, So Good, So What...Given the output of Megadeth since the comeback System has Failed, this is definitely not up to par. Still better than Metallica and Lou Reed's horrific compilation that consequently came out the same day, though. A couple really good songs sprinkled on this thing, but it's not an all the way through album.4. Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Unlike Megadeth, this IS awful. It's exactly what it says it is: "Welcome to My Nightmare 2", so I don't know why I expected anything different. I've just come to really like Alice's music since he's all over VH1 Classic shows and stuff, so I guess I wanted something that was good. Welcome to My Nightmare 1 and 2 are not.3. Warrant - Rockaholic
5 years, no Jani Lane, no Jamie St. James, it's now Robert Mason on vocals, formerly of Lynch Mob, and while he's a great singer, he seems to fit quite well with Warrant's new theme of putting out albums filled with filler rock songs and awful ballads. Nice job on this one jerks!2. Black N Blue - Hell Yeah
If there ever was another "Chinese Democracy", it's this thing. I've always liked Black N Blue since I got into them in 1998. And I KNOW they've been sitting on this thing for at least 9 years, so after all that time of putzing around with it, you expect excellence. Instead you get this. Take my word for it, it wasn't worth the wait.1. Queensryche - Dedicated to Chaos
What happens when you get your third guitarist in 10 years, come off the heels of your crappiest album to date in American Soldier, and tease your fans with a kick ass album cover? You put out something that baffles even people who hung on after American Soldier, that's what! Song after song of pseudo pop BS that Nickelback would even cringe at. As long as these guys keep releasing stuff under the Queensryche moniker, I'll keep following along, because hey, SOMETHING has to make the disappointment list!Onto the best albums of the year! After looking through the 2011 list, there were honestly quite a few more albums that kicked ass than I thought.
2011 Top 5!
5. Vicious Rumors - Razorback Killer
I only just got into these guys in 2009, so this is the first album I've actually looked forward to. I really don't care for anything they've done since 1991's "Welcome to the Ball", until now! This might be their best album ever. The new singer could pass for Vicious Rumors' glory days singer "Carl Albert" or even a Ripper Owens. Guitar tones sound like their early 90s stuff with the same catchy hooks as that era. Great effort by an aging, unknown!4. StoneLake - Marching on Timeless Tales
This is the lone "newer band" entry into my best of list this year. Mouth got me into these guys mid-year and I couldn't (still can't) stop listening to the album. A strange mix of early 90s sounding metal with a modern twist. I listened to their back catalog (like 2 albums) and didn't care for it. This is noticably different and I hope they keep it up. Thanks Mouth.3. Anthrax - Worship Music
This late in a band's career, it's hard to top the stuff that made you famous, but Anthrax has done it! I am a huge John Bush fan, but Anthrax tended to get a little grungy with him, so I'd just as soon he stick to Armored Saint. Joey Belladonna is back, and he sounds amazing. This is what Anthrax were meant to sound like, and somehow, with all member hovering around 50 years old, they give us their best album ever. Show em how it's done!2. Saxon - Call to Arms
Anyone who knows me knows I love Saxon! The albums of the last 15 years since I discovered them (holy shit, it's really been that long!), have almost all been excellent, straight through listeners. This album stands out though, take the catchy hooks they had in their 80s stuff and mix it with the excellent songwriting and guitar tones of the last 15 years, and you get this! Strangely, it's grown on me more since it came out and I'm starting to perhaps put it at the top of their catalog as well. Check it out if you haven't!1. Tarot - The Spell of Iron MMXI
So this is a little skewed. This album, which I'll go ahead and say might be their best album of their career, led me to the rest of their back-catalog (thanks Tony). I listened to their stuff for the entire second half of the year. Great album. Great band. They deserve album of the year regardless of their epic back catalog!
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