We'd like to apologize for some editorial slackness when it comes to this list of the most average releases of 2011. Firstly, this list actually contains 228 average releases, but we included Radiohead three times, and Ariel Pink, acting like a little bitch. Perhaps more alarmingly some of the items we've listed here simply aren't in that nebulous Goldilocks zone of average, they're just plain awful. Still, we think this spread pulls it off overall: drab, boring, uninspired, leaving you cold for years to come; it's all here, existing harmoniously in mediocrity.
The year in eh…
The Decemberists, Long Live the King EP (Capitol)
Wale, Ambition (Warner Bros.)
King Krule, King Krule EP (True Panther Sounds)
Mac Miller, Blue Slide Park (Rostrum Records)
Los Campesinos!, Hellos Sadness (Arts and Crafts)
Drake, Take Care (Cash Money Records)
Sigur Rós, Inni [Live] (XL)
Yelawolf, Radioactive (Interscope)
Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band, Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band (PIAS)
Brian Eno, Panic of Looking EP (Warp)
Kurt Vile, So Outta Reach EP (Matador)
David Lynch, Crazy Clown Time (Sunday Best)
Blackout Beach, Fuck Death (Dead Oceans)
Childish Gambino, Camp (Glass Note)
Altered Zones Shutting Down, That's Crybaby Shit (Yesterday)
The Duke Spirit, Bruiser (Shangri-La Music)
Spectrals, Bad Penny (Slumberland)
Zambri, Glossolalia (Kanine)
Lou Reed and Metallica, Lulu (Warner Bros.)
Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials (Island)
Kidz In The Hall, Occasion (Brainiac / Duck Down Music)
Idle Warship, Habits Of Heart (Blacksmith Music/Element 9)
Salem, I'm Still In The Night EP (IAMSOUND)
Doomtree, No Kings (Doomtree)
Zed Bias, <i>Biasonic Hotsauce: Birth of the Nanocloud (Tru Thought)
Future Of The Left, Polymers Are Forever EP (Xtra Mile) Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto (Capitol)
Justice, Audio Video Disco (Ed Banger)
Mumford and Sons, Sigh No More (Glassnote)
M83, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Mute)
Electric Six, Heartbeats and Brainwaves (Metropolis Records)
Feist, Metals (Cherrytree/Interscope)
Freestyle Fellowship, The Promise (Decon)
We Were Promised Jetpacks, In the Pit of the Stomach (FatCat)
Icebird, The Abandoned Lullaby (RJ's Electrical Connections)
James Blake, Enough Thunder (Atlas)
Mayer Hawthorne, How Do You Do (Universal)
Ryan Adams, Ashes and Fire (Pax-Am/Capitol)
DJ Shadow, The Less You Know, The Better (Verve)
She and Him, A Very She and Him Christmas (Merge)
Surfer Blood, Tarot Classics (Kanine)
Jane's Addiction, The Great Escape Artist (Capitol)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yelstin, Tape Club (Polyvinyl)
Gauntlet Hair, Gauntlet Hair (Dead Oceans)
Radiohead, TKOL RMX 1234567 (TBD Records)
Peter Gabriel, New Blood (Real World Records)
Tom Vek, Leisure Seizure (Downtown)
Loney Dear, Hall Music (Polyvinyl)
Lou Reed and Metallica, LuLu (Warner Bros.)
Nirvana, Nevermind 20th Anniversary Box Set (Universal)
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Lenses Alien (Barsuk)
Girls, Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
Ladytron, Gravity the Seducer (Nettwerk)
Anthrax, Worship Music (Megaforce)
The Rapture, In the Grace of Your Love (DFA)
Boston Spaceships, Let It Beard (GBV Inc)
Fruit Bats, Tripper (Sub Pop)
Wilco, The Whole Love (Anti)
Twin Sister, In Heaven (Domino)
Evidence, Cats and Dogs (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Hysterical (V2 Records / Cooperative)
Kasabian, Velociraptor! (Columbia)
Veronica Falls, Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
The Human League, Credo (Ais / Wall of Sound)
Blondie, Panic of Girls (Eleven Seven)
Blink-182, Neighborhoods (Geffen)
Big Troubles, Romantic Comedy (Slumberland)
Blitzen Trapper, American Goldwing (Sub Pop)
st vincent, Strange Mercy (4AD)
The Drums, Portamento (French Kiss)
CSS, La Liberacion (Downtown)
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV (Universal Republic)
Fountians of Wayne, Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
Gucci Mane + Waka Flocka Flame, Ferrari Boyz (Warner Bros.)
Barenaked Ladies, Snacktimes! (Raisin' Records)
Jeff Bridges, Jeff Bridges (Blue Note)
Hercules and Love Affair, Blue Songs (Moshi Moshi Records)
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Lenses Alien (Barsuk)
Juliana Hatfield, There's Always Another Girl (Ye Olde Records)
Hudson Mohawke, Satin Panthers (Warp)
The Decemberists, iTunes Session EP (Capitol)
Beirut, The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
Jay-Z + Kanye West, Watch the Throne (Def Jam)
Black Tide, Post-Mortem (Interscope)
Lenny Kravitz, Black and White America (Roadrunner)
Washed Out, Within and Without (Sub Pop)
Joss Stone, LP1 (Stone'd Records)
Wu Tang Clan, Legendary Weapons (Entertainment One Music)
Wiley, 100 Percent Publishing (Big Dada)
Portugal. The Man, In the Mountain in the Cloud (Atlantic)
Brilliant Colors, Again and Again (Slumberland)
Alkaline Trio, Damnesia (Epitaph)
Memory Tapes, Player Piano (Carpark Records)
Jackie-O Motherfucker, Earth Sound System (Fire Records)
Digitalism, I Love You Dude (Downtown)
Radical Dads, Mega Rama (Uninhabitable Mansions)
Cali Swag District, The Kickback (Capitol)
The Cool Kids, When Fish Ride Bicycles (Green Label Sound)
Lil Wayne, Sorry 4 The Wait Mixtape
SebastiAn, Total (Ed Banger/Big Beat/Atlantic)
DJ Khaled, We the Best Forever (Universal Motown)
Sons and Daughters, Mirror, Mirror (Domino)
Little Dragon, Ritual Union (Peace Frog)
Pitbull, Planet Pit (RCA)
LMFAO, Sorry for Party Rocking (Interscope)
Sondre Lerche, Sondre Lerche (Mona)
Vetiver, The Errant Charm (Sub Pop)
Is Tropical, Native To (Cooperative Music)
Junior Boys, It's All True (Domino)
Owl City, All Things Bright and Beautiful (Republic)
Marissa Nadler, Marissa Nadler Cults, Cults (Columbia)
Arctic Monkeys, Suck It and See (Domino)
YACHT, Shangri-La (DFA)
The Postelles, The Postelles (+1)
Gomez, Whatever's On Your Mind (ATO)
Thievery Corporation, Culture of Fear (ESL Music)
Big Sean, Gold Cobra (Def Jam)
Limp Bizkit, Interscope (Interscope)
Rosebuds, Loud Planes Fly Low (Merge)
Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)
Death Cab for Cutie, Codes and Keys (Atlantic)
The Cars, Move Like This (Hear Music)
Darwin Deez, Darwin Deez (Lucky Number)
She Wants Revenge, Valleyheart (Eleven Seven)
The Vaccines, What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? (Columbia)
Eddie Vedder, Ukelele Songs (Republic)
Flogging Molly, Speed of Darkness (Borstal Beat Records)
My Morning Jacket, Circuital (ATO)
13 and God, Own Your Ghost (Anticon)
Ben Harper, Give Till It's Gone (Virgin)
Moby, Destroyed (Mute)
Stevie Nicks, In Your Dreams (Reprise)
The Antlers, Burst Apart (Frenchkiss Records)
The Felice Brothers, Celebrations, Florida (Fat Possum)
Here We Go Magic, The January EP (Secretly Canadian)
The Sea and Cake, The Moonlight Butterfly (Thrill Jockey)
Architecture in Helsinki, Moment Bends (Downtown)
Art Brut, Brilliant! Tragic! (Cooking Vinyl)
Lady Gaga, Born This Way (Interscope)
Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
Wiz Khalifa, Rolling Papers (Atlantic/Rostrum)
Panda Bear, Tomboy (Sub Pop)
Snoop Dogg, Doggumentary (Priority)
Pusha T, Fear of God (Re-Up Gang)
Royal Bangs, Flux Outside (Glassnote)
Cold Cave, Cherish the Lights (Matador)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong (Slumberland) (Two months running!)
Radiohead, The King Of Limbs (XL) (Three months running!)
Blueprint, Adventures in Counterculture (Rhymesayers)
Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What (Hear Music)
The Kills, Blood Pressures (Domino)
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (Roswell)
Del the Funky Homosapien, Golden Era (the council)
Black Devil Disco Club, Circus (Lo)
Explosions in the Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence)
Jamaica, No Problem (Downtown/Cooperative)
The Airborne Toxic Event, All At Once (Island)
Of Montreal, Thecontrollersphere (Polyvinyl)
ODeath, Outside (Ernest Jenning)
Atmosphere, The Family Sign (Rhymesayers)
Starfucker, Reptilians (Polyvinyl)
Gorillaz, The Fall (Gorillaz)
Metronomy, The English Riviera (Because)
Jim Jones, Capo (Entertainment on Disc)
Glasvegas, Euphoric Heartbreak (Columbia)
Dr. Dre, for missing his Detox release date, again
Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes (Atlantic)
Dropkick Murphys, Going Out In Style (Self-Released)
Devotchka, 100 Lovers (Epitaph)
Starfucker, Reptillians (Polyvinyl)
BOB 's Odd Future “diss“
Lupe Fiasco, Lasers (Atlantic)
Mi Ami, Dolphins (Thrill Jockey)
The Dodos, No Color (French Kiss)
9th Wonder's weak ass production on Lil B's “Base For Your Face”
Rise Against, Endgame (Geffen)
Gucci Mane, The Return of Mr. Zone 6 (Warner Bros.)
New York Dolls, Dancing Backwards in High Heels (429 Records)
Black Lips' SXSW “grand finale” of playing a guitar solo with a dick
The Rural Alberta Advantage, Departing (Paper Bag Records)
Pharoahe Monch, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (Duck Down Music)
Green Day, Awesome as F**k (Reprise)
The Strokes, Angles (RCA)
Snoop Dogg, Doggumentary (Doggystyle Records)
Peter Bjorn and John, <em>Gimme Some (Columbia)
Ringo Deathstarr, Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)
Raekwon, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang (Ice H20 Records)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong (Slumberland)
Wiz Khalifa, Cabin Fever (Mixtape)
Yuck, Yuck (Fat Possum)
Nicole Atkins, Mondo Amore (Razor and Tie)
Adele, 21 (Columbia)
Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, Vol. 1 (Souther Lord)
Strong Arm Steady, Arm and Hammers (Blacksmith)
The Streets, Computers and Blues (Warner Bros. UK)
The Go! Team, Rolling Blackouts (Memphis Industries)
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Tao of the Dead (Deluxe Edition)
G. Love, Fixin to Die (Brushfire Records)
Cult of Youth, Cult of Youth (Sacred Bones)
The Caribbean, Discontinued Perfume (Hometapes)
Rainbow Arabia, Boys and Diamonds (Kompakt)
Drive-By Truckers, Go-Go Boots (ATO)
The Dirtbombs, Party Store (In the Red)
Ariel Pink, acting like a little bitch
Danielson, The Best of Gloucester County (Sounds Familyre)
Asobi Seksu, Fluorescence (Polyvinyl)
Porcelain Raft, Gone Blind EP (Acéphale)
Dom, Sun Bronzed Greek Gods (Astralwerks)
Jim Jones, Capo (E1)
Sean Rowe, Magic (Anti-)
Puro Instinct, Headbangers in Ecstasy (Mexican Summer)
Fujiya y Miyagi, Ventriloquizzing (Yep Roc)
Cold War Kids, Mine Is Yours (Interscope)
Social Distortion, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (Epitaph Records)
The Get Up Kids, There Are Rules (Quality Hill Records)
DDot, Show Of Hands (Mixtape)
Monotonix, Not Yet (Drag City)
The Decemberists, The King Is Dead (Capitol)
Tennis, Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
Tapes 'n Tapes, Outside (Ibid)
Iron and Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean (Warner Bros.)
Disappears, Guider (Kranky)
Konntinent, Down with Candy (Debacle Records)
Late Bloomers, Three Shades Brown EP (Tres)
Tabi Bonney, Postcards From Abroad (LRG)
Acrylics, Lives and Treasure (Friendly Fire)
Hercules and Love Affair, Blue Songs (Moshi Moshi)
Gang of Four, Content (Yep Roc)
Spank Rock, Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is A Fucking Liar (Bad Blood Records)
