The population of the music world grows at an exponential rate in these digital days in which we live, but we can thank these 40 new(ish) acts for bringing something unique to 2011 — something that didn’t exist the year before. These are the acts that gave 2011 it’s personality. These are ILSUDH2′s Favorite Artist Discoveries of 2011.
* see below for a Spotify playlist
ALABAMA SHAKES
(alabama, soul, blues)
ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD
(acoustic, folk, punk)
Andrew Jackson Jihad – Hate, Rain on Me
AUSTRA
(canadian, female, electronic)
BABY BROTHER
(blues, country, rock ‘n roll)
BADBADNOTGOOD
(jazz, hip-hop, avant-garde)
BORN GOLD
(electronic, experimental, pop)
Born Gold – Alabaster Bodyworks
CHELSEA WOLFE
(experimental, darkwave, songwriter)
CULT OF YOUTH
(neofolk, dark folk, apocalyptic folk)
DEAFHEAVEN
(post-, black metal, shoegaze)
DEATH GRIPS
(hardcore, hip-hop, experimental rap)
Death Grips ft. Mexican Girl – Lord of the Game
EMA
(experimental, electronic, folk)
FRANK OCEAN
(r&b, hip-hop, soul)
GEM CLUB
(dream pop, piano, ambient)
GRIMES
(canadian, electronic, experimental pop)
ICEAGE
(danish, post-punk, hardcore)
JAMES BLAKE
(dubstep, electronic, soul)
James Blake – Limit To Your Love
JULIANNA BARWICK
(ambient, loop, drone)
Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place
KENDRICK LAMAR
(compton, rap, hip-hop)
LANA DEL REY
(female vocalist, pop, nostalgia)
LITTLE DRAGON
(trip-hop, chill, electronic)
LITURGY
(black metal, transcendental, progressive)
LIZZIE HUFFMAN
(singer-songwriter, country, folk)
Lizzie Huffman – Franklin Street
LOVE INKS
(dream, pop, chill)
NICOLAS JAAR
(minimal, electronic, experimental)
Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise If You Can See
ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL
(rap, hip-hop, punk)
OFF!
(old school, punk, hardcore)
OTHER LIVES
(folk, pop, americana)
Other Lives – As I Lay My Head Down
SBTRKT
(dubstep, electronic, uk garage)
THE JOY FORMIDABLE
(british, rock, female vocalist)
The Joy Formidable – A Heavy Abacus
THE MEN
(post-punk, noise, rock)
THE MORNING CLOUDS
(chill, psychedelic, pop)
THE WEEKND
(canadian, r&b, prog-rnb)
TIN HORN PRAYER
(folk, cowpunk, americana)
Tin Horn Prayer – Crime Scene Cleanup Team
TOUCHÉ AMORÉ
(punk, screamo, post-hardcore)
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
(lo-fi, psychedelic, pop)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – How Can U Luv Me
WHITE HORSE
(electronic, dead, found sounds)
White Horse – The Blessing of Heaven is Visibly Upon Me
WU LYF
(british, lo-fi, heavy pop)
WUGAZI
(hip-hop, mashup, post-hardcore)
Wugazi – Sleep Rules Everything Around Me
YOUTH LAGOON
(dream pop, lo-fi, chill)
YUCK
(shoegaze, lo-fi, pop)
Class of 2011 Freshmen
Remember Class of 2010
Class of 2011: The Freshmen
Class of 2011: The Performers
Class of 2011: The Short Bus
Class of 2011: MVPs
Class of 2011: Children of the Damned
Class of 2011: The Overachievers
Class of 2011: The Soundtrack
[...] Critics (albums and songs) Guitar World – Tony Grassi (top albums) HitFix.com (top songs) I Listen So You Don’t Have To (favorite artists) I Listen So You Don’t Have To (favorite EPs) I Listen So You Don’t [...]