dsoaudio.com Awards - 2011

The full review and rating of each entry in this list can be read by clicking on the album title.

At the beginning of a year you've no idea how it will pan out. Turns out that 2011 was something of a vintage year for music in some respects. In release terms, less perhaps for familiar names turning in new classics (though VNV Nation's serious return to form on "Automatic" was long overdue and *very* welcome), but more for newcomers and rising talent. On the live circuit, based here in the UK, it has been a terrific year of gigs. I'd venture to put on the table that, for me, it could even be my most rewarding, satisfying and enjoyable year gigging ever. (And considering the amount of gigs I've been to down the years, that really is saying something.) Although we do sometimes ocassionally have guest (often 'celebrity') contributors, dsoaudio is largely a personal endeavour, which means there will always be some significant releases that, for whatever reason, either weren't heard or weren't heard sufficiently to form a solid judgement on. So if you're favourite album, band or gig of the year doesn't get a mention, it could well be that I never even heard it, heard them or could get there. But what I did hear presented a rich and diverse year, especially with those new and rising names.

So, without further ado, here then are the 2011 dsoaudio.com Awards.