Best of 2011

2011 is officially in the books. It was a year filled both with exciting new musical releases and films. And, as is traditional at the end of the year, we have gathered our five favorite albums and movies of the year, in no particular order.

“Drive”
FilmDistrict

In this dark, minimalist and admittedly polarizing film, Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who spends his nights making extra money as a getaway driver. When he befriends a woman named Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son, he agrees to help Irene’s husband escape financial trouble in a heist. The heist goes poorly and triggers a gritty and engrossing chase involving the Driver, Irene and her son and the local mafia. Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” also adds his brilliance to the film as the Driver’s boss Shannon, a man caught up in things that are way over his head. At times, “Drive” can be a hard pill to swallow, but films like this don’t come around often. – Andrew Bain

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″
Warner Bros. Pictures

This film signaled the end of an era for many college students who grew up reading the “Harry Potter” books and watching the movies based on those books. The final film installment of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger’s (Emma Watson) journey to save the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort is nearly flawless, presented with care and dedication to the book series and its following. Even though the ending of this story was written in 2007, viewers can’t help but sit on the edge of their seats as the three friends we’ve all grown up with battle forces of evil larger than we’ve ever (or will ever) encountered. – Andrew Bain

“James Blake” by James Blake
R&S Records

In his self-titled album, Blake’s rich voice becomes his primary instrument: the pitch tweaked, looped, mixed, layered and folded into a surreal blend of electronic sounds. “Limit to Your Love” is gorgeous, with Blake’s voice and a thick piano draping elegantly over the throb of the bass and the silence in between. In “The Wilhelm Scream,” when Blake sings, “All that I know is I’m fallin’ fallin’ fallin’ fallin,'” the acoustics seem to suggest Blake and his sounds are moving through space that is both compressing and expanding. The result is blissful and disorienting ““ just like the album. – Lenika Cruz

“21” by Adele
XL Recordings, Ltd.

2011 could have been renamed The Year of Adele. The vocal powerhouse took the music world by storm with “21,” and has been gathering critical praise, radio plays and huge record sales ever since. And she deserves every one. “21” is a stunner, an album full of alternating heartache and sass (represented well by “Someone Like You” and “Rumour Has It,” respectively). Adele’s lyrics are so personal and heartfelt that it is just about impossible not to fall into them completely. Don’t be surprised if you spontaneously burst into song along with Adele while listening to “21.” – Andrew Bain

“El Camino” by The Black Keys
Nonesuch Records

The blues-rock duo from Akron, Ohio laid down their seventh studio album in December, co-produced by Brian Burton (better known by his stage name, Danger Mouse). Their new sound is reminiscent of ’50s rockabilly (especially on “Lonely Boy”) and ’60s psychedelic rock, a drastic departure from the sound on their previous albums. Burton seems to have grasped the direction for the Keys’ new sound, which is refreshing, since his last collaboration with Auerbach and Carney did not receive the best praise from hardened fans of The Black Keys. – Spencer Pratt

“Midnight in Paris”
Sony Pictures Classics

Woody Allen’s latest comedy is an utterly charming romp through the city of lights after darkness falls. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is an aspiring novelist and cheerful romantic from the U.S. who takes a nighttime walk down the city’s moonlit cobblestone streets only to stumble through time and into the Paris of his dreams. Chock-full of enough cultural references to make even the casual literature and art history lover giddy, “Midnight in Paris” is a lighthearted meditation on both the magic and futility of nostalgia played out with measured exuberance in the smoky bars and cafes of one of the world’s most magical cities. – Lenika Cruz

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Columbia Pictures

If the title sequence was any indicator (the seductive, yet demented visuals are set to a killer rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O), this American remake of the original Swedish adaptation was bound to stun. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” cuts like a dagger ““ one side of the blade is a steel-boned mystery thriller, the other a feminist “revenge-best-served-cold” tale ““ all against the backdrop of a merciless Swedish winter. Flawless acting by newcomer Rooney Mara as the titular character pushes this delicious noir into the upper echelon of 2011 films. – Lenika Cruz

“Watch The Throne” Kanye West/Jay-Z
Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam

A combined total of about a dozen and a half acclaimed albums produced over the course of the last decade and a half have firmly enthroned Jay-Z and Kanye West among the monarchs of hip-hop. While the beats and lyrics ooze much of the expected (and well-deserved) egoism, the hubris often collapses onto itself, turning absurd, but not before the rappers have lodged their contagious megalomania into the listener’s head. – Lenika Cruz

“The Artist”
Warner Bros. France

French film director Michel Hazanavicius transports audiences back to the 1920s, both in content and style with his latest film “The Artist.” Those accustomed to “talkies” and vibrant color films may be taken aback when they see that the film is, for the most part, completely silent and shot in black and white. It chronicles the transition of sound in early Hollywood cinema, and pokes fun at itself in the same way “Singin’ in the Rain” did in 1952. The actor who steals the show, however, may just be the dog of George Valentin, who manages to lift viewers up into lighthearted laughter when it seems to have them on the edge of tears. – Spencer Pratt

“Diamond Mine” by King Creosote and Jon Hopkins
Domino Recording Co.

In “Diamond Mine,” King Creosote and Jon Hopkins team up to paint a musical tableau of life in a Scottish town. Though it is only a half hour long, the album has a quietly epic feel to it. From heartwrenching lyrics which chronicle both happiness and the slow decay of age (“And you said 12 years in retirement / The hours go by like sips of water / The record lies unbroken”) to sparse but powerful instrumentals, “Diamond Mine” is as stark as it is beautiful, and will haunt the listener until long after the last song has ended. – Andrew Bain