Here are a few quite honorable mentions for this year:

Fiona Apple -The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than The Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
Levek – Look a Little Closer
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Joey Bada$$ – 1999

I’m a poor-traveled native of the Green Mountain state who’s a debt-collector by day and a starving artist by night. Well– I work with student loans and I dabble in music. I’m a recent graduate of Saint Michael’s College and proud to be living in an area where the arts–especially music–thrive. It’s sweet.

So yeah, I guess these are my top five albums of the year. It’s not entirely obvious to me how I arrived at this conclusion. Certain albums drew me in, but I said “No!” and held out for those special gems that had me coming back for more. I listened to a lot of songs often enough to hate them, but those that retained their value reside in the albums above.

Have fun, don’t let the apocalypse get you, and keep listening to good music.

I am an international music DJ on WRUV and work in Human Resources at Jager Di Paola Kemp Design.

My favorite music is desert blues from West Africa.

my name is jenny and i am a humble Pure Pop employee and these are my favorite albums of the year and you’ve probably heard them all too many times as i am the compulsive album repeater-type.

My name is Shawn Beaulieu, I am a sophomore at Clarkson University, in Potsdam New York, studying Biochemistry. Rather than embarrass myself trying to justify each selection, I’ll simply let the music speak for itself. Here is the rest of my list:

6.Lonerism by Tame Impala
7.channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean
8. Luxary Problems by Andy Stott
9. Bish Bosch by Scott Walker
10. Kindred by Burial
11. WIXIW by Liars
12. Clear Moon by Mount Eerie
13. fIN by John Talabot
14. 1999: Mixtape by Joey Badass
15. Devotion by Jessie Ware
16. Beams by Matthew Dear
17. Shields by Grizzly Bear
18. Kill For Love by Chromatics
19. Until the Quiet Comes by Flying Lotus
20. good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
21. Celebration Rock by Japandroids
22. R.I.P by Actress
23. Heaven by The Walkmen
24. Cancer 4 Cure by El-P
25. Duality by Captain Murphy

An area resident since 2004, I’ve dabbled in electronic music, creative writing, social work, and omelette preparation; I think I’ve perfected the latter.

My name is Alan, I am a former Pure Pop employee. Josh LaClair’s year end list has a lot of the same stuff that I’ve been listening to A LOT, but I left those albums off bc his write ups are already very good, so just look at that. ALSO AWESOME: Wye Oak – Civilian, Machinedrum – Rooms, Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact, Cass McCombs – Catacombs, Zola Jesus – Conatus, Amen Dunes – Through Donkey Jaw, Balam Acab – Wander/Wonder, Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica.

I’m a long time Pure Pop employee but these days i spent less time behind the counter at Pure Pop, and the majority of my time at my desk at home as freelance web designer / developer. This year’s be a great year for change, and i expect 2012 to be even more so.

I’m a high school student with a great interest and wide taste in music, although my list this year is mostly focused on indie I listen to many different genres, and I enjoy any music with depth. Some other great albums that didn’t make this list include The Morning After Girls – Alone, Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials and Washed Out – Within And Without. To be totally honest, however, I wasn’t overly impressed with 2011 as a musical year, hopefully 2012 will be better, and with time I’ll be able to discover the many releases I probably missed.

I’m a high school student from Colchester. I’m really into music – mostly listening and critiquing, though I do play a little guitar and have recently picked up the mandolin. I’m very critical of music and tend to have a more pessimistic view on pop culture and society, which is unusual for someone my age. It’s nice to know that as time goes on, I don’t have to completely lose faith in the current music scene. New bands like Cage the Elephant and the Joy Formidable are refreshing and reassure me that there is someone out there who’s still trying to make music for the sake of music.