The current issue of The Georgia Straight has a story on the Top Albums of 2011. Almost without exception I am not only unfamiliar with the albums, I’ve never even heard of the performers. Looking through each critic’s selection (nine critics, ten albums each), here are the artists I actually recognize:
- Tom Waits
- Jay-Z and Kanye West
- Paul Simon
- Foo Fighters
- George Thorogood & the Destroyers
- The Jeff Healey Band
- Wilco
- Tori Amos
- Björk
- PJ Harvey
I have never owned an album from any of these people. Actually, looking over the list I’m surprised that there were that many names I recognized. Still, with 90 picks, I only recognize 10 artists, cementing my place as musically out of touch. Hey, I bought an Animal Collective album last year, that has to count for something, right?