GRIMEY'S STAFF PICKS 2011 - The Best Thing We've Heard All Year
Here are our lists of all things musical that rang our bells this year.

Click here to see the previous Staff Picks

D~Funk

Doyle "D-Funk" Davis:
(vinylist/co-owner):

My 10 favorite new releases of 2011:
The Black Keys - El Camino
Wilco - The Whole Love
Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
Tom Waits - Bad As Me
White Denim - D
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Soul Time!
Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams

bubbling under...
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Marble Son
Booker T. Jones - The Road From Memphis
Dennis Coffey - Dennis Coffey
Dengue Fever - Cannibal Courtship
Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing

reissues and archive releases:
The Beach Boys - The SMiLE Sessions
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon & Wish You Were Here experience editions
The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real/Tragic Songs Of Life/Handpicked Songs
July - July
R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant expanded reissue

live shows:
Wilco @ The Ryman (both nights!)
Los Lobos @ Riverfront, Chattanooga + Botanical Gardens, Atlanta
KORT @ The VFW on Charlotte
Dr. John w/ The Original Meters & Allen Toussaint @ Bonnaroo
Guided By Voices @ Cannery Ballroom
The Flaming Lips @ The Ryman
White Denim @ The Basement
Fleet Foxes @ The Ryman
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings @ The Ryman
Wild Flag @ Mercy Lounge
Rush @ Bridgestone Arena
Dr. Dog @ Track 29, Chattanooga
The Remains @ The Basement
Alabama Shakes @ 5 Spot
Jonathan Richman @ 5 Spot

Mike "Grimey" Grimes (co-owner):

My Top 10 Records Of 2011:
1. Black Keys 'El Camino'
2. Beastie Boys 'Hot Sauce Committee Part Two'
3.The Ettes 'Wicked Will'
4. Wilco 'The Whole Love'
5. Nikki Lane 'Walk Of Shame'
6. Delicate Steve 'Wondervisions'
7. Dengue Fever 'Cannibal Communication'
8. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks 'Mirror Traffic'
9. White Denim "D"
10.Boston Spaceships 'Let It Beard'

My Top 5 Grimey's Instore Appearances
1. Yann Tiersen
2. Girls
3. David Lee Mayfield Parade
4. New Mastersounds
5. Fitz and The Tantrums

My Top 5 Shows Of 2012
1. NRBQ at The Basement
2. Wilco at The Ryman
3. Black Keys at Bonnaroo
4. Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at Mercy Lounge
5. Cadillac Black at The Basement

Worst Show of the Year: Lemonheads (maybe one of the worst shows ever.)

Anna "Indie Pop Princess" Lundy (store manager/head buyer):

Best of 2011 (in alphabetical order)

The Beach Boys - Smile Sessions box set (Capital)
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain (Vice)
Brave Irene - Brave Irene (Slumberland)
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion (Slumberland)
Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams (Subpop)
Jim Ford - Harlan County (Light in the Attic)
Hagar the Womb - A Brighter Shade of Black LP (Mississippi)
Happy Thoughts - The Happy Thoughts (Hozac)
LCD Soundsystem - London Sessions (Virgin / DFA)
The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real / Handpicked Songs 1955-1962 (Light in the Attic)
The Olivia Tremor Control - Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle & Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1 LP reissues (Chunklet)
Seapony - Go With Me (Hardly Art)
Tammar - Visits (Suicide Squeeze)
Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock & Funk 1970-1978 (Now-Again)
Tristen - Charlatans at the Gate (American Myth)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)
Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
White Fence - Is Growing Faith (Woodsist)
Wild Flag - Wild Flag (Merge)

Honorable Mentions (also alphabetical)

Black Keys - El Camino (Nonesuch)
Charles Bradley - No Time Left For Dreaming (Daptone)
Genius / GZA - Liquid Swords LP reissue (Get Down)
Iceage - New Brigade (Whats Your Rupture?)
Jacuzzi Boys - Glazin (Hardly Art)
Jeff The Brotherhood - We Are the Champions (Infinity Cat)
J.Rocc - Some Cold Rock Stuf (Stones Throw)
July - July LP reissue (Guerssen)
La Sera - La Sera (Hardly Art)
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Subpop)
The Paperhead - The Paperhead (Trouble In Mind)
Pure X - Pleasure(Acephale)
Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread (Drag City)
Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler / The Dream (Castlestorm)
The Vagrants - I Can't Make a Friend 1965-1968 (Light in the Attic)
Tom Waits - Bad As Me (Anti-)

Amazing Shows of 2011

Calexico at Corona Ranch (Phoenix, February)
Thee Oh Sees on Bruise Cruise (the Caribbean Ocean, February)
Ty Segall at the End (Nashville, March)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Cannery Ballroom (Nashville, March)
The Flaming Lips at the Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, May)
Lambchop at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art (Nashville, June)
Jeff the Brotherhood & Fucked Up at the Exit/In (Nashville, June)
Thao & Mirah at the Mercy Lounge (Nashville, June)
KORT at the VFW (Nashville, July)
Olivia Tremor Control at the Bottom Lounge (Chicago, September)
Girls at Grimey's (Nashville, September)
The Gories at Gonerfest (Memphis, September)
Wild Flag at the 40 Watt (Athens, GA - October)

White Denim - D
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Tom Waits - Bad as Me
Bees - Every Step's a Yes
CANT - Dreams Come True
Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
Hands Off Cuba - Volumes of Sobering Liquids
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - Marble Son
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unkown Mortal Orchestra
Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic,
Progressive Rock and Funk 1970-1978
Beach Boys - SMiLE Sessions

vinyl re-issues:
July - July
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
Chrisma - Chinese Restauarant & Hibernation
Grateful Dead - Live/Dead & Anthem of the Sun

Mia Krout (beer wench / tour wrangler supreme / finder of lost things):

In complete randomness:

Hands Off Cuba -- Volumes of Sobering Liquids
Features -- Wilderness
Crystal Stilts -- In Love With Oblivion
Here We Go Magic -- January ep
Delicate Steve -- Wondervisions
Timber Timbre -- Creep On Creepin' On
Tristen -- Charlatans at the Garden Gates
Anika -- self titled LP
Beach Boys -- Smile Sessions
Explosions in the Sky -- Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Coupler -- America In The Coming Age of Electronics
Colin Stetson -- New History Warfare Vol.2
Yo La Tengo -- Painful + And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out reissues

Shows:

Hands Off Cuba -- Betty's + The Basement
Here We Go Magic -- The Basement
Godspeed You Black Emperor -- Cannery
Portishead -- Hammerstein Ballroom
Yann Tiersen -- Grimey's + 3rd & Lindsley
Guided By Voices -- Cannery
KORT -- Grimey's + VFW Hall
Lambchop -- Cheekwood
Yo La Tengo -- Exit/In
Ranch Ghosts -- 1st show at Bad Cop house
Hobbledions -- Mercy Lounge

Ryan

Ryan "Ryno" Norris (Hardest Workin' Man In Show Business):

In no particular order:
1. Can - Tago Mago 40th Anniversary Reissue
2. El Rego - El Rego Et Ses Commandos
3. Roedelius Schneider - Stunden
4. Beach Boys - Smile Sessions
5. Kourosh Yaghmaei - Back From the Brink: Pre-Revolution Psychedelic
Rock From Iran: 1973 - 1979
6. Atlas Sound - Parallax
7. V/A - Life is Dance: Plugged-in Sounds of Wonder at the Pakistani
picture house.
8. Louvin Brothers - Satan is Real Reissue
9. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - S/T
10. Anika - S/T

Rollum

Rollum "Haaspitality" Haas (our FEATURED drummer on staff):

Beach Boys-Smile
Anika
Jean Claude Vannier-Electro Rapide
Crystal Stilts-In Love With Oblivion
Can-Tago Mago
LCD Soundsystem-London Sessions
Coupler-America In The Coming Age Of Electronics
The Horrors-Skying
Duran Duran-All You Need Is Now
Roedelius/Schneider-Stunden

Jacob

Jakob "The Kid" Eckert (no longer the new guy):

Best new releases (in no order):
Wooden Shjips - West - Super psyched-out drone rock
The Beach Boys - SMiLE Sessions - Beautiful, lush, unbelievably perfect
in every way
Mastodon - The Hunter - Poppy, melodic, surprisingly catchy
Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage - Epic, intense, gorgeous
Groove Club Vol 1: La Confiserie Magique - Really fun French pop
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light - Post rock/drone doom
metal/western soundtrack vibe
Tom Waits - Bad As Me - Crazy, Waits-y... "Hell Broke Luce" may be song
of the year
Van Dyke Parks - Arrangements Vol. 1 - Can't go wrong with Van Dyke,
master of overly ornate arrangements

Best reissues (in no order):
July - July (1968) - Barrett-y UK psych group, almost as good as Barrett
himself
Jerusalem - Jerusalem (1972) - Deep Purple-produced doomy UK hard rock
Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream (1967) - Beautiful and incredibly psychedelic
pop... "The Sky Children" = one of the best closing tracks ever
Rainbow Ffolly - Sallies Forth (1968) - Psych pop record with a few great
tracks
Taj Mahal Travellers- Live Vols 1-3 (1972) - Droned-out glory... absolutely
beautiful
Television - Live at the Old Waldorf (1978) - Golden-era Television, nothing
more to say
Throbbing Gristle - Second Annual Report (1977), DOA (1978), and 20 Jazz
Funk Greats (1979) - Super dark, ominous, menacing, pioneers of industrial music
Dwarr - Starting Over (1984) - Not as good as his Animals album, but still cool
metal/freak folk
Comus - First Utterance (1971) - Freak folk all at once frightening, pagan,
disorienting, chaotic, and beautiful
Raymond Scott - Manhattan Research (1953-1969) - Early electronic music.
Experimental, synth poppy, and even some music from commercials
Yo La Tengo - Painful (1993) & And then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)
- It's Yo La Tengo. Again, nothing more to say
Big Star - Third [Test Pressing Edition] (1978) - Heartbreaking, depressing,
the melancholy ending of Big Star

Tyler
Photo Not
Available

Tyler Glaser (the new guy):

1. Wilco - Whole Love
2. Caitlin Rose - Own Side Now
3. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Comittee Part 2
4. Alex Turner - Submarine Ep
5. Beach Boys - Smile Sessions
6. Black Lips - Arabia Mountian
7. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
8. Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
9. The Strokes - Angles
10. Amerigo Gazaway - Fela Soul

Will

Will Orman ("Lil' Will"):

In alphabetical order:
Austra - Feel It Break
Björk - Biophilia
Braids - Native Speaker
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Clams Casino - Instrumentals
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Twin Sister - In Heaven
Young Montana? - Limerence

Aaron

Aaron Briggs (the pinch hitter):

Records I Loved in 2011:
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
Real Estate - Days
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Tom Waits - Bad as Me
Wilco - The Whole Love
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic

Records I Really Liked in 2011:
Tristen - Charlatans at the Gate
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Vetiver - The Errant Charm
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
Yuck - Yuck
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Jessie Baylin - Pleasure Center EP
Richard Swift - Walt Wolfman 12"
Atlas Sound - Parallax
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - s/t
CANT - Dreams Come True
Washed Out - Within and Without
Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine
William Tyler - Behold the Spirit
The Features - Wilderness

Brad
Photo Not
Available

Brad Wilson Smilin' and Filin':

Here's my list of favorite records for 2011.

1. Beach Boys - Smile Sessions
2. Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
3. M83 - Wake Up, We're Dreaming
4. Thrice - Major/Minor
5. MuteMath - Odd Soul
6. Smith Westerns - Dye it Blonde
7. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
8. Antlers - Burst Apart
9. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
10. The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules