Best New Releases
- Tom Waits – Bad As Me (Anti-)
- El Rego – S/T (Daptone)
- Black Keys – El Camino (Nonesuch)
- Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Subpop)
- Sharon Jones – Soul Time (101 Distribution)
- Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
- David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time (Play It Again Sam)
- Southern Culture on the Skids – Zombified (Kudzu)
- Ralph Carney’s Serious Jass Project – Seriously (Smog Veil)
- Chris Watson – El Tren Fantasma (touch UK)
- J.C. Satan – Sick of Love (Slovenly Recordings)
- Man Man – Life Fantastic (Anti-)
- Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii - Carolina Chocolate Drops (Nonesuch)
- Mark Growden – Lose Me In The Sand (Porto Franco)
- Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
- Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra - World of Funk (Ubiquity)
- Sic Alps -Napa Asylum (Drag City)
- Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers – Rare Bird Alert (Rounder)
- Afro-Soultet – Afrodesia (Ubiquity)
- Dengue Fever -Cannibal Courtship (Concord Music)
- Davila 666 – Tan Bajo (In the Red)
- Lumerians – Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)
- Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)
- Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania (In The Red)
- Wooden Shjips – West (Thrill Jockey)
- Stephin Merritt – Obscurities (Merge)
- Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread (Drag City)
- Deer Tick – Divine Providence (Partisan)
- Lord Loves a Working Man – S/T (Working Man)
- Earth – Angels of Darkness Demons of Light (Southern Lord)
Best Various Artist Releases
- The Original Sound of Cumbia (Sound Way)
- Funky Frauleins vol. 2 (Grosse Freiheit)
- Voodoo Rhythm Compilation Vol. 3 (Voodoo Rhythm)
- Daptone 45 Singles Spring/Summer 2011 (Daptone)
- Thai? Dai! The Heavier Side of the Luk Thung Under Ground (Finders Keepers)
- Luk Thung: Classic & Obscure 78s from the Thai Countryside (Parlortone)
- Eccentric Soul: The Nickel & Penny Labels (The Numero Group)
- This May Be My Last Time Singing (Tompkins Square)
- 101 Things To Do In Bongolia (Electric Cowbell)
- Alternate History of Popular Music (Numero Group)
Best Musical Performances
- The Coup at the stroke of midnight 2011 at the New Parish – Oakland, Jan. 1st
- High on Fire at the New Parish – Oakland, January 1st
- Captain Beefheart Symposium at The Independent – SF, Feb. 11th
- Gang of Four at the Fillmore – SF, Feb. 19th
- Prince at the Oracle Arena – Oakland, Feb. 23rd
- Acid Mothers Temple at the Bottom of the Hill – SF, March 24th
- Mission Three at the Old Point Bar – Algiers, Louisiana, April 2nd
- Sleepy Sun at the New Parish – Oakland, April 24th
- Agent Ribbons at the Uptown – Oakland, May 18th
- Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, The Mutineers, Calafia at the Starry Plough – Berkeley, June 26th
- Blonde Redhead at the New Parish – Oakland, June 29th
- Thurston Moore and Kurt Vile and the Violators at the New Parish – Oakland, July 25th
- Sleepy Sun/Howlin’ Rain at Don Quixote’s – Felton, CA, July 27th
- Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, The Mutineers, Big Jugs at the Plough & Stars – SF, August 13th
- Dr. John at Yoshi’s – Oakland, Sept. 8th
- Fleet Foxes at the Greek Theater – Berkeley, Sept. 10th
- The Coup and Conspiracy of Beards at the Oakland Museum O Zone event, Sept. 30th
- Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble at the New Parish – Oakland, Oct. 15th
- Man Man on Lower Sproul – UC Berkeley Campus, Oct. 25th
- Weird Al Yankovic at the Fox – Oakland, Nov. 6th
- Aaron Neville at the Palace of Fine Arts – SF, Dec. 18th
