Best Albums of 2011

My best albums list consists of 16 mood/theme based lists (most with eleven albums) that contain the top albums of 2011....
I understand that some people may feel that this is overkill, but the point is threefold:
a. to create a very personal document of my musical enjoyment from 2011 for future reflection
b. to provide individualized suggestions for people who like different styles
c. to honor and acknowledge those working musicians who give their lives to making great art

I'm sure that as time goes on i'll discover releases from 2011 that i missed that should be on here...when that happen i'll generate a "Missed Classics" list...
This project was put on hold for a couple years due to ever increasing responsibility and time commitments. The EPs, Live Acts, Split Albums and Films were all completed on time. The album lists themselves were mostly finished by early 2012, however they were put on hold until early 2015 until the motivation to revive this project returned. There was much consideration to finishing this appropriately.

also, this list may not include items from the huge stack of tapes from 2011 i didn't properly notate if i listened to or not

i have attempted to notate my top 10 albums with (*)
the albums are in alphabetical order within each category
so with that i leave you to the list...enjoy!