Favourite Dance & Electronic Albums of 2011

Features Readers Poll Results Feb 2012

To wrap up 2011, we published our picks for the best Dance & Electronic albums of the year, featuring releases from James Blake, Nicolas Jaar and SBTRKT, before turning the vote over to you, the fans, with our year-end Readers Poll.

After receiving our most entries ever, the results are finally in, including a Niagara Falls native who's "at the top of his game," the Brit whose "heartbreaking" debut lived up to the hype, and the man who left you wanting more "nasty, dirty, roaring dubno!"

Check out the full Dance & Electronic results below and read why they topped your playlists in 2011.

Exclaim! Readers Poll: Top 10 Dance & Electronic Records of 2011:

1. Skrillex
Bangarang (OWSLA/Atlantic)

"Skrillex is revolutionizing music. Mark my words: 7 Grammy nominations and a legion of copycats makes Skrillex a lasting name."
Andrew Bell, Chatham, ON

"Revolutionary, creating a whole new genre."
Curtis Matwishyn, Vancouver, BC

"I love dubstep and this album took it to a different realm while still remaining pleasant to listen to. Not too hard on the brain."
Donovan Lee, Cambridge, ON

"Great album and it drives my mother crazy."
Nathaniel Leonard-Scott, Summerville, NB

"Awesome for dubstep noobs like me who have devoured Skrillex and are left wanting more nasty dirty roaring dubno!"
Karla Mummery, Vancouver, BC

2. Deadmau5
4 x 4 = 12 (Ultra)

"Local talent - Canadian & known WORLDWIDE.. Awesome!!"
Glenn Hicks, Toronto, ON

"I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but I'm smart enough to know that deadmau5 is at the top of his game."
Kayla Winkler, Winnipeg, MB

"Deadmau5 does not like being called a DJ, even though he's a great one. He won the "2009 Grammy Awards" for his no.1 hit "Ghost n' Stuff" ft. Bob Swire."
Tyler Luft, Vancouver, BC

"Deadmau5 (properly) he is the most popular electronic sensation right now, and he is canadian. Little has been put towards him in terms of news or any sort, considering that he is soo popular, and that he is Canadian."
Dylan Croix, Pouch Cove, NL

"Maybe I might have missed that issue, but those beats are hard to create."
Jonathan Berg, Dartmouth, NS

3. Lady Gaga
Born This Way (Streamline)

"It's Gaga. You can't go wrong."
Natasha Shepherd, Whitby, ON

"She's so inspiring."
Brittney Day, Winnipeg, MB

"Fun to look at really..."
Christian McDade, Niagara Falls, ON

"Love her or hate her, she's a lot of fun!"
Jo-Anne Matvichuk, Edmonton, AB

4. James Blake
James Blake (Universal Republic)

"The only bad thing about this record was the overhype... That's why people have been so critical... They forgot to listen."
Dominic Sauvageau, Edmonton, AB

"Voice is perfect, music is perfect, the talent is also perfect. Number 1 of the year."
Charles-Etienne Brassard. Granby, QC

"It may be overrated, but for me it was the most enjoyable electronic album of the year."
Luca Morellato, Peterborough, ON

"Heartbreaking, captivating, outstanding."
Michael Elves, Winnipeg, MB

"Magic."
Olivier Vallerand, Quebec City, QC

5. Austra
Feel It Break (Paper Bag)

"Great goth-pop from Toronto."
Justin Chee, Mississauga, ON

"Best thing besides Feel it Break is Austra's promo photo - got me!"
Jess Watt, Toronto, ON

"These folks are killing it!"
Lindsay Sinclair, Toronto, ON

"Vastly different from the material she released as Katie Stelmanis. With this album, she truly made a new name for herself."
Michael Elves, Winnipeg, MB

"I love her soaring voice against the synths."
Wasan Jajou, Toronto, ON

6. David Guetta
Nothing But the Beat (EMI)

"Best dance album."
Pawan Jain, Toronto, ON

"'Little Bad Girl' was a hit this year."
Alexandre Boisvert, Grand-Mere, QC

7. Justice
Audio, Video, Disco (Ed Banger)

"Amazing album start to finish."
Tyler Orser, Pickering, ON

"A prog-rock/dance album for the future."
Derek Pennett, Regina, SK

"Space rock for 2011."
Cheng Terrence, Toronto, ON

"A little twist to their usual electro."
Mari Kusanagi, Richmond Hill, ON

"Brilliant follow up."
Michael Srbljanin, Stoney Creek, ON

8. M83
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Mute)

"This whole CD is very good, can listen through it at anytime."
Dan Taylor, Burlington, ON

"It's an oddly triumphant album for how boring it seems on first listen, all throbbing major chords and no flourish. Yet this distilled effort is really what M83's been going for all along. If you pay attention you'll notice that he's hidden some serious gems on this album: the brother-sister 1-2 punch of "Splendor" and "Wait" are a complementary pair of flawless love songs. Like the supremely underrated Digital Shades, Vol I, M83's saying more with less here."
Andrew MacKenzie, Vancouver, BC

"Ever since I saw the last 15 seconds of the 'America' video from Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts I have been hooked on M83. But while they showed so much promise on so many of their singles, their albums were disappointing - inconsistent, indulgent and retreating too often into that increasingly familiar M83 sound. But on Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, all those elements I loved about M83 – the crescendos, the cinematics, the slight cheesiness, and that comforting M83 sound – all came together perfectly. It's the most restrained M83 album yet and the most accessible. Is that a coincidence?"
Darryl Brant, Oshawa, ON

"A flashback of the '80s!"
Victor Nguyen, Toronto, ON

"This double album seems shorter than it is. It really takes me away to another place. This is a place I want to visit often."
Jarvis Mino, Meota, SK

9. LMFAO
Sorry For Party Rocking (Interscope)

"The two biggest dance songs of the year are from this album!"
Kevin Low, Coquitlam, BC

"Run music!"
Jeff Boucher, Whitby, ON

"Fun and funny."
Jamie Reinhart, Edmonton, AB

"These guys are funny as hell."
Chris McKernan, North York, ON

"Got everyone up and dancing."
Milena Marn, Laval, QC

10. SBTRKT
SBTRKT (Young Turks)

"Awesome album. Surprisingly good! Thought it was gong to be all dubstep, but was pleasantly surprised when listening to it. It was quite musical and layered."
Steve Shon, Toronto, ON

"Super sexy sounds."
Alicia McDougall, Toronto, ON

"Fresh and unique."
Rahoul Sharan, Vancouver, BC

"One of my favourite albums this year."
Blake MacKay, Ottawa, ON

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2Comments

Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-02-06 14:09:57This is a surprising list. I would have NEVER imagined LMFAO in a best-of list, and, not to sound like a twat, but I thought the general consensus on Skrillex was somewhat equivalent to "jumping the shark". Anyway, pretty cool to see how varied exclaim! readers are with their dance/electronic tastes!