Best.

That's a tricky word. It's like saying the Beatles are better than the Rolling Stones, or that Coke is better than Pepsi. As with most matters of personal preference, stating that one thing is significantly better than another requires facts and evidence in order to prove a point.

In the music industry — especially the modern-day music industry, where record store sales figures have been replaced by YouTube view counts — that's a nearly impossible feat. Facts can be manipulated, arguments can be skewed.

Favourite.

That's a much more effective word. With that in mind, here are my favourites from the musical melange that was 2011.

1. Adele, 21. From the minute 21 arrived in January, the British soul singer has been the year's go-to girl. The success of her sophomore outing wasn't a surprise to those who spent time with her debut, 19, although no one could have guessed how high Adele Adkins would eventually rise. She toppled 2011 efforts by her two closest contemporaries, Lady Gaga and Beyonce, seemingly without breaking a sweat. That takes game.

2. The Weeknd, House of Balloons. Plenty of sex and drugs were spread throughout House of Balloons, the divisive debut from Toronto rapper-singer Abel Tesfaye. Not only was he approved by Drake (another Toronto rap singer who had a stunning 2011), Tesfaye did it Sinatra-style — his way. He released House of Balloons for free, with little promotion on his end. No interviews and few photo shoots, combined with a set of bleary-eyed bangers, turned into plenty of hype and acclaim for this gifted talent.

3. PJ Harvey, Let England Shake. Polly Jean Harvey has been a steady presence since Dry, her still-fresh 1992 debut. That said, Harvey has subscribed to numerous stylistic tweaks over the years, some of which didn't make full use of her talents. She certainly hit upon the right feel and tone for Let England Shake, her first outing in four years and the most overtly political one of her career.

4. The Black Keys, El Camino. The hippest rock duo in recent memory couldn't miss in 2011. The seventh album from Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney has oomph and attitude in spades, and with help from their longtime producer Danger Mouse, who put the emphasis on groove, the Black Keys responded with a retro-sounding giant. El Camino stands high alongside the rest of the group's killer catalogue.

5. Elbow, Build a Rocket Boys! The poor man's U2 — in the best, most complimentary sense — continues to get better with age, and on its fifth studio album these magical Mancunians paint with broad, deeply textured rock 'n' roll strokes. Lippy Kids is the record's standout single, but Build a Rocket Boys! is a start-to-finish charmer.

6. Charles Bradley, No Time For Dreaming. This powerful, practically peerless soul record likely caught listeners off-guard when it hit stores in February. Its bleak but emotional subject matter is of its time. The sound, however, is so authentic (not surprising, given that it is a product of to the distinctive Daptone label) that many took it for a long-delayed '70s soul session just now finding the light of day.

7. Handsome Furs, Sound Kapital. The husband-and-wife duo of Alexei Perry and Dan Boeckner dove fully into Eastern European dance-rock on Sound Kapital, a style that was hinted at on their previous two outings but never fully embraced. Theirs is a career that has no end of musical possibilities.

8. The Decemberists, The King is Dead. Colin Meloy and Co. opened The King is Dead with a roots rock singalong, something that was missing — at least in spirit — from the group's recent recordings. The footloose feel proved to be a nice fit for this talented Portland act, which hasn't sounded this fun in years — if ever.

9. James Blake, James Blake. The debut from this U.K. wunderkind is a soulful journey, to be sure. And though patient listeners will dig this many-layered sonic experience, it can be harrowing to hear nothing but Blake's heavily-processed falsetto weave in and around a series of looped, static beat patterns. Thankfully, his songwriting ability saves the day.

10. Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne. One of the landmark collaborations in rap history, Watch the Throne didn't live up to its crippling ambitions. But on the mere strength of Otis, the album's Otis Redding-sampling, braggery-filled first single, most listeners found it in themselves to overlook Watch the Throne's shortcomings.

mdevlin@timescolonist.com