It seems to me that the major labels don't pay attention to much of anything related to music. For the most part, the major labels are irrelevant. Today's greatest music is being released by independent labels, representing a true "music industry" -- one that still actually cares about artists, audiences, and music.  

You've mentioned a handful of fairly new releases -- all good albums.  Here's a list of 70-something albums released in 2011, many created by artists who are pushing boundaries of music and sound: http://www.stereophile.com/content/my-favorite-records-2011

I didn't choose any of these for "Records to Die For," but many of them qualify. When it came time to write R2D4, my mind was just in another place -- specifically 1994.  But that's one of the special things about music: It allows us to travel back and forth through time.

Thank you Stephen for the list of your favourite 2011 albums!

Of the ones you mention only one (Mogwai) was familiar and since most of them appear to be available on Spotify I'm now having a great time exploring music I've never heard before! 

Lots of weird stuff - I love it!

Hey Louis,

I can understand your frustration on the lack of new music in R2D4. However, when I am picking music for the annual list, I am trying to pick albums that have stood the test of time for me.  I want to pick the albums I go back to again and again, not just something new that I think is pretty good.  Unlike most magazines, R2D4 is not a "best of 2012" list.  I find this refreshing since Stereophile already suffers from the tyranny of the new - where we only cover the new products that have just come out and rarely celebrate those that stay in production for a long time.  I try, as best I can, to include a huge array of music in my reviews.  Usually the pieces I include in my reviews are also recommendations on things you should buy, not just music to be used for audiophile demonstrations.

Cheers!