PJ Harvey album tops end of year polls in the UK

PJ Harvey’s tenth studio album Let England Shake was named the best record of 2011 by UK music critics in a major poll by music retailer HMV.

The album finished top-of-the-pile in end-of-year polls across British media including Uncut, Mojo, The Guardian, and NME.

More than 30 media outlets were polled for their favourite discs of the last 12 months. The top 5 albums according to British critics were…

1) PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

2) Bon Iver - Bon Iver

3) Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

4) Radiohead - The King of Limbs

5) Tune-Yards - Whokill

Harvey said of the honour, “I am very grateful to receive this accolade for Let England Shake. The response to this album has heartened me, and given me great hope for the future.”

The critics seemed pretty conclusive about PJ releasing the album of the year. But are these the best indie music albums that were released during 2011? The Black Keys, James Blake. Metronomy, and the Arctic Monkeys may have been in with a claim for a spot in the Top 5.

Andrew Parker is the editor of leading music news and entertainment website Electric Banana - often contributing album reviews.