SPIN names Girls' Generation and 2NE1 in 20 Best Pop Albums of 2011
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On December 22nd, music magazine SPIN revealed its list of the best top 20 albums from around around the world released in 2011, which included albums by Girls' Generation and 2NE1. 

Girls' Generation placed 18th place for their 1st Japanese studio self-named album, to which they stated, "This nine-member, all-girl K-Pop drill team fully exploits South Korea's 800-pound neighboring market with a Japanese-language album (plus English choruses!). And though it may be a translation trainwreck, these chipper, reality-show vets behave with real zeal — eagerly beaming, winking, chattering, emoting when it's called for — over terrifyingly sophisticated dance tracks (echoes of Latin Freestyle, Italo disco, every Backstreet/Britney scrap from 1999), plus a dutifully aching ballad or two. The peak is "Run Devil Run," a white swan/black swan kiss-off with a chorus so confidently sassy it could stop a North Korean missile in mid-air. (CHARLES AARON)"

2NE1 placed much higher in terms of ranking with their 2nd mini-album and can be found in 6th place behind Adele, Katy B, Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga (1st place). 

SPIN comments, "The TLC of K-Pop dropped this stopgap, six-song EP compilation in July, and for pure (purely impure?) sonics, it might be the year's most boldly thrilling recorded statement. A collision of electro-house, hip-hop, and pop-rock guitar, with yet another undeniable hook cropping up every 15 seconds, it is the primary work of producers Teddy Park (formerly of Korean-American rap group 1TYM) and Kush. But this all-female foursome clearly own their persona more than most K-Poppers, particularly on the spicy, playalistic "I Am the Best" and the body-image throwdown, "Ugly." There's even a solo turn by the group's vocal powerhouse Park Bom, who considers the cosmos over a springy sprint to a piano-plinking chorus. (C.A.)"

What are your thoughts on the rankings?

Source: SPIN
CR: koreaboo