Guitar World Staff Picks: Tony Grassi's Top 10 Albums of 2011

As if all the crap I take from the other guys here at Guitar World headquarters wasn't bad enough, I am now displaying my unabashed pop interests for the entire guitar community to make fun of.

Having proclivities that spread a breadth of musical styles, I can't deny that half of my picks for the best albums of 2011 are not what one would consider "guitar" albums. But then again, a "guitar" album is a relative term. All the albums featured in my Top 10 contain guitar. Some of it is overt; some of it is light and textural. This is what's so great about the guitar; it can do almost anything and be almost anywhere.

Hey, I love the piano, but you can't bend the strings or create weird harmonics. And you're not carrying that thing anywhere.

On the other hand, a guitar can transport you from the lush richness of an Andres Segovia etude to the screaming wails of a Zakk Wylde solo. So why shouldn't a guitarist have a natural inclination for variety?

The answer: He doesn't want to get thread-burned for his love of pop albums.

But I know it's coming. Burn away.

And happy holidays.

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