The Bay Area has long been a leader in garage rock — see the annual Budget Rock Fest, which celebrated its tenth and final installment this year — and, from our perspective, that doesn’t seem likely to slow down any time soon. Put another way, there’s a reason so much of the national media spotlight has focused on SF garage bands.

Folks like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees have developed into two of indie’s most reliable acts based on an astonishing mix of volume and consistency: playing tons of shows and putting out tons of records, and doing both with a commitment to intensity and quality. Beyond those two, there were plenty of important releases from SF rock bands in 2011. Shannon and the Clams, Bare Wires, and Mikal Cronin all put out some killer full-lengths, as did a number of the bands below, and new groups like Terry Malts, Poor Sons, and Twin Steps suggest that there is plenty more great local rock and roll to come.

This hour-long mix captures twenty Bay Area rock and roll, garage, lo-fi and punk bands that released new records this year. Follow each link to look back at our coverage of these artists in 2011.

Mixtape: SF Rock and Roll in 2011

Track Listing:

1. Shannon and The Clams – “Sleep Talk”
2. Thee Oh Sees – “Carrion Crawler”
3. Terry Malts – “Distracted”
4. White Fence – “Get That Heart”
5. Grandma’s Boyfriend – “Jellyyyyyyyyyyy”
6. Twin Steps – “Wave of my Emotion”
7. The Wrong Words – “What Went Wrong”
8. Sonny & The Sunsets – “I Wanna Do It”
9. Bare Wires – “Cheap Perfume”
10. Blasted Canyons – “Death And A Half”
11. High Castle – “Crustaceans Demise”
12. Street Eaters – “Nation Builder”
13. Wax Idols – “Gold Sneakers”
14. Poor Sons – “Cool Buzz”
15. Pamela – “Lie Down”
16. Mikal Cronin – “Get Along”
17. Nodzzz – “Heyday Past Heyday Due”
18. POW! – “Cyberattack!!”
19. Ty Segall – “You Make The Sun Fry”
20. Hunx & His Punx – “Too Young To Be In Love”