While there was a lot of great music that came out in 2011, my taste are fickle like a child. Eminem, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Lil’ Wayne, Jay & Kanye all did their best to keep my attention, but in the age of the internet each day presents a shiny new toy.

I download new music so often that I probably won’t listen to a CD much after its second week in rotation. That’s the key, staying power, and in my mind there was only one artist in all of 2011 with true staying power…

The Weeknd.

When Complex named House of Balloons #1 on its list of 25 Best Albums of 2011 (So Far) I took notice, listened and put it back on the shelf. It wasn’t until The Weeknd’s second release of the year, Thursday, did I find myself hooked. I had to go back to HOB and I couldn’t get enough. Literally I count the days until his third release of 2011, Echoes of Silence.

Yes, you heard that right, THREE FREE mixtapes ( in one year that all could have easily been separate major releases. That, my friend, is a putting in the work.

Sometimes I get caught up in daydreams about life’s perfect moments. Imagine hardwood floors. An old leather couch and a coffee table piled high with books and magazines. Moisture rings dotting the landscape.

The light in the room is pale from an overcast sky outside, creating a foggy haze through the window that is soft in its illumination of everything. A woman sulks through the bands of light and sits down in front of me, cross-legged. She is wrought fresh and dripping from a shower, and I comb her hair counting the strokes.

This is the music of The Weeknd. Dark. Sensual. Eerie. Reluctant. Wanton. Lustful But mostly eerie. Perfect for a foggy day.

It is no surprise that House of Balloons made Complex’s overall Best Album of 2011. I’m hooked. Please join me. Gladly, there is no rehab for musical obsession.

Check out http://www.theweeknd.com/