2012, to me, was not an exceptional year in music, with only one release meriting a Highest Recommend (and sorry, Frank Ocean fans, it ain't Channel Orange), but it was nonetheless a highly satisfying year, and that can be attributed to one thing...
...balance.
Despite an overall lower than average number of quality releases, and no definitive new trend (though straight-up rock, wispy-voice electro-pop and touchy-feely Rap & Soul were definitely ascendant), every niche in 2012 seemed to produce at least one or two genuinely memorable records.
As such, I've decided to review this year's releases by genre first rather than just present one ranked master list.
So over the next few weeks, we'll look at the year that was by category - starting with Indie Pop, then moving onto Straight-Up Rock, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Electronica/Electro Pop, Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul, Dad Rock, Psych Rock/Shoegaze, and Art Rock/Post Rock.
Following that, I'll offer my thoughts on what I feel were the year's most overlooked and overrated albums, and finally, I'll get to my overall picks for the best songs and albums of the 2012.
But first, to get a sense of how the rest of the world felt about the year just past, here's what four notable periodicals, websites, and critical aggregators came up with as their top choices of 2012, starting with the granddaddy and unrepentant Classic Rock champion Rolling Stone.
Obviously, a defiantly strong lean towards veteran 60s and 70s artists here, but I'll argue for the Dr. John and Leonard Cohen titles just as loud as RS would, both releases are fantastic.
Now the most popular flip-side of the rock journalism coin - the ultra-contemporary, twee-and-inscrutability loving, classic-rock loathing website Pitchfork.
1. good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar
2. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
3. The Idler Wheel - Fiona Apple
4. Lonerism - Tame Impala
5. The Seer - Swans
6. Grimes - Visions
7. Bloom - Beach House
8. Kill For Love - Chromatics
9. The Money Store - Death Grips
10. Shields - Grizzly Bear
11. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
12. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
13. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
14. Luxury Problems - Andy Stott
15. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
16. Kindred EP - Burial
17. The Haunted Man - Bat For Lashes
18. Ty Segall Band/Ty Segall & White Fence - Slaughterhouse/Hair
19. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
20. Devotion - Jessie Ware
21. Mature Themes - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
22. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
23. Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
24. Shrines - Purity Ring
25. Habits & Contradictions - Schoolboy Q
Clearly, a near complete disregard for older or more mainstream artists here, but I do feel few sites do a better job of parsing through the offerings of younger indie artists than Pitchfork, and a very good rule of thumb - those albums that make the year end lists for both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, are, by and large, the true must-hear albums of that year.
Now let's look at the near final consensus tallies from two of the world's best aggregator sites.
First, www.metacritic.com 's tally, which aggregates year-end rankings from almost every notable English language website and publication.
1. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
2. good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
3. The Idler Wheel... - Fiona Apple
4. Lonerism - Tame Impala
5. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
6. Visions - Grimes
7. The Seer - Swans
8. Devotion - Jessie Ware
9. An Awesome Wave - Alt. J.
10. Blunderbuss - Jack White
11. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
11. Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
13. Bloom - Beach House
13. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
13. Shields - Grizzly Bear
13. Killer For Love - Chromatics
17. Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
17. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
17. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes
20. The Money Store - Death Grips
20. Django Django
20. Tempest - Bob Dylan
20. Red - Taylor Swift
24. Our Version Of Events - Emili Sande
25. Sun - Cat Power
25. Swing Low Magellan - Dirty Projectors
25. All We Love We Leave Behind - Converge
And for a more international slant, www.acclaimedmusic.net 's 12/24 tally, which factors in most of the lists Metacritic considers, but also works in final rankings from a wide swath of the world's top foreign language websites and publications.
1. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
2. Lonerism - Tame Impala
3. good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
4. Visions - Grimes
5. Shields - Grizzly Bear
6. Kill For Love - Chromatics
7. The Seer - Swans
8. Coexist - The Xx
9. Bloom - Beach House
10. Blunderbuss - Jack White
11. An Awesome Wave - Alt-J
12. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
13. The Idler Wheel... - Fiona Apple
14. Django Django
15. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
16. Sun - Cat Power
17. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
18. Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
19. Devotion - Jesse Ware
20. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
21. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
22. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
23. Tempest - Bob Dylan
24. The Haunted Man - Bat For Lashes
25. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes
Interestingly, the albums one would consider most instrumentally adventurous soar to the top of the international list, while lyrically anchored efforts like Fiona Apple's or those firmly rooted in traditional North American rock tropes like Celebration Rock drop, but clearly, over all four of these lists, some consistent titles have emerged. I'll touch on many of these in the pages that follow...along with some other wonderful releases that I feel also deserve recognition.
And now, onto Indie Pop.
...balance.
Despite an overall lower than average number of quality releases, and no definitive new trend (though straight-up rock, wispy-voice electro-pop and touchy-feely Rap & Soul were definitely ascendant), every niche in 2012 seemed to produce at least one or two genuinely memorable records.
As such, I've decided to review this year's releases by genre first rather than just present one ranked master list.
So over the next few weeks, we'll look at the year that was by category - starting with Indie Pop, then moving onto Straight-Up Rock, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Electronica/Electro Pop, Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul, Dad Rock, Psych Rock/Shoegaze, and Art Rock/Post Rock.
Following that, I'll offer my thoughts on what I feel were the year's most overlooked and overrated albums, and finally, I'll get to my overall picks for the best songs and albums of the 2012.
But first, to get a sense of how the rest of the world felt about the year just past, here's what four notable periodicals, websites, and critical aggregators came up with as their top choices of 2012, starting with the granddaddy and unrepentant Classic Rock champion Rolling Stone.
1. Wrecking Ball - Bruce Springsteen
2. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
3. Blunderbuss - Jack White
4. Tempest - Bob Dylan
5. The Idler Wheel - Fiona Apple
6. good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar
7. Here - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
8. !Uno! - Green Day
9. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
10. Psychedelic Pill - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
11. Babel - Mumford & Sons
12. Rebirth - Jimmy Cliff
13. Old Ideas - Leonard Cohen
14. The Only Place - Best Coast
15. Locked Down - Dr. John
16. Sun - Cat Power
17. Born and Raised - Jon Mayer
18. Life Is Good - Nas
19. Mirage Rock - Band Of Horses
20. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
21. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
22. Slipstream - Bonnie Rait
23. A Thing Call Divine Fits - Divine Fits
24. Cruel Summer - G.O.O.D. Music
25. Sunken Condos - Donald Fagen
Obviously, a defiantly strong lean towards veteran 60s and 70s artists here, but I'll argue for the Dr. John and Leonard Cohen titles just as loud as RS would, both releases are fantastic.
Now the most popular flip-side of the rock journalism coin - the ultra-contemporary, twee-and-inscrutability loving, classic-rock loathing website Pitchfork.
1. good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar
2. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
3. The Idler Wheel - Fiona Apple
4. Lonerism - Tame Impala
5. The Seer - Swans
6. Grimes - Visions
7. Bloom - Beach House
8. Kill For Love - Chromatics
9. The Money Store - Death Grips
10. Shields - Grizzly Bear
11. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
12. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
13. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
14. Luxury Problems - Andy Stott
15. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
16. Kindred EP - Burial
17. The Haunted Man - Bat For Lashes
18. Ty Segall Band/Ty Segall & White Fence - Slaughterhouse/Hair
19. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
20. Devotion - Jessie Ware
21. Mature Themes - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
22. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
23. Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
24. Shrines - Purity Ring
25. Habits & Contradictions - Schoolboy Q
Clearly, a near complete disregard for older or more mainstream artists here, but I do feel few sites do a better job of parsing through the offerings of younger indie artists than Pitchfork, and a very good rule of thumb - those albums that make the year end lists for both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, are, by and large, the true must-hear albums of that year.
Now let's look at the near final consensus tallies from two of the world's best aggregator sites.
First, www.metacritic.com 's tally, which aggregates year-end rankings from almost every notable English language website and publication.
1. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
2. good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
3. The Idler Wheel... - Fiona Apple
4. Lonerism - Tame Impala
5. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
6. Visions - Grimes
7. The Seer - Swans
8. Devotion - Jessie Ware
9. An Awesome Wave - Alt. J.
10. Blunderbuss - Jack White
11. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
11. Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
13. Bloom - Beach House
13. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
13. Shields - Grizzly Bear
13. Killer For Love - Chromatics
17. Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
17. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
17. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes
20. The Money Store - Death Grips
20. Django Django
20. Tempest - Bob Dylan
20. Red - Taylor Swift
24. Our Version Of Events - Emili Sande
25. Sun - Cat Power
25. Swing Low Magellan - Dirty Projectors
25. All We Love We Leave Behind - Converge
And for a more international slant, www.acclaimedmusic.net 's 12/24 tally, which factors in most of the lists Metacritic considers, but also works in final rankings from a wide swath of the world's top foreign language websites and publications.
1. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
2. Lonerism - Tame Impala
3. good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
4. Visions - Grimes
5. Shields - Grizzly Bear
6. Kill For Love - Chromatics
7. The Seer - Swans
8. Coexist - The Xx
9. Bloom - Beach House
10. Blunderbuss - Jack White
11. An Awesome Wave - Alt-J
12. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
13. The Idler Wheel... - Fiona Apple
14. Django Django
15. Celebration Rock - Japandroids
16. Sun - Cat Power
17. Until The Quiet Comes - Flying Lotus
18. Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
19. Devotion - Jesse Ware
20. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
21. Attack On Memory - Cloud Nothings
22. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
23. Tempest - Bob Dylan
24. The Haunted Man - Bat For Lashes
25. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes
Interestingly, the albums one would consider most instrumentally adventurous soar to the top of the international list, while lyrically anchored efforts like Fiona Apple's or those firmly rooted in traditional North American rock tropes like Celebration Rock drop, but clearly, over all four of these lists, some consistent titles have emerged. I'll touch on many of these in the pages that follow...along with some other wonderful releases that I feel also deserve recognition.
And now, onto Indie Pop.
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