Year-End Lists

Stereogum: Top 50 Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. The Idler Wheel…
   Fiona Apple
2. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
3. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
4. The Seer
   Swans
5. Devotion
   Jessie Ware
6. Attack on Memory
   Cloud Nothings
7. Celebration Rock
   Japandroids
8. Heaven
   Walkmen
9. Something
   Chairlift
10. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors
11. Lonerism
    Tame Impala
12. Kaleidoscope Dream
    Miguel
13. ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
14. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
15. Cancer 4 Cure
    El-P
16. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
17. Open Your Heart
    The Men
18. Yellow & Green
    Baroness
19. Red
    Taylor Swift
20. Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
    Spiritualized
21. Ugly
    Screaming Females
22. Oshin
    DIIV
23. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
24. Reign of Terror
    Sleigh Bells
25. II
    Nude Beach
26. Visions
    Grimes
27. Bloom
    Beach House
28. Sun
    Cat Power
29. Shine
    Purity Ring
30. Harmonicraft
    Torche
31. Habits & Contradictions
    Schoolboy Q
32. Twins
    Ty Segall
33. Total Loss
    How to Dress Well
34. Pluto
    Future
35. Swearin’
    Swearin’
36. Overgrown Path
    Chris Cohen
37. 1999
    Joey Bada$$
38. Ocean Roar
    Mount Eerie
39. Jessica Pratt
    Jessica Pratt
40. All We Love We Leave Behind
    Converge
41. Among the Leaves
    Sun Kil Moon
42. Tramp
    Sharon Van Etten
43. Blue Chips
    Action Bronson & Party Supplies
44. The Haunted Man
    Bat for Lashes
45. The Odds
    The Evens
46. Big Inner
    Matthew E. White
47. Rich Forever
    Rick Ross
48. Port of Morrow
    The Shins
49. Light Up Gold
    Parquet Courts
50. Until the Quiet Comes
    Flying Lotus

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Quarantine
   Laurel Halo
2. Icon Give Thank
   Sun Araw & M Geddes Gengras meet the Congos
3. RIP
   Actress
4. Fremde Zeit Addendum
   Jakob Ullmann
5. Songs About Nothing
   Jason Lescalleet
6. Live at the Grimm Museum 1
   CC Hennix & The Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage
7. Tempest
   Bob Dylan
8. Ekstasis
   Julia Holter
9. Transverse
   Carter Tutti Void
10. Dependent and Happy
    Ricardo Villalobos
11. Bish Bosch
    Scott Walker
12. Blood Rushing
    Josephine Foster
13. Mabushii Itazura Na Inori
    Fushitsusha
14. Imikuzushi
    Haino/O’Rourke/Ambarchi
15. The Money Store
    Death Grips
16. Medium
    Emptyset
17. Black is Beautiful
    Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland
18. Luxury Problems
    Andy Stott
19. Wandelweiser und so Weiter
    V/A
20. Crippled Symmetry: At June in Buffalo
    Morton Feldman
21. Verse of Birds
    Richard Skelton
22. Back on the Streets
    The Bohman Brothers
23. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
24. Crosshatches
    Michael Pisaro and Toshiya Tsunoda
25. Reeling Skullways
    Bass Clef
26. Modern Jester
    Aaron Dilloway
27. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
28. The Drawbar Organ/Music for the Quiet Hour
    Shackleton
29. Wound Response
    Rhodri Davies
30. Mature Themes
    Ariel Pink
31. Ten Freedom Summers
    Wadada Leo Smith
32. Novaya Zemlya
    Thomas Koner
33. In our Name
    Annea Lockwood
34. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
    Earth
35. Diversions 1994-1996
    Lee Gamble
36. Deviation
    Heatsick
37. Feel Free
    Duane Pitre
38. Quarter Turns over a Living Line
    Raime
39. The Seer
    Swans
40. Mbeuguel Dafa Nekh
    Mark Ernestus Presents Jeri-Jeri with Mbene Diatta Seck
41. Playin’ Me
    Cooly G
42. Da Mind of Traxman
    Traxman
43. Teklife Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi
    DJ Rashad
44. Streets
    Charles Gayle Trio
45. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
46. Sleep Games
    Pye Corner Audio
47. Sounds from Dangerous Places
    Peter Cusack
48. Effigy
    Pelt
49. Pretty Ugly
    DVA
50. Yatagarasu
    Brotzmann/Satoh/Moriyama

Jason Bentley: Top 10 Albums of 2012, as posted by KCRW

[see also 2011]

1. Blak and Blu
   Gary Clark Jr.
2. In Our Heads
   Hot Chip
3. The Lion’s Roar
   First Aid Kit
4. Blunderbuss
   Jack White
5. Black Radio
   Robert Glasper Experiment
6. Boys & Girls
   Alabama Shakes
7. >album title goes here<
   deadmau5
8. Look Around the Corner
   Quantic & Alice Russell
9. Home Again
   Michael Kiwanuka
10. Shields
    Grizzly Bear

Rolling Stone: Top 50 Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

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 Zeroes
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
    John 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 Raitt
23. A Thing Called Divine Fits
    Divine Fits
24. Cruel Summer
    G.O.O.D. Music
25. Sunken Condos
    Donald Fagen
26. Django Django
    Django Django
27. Blak and Blu
    Gary Clark Jr.
28. Bloom
    Beach House
29. Away From the World
    Dave Matthews Band
30. 1991
    Azealia Banks
31. Red
    Taylor Swift
32. Hospitality
    Hospitality
33. Visions
    Grimes
34. Boys & Girls
    Alabama Shakes
35. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
36. The Bravest Man in the Universe
    Bobby Womack
37. Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
    Justin Townes Earle
38. Local Business
    Titus Andronicus
39. Gossamer
    Passion Pit
40. Escort
    Escort
41. The Carpenter
    Avett Brothers
42. Europe
    Allo Darlin’
43. Some Nights
    fun.
44. Not Your Kind of People
    Garbage
45. Rich Forever
    Rick Ross
46. The 2nd Law
    Muse
47. Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
    Todd Snider
48. Oceania
    Smashing Pumpkins
49. Folila
    Amadou & Mariam
50. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors

Drowned in Sound: 100 Favourite Albums of 2012

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Tramp
   Sharon Van Etten
1. Blondes
   Blondes
1. Kill for Love
   Chromatics
1. The Seer
   Swans
1. Wixiw
   Liars
6. The Idler Wheel…
   Fiona Apple
7. ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
   Godspeed You! Black Emperor
8. Ghostory
   School Of Seven Bells
9. Skelethon
   Aesop Rock
10. Ekstasis
    Julia Holter
11. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
12. Something
    Chairlift
13. No One Will Ever Know
    The Twilight Sad
14. Give You the Ghost
    Poliça
15. Put Your Back N 2 It
    Perfume Genius
16. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
17. Devotion
    Jessie Ware
18. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
19. Keepers of the Light
    LHF
20. Bad Dream Hotline
    FOE
21. Confess
    Twin Shadow
22. Motion Sickness of Time Travel
    Motion Sickness of Time Travel
23. Django Django
    Django Django
24. Sun
    Cat Power
25. Koi No Yokan
    Deftones
26. Eighty One
    Yppah
27. Have Some Faith in Magic
    Errors
28. Fin
    John Talabot
29. Melody’s Echo Chamber
    Melody’s Echo Chamber
30. Attack on Memory
    Cloud Nothings
31. Piramida
    Efterklang
32. R.I.P.
    Actress
33. Synthetica
    Metric
34. Sin & Lostness
    The Lost Rivers
35. (III)
    Crystal Castles
36. Plumb
    Field Music
37. Visions
    Grimes
38. Sebenza
    LV
39. In Time To Voices
    Blood Red Shoes
40. Born to Die
    Lana Del Rey
41. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors
42. Celebration Rock
    Japandroids
43. Given to the Wild
    The Maccabees
44. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
45. The 2nd Law
    Muse
46. Bish Bosch
    Scott Walker
47. Fragrant World
    Yeasayer
48. Wild Peace
    Echo Lake
49. Total Loss
    How to Dress Well
50. Four
    Bloc Party
51. Animal Joy
    Shearwater
52. Lost Songs
    …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
53. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
    Earth
54. Valtari
    Sigur Rós
55. The Money Store
    Death Grips
56. Break It Yourself
    Andrew Bird
57. The Haunted Man
    Bat for Lashes
58. The Something Rain
    Tindersticks
59. Eight and a Half
    Eight and a Half
60. Old Ideas
    Leonard Cohen
61. In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
    The Cribs
62. The Plot Against Common Sense
    Future of the Left
63. Shrines
    Purity Ring
64. Coexist
    The xx
65. The Lion’s Roar
    First Aid Kit
66. Port of Morrow
    The Shins
67. Wonky
    Orbital
68. Psychedelic Pill
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
69. Lonerism
    Tame Impala
70. Spiderwebbed
    Stumbleine
71. Passage
    Exitmusic
72. Oshin
    DIIV
73. Cancer 4 Cure
    El-P
74. Standing at the Sky’s Edge
    Richard Hawley
75. Nootropics
    Lower Dens
76. Ark
    Halls
77. Toward the Low Sun
    Dirty Three
78. Love at the Bottom of the Sea
    The Magnetic Fields
79. Screws
    Nils Frahm
80. Heaven
    Walkmen
81. The Sleep of Reason
    BATS
82. Until the Quiet Comes
    Flying Lotus
83. The Very Last of the Saints
    Ghosting Season
84. Following Sea
    dEUS
85. America
    Dan Deacon
86. The Violence
    Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament
87. Sod the Seed
    why?
88. Between the Times and the Tides
    Lee Ranaldo
89. Gossamer
    Passion Pit
90. Bloom
    Beach House
91. The Shallows
    I Like Trains
92. Young Man in America
    Anaïs Mitchell
93. Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
    Spiritualized
94. Wrecking Ball
    Bruce Springsteen
95. An Awesome Wave
    alt-J
96. Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood
    John Cale
97. Exercises
    CFCF
98. In Our Heads
    Hot Chip
99. ((o))
    Hey Sholay
100. I Am Gemini
     Cursive

Filter Magazine: Top 20 Albums of 2012

[see also 2011]

1. Lonerism
   Tame Impala
2. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
3. Visions
   Grimes
4. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
5. Diamond Rugs
   Diamond Rugs
6. Sun
   Cat Power
7. Babel
   Mumford & Sons
8. ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
   Godspeed You! Black Emperor
9. Instinct
   Niki & The Dove
10. Bloom
    Beach House
11. Happy to You
    Miike Snow
12. Wixiw
    Liars
13. Valtari
    Sigur Rós
14. Oshin
    DIIV
15. Fear Fun
    Father John Misty
16. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
17. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
18. Until the Quiet Comes
    Flying Lotus
19. Blunderbuss
    Jack White
20. Coexist
    The xx

FasterLouder: Top 50 Albums of 2012

[see also 2015 • 2011]

1. Lonerism
   Tame Impala
2. Swing Lo Magellan
   Dirty Projectors
3. Fear Fun
   Father John Misty
4. Sun
   Cat Power
5. Love this Giant
   David Byrne & St. Vincent
6. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
7. Attack on Memory
   Cloud Nothings
8. Blunderbuss
   Jack White
9. Toward the Low Sun
   Dirty Three
10. A is For Alpine
    Alpine
11. Blues Funeral
    Mark Lanegan Band
12. Locked Down
    Dr. John
13. Django Django
    Django Django
14. The Haunted Man
    Bat for Lashes
15. Mature Themes
    Ariel Pink
16. Hypnotized
    Pony Face
17. Celebration Rock
    Japandroids
18. HyperParadise
    Hermitude
19. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
20. All We Love We Leave Behind
    Converge
21. Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
    Spiritualized
22. Valtari
    Sigur Rós
23. Ultraísta
    Ultraísta
24. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
25. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
26. I Bet on Sky
    Dinosaur Jr.
27. Flume
    Flume
28. A Thing Called Divine Fits
    Divine Fits
29. Neck of the Woods
    Silversun Pickups
30. Double Natural
    Boomgates
31. Heaven
    Walkmen
32. An Awesome Wave
    alt-J
33. Coexist
    The xx
34. I Awake
    Sarah Blasko
35. Quakers
    Quakers
36. Burning Boy
    Joe McKee
37. Songs Of The Third and Fifth
    The Mark Of Cain
38. Bored Nothing
    Bored Nothing
39. Spring and Fall
    Paul Kelly
40. Leave Your Soul to Science
    Something For Kate
41. Psychedelic Pill
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
42. Visions
    Grimes
43. Something
    Chairlift
44. Born to Die
    Lana Del Rey
45. Hard Rubbish
    Lower Plenty
46. Outlands
    Deep Sea Arcade
47. Open Your Heart
    The Men
48. Deep Heat
    Oh Mercy
49. Tramp
    Sharon Van Etten
50. TOY
    TOY

Spin: 50 Best Albums of 2012

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2011]

1. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
2. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
3. Celebration Rock
   Japandroids
4. Teklife Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi
   DJ Rashad
5. Kaleidoscope Dream
   Miguel
6. The Haunted Man
   Bat for Lashes
7. The Seer
   Swans
8. R.A.P. Music
   Killer Mike
9. Twins
   Ty Segall
10. Master of My Make-Believe
    Santigold
11. Pluto
    Future
12. No Love Deep Web
    Death Grips
13. Attack on Memory
    Cloud Nothings
14. ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
15. Yellow & Green
    Baroness
16. The Idler Wheel…
    Fiona Apple
17. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
18. King Tuff
    King Tuff
19. Da Mind of Traxman
    Traxman
20. Sorrow and Extinction
    Pallbearer
21. Jiaolong
    Daphni
22. Harmonicraft
    Torche
23. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors
24. Sun
    Cat Power
25. Blue Chips
    Action Bronson
26. Lonerism
    Tame Impala
27. Reign of Terror
    Sleigh Bells
28. Devotion
    Jessie Ware
29. I Bet on Sky
    Dinosaur Jr.
30. Interstellar
    Frankie Rose
31. Coexist
    The xx
32. World Music
    Goat
33. Putrifiers II
    Thee Oh Sees
34. Mala in Cuba
    Mala
35. Blunderbuss
    Jack White
36. >>
    Beak
37. Write Me Back
    R. Kelly
38. Red
    Taylor Swift
39. Reloaded
    Roc Marciano
40. Centipede Hz
    Animal Collective
41. Shrines
    Purity Ring
42. Six Cups of Rebel
    Lindstrøm
43. Voyageur
    Kathleen Edwards
44. Koi No Yokan
    Deftones
45. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
    Nicki Minaj
46. Father Creeper
    Spoek Mathambo
47. Synthetica
    Metric
48. The Only Place
    Best Coast
49. Nehru Jackets
    Heems
50. Some Nights
    fun.

Gorilla vs. Bear: 50 Best Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Visions
   Grimes
2. Kill for Love
   Chromatics
3. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
4. Kindred
   Burial
5. Devotion
   Jessie Ware
6. Habits & Contradictions
   Schoolboy Q
7. Bloom
   Beach House
8. Tender Opposites
   Tops
9. Kaleidoscope Dream
   Miguel
10. Something
    Chairlift
11. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
12. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
13. Quarantine
    Laurel Halo
14. Held
    Holy Other
15. Black is Beautiful
    Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland
16. Channel Orange
    Frank Ocean
17. Jessica Pratt
    Jessica Pratt
18. Interstellar
    Frankie Rose
19. Themes For An Imaginary Film
    Symmetry
20. Luxury Problems
    Andy Stott
21. Running From the Sun
    Chromatics
22. Half Way Home
    Angel Olsen
23. Instrumentals II
    Clams Casino
24. Don’t Break My Love / The Prism
    Nicolas Jaar
25. Kingdoms
    Fort Romeau
26. Armor On
    Dawn Richard
27. Tender New Signs
    Tamaryn
28. Music for the Quiet Hour
    Shackleton
29. Foreign Body
    Mirroring
30. Until the Quiet Comes
    Flying Lotus
31. Phedré
    Phedré
32. Changes
    LOL Boys
33. Reloaded
    Roc Marciano
34. Fight Bite
    Fight Bite
35. Age Waves
    Sam Flax
36. End of Daze
    Dum Dum Girls
37. Nootropics
    Lower Dens
38. Maleza
    Las Malas Amistades
39. The Garden of Joy and the Well of Loneliness
    Lace Curtains
40. Last Words + Collected
    Ryan Hemsworth
41. Other Worlds
    Taken By Trees
42. Mature Themes
    Ariel Pink
43. End of Earth
    Antwon
44. Sleep Games
    Pye Corner Audio
45. History
    Molly Nilsson
46. Lucifer
    Peaking Lights
47. The Money Store
    Death Grips
48. Pure Bathing Culture
    Pure Bathing Culture
49. Awe Naturale
    THEESatisfaction
50. Motor City
    Sand Circles

Kathryn Schulz: Top 10 Books of 2012, as published by New York Magazine

1. Dear Life
   Alice Munro
2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

   Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
   Katherine Boo
3. Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story
   Jim Holt
4. Zona

   A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room
   Geoff Dyer
5. Telegraph Avenue
   Michael Chabon
6. Mortality
   Christopher Hitchens
7. Object Lessons

   The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story
   Lorin Stein, Sadie Stein
8. When I Was a Child, I Read Books

   Essays
   Marilynne Robinson
9. Into the Silence

   The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
   Wade Davis
10. House of Stone

    A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
    Anthony Shadid