Year-End Lists

Resident Advisor: Top 20 Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2018 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Voices from the Lake
   Voices From The Lake
2. R.I.P.
   Actress
3. fIN
   John Talabot
4. Luxury Problems
   Andy Stott
5. Jiaolong
   Daphni
6. Music for the Quiet Hour
   Shackleton
7. Order of Noise
   Vessel
8. The Killer
   Shed
9. Motor: Nighttime World 3
   Robert Hood
10. Transsektoral
    Barker & Baumecker
11. Classical Curves
    Jam City
12. Visions
    Grimes
13. Diversions 1994-1996
    Lee Gamble
14. On Acid
    Recondite
15. Negative Fascination
    Silent Servant
16. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
17. Dependent and Happy
    Ricardo Villalobos
18. Salty Days
    Smallpeople
19. Quarantine
    Laurel Halo
20. Quarter Turns Over A Living Line
    Raime

Slant Magazine: 25 Best Films of 2012

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

1. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
2. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
3. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
4. The Kid with a Bike
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
5. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
7. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
8. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
9. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
10. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
11. Neighboring Sounds
    Kleber Mendonça Filho
12. The Color Wheel
    Alex Ross Perry
13. Cosmopolis
    David Cronenberg
14. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
15. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
16. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
17. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
    David France
18. Killer Joe
    William Friedkin
19. Girl Walk // All Day
    Jacob Krupnick
20. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Benh Zeitlin
21. The Comedy
    Rick Alverson
22. Almayer’s Folly
    Chantal Akerman
23. Attenberg
    Athina Rachel Tsangari
24. Barbara
    Christian Petzold
25. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh

Eric Kohn: 10 Best Movies of 2012, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014]

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
3. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
5. Amour
   Michael Haneke
6. Your Sister’s Sister
   Lynn Shelton
7. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Loneliest Planet
   Julia Loktev
9. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
10. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
    John Hyams

Slant Magazine: 25 Best Albums of 2012

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

1. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
2. Devotion
   Jessie Ware
3. Master of My Make-Believe
   Santigold
4. The Haunted Man
   Bat for Lashes
5. Swing Lo Magellan
   Dirty Projectors
6. Kill for Love
   Chromatics
7. Celebration Rock
   Japandroids
8. Fear Fun
   Father John Misty
9. Born to Die
   Lana Del Rey
10. Blunderbuss
    Jack White
11. Instinct
    Niki & The Dove
12. The Seer
    Swans
13. Locked Down
    Dr. John
14. Tigermending
    Carina Round
15. Half Made Man
    Ben Sollee
16. Boys & Girls
    Alabama Shakes
17. Sing the Delta
    Iris DeMent
18. Beware and Be Grateful
    Maps and Atlases
19. Give You the Ghost
    Poliça
20. I Like to Keep Myself in Pain
    Kelly Hogan
21. Blue Chips
    Action Bronson
22. Until the Quiet Comes
    Flying Lotus
23. Psychedelic Pill
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
24. Animal Joy
    Shearwater
25. Putrifiers II
    Thee Oh Sees

J Hoberman: 12 Best Films of 2012, as published by Artforum

[see also 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Werner Schroeter retrospective at MOMA
2. Almayer’s Folly
   Chantal Akerman
2. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
3. Il Cinema Ritrovato XVI (annual festival in Bologna)
4. Oskar Fischinger: Space Light Art, Whitney Museum exhibition
5. Lonesome DVD (1928)
   Paul Fejos
6. Beyond the Hills
   Cristian Mungiu
7. Leviathan
   Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
8. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
9. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
10. Clint Eastwood on YouTube

The Quietus: 75 Favorite Albums of 2012

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

1. The Seer
   Swans
2. Bish Bosch
   Scott Walker
3. Transverse
   Carter Tutti Void
4. Desertshore/The Final Report
   X-TG
5. SSSS
   VCMG
6. Ghosts Of Chechnya
   Vatican Shadow
7. Widowmaker
   Dragged Into Sunlight
8. Quarantine
   Laurel Halo
9. Vanitas
   Anaal Nathrakh
10. V
    KTL
11. MM/KM
    Kassem Mosse & Mix Mup
12. Black is Beautiful
    Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland
13. Roman Roads IV – XI
    Land Observations
14. Classical Curves
    Jam City
15. Wixiw
    Liars
16. The Cherry Thing
    Neneh Cherry & the Thing
17. Dutch Tvashar Plumes
    Lee Gamble
18. Icon Give Thank
    Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras & The Congos
19. R.I.P.
    Actress
20. The Violence
    Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament
21. Frying On This Rock
    White Hills
22. Negative Fascination
    Silent Servant
23. The Ghost in Daylight
    Gravenhurst
24. 1612 Underture
    Eccentronic Research Council ft. Maxine Peake
25. Galgeberg/Gimle
    Necessary
26. Medium
    Emptyset
27. De Vermis Mysteriis
    High on Fire
28. Luxury Problems
    Andy Stott
29. Third Mouth
    Alexander Tucker
30. Doki Doki Run
    Fairhorns
31. Novaya Zemlya
    Thomas Koner
32. Quarter Turns Over A Living Line
    Raime
33. Movement
    Holly Herndon
34. The Drawbar Organ/Music for the Quiet Hour
    Shackleton
35. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
36. Posthuman
    JK Flesh
37. Verse of Birds
    Richard Skelton
38. Jiaolong
    Daphni
39. Natural History
    Dope Body
40. Sagittarian Domain
    Oren Ambarchi
41. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
42. No Holier Temple
    Hexvessel
43. Toy
    Toy
44. Da Mind of Traxman
    Traxman
45. Mengamuk
    Vindicatrix
46. good kid, m.A.A.d city
    Kendrick Lamar
47. ORO: Opus Primum/Alter
    UFOmammut
48. The Shape Of Things
    John Foxx and the Maths
49. When We Were Eating Unripe Pears
    Bee Mask
50. Motor: Nighttime World 3
    Robert Hood
51. Melody’s Echo Chamber
    Melody’s Echo Chamber
52. Tighten That Muscle Ring
    Hirsute Pursuit
53. Kindred
    Burial
54. Sentenced To Life
    Black Breath
55. Music For People Who Hate Themselves
    The Pre New
56. Labour Division
    Forward Strategy Group
57. >>
    Beak
58. Sexual Harassment
    Turbonegro
59. MMXII
    Killing Joke
60. New War
    New War
61. Reservation
    Angel Haze
62. Astraea
    Rolo Tomassi
63. Oh No I Love You
    Tim Burgess
64. Intermezzo
    Sir Richard Bishop
65. Line The Wall
    Bo Ningen
66. fIN
    John Talabot
67. Blues Funeral
    Mark Lanegan Band
68. Devilman
    Devilman
69. The Death Defying Unicorn
    Motorpsycho And Ståle Storløkken
70. World Music
    Goat
71. See The World Given To A One Love Entity
    Guardian Alien
72. Photos Of Photos
    Carlton Melton
73. Old Ideas
    Leonard Cohen
74. Ascent
    Six Organs of Admittance
75. Pansophical Cataract
    Man Forever

Tina Brown: 7 Favorite Books of 2012, as published by The Daily Beast

• The Orphan Master’s Son
  Adam Johnson
• On Saudi Arabia

  Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines — And Future
  Karen Elliott House
• Sweet Tooth
  Ewan McEwan
• The Man Without a Face
  Masha Gessen
• Hitlerland
  Andrew Nagorski
• Prague Winter
  Madeleine Albright
• Kill or Capture
  Daniel Klaidman

The Economist: 11 Best Books of 2012 (fiction, essays, and poetry)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

• Bring Up the Bodies
  Hilary Mantel
• The Forgiven
  Lawrence Osborne
• Toby’s Room
  Pat Barker
• The Dinner
  Herman Koch
• The Garden of Evening Mists
  Tan Twang Eng
• Grimm Tales

  For Young and Old
  Philip Pullman
• Winter

  Five Windows on the Season
  Adam Gopnik
• Pulphead
  John Jeremiah Sullivan
• Three Strong Women
  Marie NDiaye
• Yellow Tulips

  Poems 1968-2011
  James Fenton
• P L A C E
  Jorie Graham

Crack Magazine: The Top 100 Albums of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. Fin
   John Talabot
2. Lonerism
   Tame Impala
3. Portico Quartet
   Portico Quartet
4. Open Your Heart
   The Men
5. good kid, m.A.A.d city
   Kendrick Lamar
6. Channel Orange
   Frank Ocean
7. Until the Quiet Comes
   Flying Lotus
8. Metz
   Metz
9. Dream On
   Ital
10. The Seer
    Swans
11. Tender New Signs
    Tamaryn
12. A+E
    Graham Coxon
13. World Music
    Goat
14. Visions
    Grimes
15. fabric 64
    Guy Gerber
16. Dependent and Happy
    Ricardo Villalobos
17. They!Live
    Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka
18. Brothers Fowl
    Dam Mantle
19. Black Radio
    Robert Glasper Experiment
20. Mantasy
    Michael Mayer
21. Adventures In Your Own Backyard
    Patrick Watson
22. Teklife Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi
    DJ Rashad
23. Future Rhythm Machine
    Auntie Flo
24. R.I.P.
    Actress
25. Mysterious Phonk: Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp
    Spaceghostpurrp
26. Wixiw
    Liars
27. Kill for Love
    Chromatics
28. Swing Lo Magellan
    Dirty Projectors
29. Shields
    Grizzly Bear
30. Never
    Micachu & The Shapes
31. There’s No Leaving Now
    The Tallest Man on Earth
32. Nocturne
    Wild Nothing
33. Blondes
    Blondes
34. Tourist / Sleeper
    Seams
35. Melody’s Echo Chamber
    Melody’s Echo Chamber
36. Phèdre
    Phèdre
37. Things That Fade
    Greeen Linez
38. Total Loss
    How to Dress Well
39. Key To The Kuffs
    JJ DOOM
40. Rispah
    The Invisible
41. The Cherry Thing
    Neneh Cherry & the Thing
42. Devotion
    Jessie Ware
43. Standing at the Sky’s Edge
    Richard Hawley
44. Versus
    Wolf + Lamb
45. Oshin
    DIIV
46. Galaxy Garden
    Lone
47. Bloom
    Beach House
48. World, You Need a Change of Mind
    Kindness
49. Fear Fun
    Father John Misty
50. I Bet on Sky
    Dinosaur Jr.
51. Heaven
    Walkmen
52. State of Flux
    Mr. G
53. Celebration Rock
    Japandroids
54. Shrines
    Purity Ring
55. Tender Leaf
    Erdbeerschnitzel
56. NZCA/LINES
    NZCA/LINES
57. The Integration LP
    LA Vampires with Maria Minerva
58. Held
    Holy Other
59. Everything Touching
    Tall Ships
60. Awe Naturale
    THEESatisfaction
61. Mala in Cuba
    Mala
62. Transverse
    Carter Tutti Void
63. Tramp
    Sharon Van Etten
64. Personality
    Scuba
65. Twins
    Ty Segall
66. R.A.P. Music
    Killer Mike
67. Centipede Hz
    Animal Collective
68. 2
    Mac DeMarco
69. BEAK>
    Beak>
70. Love this Giant
    David Byrne & St. Vincent
71. Black Propaganda
    Oscar Mulero
72. Pink
    Four Tet
73. Off!
    Off!
74. An Awesome Wave
    alt-J
75. The Killer
    Shed
76. Transistor Rhythm
    Addison Groove
77. Sees the Light
    La Sera
78. Order of Noise
    Vessel
79. Breakup Song
    Deerhoof
80. Piramida
    Efterklang
81. Life Is Good
    Nas
82. Putrifiers II
    Thee Oh Sees
83. Luxury Problems
    Andy Stott
84. Beams
    Matthew Dear
85. Sun
    Cat Power
86. All We Love We Leave Behind
    Converge
87. Give You the Ghost
    Poliça
88. Instrumental Tourist
    Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin
89. Towers
    Baltic Fleet
90. No Love Deep Web
    Death Grips
91. Free Time!
    Pinkunoizu
92. Jiaolong
    Daphni
93. The Haunted Man
    Bat for Lashes
94. Good Don’t Sleep
    Egyptian Hip Hop
95. The Very Last of the Saints
    Ghosting Season
96. Falling
    Seapony
97. Steam Days
    Nathan Fake
98. Solo Piano II
    Chilly Gonzales
99. Work is Love Made Visible
    Typesun
100. Hot Doctor
     Dagger Brothers

Richard Brody: 27 Best Movies of 2012, as published by The New Yorker

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

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
1. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
3. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Oki’s Movie
   Hong Sang-soo
4. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
6. To Rome with Love
   Woody Allen
7. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Color Wheel
   Alex Ross Perry
9. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
10. Damsels in Distress
    Whit Stillman
11. We Have a Pope
    Nanni Moretti
12. This Is 40
    Judd Apatow
13. Red Hook Summer
    Spike Lee
14. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh
15. Fake It So Real
    Robert Greene
16. Brenie
    Richard Linklater
17. Chronicle
    Josh Trank
18. Haywire
    Steven Soderbergh
19. The Comedy
    Rick Alverson
20. Bad Fever
    Dustin Guy Defa
21. The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
    Marie Losier
22. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
23. In Another Country
    Hong Sang-soo
24. Green
    Sophia Takal
25. Almayer’s Folly
    Chantal Akerman
26. The Kid with a Bike
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
27. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
    Jay and Mark Duplass