Did you get money or gift cards as presents this year? Spend it on these tunes.

The Top 12 –

1. Dwight Yoakam, 3 Pears (Warner)
   
2. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (Epic)
   
3. Cold Specks, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion (Broken Hertz)
   
4. Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man (Capitol)
   
5. Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan (Domino)
   
6. Field Music, Plumb (Memphis Industries)
   
7. The Magnetic Fields, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea (Merge)
   
8. Kelly Hogan, I Like to Keep Myself in Pain (ANTI-)
   
9. Baroness, Yellow and Green (Relapse)
   
10. Sea Of Bees, Orangefarben (Team Love)
    
11. The Coup, Sorry To Bother You (ANTI-)
    
12. Scott Walker, Bish Bosch (4AD)
    

2012 Defined –

• Chairlift, Something (Columbia)
  
• Japandroids, Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)
  
• Grimes, Visions (Arbutus)
  
• Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE (Island / Def Jam)
  
• Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city (Top Dawg/ Aftermath/Interscope)
  

Timeless –

• Michael Kiwanuka, Home Again (Communion / Polydor)
  
• Band Of Skulls, Sweet Sour (Vagrant)
  
• Lianne La Havas, Is Your Love Big Enough? (Nonesuch / Warner)
  

Trancey –

• Young Magic, Melt (Carpark)
  
• Sleepy Sun, Spine Hits (The End)
  
• Peaking Lights, Lucifer (Mexican Summer)
  
• DIIV, Oshin (Captured Tracks)
  
• Milk Maid, Mostly No (FatCat)
  
• Ape School, Junior Violence (Hometapes)
  
• Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Son of a Bitches Brew (Important)
  
• Beak>, >> (Invada)
  
• Flying Lotus, Until The Quiet Comes (Warp)
  
• Sun Airway, Soft Fall (Dead Oceans)
  
• Tame Impala, Lonerism (Modular/Interscope)
  
• The Helio Sequence, Negotiations (Sub Pop)
  

Novel –

• Purity Ring, Shrines (4AD)
  
• Laurel Halo, Quarantine (Hyperdub Records)
  
• Dan Deacon, America (Domino)
  
• Julia Holter, Ekstasis (RVNG)
  

Grand Entrances –

• Hospitality, Hospitality (Merge)
  
• Father John Misty, Fear Fun (Sub Pop)
  
• alt-J, An Awesome Wave (Canvasback/Atlantic)
  
• Metz, Metz (Sub Pop)
  

Profligate Prolificness –

1. Guided By Voices
   - Class Clown Spots A UFO is the best and weirdest set of songs out of the 3 GBV 2012 albums, but as an album it suffers from a slow start (the title track or “Hang Up and Try Again” would’ve made far superior openers). Therefore, the best *album* of the three is The Bears For Lunch. All are great, nonetheless.

    

   • Let’s Go Eat The Factory (GBV Inc.)
     
   • Class Clown Spots A UFO (GBV Inc.)
     
   • The Bears For Lunch (GBV Inc.)
     
2. Death Grips (SPIN’s Artist of the Year)
   • The Money Store (Epic)
     
   • Deep Love No Web (Death Grips / Third Worlds)
     
3. Green Day
   • ¡UNO! (Reprise)
   • ¡DOS! (Reprise)
   • ¡TRE! (Reprise)
     

Veteran Triumphs –

• Nada Surf, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy (Barsuk)
  
• Cardinal, Hymns (Fire Records)
  
• Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball (Columbia)
  
• Van Halen, A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)
  
• Dr. John, Locked Down (Nonesuch)
  
• The dB’s, Falling Off The Sky (Bar/None)
  
• Mark Lanegan Band, Blues Funeral (4AD)
  
• Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe (XL Recordings)
  
• Rush, Clockwork Angels (Anthem / Roadrunner)
  
• Bill Fay, Life Is People (Dead Oceans)
  
• Willie Nelson, Heroes (Legacy)
  
• Van Morrison, Born To Sing: No Plan B (Blue Note)
  
• Mark Eitzel, Don’t Be a Stranger (Merge)
  
• John Cale, Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood (Domino Recording Co.)
  
• Bloc Party, Four (Frenchkiss)
  
• The Darkness, Hot Cakes (Wind-up)
  
• The Mountain Goats, Transcendental Youth (Merge)
  
• Cat Power, Sun (Matador)
  
• Animal Collective, Centipede Hz (Domino)
  
• Bob Mould, Silver Age (Merge)
  
• Deerhoof, Breakup Song (Polyvinyl)
  
• Jens Lekman, I Know What Love Isn’t (Secretly Canadian)
  
• David Byrne & St. Vincent, Love This Giant (4AD)
  
• Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra, Theatre Is Evil (8ft. Records)
  
• Bob Dylan, Tempest (Columbia)
  
• John Hiatt, Mystic Pinball (New West)
  
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill (Reprise)
  
• Wanda Jackson, Unfinished Business (Sugar Hill)
  

Fond Farewells –

• Basement, Colourmeinkindness (Run For Cover)
  
• (…maybe their last?) Black Country Communion, Afterglow (J&R Adventures)
  
• Swedish House Mafia, Until Now (Astralwerks)
  

January 17th

Alcest, Les Voyages De L’Âme (Prophecy)

The Big Pink, Future This (4AD)

January 24th

First Aid Kit, The Lion’s Roar (Wichita)

Leila, U&I (Warp)

Plug, Back On Time (Ninja Tune)

Porcelain Raft, Strange Weekend (Secretly Canadian)

January 31

The Big Sleep, Nature Experiments (Frenchkiss)

Errors, Have Some Faith in Magic (Rock Action)

Prinzhorn Dance School, Clay Class (DFA)
- Channeling the Au Pairs.

February 7th

Blondes, Blondes (RVNG Intl.)

Dr. Dog, Be the Void (ANTI-)

Fucked Up, Year Of The Tiger (Matador)

Of Montreal, Paralytic Stalks (Polyvinyl)

Royal Baths, Better Luck Next Life (Kanine)
- In a year where his LP collection was exposed in an online exhibit (as pictured above), John Peel would’ve *loved* this.

Sharon Van Etten, Tramp (Jagjaguwar)

February 14th

Heartless Bastards, Arrow (Partisan)

Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (Southern Lord)

Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny, Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose (Mute)

Howlin’ Rain, The Russian Winds (American Recordings)

Islands, A Sleep & A Forgetting (ANTI-/Epitaph)

Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound, Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound (SideOneDummy)

Shearwater, Animal Joy (Sub Pop)

Tennis, Young and Old (Fat Possum)

February 21st

Cheap Girls, Giant Orange (Rise Records)

Matthew Bourne, Montauk Variations (The Leaf Label)

Cursive, I Am Gemini (Saddle Creek)

Perfume Genius, Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador)

February 28th

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leaving Eden (Nonesuch)

March 6th

Andrew Bird, Break It Yourself / Hands Of Glory (Mom + Pop Music)

Bowerbirds, The Clearing (Dead Oceans)

Ceremony, Zoo (Matador)

Now, Now, Threads (Trans)

March 20th

Lost In The Trees, A Church That Fits Our Needs (Anti / Epitaph)

March 27th

Georgia Anne Muldrow, Seeds (Someothaship)

April 10th

Dead Sara, Dead Sara (Pocket Kid Records)

M. Ward, A Wasteland Companion (Merge)

Alex Winston, King Con (V2 / Cooperative Music)

April 17th

Maps & Atlases, Beware and Be Grateful (Barsuk)

Mariee Sioux, Gift for the End (Almost Musique / Whale Watch Records)

April 24th

Jack White, Blunderbuss (Third Man)

Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe (Downtown/Atlantic)

May 1st

Dot Hacker, Inhibition (ORG Music)

Kwes, Meantime (EP) (Warp Records)

Norah Jones, … Little Broken Hearts (Blue Note)

Ramona Falls, Prophet (Barsuk)

Rufus Wainwright, Out of the Game (Decca)

May 8th

Here We Go Magic, A Different Ship (Secretly Canadian)

Luther Dickinson, Hambone’s Meditations (Sutro Park / Songs of the South)

One Little Plane, Into The Trees (Text Records)

May 15th

Beach House, Bloom (Sub Pop)

The Choir, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard (Galaxy21)

Cornershop, Urban Turban (Ample Play)

Meiko, The Bright Side (Concord Music Group)

May 22nd

Hallelujah the Hills, No One Knows What Happens Next (Discrete Pageantry)

El-P, Cancer4Cure (Fat Possum)

Exitmusic, Passage (Secretly Canadian)

May 29th

Regina Spektor, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats (Sire)

Marissa Nadler, The Sister (Box of Cedar)

Sigur Rós, Valtari (XL Recordings)

Julia Stone, By The Horns (Nettwerk)

Sun Kil Moon, Among the Leaves (Caldo Verde)

June 5th

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Americana (Reprise)

Jherek Bischoff, Composed (Brassland)

Brandi Carlile, Bear Creek (Columbia)

Liars, WIXIW (Mute)

Patti Smith, Banga (Columbia)

Anna Ternheim, The Night Visitor (V2/Cooperative Music)

June 12th

Future Of The Left, the plot against common sense (Xtra Mile)

Giant Giant Sand, Tucson (Fire Records)

The Invisible, Rispah (Ninja Tune)

JBM, Stray Ashes (Western Vinyl)

Metric, Synthetica (MMI / Mom + Pop)

Hot Chip, In Our Heads (Domino)

June 19th

Girlyman, Supernova (Girlyman Inc. / Burnside)

Kate Miller-Heidke, Nightflight (Sin)

June 26th

A Place To Bury Strangers, Worship (Dead Oceans)

Beachwood Sparks, The Tarnished Gold (Sub Pop)

Chain & The Gang, In Cool Blood (K)

July 3rd

The Sufis, The Sufis (Freestock)

July 10th

Zac Brown Band, Uncaged (No Reserve / Atlantic)

Aesop Rock, Skelethon (Rhymesayers)

Colossal Gospel, Circles (Autumn Tone)

Eleni Mandell, I Can See The Future (Yep Roc Records)

July 17th

JEFF the Brotherhood, Hypnotic Nights (Warner)

July 24th

Fang Island, Major (Sargent House)

Mike Keneally, Wing Beat Fantastic (Exowax)

Saint Saviour, Union (Surface Area)

Three Mile Pilot, Maps (EP) (Temporary Residence)

July 31st

thenewno2, thefearofmissingout (H.O.T. Records Ltd. / Vagrant)

River City Tanlines, Coast to Coast (Big Legal Mess / Fat Possum)

Joshua Radin, Underwater (Mom + Pop Music)

August 7th

Blonds, The Bad Ones (Gluck Music)

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang, En Yay Sah (Luaka Bop)

Ormonde, Machine (Hometapes)

Redd Kross, Researching The Blues (Merge)

Liam Titcomb, Cicada (Nettwerk)

Elle Varner, Perfectly Imperfect (RCA)

August 14th

Michael Andrews, Spilling a Rainbow (Elgin Park / Everloving)

August 21st

Bailterspace, Strobosphere (Fire / Cargo UK)

Yeasayer, Fragrant World (Secretly Canadian)

I Was Totally Destroying It, Vexations (Greyday Records)

Ombre, Believe You Me (Asthmatic Kitty)

Ry Cooder, Election Special (Nonesuch)

August 28th

Poor Moon, Poor Moon (Sub Pop)

Matthew Dear, Beams (Ghostly International)

Wild Nothing, Nocturne (Captured Tracks)

September 4th

The Music Tapes, Mary’s Voice (Merge)

Propagandhi, Failed States (Epitaph)

September 11th

Calexico, Algiers (ANTI- / Epitaph)

Field Report, Field Report (Partisan)

Patterson Hood, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance (ATO)

Sea Wolf, Old World Romance (Dangerbird)

September 18th

Aimee Mann, Charmer (Superego)

Brother Ali, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (Rhymesayers)

Dinosaur Jr., I Bet On Sky (Jagjaguwar)

The Dollyrots, The Dollyrots (Storefront Recordings/RED)

Menomena, Moms (Barsuk)

September 25th

Sera Cahoone, Deer Creek Canyon (Sub Pop)

Lavender Diamond, Incorruptible Heart (Paracadute)

Winterfylleth, The Threnody of Triumph (Candlelight)

October 2nd

Moon Duo, Circles (Sacred Bones)

Tori Amos, Gold Dust (Deutsche Grammophon)

Tift Merritt, Traveling Alone (Yep Roc)

October 9th

A.C. Newman, Shut Down The Streets (Matador)

Ellie Goulding, Halcyon (Polydor)

Bad Books, II (Triple Crown/Favorite Gentlemen Recordings)

October 16th

A Fine Frenzy, Pines (Virgin)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! (Constellation)

Jason Lytle, Dept. of Disappearance (ANTI-/Epitaph)

Placebo, B3 (EP) (Elevator Lady)

Ken Stringfellow, Danzig In The Moonlight (Spark and Shine)

Martha Wainwright, Come Home to Mama (Cooperative Music)

Chelsea Wolfe, Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs (Sargent House)

October 23rd

The Amazing, Gentle Stream (Partisan)

Paul Banks, Banks (Matador)

Of Montreal, Daughter of Cloud (Polyvinyl)

November 6th

Candy Hearts, The Best Ways To Disappear (Violently Happy Records / Bridge 9)

Imani Coppola, The Glass Wall (Plush Moon)

El Ten Eleven, Transitions (Fake Record Label)

Prince Rama, Top Ten Hits of the End of the World (Paw Tracks)

Teen Daze, The Inner Mansions (Lefse)

November 13th

Brian Eno, Lux (Warp)

Soundgarden, King Animal (Seven Four Entertainment / Republic)

Deftones, Koi No Yokan (Reprise)

El Perro Del Mar, Pale Fire (PIAS America)

Roc Marciano, Reloaded (DECON Records / UMD)

November 20th

Tim Hecker + Daniel Lopatin, Instrumental Tourist (Kemado / Mexican Summer)

Graham Parker & the Rumour, Three Chords Good (Primary Wave)

Takka Takka, A.M. Landscapes (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)

November 27th

Alicia Keys, Girl On Fire (RCA)

Harold Budd, Bandits of Stature (with the Formalist Quartet) (Darla)

December 4th

Memory Tapes, Grace / Confusion (Carpark)

December 11th

Big Boi, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors (Def Jam)

Bruno Mars, Unorthodox Jukebox (Atlantic)

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Finally, here is the full Spotify playlist for this post — 2618 songs, over a week’s worth of continuous listening — with best wishes for a 2013 full of more great music.

RELEASED THIS DAY is going on an indefinite break, and I thank you for reading and listening for the past 16 months.
–Dolph Chaney