Best Albums of 2012?

Some of the artists are fairly unknown, I'll admit, but a good portion of the music's fairly mainstream. For example, if you like EST then Mole's the thing (albeit with added guitar, but then tht stops it just being an EST clone, and that'd be dull! 

This year I found the more famous stuff to be slightly disappointing, like the Calexico and Lambchop -good, but below their best and certainly not as much in (my) favour as the ones I eventually picked. 

But then it's my taste and not (thank goodness, you're probably thinking   yours!

Tame Impala - Lonerism

My favourite of this year harking back to 60's Lennon psychedelia in places but with a modern twist

Tim Burgess Oh No I Love You 

A collaboration between Burgess & Lambchop's Kurt Wagner. Superb much better than Mr M although quite enjoyed that also.

The Staves - Dead & Born & Grown

Thanks to Denis A for this recommendation. Superb album great harmony vocals, great songs nice production.

Mark Lanegan - Blues Funeral

Possibly Mark Lanegan's finest to date. That voice is a killer!!

Bill Fay - Life is People

30 odd years since his last release a wonderful album of mainly ballads. Real shame about the poor vinyl pressing though.

Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

My second favourite of the year.

Howlin Rain - Russian Wilds

Screaming guitars, vocals and a couple of slow numbers as well. Throwback to 70's classic rock??

PIL - This Is PIL

This surprised me as I wasn't expecting too much but a great return to form. Ok not quite metal box but very good nonetheless.

Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II

San Franciscan band nice album.

Jack White - Blunderbuss

Didn't think I was going to like this shows how wrong you can be and should not pre judge!!!

Bob Dylan - Tempest

Didn't like his previous album at all but this is a whole lot better imo. Back on track.

I can see going through this thread will keep me busy in 2013, I didn't know there was a new Madness album for a start, excellent 

I've got a late addition that I've been listening to a lot over the last couple of weeks, some really great tunes -

PHOTEK - KU PALM

MICHAEL MAYER - MANTASY

JODEY KENDRICK - STEEL ERECTOR

ITAL TEK - NEBULA DANCE

KEITH KENNIFF - BRANCHES

VCMG - SSSS

ALEKSI PERALA - MENTAL UNION

LONE - GALAXY GARDEN

Hello Gary

Superb post and plenty of music I hadn't heard before ... thoroughly entertaining selections. 

Lots to listen to as the nights roll in ... 

All the best, Guy 

Mike I'm with you -- a mediocre year to my tastes.

I tried to listen to the Frank Ocean album (tried the small samples on Amazon) but I'm not up for 50 minutes of auto-tune vocals   I'm sure I'm failing to appreciate it, but auto-tune vocals don't do IT for me.

Best Album's in 2012 (purchased in 2012) for me are:

Pineapple Thief - All the Wars Disc 2 Acoustic

Tracey Thorn - Tinsel and Lights

Jethro Tull - TAAB2

Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning

Smoke Fairies - Blood Speaks

Bears Den - Tour Promotion CDEP

Let's add a couple:

Just listened to this one again. Forgot it from my earlier list, but might now put it at the top. Wonderfully recorded too boot.

Thanks everyone for the lists - will try to check them out.

Not much this year has really stood out as something very special.  However, there's plenty posted on this thread that I have yet to check out, so who knows.  Still, a year where a new Madness album is released can't be all that bad (and it's a good album, although I've only given it a few listens so far). And Psychadelic Pill shows there's still something left in Old Neil, and for that we must give thanks.

However, there is one album that really got its hooks into me. One that regularly gets spun on vinyl or, when I'm in a lazier mood, via NDX with the 24 bit download, and also one that has been a permanent fixture in the car CD player these last few months.  What's more, I'm delighted that it's from Naim's own label.  Yes, it's The Pines by Phantom Limb.  At last the potential shown on their first album has blossomed into something really rather special. If you don't believe me, just take a listen to a track like I'll have Mercy..

So well done Simon and thank you Phantom Limb.  Brilliant, and I'm now kicking myself for missing their recent tour.

Goat's Highlights:

The XX - Coexist

Calexico - Algiers

Hot Chip - In Our Heads... seems a tad pallid and beat oriented compared to their previous albums and there are some annoying radio-playish moments but I've ended up listening to it a lot regardless

Eno - LUX... haven't really had much of chance to digest this yet but any year an Eno record is released is a good one as far as I'm concerned.

I'm a big Cat Power fan but Sun hasn't inspired me. She seems to be trying a lot on this album. The beautiful simplicity of her previous efforts has been lost perhaps. Some fun tracks though.

The one album that HAS been consistently getting it's hooks deeper and deeper I'm happy to say is a Kiwi album. SJDs - Elastic Wasteland. It amazes me what comes out of little old NZ sometimes. Highly recommended to anyone who's into the likes of Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Eno or Radiohead (I know I know... big names). The album is available on Bandcamp digitally. His previous three albums are excellent too. Have a listen to the song The Lizard Kings here (Go on. Do it!) :

http://elasticwasteland.com

http://www.avclub.com/articles...music-of-2012,89711/

The Onion's list for 2012.

Disclosure by The Gathering

On the classical front, another good year with many outstanding releases. Some highlights:

- Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, by Andras Schiff, on ECM. For a work spanning 4 CDs, Schiff is unfailingly varied and musical and never lets his attention slip.

- Bach's cello suites, by Pieter Wispelwey, on Penguin. 3rd time round for this cellist, his best recording yet and a serious challenger to the top recordings

- Bach's sonatas for gamba and harpsichord, by Lucile Boulanger and Arnaud de Pasquale on Alpha. Energetic and powerful performances of works which normally invite more contemplative styles.

- Bach's sonatas and partitas for violin solo, part 2, on Harmonia Mundi. Isabelle Faust completes her overview and may have provided the definitive recording (if such a thing can exist) - for me, the ideal partner to Helene Schmitt's more romantic interpretation (although it is Schmitt who is the early music expert)

- Beethoven piano trios by Trio Wanderer. This music has been recorded so often, but Trio Wanderer bring tremendous brio and colour to these works.

- early in the year, Rafal Blechacz provided an excellent recording with works by Debussy and Szymanowksi on DG. Highly recommended.

- Fauré's cello sonatas played by Alban Gerhardt on Hyperion. These works all to easily become confusing and end in a haze of musical mist, but Gerhardt's playing is full of fire and incisiveness. Maybe not authentically french, but brilliantly done.

- Rachmaninov's two sonatas played by Nicolai Lugansky, on Naive. Supremely powerful performances of these difficult pieces (difficult for the pianist, difficult for the listener), better than I heard them ever before.

- I have a hunch that the recent Prokofiev disc by Boris Giltburg should be on this list as well, but it's too recent and I haven't had much time to get to know it well.

On song and opera, we've had outstanding releases from baritones Matthias Goerne and Henk Neven with (largely) Schubert song programs. And in an economic environment that doesn't seem to warrant full blown opera recordings, we've had great semi-live audio productions of Strauss' Rosenkavalier, Bizet's Carmen, Smetana's Bartered Bride, and Mozart's Don Giovanni. And real studio recordings of Handel's Giulio Cesare and Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera by Rene Jacobs and crew.

I'm probably forgetting some really good other issues as well. Plus on reissues, this is the year that I discovered Zimerman's Beethoven and Claudio Arrau, which may be the best thing to have happened this year overall.

Cheers,

EJ

This one EJ ? If so, agreed. I grabbed a copy when it was just released. Dare I use the cliche 'priceless' ?

I've already listed my five faves but these were also good:

+1! The great modern but "historically informed" fairy still energizes The Sleeping Beauty of all its metallic laces... 

Chag - 

Woy,

Yes - which led me on a goose chase after his digital recordings, made late in life for Philips. He never completed his last cycle - as far as I can tell, only 3 are missing -  and some of the discs are so outrageously expensive there's no fun in it, but I have collected most of them by now and they are really good as well.

EJ

This was one of the many great albums recommended by Stu on here in 2012.

Graham.

Some others not mentioned so far - really do recommend you check out Fink & Submotion Orchestra if you haven't heard them before:

• Submotion Orchestra - Fragments
• Fink - Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet
• Alt J - An Awsome Wave
• The Heavy - The Glorious Dead
• Jessie Ware - Devotion

POP / WORLD  TOP  TEN  2012

1  The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

2  Alt-J: An Awesome  Wave

3  Touré-Raichel Collective: The Tel Aviv Session

4  Tu Fawning: A Monument

5  Liars  WIXIW

6  Godspeed Your! Black Emperor: 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

7  Perfume Genius  Put Your Back N 2 It 

8  Lord Huron: Lonesome Dreams

9  The XX:  Coexist

10 Grizzly Bear: Shields

PAUL