Best/Favorite Albums of 2012

[ratherdashing]

I don't have my list drawn out just yet, but we should start thinking about this.

Name your top 1, 3, 5, 10, or however many you want for your best of list. You can just post the names, or you could include pictures or a little blurb that you wrote.

Do what you want, what do I care? Who am I, your mother?

[Satchmo]

I couldn't rank 'em, but I really enjoyed Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen, Locked Down by Dr. John, Blunderbuss by Jack White, Tempest by Bob Dylan, and Babel by Mumford and Sons.

[Mr. Atari]

I enjoyed new albums by many of my favorite bands this year. They weren't the best albums by any of them, but they were still good.

Clockwork Angels - Rush was a welcome return to form after their last one was so, so awful. It wasn't as enjoyable to me as the one before that (Vapor Trails), but it was tighter and cleaner.

The Sound of the Life of the Mind - Ben Folds Five. It's awesome to hear Ben with his old band again. Their playing keeps him honest, and their harmonies are unique and incredible. It's lacking a rip-roaring anthem, nor does it have as many hooks as their '90s output, but it's light years better than Ben's last two solo albums.

The 2nd Law - Muse. This album got panned by everyone, it seems. But I like it. Well, except for that one crappy dubstep experiment. Overall, it's the bombastic, we-wish-we-were-Queen, chromatic chord moves, nihilistic, conspiracy-minded, amazing musicianship I've come to expect and love from these guys.

I'm sure there's more. Once I remember what I bought in 2012...

[Mighty Jack]

I'm so out of the loop with music, and don't like much of anything new anymore. Most of my purchases are of older material. I believe I only bought 3 new releases in 2012

Lauren O'Connell's Quitters
Introspective, wistful folk rock from this unsigned talent I discovered on Youtube a while back (yes, there are actually good musical acts on youtube too) - louderthanwar.com/album-of-the-week-lauren-oconnell-quitters/




Kelly Clarkson's Stronger
It wasn't as great as her previous LP, but it was real good, her vocals have improved in that she is becoming more expressive. (She also was trying to get a more 'live' feel for her vocals, with little studio trickery)


Aimee Mann's Charmer
...was another outstanding release from Mann, offering a bit more upbeat sound (though sticking with her downbeat characters), music-wise she was drawing from her earlier days. This reviews sums the album up nicely -- abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/09/review-aimee-manns-charmer/

Lyrically it's as brilliant and biting as ever. I especially liked "Crazy Town", it made me laugh the first time I heard it because I've been to crazy town and Aimee's words were a spot on tour of that city.





Can't think of anything other than those 3. Of the older stuff, I picked up the Bangles "Doll Revolution", which I hadn;t owned before.

[TurkeyVolGuessnMan]

Like Tony, I don't keep up with today's music and most of my purchases are older albums. I'll probably find more 2012 albums I like in about 3 or 4 years from now. With that said, there were a few this year that weren't too bad...

Hardline - Danger Zone - 80's melodic rock that's nowhere near as good as their debut, Double Eclipse, but it does have some good songs on it.



Axel Rudi Pell - Circle of the Oath - same lead singer as Hardline above, but slightly heavier/faster.



Testament - Dark Roots of Earth - I had high hopes for this one as I thought the last two Testament albums were their best, even better than their 80's & early 90's stuff, but it's not as good. Still enjoyable to listen to, but not on the same level as The Gathering and Formation of Damnation.

Finsterforst - Rastlos - I just discovered this Viking/Pagan metal band late last year. It reminds me a lot of Moonsorrow's Voimasta album, which is one of my all-time favorite albums. With 5 songs over the ten minute mark, it's going to take a little while to absorb it all. Those kinds of albums tend to end up being some of my favorites.

[Mighty Jack]

Enjoying this thread if for nothing else than to see the musical tastes of our forum members. Where we gravitate in style, what we focus on (lyrics, instrumentation, etc).

Hope to read more posts.

[afriendlychicken]

I believe I bought only two 2012 releases. The first is Peter Hammill's Consequences. Like most Peter Hammill albums, the first listen can be extraordinarily difficult. This time he tried for minimalism. Keyboards, bass and electric guitar and electronic drums with his usual overlaid harmonizing vocals. Here's the whole album that someone uploaded on YouTube:


The other was Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day. I was wonderfully surprised by how well I liked it. Here's Black Dog:

[Shep]

I haven't heard nearly enough 2012 albums, but the one that really surprised me was the new Van Halen "A Different Kind of Truth." I was a big fan of Roth-era VH when I was a kid. This one stands alongside the old stuff surprisingly well.

[ratherdashing]

I didn't listen to a whole lot of music from 2012, it appears. Here are some things I like.

ミラクルミュージカル - Hawaii Part II. This project is the brainchild of Joe Hawley of Tally Hall, and most of Tally Hall contributes something to this album

Lemon Demon - I am Become Christmas This was a holiday EP by Lemon Demon, who sadly hasn't released much since 2008. Before that, he was releasing an album almost each year for about 5 years. Although he doesn't release as much quantitity as before, the quality of these songs are wayyy up there.

Ghost Mice - All We Got is Each Other This is a folk-punk album about Ghost Mice friend and Plan-it-X Records founder Samantha Dorsett, and mental illness

Taylor Swift - Red I quite like Taylor Swift, and it took a while for this album to grow on me. I quite like it now, and despite my first reaction, there are no tracks that need skipping. Not really a country album. Least catty of her albums

Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra - Theater is Evil I understand why people are turned off by Amanda Palmer, but I really like her music. I feel she is the present day equivalent to Oingo Boingo

Andrew Jackson Jihad - Rompilation A compilation of their recent hard to find or out of print singles, splits, and eps. Lots of tracks, lots of songs, lots of fun