Listed below are the best albums of 2012 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 2 hours ago).
"Wrecking ball is Bruce springsteen's angry response to the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the recession that had hit the U.S. and the rest of the world. Springsteen really has a bee in his bonnet, especially on the sarcastic opening track, we take care of our own, reminiscent of, born in the ...""Wrecking ball is Bruce springsteen's angry response to the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the recession that had hit the U.S. and the rest of the world. Springsteen really has a bee in his bonnet, especially on the sarcastic opening track, we take care of our own, reminiscent of, born in the USA, in so much that it could easily be misunderstood as a flag waving anthem. Elsewhere, Bruce rages at the fat cat bankers on, Jack of all trades, and, does his pogues/clancy brothers bit on, death to my hometown, Irish accent and all. The title track is an excellent tribute to Yankee stadium, about to be knocked down and rebuilt, but Springsteen reminds us they can tear down the walls but can't take away the memories. Easy money, follows a couple forced into a criminal existence, and, land of hope and dreams, finally gets a studio incarnation, featuring saxophone from the big man, the late Clarence Clemons. We are alive, is a brilliant Johnny Cash type track, about the souls of the dead, still alive and kicking. If there are any weak tracks it's the brooding, my depression, and the throwaway, you've got it. Wrecking ball, is a brilliant album, which I believe will eventually go down as a Springsteen classic. Superb. "[+]Reply
"Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music is an album I expect most -if not all- users will be pretty familiar with. Despite that, I've always found it difficult to talk about it. I've been in a handful of debates about it the last years and it always comes to the same conclusion: I don't like it to the same de...""Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music is an album I expect most -if not all- users will be pretty familiar with. Despite that, I've always found it difficult to talk about it. I've been in a handful of debates about it the last years and it always comes to the same conclusion: I don't like it to the same degree everyone else does and I can't explain why. Not many albums I can think of that I've given them so many chances. It's not like it has a glaring weakness, something that instantly annoys me, it just doesn't click. Anyway, El-P is in charge of the production. I've already talked about my opinion on him as a producer during the review of Fantastic Damage in the first round. Some elements of his trademark futuristic sound are present here, too, but he has also made some steps towards the sound of the south. The rapping is highly energetic which -even though I'm not a huge fan of his delivery- admittedly fits nicely with the socio-political commentary. Getting to the lyrics, when an album includes a track titled Reagan, you more or less know what to expect ("The end of the Reagan Era, I'm like 'leven, twelve, or Old enough to understand that shit'd changed forever They declared the war on drugs, like a war on terror But what it really did was let the police terrorize whoever But mostly black boys, but they would call us "niggers" And lay us on our belly, while they fingers on they triggers They boots was on our head, they dogs was on our crotches And they would beat us up if we had diamonds on our watches And they would take our drugs and moneys, as they pick our pockets I guess that that's the privilege of policin' for some profits But thanks to Reaganomics, prison turned to profits"). If I had to pick the highlights of the album I'd go with either Untitled ("You are witnessing elegance in the form of a black elephant Smoking white rhino on terraces Will I die slain like my king by a terrorist? Will my woman be Coretta, take my name and cherish it? Or will she Jackie O, drop the Kennedy, remarry it? My sister say it's necessary on some Cleopatra shit My grandmama said nope, never, that it's sacrilege Tend to agree because the thought is so disparaging The Lord give a load, you got to carry it like Mary did That's why I'm giving honor to all these baby mommas It takes a woman's womb to make a Christ or Dalai Lama The world might take that child, turn that child into a monster The Lord'll take a monster and fashion him a saint I present you Malcolm X for those who saying that He can't Saying that He won't, when I know He will You usually don't know it's you until you getting killed For real") or the short and to the point Go!. In general, I tend to enjoy the first part of the album significantly more than the second. Even the closing track, which presents an interesting concept -comparing rap to religion ("Closest I've ever come to seeing or feeling God is listening to rap music. Rap music is my religion. Amen") - and is widely considered the highlight of the album, doesn't do that much for me. In each of my tries, the first few tracks flow nicely and I think something might have changed, but after a while I lose focus. Maybe I should give this album a try in smaller portions and not in one go.
To sum it up, even though my review might suggest I hate it, by no means do I consider it bad, it's just that it fails to live up to its expectations."[+]Reply
"JIGSAW PUZZLE Finally! Someone loves The Cure and 80s college rock as much as me. Thank you, Jack Tatum, for this absolute gift of an album. One giant homage to the 80s college rock of my youth. Just like me, every guitar line, every bass line, every drum fill has become a part of Jack’s DNA . Th...""JIGSAW PUZZLE
Finally! Someone loves The Cure and 80s college rock as much as me. Thank you, Jack Tatum, for this absolute gift of an album. One giant homage to the 80s college rock of my youth. Just like me, every guitar line, every bass line, every drum fill has become a part of Jack’s DNA . The strings from Morrissey’s first solo album, early JAMC vocal stylings, the bass of MBV. It’s all here. Like pieces of an elaborate jigsaw puzzle. Rearranged. Put back together to create something entirely new. A reimagining of 80s college rock by the ultimate fan.
But, just like me, it’s mostly about The Cure. The Cure’s shadow over 80s college rock is similar to Sabbath’s over metal/stoner rock. It always comes back to them. And Robert Smith is quietly, ( very, very quietly) one of the most influential guitarists of all time. His swirling, kaleidoscopic guitar licks are all over this album. And Robert Smith makes up the bulk of the pieces of this here jigsaw puzzle.
Grade: A+. There’s really only one question when it comes to this album. If it had actually come out in 1987 instead of 2012, would it be considered the best college rock albums of all time? Because this is 80s college rock perfected.
I’m a massive fan of 80s college rock. Let’s face it - it’s what I grew up on. It’s part of my DNA. And this is EASILY some of the best college rock this boy has ever heard. It captures that winsome, romantic spirit at the heart of so much of 80s New Wave. There was a ton of hope in that music. A naive, romantic innocence. And its so great to find that spirit so alive and well here. Intact. Inviolate. And I will be returning to its well often I have a feeling. Long live the 80s! Wink
Aside: This album also reminds me that I NEED to get back into the Pale Saints. I have a feeling that they’re a big influence on JackTatum as well, but I don’t know them well enough to be sure. "[+]Reply
"Dylan's last album of original material up to 2016. Again, it's got a similar feel to all his recent records. It's got some good stuff on here, and some not so good. Best tracks are the lovely, soon after midnight, the angry, pay in blood, and the excellent, scarlet town. Thankfully, Dylan, keeps...""Dylan's last album of original material up to 2016. Again, it's got a similar feel to all his recent records. It's got some good stuff on here, and some not so good. Best tracks are the lovely, soon after midnight, the angry, pay in blood, and the excellent, scarlet town. Thankfully, Dylan, keeps the album's twelve bars down to just two. Best of the two is, early Roman kings, narrow way, is just a little too long. Talking about length, the title track seems to go on forever. It's good, but it is way overlong. At least it's not as boring as the dreadful, tin Angel, dull, dull, dull. The rest is good, with a heartfelt tribute to John Lennon ending the album. Will this be Dylan's last album of original material? Only Dylan knows. Let's hope it isn't. "[+]Reply
"One of the things that makes this Swedish Americana album such a special project is the honesty that sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg bring to their status as musical and geographical outsiders. "Emmylou," while a tribute to the musical love affair between Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, also...""One of the things that makes this Swedish Americana album such a special project is the honesty that sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg bring to their status as musical and geographical outsiders. "Emmylou," while a tribute to the musical love affair between Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, also touches on the Söderberg sisters' desire to sing Americana harmonies from their native Stockholm. Very poignant, and they pull it off brilliantly."[+]Reply
"Death Grips are one of the best new groups, that have risen up this decade and really stood up from the crowd. They got this abrasive, hard sound, in combination with somewhat dirty lyrics, which really make me excited for the future. I hope that a whole movement will erect from their ideas and w...""Death Grips are one of the best new groups, that have risen up this decade and really stood up from the crowd. They got this abrasive, hard sound, in combination with somewhat dirty lyrics, which really make me excited for the future. I hope that a whole movement will erect from their ideas and way of crafting music.
Their decision to release this album without their label's knowledge, was a bit of a dick move, but at the same time it is completely in line with what we came to expect from them.
Compared with their previous albums (especially The Money Store), I didn't find quite as much to please me here - in a way, they didn't really expand their sound and ideas. But those are just initial impressions. I think it might be a grower. What I can say even now is, that No Love might be the best song of theirs. Hard, nasty stuff, right in your face, no beating around the bush. Just as I like it from Death Grips.
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"Not as shitty as some say, but not as good as the sales and the Grammy would say either. Average work by an unoriginal band. Listen to Fleet Foxes instead."Reply
"If you know anything about the UK’s electronic music scene from the past five years, you’ve heard of Burial. William Bevan, aka Burial, is the producer in the scene, the man that spearheaded the genre known as dubstep, with a sound that doesn’t sound at all similar to what people think of today w...""If you know anything about the UK’s electronic music scene from the past five years, you’ve heard of Burial. William Bevan, aka Burial, is the producer in the scene, the man that spearheaded the genre known as dubstep, with a sound that doesn’t sound at all similar to what people think of today when they think of dubstep. He’s beyond pointless drops. Above them. The artwork for his 2007 album Untrue, a landmark piece in the future garage music scene—which it somehow simultaneously defines and predates—gives you a good impression of how his music works. A sort of monochrome sketch of a man, with his eyes closed, sits with a cup of coffee in front of him. Grey is often associated with sadness, but black-and-white images and films—when they’re of a high quality, of course—are considered high art, beautiful. Further, Burial’s music creates an atmosphere, and a story—like the atmosphere and story in the cover art—which finds the grey area between this darkness, this coldness that he evokes with hard-hitting yet danceable drum beats, and the beauty which he juxtaposes with female vocals.
Kindred is no different. Burial has created his own immediately-recognizable style, a quality shared by many other great artists, which he revives here and continues to perfect. The title track mixes in an entrancing drum beat with female vocals, the refrain of “Baby, you…” casting a beautiful yet miserable mood over the whole piece. The song alternates between being carried by the drum beat and dropping it for several true ambient sections, with a good part of the track teasing the listener, who is just begging for the drum beat to kick back in.
The next track, “Loner”, is the baby of the EP at seven-and-a-half minutes. It moves into the 2-step direction which Burial loves to play with, and contains some obvious techno influences. Not your older sister’s ecstasy-ridden techno, though, but more of the minimal techno sound that’s being played with more in the electronic scene. Part of this track, and the previous track, is broken up by a sound reminiscent of a record player. It’s almost as if Burial wants to remind you that he’s the one creating this world for you, before thrusting you right back into it, similar to the way many directors won’t quite go the 100% realism route and retain some of the theater in film. Just like in film, and awkward ending can ruin the entire piece. Burial is reknowned for his codas; the end of “Loner” isn’t done justice by mere words, and leads perfectly into the final track.
“Ashtray Wasp” continues with the themes of Kindred and redirects the listener to outer space. All of the previous elements are here, though the second half of the track adds in some noise elements. Yet the track still creates its own unique world. The drum beat is excellent and enthralling, the vocals work. Everything works.
My only gripe is that I have to continue to wait for a new full-length album from William Bevan. Instead, I’m saddled with one of the greatest EPs I’ve ever heard. It’s much harder to write a positive review than a negative one. Thank you, Burial, for making this review difficult."[+]Reply
"Pretty much all sampled beats. Joey picked all the right samples for a perfect 90s mixtape vibe but he didn’t have a vision of his own to make his own music until Summer Knights. This project is good and I like it a lot but I don’t respect the artistry as much because it wasn't Joeys own artistry...""Pretty much all sampled beats. Joey picked all the right samples for a perfect 90s mixtape vibe but he didn’t have a vision of his own to make his own music until Summer Knights. This project is good and I like it a lot but I don’t respect the artistry as much because it wasn't Joeys own artistry. It shouldn’t take away from the 1999 experience though. It’s still an awesome mixtape and definitely a classic for hiphopheads "[+]Reply
Repo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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buzzdainer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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junodog4 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (10 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
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cartoken | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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C_Krug2009 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
