well, we’ve made it through the first half of 2012. all in all, i think it’s been a decent year for music. there’s been a few great albums and even more good albums (with plenty of, um, not so great albums). i think we’ve yet to hear what will ultimately become the year’s best music, but no doubt, i expect many/most of these albums to make it onto my end-of-the-year list.
so with that said, here’s my favorite albums of 2012 (so far):
another couple months have passed by, so it’s time to once again bring you two in review. music tends to come in waves and the last couple months have been a big wave. this list could’ve easily been double (or more) the lengh. in other words, a lot of good music has been left off. the good part about that is that i think this mix is particularly good, with new music ranging from solo work from jack white to kid cudi’s new rock project to an amazing collaboration featuring the best half of outkast.
here’s the lineup for the first edition of 2012:
one of my all-time favorite bands is (was?) nickel creek. and no member shined brighter than mandolinist and vocalist chris thile. since his departure, he’s not only had a successful solo career, but is now forging a new trail with one of the most fresh and inventive “bluegrass” (for lack of a better word…) bands in quite some time.
the punch brothers’ album, antifogmatic was one of my favorite (#5, to be precise) albums of 2010. it was complex and layered and just a beautiful album.
in friendly conversations, i’ve argued that the 00s were the greatest music decade ever. now, for my own pure love (and nostalgia), i’ll take the 90s, but the aughts might just be the best in terms of just sheer musicality. the 00s was a great time for music lovers.
earlier this week, i began my look back at 2010 with my list of best tv shows and continued the last couple days with my lists of new music discoveries, cover songs and songs. today concludes this week’s series, in which i’ve posted a list that presents my 25 favorite of the given category. here’s the lineup for the week (each day i’ll come back and update this list with links):
monday: tv shows
tuesday: new music discoveries
wednesday: cover songs
thursday: songs
friday: albums
to me, this is the granddaddy of all year-end lists. i’m still an albums kind of guy, as opposed to a single here and there. i like to sit down and listen to a collection of songs that were intended to go together. i think i’ve been able to narrow in on some of the truly great collections of music from 2010. from “emo rap” to throwback pop to a dark, twisted super-ego, there’s a little bit of everything (even, somewhat surprisingly, something that verges on country…). so, be sure to go check these albums out and see if my you agree with my conclusions.
