the granddaddy of all the end-of-year music lists is the best albums. so here we are with part 2 (check out part 1 here).

i always tell people that there’s never a better time for music than right now. i still get excited about album releases and i’m continually impressed by how artists are innovating and creating. 2012 was no exception. there was so much good music that making this list was harder than ever. in the end, i think i’ve narrowed down to 30 truly great albums.

from tried-and-true artists to up-and-coming rookies, here’s part 2 of 3 of the best albums of 2012:

a couple weeks ago, guest blogger bekah caraway submitted sufjan stevens’ o come o come emmanuel…which was on my original schedule for today’s track. it’s my favorite christmas song and i wanted it to culminate the collection, today on christmas.

instead of changing songs, though, i decided to simply change artists. the song is not only beautiful, but really expresses everything that is deeply meaningful to me this time of the year.

hands down, my favorite christmas album (or albums, i guess i should say) is sufjan’s christmas collection, songs for christmas. between 2001 and 2006, sufjan recorded a series of EPs for friends and family each christmas. finally, these were all released to the public and have become a staple for me.

some of you may remember my thank god it’s mixday days when i was back at abpg. with our company collaborative mixes, i always knew i could count on advertising coordinator and general-person-with-good-music-taste bekah caraway to deliver the goods. today, she’s doing just that with her christmix contribution.

I keep a christmas mix cd in my car to get me in a jolly mood and help me avoid my usual road rage on the way to and from work. while I absolutely love “the christmas song” by nat king cole and amy grant’s “rockin’ around the christmas tree”, my christmas musical taste has always leaned toward the hymns. when I learned that sufjan stevens, one of my favorite artists, had released a christmas album back in 2006, I was more excited than a child on christmas morn. the man is a genius, even when covering christmas songs. there are 5 discs in the album, each with about 8 or 9 songs. probably my favorite is “o come o come emanuel” from the first disc. note: there are three different versions of this song on the album – another characteristic I love about sufjan. the song is beautiful and raw. great for celebrating the birth of my Savior.

almost a year ago, i began a new blog series, of sorts, in which i compiled a mix of the best music i had discovered in the preceding two months. the series and mixes are called, two in review. read the original post for details of why i started this.

throughout 2010, i blogged about derek webb’s latest innovative project called democracy vol. 1. fans were able to cast votes for up to 12 songs that they wanted webb to cover. then, the 12 songs receiving the most votes would be covered by webb for the album. the album was recorded over the span of 2010, with 1 track being recorded and released each month. from january to december, webb released 1 track each month. for those who would like to catch up, here’s the total track listing (with links to my blog posts):

it is finished.

since last january, i’ve been blogging about derek webb’s latest innovative project called democracy vol. 1. fans were able to cast votes for up to 12 songs that they wanted webb to cover. then, the 12 songs receiving the most votes would be covered by webb for the album. the album was recorded over the span of 2010, with 1 track being recorded and released each month. from january to november, webb released the first eleven tracks. here’s the current track listing:

1. the beatles: while my guitar gently weeps
2. coldplay: fix you
3. bob dylan: the times they are a-changin’
4. gnarls barkley: who’s gonna save my soul
5. sufjan stevens: chicago
6. u2: where the streets have no name
7. huey lewis and the news: power of love
8. the beatles: eleanor rigby
9. simon and garfunkel: the sound of silence
10. radiohead: karma police
11. leonard cohen: hallelujah

instead of releasing the the full list of tracks, webb revealed each track month-by-month. and today, we found out the twelfth and final one.