Before QRO lists our own top album of 2012, we give all of our contributors a chance to make their voices heard:
Jessica Alexander
1 Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls
2 Ty Segall, Twins
3 Matt & Kim, Lightning
4 Delta Spirit, Delta Spirit
5 Two Door Cinema Club, Beacon
6 Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
7 Dear Tick, Tim EP
8 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
9 White Rabbits, Milk Famous
10 Gary Clark Jr., Blak and Blu
Chris Becker
1 Evens, The Odds Album
2 Pitbull, Global Warming
3 Chairlift, Something
4 First Aid Kit, The Lion’s Roar
5 Grimes, Visions
Jayson Berray
1 Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
2 David Crowder Band, Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass In C [The Happiest of All Keys])
3 alt-J, An Awesome Wave
4 Escort, Escort
5 House of Heroes, Cold Hard Want
6 Garbage, Not Your Kind of People
7 The Tallest Man On Earth, There Is No Leaving Now
8 Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Lion the Beast the Beat
9 Jack White, Blunderbuss
10 Freelance Whales, Diluvia
Metric, Synthetica
Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream
The Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
John Frusciante, Letur-Lefr EP
Passion Pit, Gossamer
How To Destroy Angels, An Omen EP
Japandroids, Celebration Rock
The Shins, Port of Morrow
The Temper Trap, The Temper Trap
Morgan Bleigh
1 Miniature Tigers, Mia Pharaoh
2 Electric Guest, Mondo
3 Ben Folds Five, The Sound of the Life of the Mind
4 Dent May, Do Things
5 Antennas Up, The Awkward Phase
6 Empty Spaces, Low Noise
7 Jukebox the Ghost, Safe Travels
8 Mika, The Origin of Love
9 Freelance Whales, Diluvia
Ted Chase
1 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
2 Dinosaur Jr., I Bet On Sky
3 David Byrne & St. Vincent, Love This Giant
4 Thieving Irons, Behold, This Dreamer!
5 The Shins, Port of Morrow
6 Eight and a Half, Eight and a Half
7 Dinowalrus, Best Behavior
8 Metric, Synthetica
9 Ben Folds Five, The Sound of the Life of the Mind
10 White Rabbits, Milk Famous
11 The Rest, SEESAW
12 Bob Mould, Silver Age
13 Delta Spirit, Delta Spirit
14 Yeasayer, Fragrant World
15 Wild Nothing, Nocturne
16 Zambri, House of Baasa
17 Jason Collett, Reckon
18 Princeton, Remembrance of Things To Come
19 Benjamin Gibbard, Former Lives
20 Tenacious D, Rize of the Fenix
Lukas Clark-Memler
1 Tame Impala, Lonerism
2 Beach House, Bloom
3 Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
4 alt-J, An Awesome Wave
5 Killer Mke, R.A.P. Music
6 Grimes, Visions
7 Poliça, Give You the Ghost
8 Nicolas Jaar, Don’t Break My Love
9 Twin Shadow, Confess
10 Cat Power, Sun
11 Bob Dylan, Tempest
12 Flying Lotus, Until Quiet Comes
13 Grizzly Bear, Shields
14 Ariel Pink, Mature Themes
15 The Tallest Man On Earth, There’s No Leaving Now
Eleonora Collini
1 Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
2 Lee Ranaldo, Between The Times & The Tides
3 Ty Segall, Twins
4 Disappears, Pre Language
5 A Place To Bury Strangers, Worship
6 Shearwater, Animal Joy
7 The Babies, Our House On the Hill
8 Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory
9 Dinosaur Jr., I Bet On Sky
10 Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
11 2:54, 2:54
12 Mark Lanegan Band, Blues Funeral
13 Sleepy Sun, Spine Hits
1
4 Bob Mould, Silver Age
15 La Sera, Sees the Light
16 Lower Dens, Nootropics
17 Pinback, Information Retrieved
18 Liars, WIXIW
19 Beach House, Bloom
20 Chromatics, Kill For Love
Mike Condon
1 Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, The Heist
2 Mumford & Sons, Babel
3 Of Monsters and Men, My Heart Is an Animal
4 Ben Howard, The Burgh Island EP
5 Youngblood Hawke, Youngblood Hawke
6 State Radio, Rabbit Inn Rebellion
7 Passion Pit, Gossamer
8 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
9 Silversun Pickups, Neck of the Woods
10 The Lumineers, The Lumineers
11 Orca Orca, Make Live EP
Jason Dean
1 Ariel Pink, Mature Themes
2 Broken Water, Tempest
3 Ty Segall, Twins
4 The Hussy, Weed Seizure
5 Daniel Bachman, Seven Pines
6 Lust For Youth, Love Will Prevail
7 DIIV, Oshin
8 The Super Vacations, Heaters Part II
9 Natural Child, Head In Heaven
10 Pinback, Information Retrieved
Lloyd Epperly
1 Fixers, We’ll Be the Moon
2 Ghost Beach, Modern Tongues EP
3 The Ghosts, The End
4 Stepdad, Wildlife
5 Zulu Winter, Language
6 Tanlines, Mixed Emotions
7 Mansions On the Moon, Lightyears EP
8 Trust, TRST
9 The Presets, Pacifica
10 Morten Harket, Out of My Hands
Aaron Fath (alphabetical order)
Baroness, Yellow & Green
Black Moth Super Rainbow, Cobra Juicy
Dan Deacon, America
Deftones, Koi No Yokan
El-P, Cancer 4 Cure
K-Holes, Dismania
Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music
Muse, The 2nd Law
Quakers, Quakers
Yeasayer, Fragrant World
Chris Fore
1 Kent, Jag är inte rädd för mörkret
2 Tribes, Baby
3 The Walkmen, Heaven
4 Deep Sea Arcade, Outlands
5 Mala, Mala in Cuba
6 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
7 Animal Kingdom, The Looking Away
8 alt-J, An Awesome Wave
9 The xx, Coexist
10 Lemonade, Diver
Rachel Fox
1 Punch Brothers, Who’s Feeling Young Now?
2 Father John Misty, Fear Fun
3 Trampled by Turtles, Stars and Satellites
4 Nada Surf, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy
5 Grizzly Bear, Shields
6 The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
7 New Multitudes, New Multitudes
8 Of Monsters and Men, My Heart Is an Animal
9 Langhorne Slim, The Way We Move
10 The Lumineers, The Lumineers
11 Harriet, Tell the Right Story
12 Milo Greene, Milo Greene
13 Andrew Bird, Hands of Glory
14 M. Ward, A Wasteland Companion
15 Delta Spirit, Delta Spirit
16 Good Old War, Come Back As Rain
17 Diamond Rugs, Diamond Rugs
18 Sara Watkins, Sun Midnight Sun
19 Band of Horses, Mirage Rock
20 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Here
Michael Fulton
1 Royal Republic, Save the Nation
2 No Doubt, Push and Shove
3 Hoobastank, Fight or Flight
4 ZZ Top, La Futura
5 The Darkness, Hot Cakes
David Ghione
1 Tame Impala, Lonerism
2 Jack White, Blunderbuss
3 Tindersticks, The Something Rain
4 Vladislav Delay, Kuopio
5 Kreng, Works For Abattoir Ferme
6 Toy, Toy
7 Soap & Skin, Narrow
8 Orcas, Orcas
Michael Gonzalez
1 of Montreal, Daughter of Cloud
2 Grimes, Visions
3 Beach House, Bloom
4 Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
5 Purity Ring, Shrines
Michael Gutierrez
1 Lower Dens, Nootropics
2 Ariel Pink, Mature Themes
3 Bear In Heaven, I Love You, It’s Cool
4 White Birds, When Women Played Drums
5 Yeasayer, Fragrant World
6 CHAPPO, Moonwater
7 The Limiñanas, Crystal Anis
8 The Fresh & Onlys, Long Slow Dance
9 Zambri, House of Baasa
10 Anatomy of Habit, Anatomy of Habit
11 Beat Radio, Hard Times, Go!
12 DâM-FunK, I Don’t Wanna Be a Star
13 Flossed In Paradise, HATE EP
14 Puffy Areolas, 1982: Dishonorable Discharge
15 The Antlers, Undersea
16 People’s Temple, More for the Masses
17 Dinowalrus, Best Behavior
18 Eskimeaux, Eskimeaux
19 Whale Belly, I Was Once a Bird
20 Gross Ghost, Brer Rabbit
Courtnie Hayes
1 Jack White, Blunderbuss
2 Sigur Ros, Valtari
3 Moon Duo, Circles
4 Azealia Banks, 1991 EP
5 Allah Lahs, Allah Lahs
6 Lindstrom, Six Cups of Rebel
7 Ex Cult, Ex Cult
Michelle Heighway
1 Lana Del Rey, Born to Die
2 Bat for Lashes, The Haunted Man
3 Mumford & Sons, Babel
4 Ed Sheeran, +
5 Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto
6 Jesca Hoop, The House That Jack Built
7 Regina Spektor, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats
Tina Karkinen
1 Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Allellujah! Don’t Blend! Ascend!
2 Ariel Pink, Mature Themes
3 Wovenhand, The Laughing Stalk
4 Jason Molina, Autumn Bird Songs
5 Father John Misty, Fear Fun
6 Animal Collective, Centipede Hz
7 Damien Jurado, Maraqopa
8 Mark Lanegan Band, Blues Funeral
9 Deftones, Koi No Yokan
10 Bear In Heaven, I Love You, It’s Cool
Rick Kern
1 The xx, Coexist
2 Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel…
3 Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls
4 Grizzly Bear, Shields
5 Of Monsters and Men, My Heart Is an Animal
6 Tennis, Young and Old
7 Kimbra, Vows
8 Gary Clark Jr., Blak and Blu
9 Icona Pop, Iconic Pop EP
10 Passion Pit, Gossamer
11 Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
12 Lee Fields & The Expressions, Faithful Man
13 Grimes, Visions
14 Best Coast, The Only Place
15 The Lumineers, The Lumineers
Gloria Lee
1 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
2 DIIV, Oshin
3 El Ten Eleven, Transitions
4 Titus Andronicus, Local Business
5 Four Tet, Pink
6 Dan Deacon, America
7 Milo Greene, Milo Greene
8 Purity Ring, Shrines
9 Now, Now, Threads
10 Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Allellujah! Don’t Blend! Ascend!
Rodji Munoz
1 Cat Power, Sun
2 Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
3 Tame Impala, Lonerism
4 Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
5 Chromatics, Kill For Love
6 Passion Pit, Gossamer
7 Lianne La Havas, Is Your Love Big Enough?
8 Circa Survive, Violent Waves
9 First Aid Kit, The Lion’s Roar
10 Twin Shadow, Confess
11 Purity Ring, Shrines
12 Beach House, Bloom
13 Daughter, The Wild Youth EP
14 The Raveonettes, Observator
15 Two Door Cinema Club, Beacon
Peter Noble
1 A Place To Bury Strangers, Worship
2 Killing Joke, MMXII
3 Ringo Deathstarr, Mauve
4 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
5 2:54, 2:54
6 Joyce the Librarian, They May Put Land Between Is
7 The Wedding Present, Valentina
8 Paul Banks, Banks
9 DIIV, Oshin
10 The Stranglers, Giants
11 Bob Mould, Silver Age
12 Patti Smith, Banga
13 Orbital, Wonky
14 Leftfield, Tourism
15 ÊIan McCulloch, Pro Patria Mori
16 Wild Nothing, Nocturne
17 The Fresh & Onlys, Long Slow Dance
18 I Like Trains, The Shallows
19 We Are Augustines, Rise Ye Sunken Ships
20 Jake Bugg, Jake Bugg
Ryan O’Shaughnessy
1 Japandroids, Celebration Rock
2 DIIV, Oshin
3 Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
4 St. Lucia, St. Lucia EP
5 Wild Nothing, Nocturne
6 The Men, Open Your Heart
7 Hacienda, Shakedown
8 Ladyhawk, No Can Do
9 Shovels and Rope, O’ Be Joyful
10 Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
Mary Paulyshun
1 Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
2 Best Coast, The Only Place
3 Stars, The North
4 Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
5 Jack White, Blunderbuss
6 The xx, Coexist
7 No Doubt, Push and Shove
8 Sleigh Bells, Reign of Terror
9 Dave Matthews Band, Away From the World
10 Bloc Party, Four
Veronica Rose
1 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Here
2 Y La Bamba, Court the Storm
3 Cat Power, Sun
4 Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas
5 Dwight Yoakam, 3 Pears
Ester Segretto
1 DIIV, Oshin
2 alt-J, An Awesome Wave
3 Frankie Rose, Interstellar
4 Maccabees, Given To the Wild
5 Mumford & Sons, Babel
6 Walk The Moon, Walk The Moon
7 The Lumineers, The Lumineers
8 Savages, I Am Here EP
9 Tamaryn, Tender New Signs
10 Grizzly Bear, Shields
11 Ben Howard, The Burgh Island EP
12 The Soft Moon, Zeros
13 Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
14 Dum Dum Girls, End of Daze EP
15 Jake Bugg, Jake Bugg
16 Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan
17 Violens, True
18 Mac DeMarco, Rock and Roll Nightclub
19 Lower Dens, Nootropics
20 Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory
