Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:57 PM PST

Discussion: The Year In Music, 2012

December 05, 2012 9:00 AM

Hear The Discussion

1 hr 13 min 23 sec

Clockwise from upper left: Cat Power, Frank Ocean, Kishi Bashi, Best Coast and Miguel — just a few of our favorite artists of 2012.

Courtesy of the artists

This has been a phenomenal year for music. Veterans Neil Young and Crazy Horse released not one but two ambitious and ingenious albums. New artists such as Kishi Bashi and Alt-J appeared with exciting and unusual records. Plenty of other surprises popped up along the way: Cat Power returned from a six-year hiatus with the best album she's ever made. Ty Segall, already a prolific artist, released three stellar garage-rock records in 2012 (three!), while the first-ever studio album from Macklemore, a rapper with little name recognition outside his native Seattle, made his debut at No. 1 on iTunes and No. 2 on Billboard. Meanwhile, R&B artists Miguel and Frank Ocean both released records that were unconventional but wildly popular.
That's just some of the wonderful, unpredictable and endlessly fascinating music of 2012.
On this edition of All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton chat with NPR Music critic Ann Powers and editor Stephen Thompson about the music that mattered most to them in 2012, including their:
Favorite Discoveries:
Kishi Bashi
The Do
Lianne La Havas
Kacey Musgraves
Biggest Surprises:
Neil Young
The Sea And Cake
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Cloud Nothings
Favorite Albums:
Cat Power's Sun
Alt-J's An Awesome Wave
Frank Ocean's Channel Orange
Japandroids' Celebration Rock
Favorite Songs:
Dirty Projectors: "Offspring Are Blank"
Best Coast: "The Only Place"
Miguel: "Adorn"
Ty Segall: "Thank God For Sinners"
Tell us what you think. Vote now for your favorite albums of 2012.

Songs Featured On This Episode

Kishi Bashi

Album: 151A
Song: Bright Whites

Lianne La Havas

Album: Is Your Love Big Enough?
Song: Lost & Found

The Dø

Album: Both Ways Open Jaws Extended
Song: The Wicked & the Blind

Kacey Musgraves

Album: Merry Go 'Round
Song: Merry Go 'Round

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Album: Psychedelic Pill
Song: Walk Like a Giant

Purchase

YouTube

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Album: The Heist
Song: Thrift Shop

Cloud Nothings

Album: Attack on Memory
Song: Stay Useless

The Sea and Cake

Album: Runner
Song: On And On

Alt-J

Album: An Awesome Wave
Song: Tessellate

Cat Power

Album: Sun
Song: Sun

Frank Ocean

Album: Channel Orange
Song: Lost

Japandroids

Album: Celebration Rock
Song: The House That Heaven Built

Dirty Projectors

Album: Swing Lo Magellan
Song: Offspring Are Blank

Best Coast

Album: The Only Place
Song: The Only Place

Miguel

Album: Kaleidoscope Dream
Song: Adorn

Ty Segall

Album: Twins
Song: Thank God For Sinners

Featured Artist

All Songs Considered Top 50 Albums List

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:54 PM PST

All songs considered release their list of the top 50 albums of 2012. You can hear samples of songs from the albums on each album.

Top 50 Album List

All Songs Considered Top 25 Albums 2012 (Listener's Picks) Podcast

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:49 PM PST

Listener Picks: Your Favorite Albums Of 2012

December 12, 2012 3:40 PM

Hear The Countdown

All Songs Considered

2 hr 1 min 21 sec

NPR listeners picked Mumford And Sons' Babel as their favorite record for 2012.

Courtesy of the artist

We're a big family at NPR, with amazing member stations and listeners tuning in or clicking from all over the world. Last week, when All Songs Considered posted its annual poll inviting people to pick their favorite albums of 2012, thousands of votes poured in from those listeners with sometimes surprising results.
Babel, by Mumford & Sons, is the listener pick for the 2012 album of the year. It didn't come out until this fall, but managed to climb quickly as the favorite, at least among those who voted in our year-end poll. It's followed closely by Of Monsters And Men, Alabama Shakes, Jack White and Grizzly Bear in the top five.
As you work your way through the rest of the most popular records you'll probably see a lot that you love, and you'll also likely find some that leave you scratching your head. That's the beauty of what happens when you have a large and wonderfully diverse group of voters with a broad range of tastes.
On this week's All Songs Considered we countdown through the top 25 most popular records from our listener poll.