Looking back at the Top 10 Best Albums of 2012…. 

2012 is almost at an end, so now’s the time to look back at the best in entertainment over the past year. Here are our picks for the Top 10 albums of the year! I’ll have links to the full reviews I did for each album as well. I’ll also have iTunes links to each album if you wish to add to your collection  (Amazon links can be found in my review posts).

 

1.Swans-The Seer

Uneasy listening in the best sense of the word. 30 Years into their career Michael Gira’s noise-rock outfit release their most ambitious and daunting project, a double album full of atonal hell and dark majestic beauty. (Click here for the full review).

2. Deftones-Koi No Yokan

The Sacramento alt-metal band do their finest fusion of diffuse shoegaze and slamming metal to date. (Click here for the full review).

3. Silversun Pickups-Neck Of The Woods

Proving they don’t need their fuzz pedals turned up to 11, this stripped back, electronic tinged album is catchy as hell. The New Order’ish ‘The Pit‘ being the ear-worm of the year. (Click here for the full review).

4. Prong-Carved Into Stone

The criminally underrated metal act make one of their strongest albums in years. (Click here for the full review).

5. Killing Joke-MMXII

A band that shows no signs of mellowing with age, this disaster and dystopian themed album shows all their dynamics at their most brutal and harmonic. (Click here for the full review).

6. Brian Eno-LUX

Serene and blissful, the ambient maestro works his magic again. (Click here for the full review).

7.Baroness-Yellow and Green

The Southern metal band dial down the prog and amp up the 90’s alt-rock with stellar results. (Click here for the full review).

8. The XX-Coexist

The sophomore album from this British group is cut from the same cloth as their début, but with a sound this soothing and hypnotic that isn’t a negative. (Click here for the full review).

9. The Cult-Choice Of Weapon

One of the progenitors of heavy alternative rock, the Brit veteran act still has the bombast, but with a more contemplative tone. (Click here for the full review).

10. Muse-The 2nd Law

The Brit glam/prog rockers add some dubstep to their grandiose sound and oddly enough it’s a winning mix. (Click here for the full review).

So that’s our Top 10 Albums of the year for 2012. What are yours? List them below. Rest assured there’s plenty to look forward too into 2013, including new Alice In Chains, QOTSA and more…

And stay tuned as I count down the best in television and film.

And for those searching for great holiday gifts for music lovers, check out my list of the Best Music Box Sets of 2012!