BRL's 2012 Year in Review

It's almost the end of February, which can only mean one thing: It's time for the BRL year-end wrap up. Continuing the long-standing BRL tradition of releasing a top albums list nearly 2 months later than every other blog, we are back again to unleash the vast amount of brilliant music that you should've been listening all year.

Now usually I would make a huge, muli-post countdown with a paragraph explaining why each album made the list, but I'm getting older and too tired to do that shit. Last year was a very odd one for me, as I went through a few major life changes, so I missed a few albums along the way (a lot of albums that came out from May-August got lost in the mix of job hunts, graduation, working a shitty job, and dwelling on the fact that I was 22 and living with my parents). So this list isn't nearly as comprehensive as my 2011 list - where I obsessively listened to every album that would potentially make a top albums list. But 2012 was a phenomenal year for both hip hop and "indie" rock, so without further adieu here are the top albums of the year (and here is my super-detailed Best Hip Hop Albums List I did for RapReviews.com):

2012: The year young Kendrick dominated. Granted you knew that two months ago.

1. Kendrick Lamar - "good kid, m.A.A.d. city" (Score: 95)
2. The xx - "Coexist" (Score: 92)
3. Passion Pit - "Gossamer" (Score: 90)
4. El-P - "Cancer4Cure" (Score: 89.5)
5. Nas - "Life is Good" (Score: 88.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
6. fun. - "Some Nights" (Score 88.5)
7. Killer Mike - "R.A.P. Music" (Score: 88)
8. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "The Heist" (Score: 87)
9. Lana Del Rey - "Born to Die" (Score: 84.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
10. Cloud Nothings - "Attack on Memory" (Score: 84.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
11. Fiona Apple - "The Idler Wheel..." (Score: 84.5)
12. Beach House - "Bloom" (Score: 84 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
13. Big Boi - "Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors" (Score: 84 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
14. Jack White - "Blunderbuss" (Score: 84)
15. Frank Ocean - "channel:ORANGE" (Score: 83.5)
16. Brother Ali - "Mourning in America, Dreaming in Color" (Score: 83)
17. Ab-Soul - "Control System" (Score: 82.5)
18. Jens Lekman - "I Know What Love Isn't" (Score: 82.5)
19. Oddisee - "People Hear What They See" (Score: 82)
20. Danny! - "Payback (2.0)" (Score: 81.5)
21. Of Monsters and Men - "My Head is an Animal" (Score: 81)
22. Peter Anthony Red (aka Tonedeff) - "The Projectionist" (Score: 80.5)
23. Mac Lethal - "Irish Celebration" (released 12/31/11) (Score: 80)
24. Murs & Fashawn - "This Generation" (Score: 79)
25. Benjamin Gibbard - "Former Lives" (Score: 79)
26. Big K.R.I.T. - "4 eva n a Day" (Score: 79)
27. Andrew Bird - "Break It Yourself" (Score: 78.5)
28. Alabama Shakes - "Boys & Girls" (Score: 77)
29. Justin Townes Earl - "Nothing's Gonna Change How You Feel About Me Now" (Score: 77)
30. Mumford & Sons - "Babel" (Score: 77)
31. The Coup - "Sorry to Bother You" (Score: 76)
32. Best Coast - "The Only Place" (Score: 76)
33. Rapsody - "The Idea of Beautiful" (Score: 75.5)
34. Bat for Lashes - "The Haunted Man" (Score: 75.5)
35. P.O.S. - "We Don't Even Live Here" (Score: 75)
36. Aesop Rock - "Skelethon" (Score: 75)
37. Blu & Exile - "Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them" (Score: 75)
38. Substantial - "Home is Where the Art is" (Score: 74)
39. Brother Ali - "The Bite-Marked Heart" (Score: 74)
40. Perfume Genius - "Put Ur Back N 2 It" (Score: 73)