Top 10 Albums of 2012

Well, the world didn't end, so I guess I need to get my year-end list up. Like in previous years, I aim to make this list a mix of what I enjoyed and spun the most as well as what also was good, technically-speaking, in my opinion. I think people often put far too much weight behind what a year-end list contains, as if what's listed at #5 or #1 is the God's honest truth. If you thought Carly Rae Jepsen's album was the best album of the year, right on. For as much as music writers critique the year's various releases, it really comes down to a matter of opinion -- though I'll admit there are some things out there that are just legitimately bad, and you know what I mean.

2012 was a year of changes for me, and, therefore, for Mixtape Muse, as well. I'd be lying to you if I said I heard all of the year's buzzed about releases -- let alone a bulk of them. But of the ones I did have the pleasure of hearing, this is what I dug the most.

See Frank Ocean's Great "Late Night" Performance, Download 10-Minute Epic "Pyramids"

Photo by Lloyd Bishop (NBC)

Frank Ocean. You've probably heard the name quite a bit in the past week in one way or another. And while a lil 'ol blog like Mixtape Muse writing about a buzzed about artist might seem like an attempt to ride the coattails of that buzzwave in an attempt to increase our amount of hits, it's really not. We here at Mixtape Muse have been fans of Ocean (born Christopher Breaux) since last year's debut Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape. And so, I feel I must share Frank Ocean's performance from Monday night's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

But why?

Top Ten Albums 2011 (Simon)

When I finally found the time to start writing again, I realized how close we were to the end of the year. The end of the year at MM (and at pretty much all other music blogs) means choosing our Top Ten lists, and while 2011 had some great records to offer, the theme for this post is going to be, "Challenging". If nothing else, many of the records on this list (I'll note the exceptions) were at first markedly imposing -they were tough to get through the first spin. They're innovative, creative, and in a lot of ways unique, but none of them have the same easy groove of some of last year's picks (see Ray LaMontagne, Tallest Man on Earth, and others). So, without further ado, my top ten albums of 2011.