Long-running Brit weekly mag NME has just published its 50 Best Albums of 2012, and as Stereogum points out, the list is a mixed bag of good, bad, and predictable. The top five spots went to Tame Impala at number one, with Grimes, Frank Ocean, Crystal Castles, and Alt-J following closely behind. Australian psych outfit Tame Impala will be kicking off their 2013 tour with the first US stop at New York’s Terminal 5 in February, celebrating the release of new album, Lonerism. Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die made the cut at number 45, but Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel… is mysterious missing. We’re also lamenting the lack of Swans on this list, but we have Pitchfork TV’s 27-minute, behind-the-scenes doc to tide us over for now. Who else deserves a spot? Head past the break to see the countdown in full, and chime in, below.
50 Purity Ring – Shrines 49 Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes 48 The 2 Bears – Be Strong 47 John Talabot – fIN 46 Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe 45 Lana Del Rey – Born To Die 44 Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, mAAd City 43 Ratking – Wiki93 42 Paul Weller – Sonik Kicks 41 Ty Segall – Twins 40 Polica – Give You The Ghost 39 Liars – WIXIW 38 TEED – Trouble 37 Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour 36 The Vaccines – Come Of Age 35 Metz – Metz 34 Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man 33 Hot Chip – In Our Heads 32 Graham Coxon – A+E 31 G.O.O.D. Music – Cruel Summer 30 Breton – Other People’s Problems 29 Mac DeMarco – 2 28 Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light 27 Jessie Ware – Devotion 26 Spector – Enjoy It While It Lasts 25 Ariel Pink – Mature Themes 24 Merchandise – Children Of Desire 23 Richard Hawley – Standing At The Sky’s Edge 22 Beach House – Bloom 21 Cat Power – Sun 20 Howler – America Give Up 19 Toy – Toy 18 Tribes – Baby 17 Grizzly Bear – Shields 16 Melody’s Echo Chamber – Melody’s Echo Chamber 15 Sharon Van Etten – Tramp 14 The xx – Coexist 13 DIIV – Oshin 12 David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant 11 Django Django – Django Django 10 Jack White – Blunderbuss 09 Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg 08 The Cribs – In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull 07 Pond – Beard Wives Denim 06 The Maccabees – Given To The Wild 05 Alt-J – An Awesome Wave 04 Crystal Castles – (iii) 03 Frank Ocean – Channel Orange 02 Grimes – Visions 01 Tame Impala – Lonerism