A Second Take on 2012's EEPEEs and ELPEEs

 Best Albums of 2012

1. Jam City -Classical Curves

2. Death Grips -The Money Store

3. Le1f -Dark York

4. DJ Rashad -Teklife Volume 1: Welcome to the Chi

5. Julia Holter -Ekstasis

6. Mark Van Hoen -The Revenant Diary

7. Lana Del Rey -Born to Die

8. Traxman -Da Mind of Traxman

9. Lone -Galaxy Garden

10. Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, and the Congos -Icon Give Thank (FRKWYS Vol 9)

11. Nicki Minaj -Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

12. Liars -WIXIW

13. Frank Ocean -Channel Orange

14. Tame Impala -Lonerism

15. Panabrite -Soft Terminal

16. Chairlift  -Something

17. Slava -Soft Control

18. Andy Stott -Luxury Problems

19. Grimes -Visions

20. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe -Timon Irnok Manta

21. Innergaze -Mutual Dreaming

22. Dan Deacon -America

23. Mykki Blanco -The Cosmic Angel: Illuminati Princess

24. Holly Herndon -Movement

25. Mark Lanegan -Blues Funeral

26. Container -LP (2)

27. Actress -R.I.P.

28. Beak> -Beak>>

29. Laetitia Sadier -Silencio

30. Animal Collective -Centipede Hz

31. Burial Hex -Eschatology II

32. Lee Renaldo -Between the Time and Tides

33. X-TG -Desertshore/The Final Report

34. Opponents -Temple of Decadence

35. Violens -TRUE

36. Voices from the Lake -Voices from the Lake

37. Child Actor -Victory

38. Dusk + Blackdown -Dasaflex

39. Pye Corner Audio -Sleep Games

40. Mountain Goats -Transcendental Youth

Best EPs of 2012

1. Arca - Stretch 2/Stretch 1

2. Fatima Al Qadiri - Desert Strike

3. Lana Del Rey - Paradise

4. Blawan - His He She and She

5. Perc - A New Brutality

6. Nguzunguzu - Warm Pulse

7. Evian Christ - Kings and Them

8. Dj Paypal  - Why

9. Burial - Kindred

10. Ghost Mutt - Sweat Mode

I Was There: The Best Music From 2002

 KaZaa_PROMO_ONLY_2002_Recent

1. Metro Area - Metro Area

2. Clipse - Lord Willin

3. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt 1

4. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi

5. Yeah yeah Yeahs - Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP

6. Golan Levin/Scott Gibbons/Gregory Shakar - Dialtones: A Telesymphony

7. Beck - Sea Change

8. Casino Versus Japan - Whole Numbers Play the Basics

9. Low - Trust

10. Wolf Eyes - Dead Hills

11. Arpanet - Wireless Internet

12. Max Tundra - Mastered by Guy At the Exchange

13. The Caretaker - Stairway to the Stars

14. Missy Elliott - Under Construction

15. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People

16. Justin Timberlake - Justified

17. Destroyer - This Night

18. Various - Digital Disco

19. Various - Blue Skied an Clear

20. Wire - Read and Burn Eps

21. Manual - Ascend

22. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat

23. Closer Musik - After Love

24. Schneider TM - Zoomer

25. Boom Bip - Seed to Sun\

Audiogalaxy_LoOsiEs-Sort_2002

1.LCD Soundsystem - "Losing My Edge"

2.Missy Elliott - "Work It"

3.Death in Vegas - "Girls"

4.Justin Timberlake - "Rock Your Body"

5.Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Our Time"

6.Casino Versus Japan - "Manic Thru Tone"

7.Kylie Minogue - "Come Into My World (Fischerspooner mix)"

8.The Knife - "Heartbeats"

9.Boards of Canada - "Dawn Chorus"

10.Tweet - "Oops (Oh My)"

11.Clipse - "Grindin"

12.Closer Musik - "You Don't Know Me"

13.Nelly - "Hot in Herre"

14.Pastor Troy feat Timbaland - "Are We Cuttin"

15.Beck - "Lost Cause"

16.Snoop Dogg feat Pharrell and Charlie Murphy - "Beautiful"

17.The Juan MacLean - "You Can't Have it Both Ways"

18.Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"

19.Erick Sermon - "React"

20.N.O.R.E - "Grimey"

21.Primal Scream - "Rise"

22.Sleater-Kinney - "Combat Rock"

23.Doves - "There Goes the Fear"

24.Max Tundra - "Lysine"

25.Arpanet - "Illuminated Displays"

26.Audio Bullys - "Real Life"

27.Busta Rhymes - "I Know What You Want"

28.M83 - "Slowly"

29.Talib Kweli - "Get By"

30.Imperial Teen - "Ivanka"

31.Nine Inch Nails - "Leaving Hope"

32.Saloon - "Girls Are the New Boys"

33.Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man - "Mysteries"

34.Broken Social Scene - "Looks Just Like the Sun"

35.N.E.R.D. - "Run To the Sun"

36.Air - "The Way You Look Tonight"

37.Hot Hot Heat - "Get in Or Get Out"

38.Team Sleep - "Natalie Portman"

39.Underworld - "2 Months Off"

40.Space Cowboy - "I Would Die 4 U"

Everything Remains to be Done: The Best Music of 1992

 All Your Favorites on Compact Disc:  1992's Best Long Ones

1. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

2. Prodigy - Experience

3. Nine Inch Nails - Broken

4. Stereolab - Peng!

5. Nirvana - Incesticide

6. Main - Hydra-Calm

7. Coil - Stolen and Contaminated Songs

8. The Pharcyde - Bizzare Ride II The Pharcyde

9. Various - Artificial Intelligence

10. Pale Saints - In Ribbons

11. Helmet - Meantime

12. Ministry - Psalm 69

13. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

14. The Flaming Lips - Hit to Death in the Future Head

15. God - Possession

16. L7 - Bricks Are Heavy

17. Neil Young - Harvest Moon

18. Meat Beat Manifesto - Satyricon

19. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

20. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead

21. Babyland - You Suck Crap

22. Leonard Cohen - The Future

23. Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me OST

24. PJ Harvey - Dry

25. Swirlies - What to Do About Them

Cassingles and Digipaks and 12 inches all at once: 1992 Singles of the Year

1. The Nightcrawlers - "Push the Feeling On"

2. Smashing Pumpkins - "Drown"

3. Metalheads - "Terminator"

4. Aphex Twin - "Xtal"

5. Foul Play  - "Dubbing You"

6. Nine Inch Nails - "Happiness in Slavery"

7. Stereolab - "Au Grand Jour"

8. Neil Young - "Harvest Moon"

9. Dr Dre - "The Day the Niggaz Took Over"

10. Sade - "No Ordinary Love"

11. Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name Of"

12. Manix - "Oblivion (Head in the Clouds)"

13. Pale Saints - "A Thousand Stars Burst open"

14. En Vogue - "Free Your Mind"

15. Prodigy - "Out of Space"

16. Open Skies - "Deep In Your Eyes"

17. Beastie Boys - "So Wha'Cha Want"

18. Acen - "A Trip II The Moon"

19. The Pharcyde - "Oh Shit"

20. Bikini Kill - "Rebel Girl"

21. Mary J Blige - "Real Love"

22. Body Snatch - "Revenge of the Punter"

23. The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Reverence"

24. New Decade - "Beyond Understanding"

25. Screaming Trees - "Nearly Lost You"

26. Helmet - "Unsung"

27. Leonard Cohen - "Democracy"

28. Duran Duran - "Come Undone"

29. 2 Bad Mice - "Waremouse (remix)"

30. Wreckx n Effect - "Rump Shaker"

31. L7 - "Shitlist"

32. Wild Planet - "Electron"

33. Babyland - "Mindfuck"

34. Sloan - "500 Up"

35. The Cure - "Friday I'm in Love"

36. Chocolate USA - "All Jets Are Gonna Fall"

37. Ministry - "N.W.O."

38. Ouija Board - "The Spirit Player"

39. Jawbreaker - "Chesterfield King"

40. Lou Reed - "Dreamin"

Party Like It's Nine-Teen-Eighty-Two

 In a way, I'm glad this is the last year I'm doing all these since I would only continue to rub up against issues that make me feel...icky...including things on my list, even if they musically were very pivotal records.  For instance, I've not included Thriller or Planet Rock on the list below because of the heinousness of those artists's crimes, but there's little doubt that both of those albums changed music and defined the decade to a certain extent.   At the same time, there's probably no reason I'd ever need to tell you that Thriller is an album lots of people nevertheless enjoy and has played an essential role in their lives.  Take with this what you will, and also berate me as a hypocrite for the other artists I've kept within these ranks.  Music listening habits and critical plaudits have always been complicated, but perhaps never moreso than right now. 

HOT CHART-RACKING LPS OF 1982

1. A Certain Ratio -Sextet

2. Prince -1999

3. XTC -English Settlement

4. Yazoo -Upstairs at Eric's

5. Brian Eno -Ambient 4: On Land

6. Vangelis -Blade Runner OST

7. New Order -1981-1982

8. Colin Newman -Not To

9. Duran Duran -Rio

10. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -The Message

11. A Flock of Seagulls -A Flock of Seagulls

12. Bad Brains -Bad Brains

13. The Birthday Party -Junkyard

14. 23 Skidoo -Seven Songs

15. The English Beat -Special Beat Service

16. Cocteau Twins -Garlands

17. Killing Joke -Revelations

18. Kate Bush -The Dreaming

19. The Cure -Pornography

20. Diamanda Galas -The Litanies of Satan

21. Man Parrish -Man Parrish

22. Neil Young -Trans

23. Donald Fagen -The Nightfly

24. Savage Republic -Tragic Figures

25. Harumi Hosono -Philharmony

THE BEST SINGLE CUTS of 1982

1. A Flock of Seagulls - "Space Age Love Song"

2. Indeep - "Last Night a Deejay Saved My Life"

3. Laurie Brannigan - "Gloria"

4. Bauhaus - "Bela Lugosi's Dead (Live)"

5. Prince - "1999"

6. New Order - "Temptation"

7. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - "The Message"

8. The System - "You Are in My System"

9. Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out"

10. The Clash - "Straight to Hell"

11. The Go-Go's - "Vacation"

12. Bad Brains - "Pay to Cum"

13. A Certain Ratio - "Knife Slits Water"

14. Yazoo - "Only You"

15. The Gap Band - "You Dropped a Bomb on Me"

16. The English Beat - "Save It For Later"

17. Gary Davis - "The Professor Here"

18. Cleaners from Venus - "Only a Shadow"

19. Wide Boy Awake - "Slang Teacher"

20. The Raincoats - "No One's Little Girl"

21. Duran Duran - "The Chauffeur"

22. Roxy Music - "More Than This"

23. Billy Idol - "White Wedding"

24. Soft Cell - "Fun City"

25. David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Bamboo Houses"

26. Poison Girls - "Take the Toys"

27. Bruce Springsteen - "State Trooper"

28. Missing Persons - "Destination Unknown"

29. Man Parrish - "Heatstroke"

30. Vanity 6 - "Nasty Girl"

31. Dexy's Midnight Runners - "Come on Eileen"

32. The Cure - "One Hundred Days"

33. Big Black - "Steelworker"

34. Modern English - "I Melt With You"

35. Dead Kennedys - "Moon Over Marin"

36. Alan Parsons Project - "Eye in the Sky"

37. XTC - "Senses Working Overtime"

38. Berlin - "The Metro"

39. The Psychedelic Furs - "Love My Way"

40. Killing Joke - "Empire Song"

Sangrias in the Park: The Best Music of 1972

Albums of the Year 1972

1. Can - Ege Bamyasi

2. Lou Reed - Transformer

3. Black Sabbath - Volume 4

4. Nick Drake - Pink Moon

5. Neu! - Neu!

6. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

7. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book/Music of My Mind

8. Roxy Music - Roxy Music

9. Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity

10. Al Green - Let's Stay Together

11. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers

12. Neil Young - Harvest

13. Miles Davis - On the Corner

14. Popul Vuh - Hosianna Mantra

15. Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht

16. Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together

17. Alice Coltrane - World Galaxy

18. Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill

19. Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen

20. Eduard Artemiev - Solaris

21. T-Rex - The Slider

22. Herbie Hancock - Sextant

23. Kraftwerk - 2

24. Joni Mitchell - For the Roses

25. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

Best Single Tracks of the Year

1. Cymande - "Bra"

2. Lou Reed - "Perfect Day"

3. Can  - "Vitamin C"

4. Neu! - "Hallogallo"

5. Hot Butter - "Popcorn"

6. Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"

7. Al Green - "Let's Stay Together"

8. Todd Rundgren - "I Saw the Light"

9. Mott the Hoople - "All the Young Dudes"

10. Black Sabbath - "Supernaut"

11. Roxy Music  - "2HB"

12. David Bowie - "Lady Stardust"

13. Neil Young - "Old Man"

14. Sparks - "Nothing is Sacred"

15. Nick Drake - "From the Morning"

16. T-Rex - "Children of the Revolution"

17. Timmy Thomas - "Why Can't We Live Together"

18. The Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner"

19. Hawkwind - "Brainstorm"

20. Manu Dibango - "Soul Makossa"

21. Raspberries - "Go All the Way"

22. Steely Dan - "Dirty Work"

23. Johnny Nash - "I Can See Clearly Now"

24. Randy Newman - "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)"

25. Paul Simon - "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"

26. Terry Callier - "You're Gonna Miss Your Candyman"

27. The Ventures - "Joy (Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring)"

28. Curtis Mayfield - "Superfly"

29. Amon Duul II - "Tables Are Turned"

30. Bill Withers - "Lean on Me"

31. Barbara Moore - "Steam Heat"

32. Jimmy Cliff - "Many Rivers to Cross"

33. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Someday Never Comes"

34. Alice Cooper - "School's Out"

35. Dennis Brown - "Money in My Pocket"

36. Chicago - "Saturday in the Park"

37. Doobie Brothers - "Listen to the Music"

38. Tom Jones - "Witch Queen of New Orleans"

39. Elton John - "Rocket Man"

40. Faust - "It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl"