Yeah that’s right…eleven.  Why not ten?  Or why not fifteen?  Because there were eleven albums I heard this year that really stood out from the rest of the pack.  I could leave out none of these inclusions.  I didn’t do fifteen because there is a drop off in quality between the albums on this list and all the others.  I could have done 15, but I don’t want to include albums that are merely “good”.  Good albums don’t make the cut. I’ve been called a harsh reviewer, but why should we settle for mediocrity?  This list is for great albums.  Not being a magazine, I can’t hope to hear every release put out per year, but I do try to take in a variety of new releases.  Anyone who is lamenting the state of music in 2012 need only listen to these fantastic records for reassurance that the industry isn’t anywhere near as fucked as people say it is.  To find the gold, you just have to dig a little deeper than in the good old days….Read more