Listener Picks: Your Favorite Albums Of 2012
NPR listeners picked Mumford And Sons' Babel as their favorite record for 2012. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
NPR listeners picked Mumford And Sons' Babel as their favorite record for 2012.
Courtesy of the artist
We're a big family at NPR, with amazing member stations and listeners tuning in or clicking from all over the world. Last week, when All Songs Considered posted its annual poll inviting people to pick their favorite albums of 2012, thousands of votes poured in from those listeners with sometimes surprising results.
Babel, by Mumford & Sons, is the listener pick for the 2012 album of the year. It didn't come out until this fall, but managed to climb quickly as the favorite, at least among those who voted in our year-end poll. It's followed closely by Of Monsters And Men, Alabama Shakes, Jack White and Grizzly Bear in the top five.
As you work your way through the rest of the most popular records you'll probably see a lot that you love, and you'll also likely find some that leave you scratching your head. That's the beauty of what happens when you have a large and wonderfully diverse group of voters with a broad range of tastes.
On this week's All Songs Considered we countdown through the top 25 most popular records from our listener poll.
The Results Are In!
1. Babel
- from Babel
- by Mumford & Sons
2. My Head Is An Animal
- from My Head Is An Animal
- by Of Monsters and Men
3. Boys & Girls
- from
- by
4. Blunderbuss
- from Blunderbuss
- by Jack White
5. Shields
- from Shields
- by Grizzly Bear
6. Lumineers
- from Lumineers
- by The Lumineers
7. Channel Orange
- from Channel Orange
- by Frank Ocean
8. Bloom
- from Bloom
- by Beach House
9. Coexist
- from Coexist
- by The xx
10. The Idler Wheel...
- from The Idler Wheel...
- by Fiona Apple
11. Some Nights
- from Some Nights
- by Fun.
12. The Carpenter
- from The Carpenter
- by Avett Brothers
13. Celebration Rock
- from Celebration Rock
- by Japandroids
14. What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
- from What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
- by Regina Spektor
15. Gossamer
- from Gossamer
- by Passion Pit
16. Break It Yourself
- from Break It Yourself
- by Andrew Bird
17. Sun
- from Sun
- by Cat Power
18. Port of Morrow
- from Port of Morrow
- by The Shins
19. The Lion's Roar
- from The Lion's Roar
- by First Aid Kit
20. Lonerism
- from Lonerism
- by Tame Impala
21. There's No Leaving Now
- from There's No Leaving Now
- by The Tallest Man on Earth
22. Swing Lo Magellan
- from Swing Lo Magellan
- by Dirty Projectors
23. An Awesome Wave
- from
- by
24. The Heist
- from The Heist
- by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
25. Good Kid M.A.A.D. City
- from Good Kid M.A.A.D. City
- by Kendrick Lamar
You can see the top 100 albums at the bottom of the page and download a pdf of the full list.
- Mumford & Sons, Babel
- Of Monsters And Men, My Head Is An Animal
- Alabama Shakes, Boys And Girls
- Jack White, Blunderbuss
- Grizzly Bear, Shields
- The Lumineers, The Lumineers
- Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
- Beach House, Bloom
- The xx, Coexist
- Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel...
- fun., Some Nights
- The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
- Japandroids, Celebration Rock
- Regina Spektor, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
- Passion Pit, Gossamer
- Andrew Bird, Break It Yourself
- Cat Power, Sun
- The Shins, Port Of Morrow
- First Aid Kit, The Lion's Roar
- Tame Impala, Lonerism
- The Tallest Man On Earth, There's No Leaving Now
- Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan
- Alt-J, An Awesome Wave
- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
- Kendrick Lamar, good kid, M.A.A.D. city
- Gotye, Making Mirrors
- Grimes, Visions
- Lana Del Rey, Born To Die
- Kishi Bashi, 151a
- David Byrne & St. Vincent, Love This Giant
- Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
- Sigur Ros, Valtari
- Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas
- Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
- Father John Misty, Fear Fun
- Amanda Palmer, Theatre Is Evil
- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Here
- Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts
- Purity Ring, Shrines
- Bob Dylan, Tempest
- The Mountain Goats, Transcendental Youth
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill
- Best Coast, The Only Place
- Santigold, Master Of My Make-Believe
- The Walkmen, Heaven
- Sleigh Bells, Reign Of Terror
- Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory
- Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man
- Band Of Horses, Mirage Rock
- M. Ward, A Wasteland Companion
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
- Gary Clark, Jr. Blak & Blu
- Flying Lotus, Until The Quiet Comes
- Lord Huron, Lonesome Dreams
- Yeasayer, Fragrant World
- Now, Now, Threads
- Animal Collective, Centipede Hz
- Hot Chip, In Our Heads
- Django Django, Django Django
- Glen Hansard, Rhythm And Repose
- Ellie Goulding, Halcyon
- Dr. John, Locked Down
- Kimbra, Vows
- Rufus Wainwright, Out Of The Game
- Taylor Swift, Red
- Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
- Patrick Watson, Adventures In Your Own Backyard
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Americana
- Pink, The Truth About Love
- Aimee Mann, Charmer
- Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream
- Dinosaur Jr, I Bet On Sky
- Wild Nothing, Nocturne
- Spiritualized, Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
- Shovels & Rope, O' Be Joyful
- Chromatics, Kill For Love
- Stars, The North
- Calexico, Algiers
- Dan Deacon, America
- Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur
- Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man In The Universe
- Titus Andronicus, Local Business
- Death Grips, The Money Store
- The Magnetic Fields, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea
- Shearwater, Animal Joy
- Twin Shadow, Confess
- Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music
- Heartless Bastards, Arrow
- Esperanza Spalding, Radio Music Society
- Swans, The Seer
- Benjamin Gibbard, Former Lives
- Rodrigo y Gabriela, Area 52
- Lost In The Trees, A Church That Fits Our Needs
- Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
- Perfume Genius, Put Your Back N 2 It
- Nas, Life Is Good
- Ty Segall, Twins
- DIIV, Oshin
- Patti Smith, Banga
- Dum Dum Girls, End Of Daze EP