2012 starts and ends with Frank Ocean. Channel Orange is an album that I will play until the day I die. It’s beauty - naked and fragile at times yet full bodied and confident in others - is unlike any other album to compare to in the past decade. Ocean’s falsetto on “Thinkin Bout You” wails in sincerity. His epic “Pyramids” runs a wild gamut of funk, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic elements. I always find it an amazing accomplishment to have a song that’s over 6 minutes (this being 9:53) that I can listen to constantly.

One of Ocean’s most incredible talents is his ability to genuinely emote his feelings through his voice. I absorb his heartbreak in “Bad Religion” as he confesses to a cabbie, “It’s a bad religion / to be in love with someone / who could never love you / Only bad religion / could have me feeling the way I do.” And I can only guess Ocean may have been influenced by the late great James Brown’s “Please Please Please” as he cries “Love” over and over and over again.

Ocean takes on the role of psychologist in “Super Rich Kids:” “Too many bottles of this wine we can’t pronounce / too many bowls of that green, no lucky charms / The maids come around too much / Parent’s ain’t around enough / Too many joy rides in daddy’s Jaguar / Too many white lies and white lines / Super rich kids with nothing but loose ends / Super rich kids with nothing but fake friends.” Ocean’s take on the privileged and entitled is refreshing. He goes further with his tongue-in-cheek track “Sweet Life, ” a tale about “domesticated paradise,” with one of my favorite lines: “So why see the world, when you got the beach / The sweet life.”

And then there is my favorite track: “Lost.” Words don’t really do this song justice. Ocean’s ability to meld rapping and crooning over a beat like this while juxtaposing what he can do with a orchestral song like "Thinkin' Bout You" is in a level of its own. I just love Frank Ocean, and I cannot wait for his new album to hopefully arrive in 2015.

In retrospect, it was a tough call to put Jack White’s solo debut, Blunderbuss, at #2 ahead of Kendrick Lamar’s classic, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Both are stratospherically different, but I do think these guys are similar in that they are thought to be two of the most creative and original guys in their respective genres at the moment. Both albums roll from front to back with ease.

Quiet Hounds may be a band you haven’t heard of, and this album is definitely the place to start. The beginning riff to “Calling All Gamma Rays” is all you need to get hooked. “Too Young Too Wise” and “I Get Up” are the other standout tracks.

Purity Ring did to 2012 what The xx did to 2009. Purity Ring’s sound was unlike any other this year, “Fineshrine” being a perfect example.

Ahhh, Patrick Watson! He’s my favorite singer/songwriter since Andrew Bird. This album is gorgeous. The first song I ever heard by him was “Lighthouse,” an almost operatic composition showcasing his whispery falsetto and a sleepy piano. It’s followed by “Blackwind” which may be one of the more upbeat tracks along with the popular “Into Giants.” And “Words in the Fire” is Watson’s sound being stripped down, honed in on his voice sounding like a lullaby.

Should Tame Impala’s Lonerism have been higher? Probably. These guys are one of my favorite bands out right now (CAN’T WAIT for the new album, supposedly in 2015, which Kevin Parker has said will make the prior two albums look like child's play), and their live show is not to be missed as evidenced by their live album.

Andrew Bird continues to make great music. “Lusitania” has to be one of my favorite songs he’s ever made, and “Desperation Breeds” doesn’t sounds like it breeds desperation, instead it slowly builds from trance-like faded vocals and violin-picking to an acoustic guitar to drums and electric instruments. The buildup is so well done and where Bird is a magician.

“Tear It Up” by Delta Spirit. Just do it.

Father John Misty - world’s greatest showman and dancer? Uh - YES.

Alabama Shakes’ debut album was one of those albums where I think they have better albums in them. And that’s saying a lot considering this has a bunch of great songs on it. “Hold On” begins with such a great drum beat that most people recognize it the second it starts! The guitar riff to start “Hang Loose” is a close second. And “Be Mine” is the band at it’s most soulful and cohesive.

Although Nemo Achida hasn’t made a name of himself, this album is absolutely worth a listen if you’re into hip-hop. “Brand New” and “John Stockton” will get you bopping that head.

Tennis consistently makes great albums front to back. I had the pleasure of seeing them recently in an indoor venue and lead singer, Alaina Moore, absolutely crushed the vocals! Her voice sounded so damn good. And guitarist (and husband) Patrick Riley always adds the right hook and never overdoes it.

Lord Huron’s album is a gem and may be another that should have been a bit higher. They are one of my favorite bands in the genre which I guess I’ll call folksy-rock?

There were a ton of other great albums that are worth a listen: Nas continues to make great music, and “Cherry Wine” featuring the late Amy Winehouse showed the range of both of those musicians. I will always love (but not defend) John Mayer. Ab-Soul is one of the most under-appreciated rappers around right now - The beats on this album are dark, futuristic, sparse. All the more reason for Soulo to exhibit his lyrical wordplay and flow. Check “ Mixed Emotions,” Illuminate” and “Lust Demons.”

2012 was a phenomenal year in music! The good news? We have many more years ahead of us.