# What is the single best music album you bought in 2012? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216 "2012-12-16T20:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/61 "2012-12-18T16:33:48Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Out of curiousity, how do people decide whether they are just going to buy/download one song or an entire album? I’m an album person and always have been. If there’s one song I really like by an artist, I want the rest of the songs. When I listen to songs on my iTunes, I listen to albums, not mixes. If I want a mix, I listen to Internet radio. Now, I’m somewhat unusual in this regard. I think most listeners are singles-type people. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/62 "2012-12-18T16:45:54Z")
Six Organs of Admittance - Ascent (2012) Six Organs is typically just Ben Chasny with varying musicians for a backing band. The generic term I’ve seen to describe him is freak-folk. Basically, his music goes back and forth between psyche rock and acoustic guitar. On this record, though, he brought in 3 bandmates from Comets on Fire (which has been on hiatus since '06 or so) and Ascent is more like a Comets record (turn it up to 11, freak out with guitars and drums). I love both 6O and Comets, so this was great for me. Honorable mention goes to Bill Callahan’s 2011 record Apocalypse. I need to check out Swans’ The Seer. I’ve read lots of good things about that. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/63 "2012-12-18T18:20:27Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > Damn, it’s hard to narrow it down to a single album. The following were all released this year and each one is pretty great in my opinion: > > Norah Jones - Little Broken Hearts > Colleen Green - Milo Goes To Compton > Chromatics - Kill For Love > Best Coast - The Only Place > > If I really had to narrow it down to just one, I’d probably go with Milo Goes To Compton. It’s just a simple, no-nonsense lo-fi punk record. I’m pretty sure it’s a one-woman band, just a fuzzy guitar plus a drum machine, but it works. It just works. One of my favorite songs on the record is “I Wanna Be Degraded” an almost copy of the Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated”. Good stuff if you’re into lo-fi music. Hahaha, I had never heard of that one. Milo goes to Compton being a play on “Milo goes to College” by the Descendents (which is who originally did the first song “Good Good Things.”) I am really digging this album. If you like this, check out a band Bunnygrunt. They did an excellent cover of the Descendents’ “Silly Girl” and pop gem “Holiday Road.” Same type of girl fronted Power-Pop. ---
**Author:** ![Noodles\_Fellicini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Noodles\_Fellicini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noodles_Fellicini)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/64 "2012-12-19T02:37:56Z")
Hard to choose, I discovered some really good music this year, but I’ll vote Stolen Silver by Stolen Silver because I purchased it at one of their shows to support them and was surprised by how much I like it. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/65 "2012-12-19T03:41:11Z")
I don’t “buy” music any more, either. I have had a Napster account forever and it’s now Rhapsody. So I guess I lease it. Anyway, I still download whole albums and add even more to my library. I’d have to say the one I listened to the most was in the beginning of the year when Gotye released _Making Mirrors_, before the “somebody that I used to know” hullaballoo broke out. There’s a YouTube video on how he made the album and it’s nifty how he put it all together with live recordings and samples. Otherwise, I’ve been enjoying the new Matisyahu someone mentioned earlier, and I’m currently listening to and enjoying the new Bruno Mars _Unorthodox Jukebox_. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/66 "2012-12-19T20:05:16Z")
I only downloaded a few full albums released in 2012: Green Day - iUno! The Killers - Battle Born The Shins - Port of Morrow The rest are all singles. Really other than bands I already know, I’m sure how to even figure out which entire albums I’d want to download. Billboard and other Top 40 sites are too OneDirection and Taylor Swift for my tastes. [Pitchfork.com](http://Pitchfork.com) has a lot of good stuff, but it also has a lot of stuff that’s pretty esoteric. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/67 "2012-12-20T13:49:38Z")
The best album I bought in 2012 is My Head Is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men, though it was released in September 2011. Their first single, [Little Talks](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I), has gotten a lot of airplay. The whole album is very catchy, from start to finish. Of the albums that were actually released in 2012, my favorites are Aufheben by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Local Business by Titus Andronicus, and Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216/68 "2012-12-20T14:23:32Z")
I don’t buy many full albums, but this year I did buy Atmosphere’s “The Family Sign” (2011). I’ve had it on almost constant rotation since. My favorite tracks are “My Notes” and “Who I’ll Never Be.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-best-music-album-you-bought-in-2012/644216.md?page=3)