Year-End Report: Looking Back at 2012 - Top 50 Albums 10-01

I think I've made it clear over the course of this blog that I have a serious music addiction, probably worthy of its own show on TLC, the “learning” channel. I’m not sure how big the audience is for watching me strung out around a pile of records, listening to my tenth of the day, and ranting about Brian Eno's genius; but hey, I’m willing to field offers from networks. Anyway, we have reached my Top 10, which I have culled from an astonishing 433 albums that I listened to in 2012. If you are wondering how I knew that number, I kept a list that I continually updated after I listened to something new. Sure this borders on insanity, but the records that made the cut mean more to me than I can probably put into text. These are the ones that came with me through many important and often frustrating moments in my life over the past year. Without further ado, I give you the definitive ten best albums of 2012.

Torche Mean Business at The Middle East

I feel like solid metal shows are getting fewer and fewer in Boston these days. That’s why I jumped on the opportunity to see Helms Alee, Big Business, and Torche when they came to the Middle East in Cambridge, MA on July 21, 2010. All three bands are all signed to Hydra Head, a label that has a never-ending streak of releasing the most creative records in heavy music. I have written about Torche on this website numerous times and they never disappoint. Helms Alee and Big Business both have new releases that have more than exceeded my expectations. Together, these bands put on a memorable show of earsplitting goodness.

I’ve Got a Love for Harvey Milk

I'm not talking about openly gay politician who was unjustly assassinated by Dan White although I have much respect for the man. In this instance, I'm referring to stoner metal mainstays Harvey Milk who seized the opportunity to destroy my eardrums on July 25, 2009 at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. The band is touring on their album Life… The Best Game in Town, which was one of the best albums of albums of 2008 and I'm not the only one who thinks so. They have been active since the early 90s and have helped shape the current state of stoner metal yet they still remain relatively unknown and underappreciated except by their most passionate fans.