The Best Albums of 2012 (45-55):

Here it is.  My countdown of my favorite albums of 2012.  Though it's not a surprising #1 choice...my number one surprises me...because I don't love the album.  Anyway, you'll have to wait to see what that is...until then...it's time for your input.

Every year I ask you, my readers, to give me your twenty best/favorite albums.  The only rule...the album has to have been released in 2012.  That's it.

You don't need 20...if you only have 10...5...or even if you only like one release...that's fine!  Just post your top picks in the comment section.  Or email me.  And I'll add them all together and post the tally on January 1st (roughly).  Last year we had over 200 people vote...let's see if you we can top that this year.

The Best Albums of 2012 (45-55):

45.  Trust - TRST
46.  Calvin Harris - 18 Months
47.  Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (Bonus Track)
48.  Mumford And Sons - Babel
49.  Rival Sons - Head Down
50.  Father John Misty - Fear Fun
51.  Fun. - Some Nights
52.  Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
53.  Pinback - Information Retrieved
54.  Metric - Synthetica
55.   EL-P - Cancer For Cure

Buy Theses albums and more now!!

Free Music Fourth of July Weekend: The 11 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012 so far

Rap and Hip-Hop still struggle to be taken seriously.  It sounds like a crazy statement like I'm completely out of touch with the pulse of the culture.  But it's true.  Rock has grown up and is finally being universally accepted as a relevant art form.  Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Bono are as respected and appreciated as much as stodgy elder statesmen and unlearned politicians.  Hip-Hop still has a way to go.  Jay-Z may own all the money in world...and may even have the ear of the President... but by most people he's still not revered as anything more than a rap mogul.  Rap may dominate the dance charts, the sales charts, and line the MP3 playlists of every teenager in America...but there's a giant part of country...who still thinks it's nothing more than a passing fad. They're wrong...but they're the ones who are still in charge.  It will change.  Eazy-E may have hung out with President Bush Sr. (but that was the exception...not the rule)  Rap will take over...and it will be them who are thumbing their noses at electronica music. Just you wait.  Until then...

Here are the 11 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012...so far:

1. Schoolboy Q - Habits and Contradictions
2. Joey Bada$$ - 1999
3. El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
4. Killer Mike - R.A.P.
5. Chiddy Bang - Breakfast
6. Big K.R.I.T. - Live From The Underground/4Eva N A Day
7. Meek Mill - Dreamchasers 2
8. Plug 1 & Plug 2 - First Serve
9. Wiz Khalifa - Taylor Allderdice
10. Oh No - Ohnomite
11. Nicki Minaj - Roman Reloaded

It's 4th of July weekend...so enjoy the free mixtapes...all legally free.

Have a free mixtape that should be noticed??  Add it and let us all know.

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (67-77)

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (67-77):

67. The Decembrists - The Crane Wife (2006) (Get it now for $5)
- Though Hazards was supposed to be Meloy's epic project, the Crane Wife may be the bands best collection to date. With fantastic songwriting that crossed epic 12 minute ecclectic compilations with blissfully Fleetwood Mac-influenced pop songs while pushing their sea shanty style to the forefront, the band delivered an album that made them popular while keeping their indie cred intact. (The Perfect Crime #2)

68. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (2006)
- Was it hip-hop? Was it electronic? Was it R&B? Was it rock n roll? What made this album so spectactular was that it was a little bit of everything...and a Violent Femmes cover that outperforms the original (IMO) never hurts.

69. El-P - Fantastic Damage (2002)
A blast of fire from the hip-hop underground came from a white guy. A new voice would break ground that is still forming the hip-hop world today. Though he keeps shaping his more recent albums in new directions...it was his first that fired the bullet from the gun.

70. Spoon - Girls Can Tell (2001)
- When Spoon jumped to Merge...half their fans left them for selling out. (And that's a hardcore fanbase who thinks Merge is selling out) But Spoon made a massive jump not just in audience but in style and substance. This album rocketed them upward as a band that now needs to be reckoned with. (Me and the Bean)

71. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)
- Anytime a band's album is traded on the internet months before it comes out...there's a chance it will be good. Though this album lost some music snobs as it found itself featured on every teeny-bopper movie and TV show soundtrack, it remained one of the most talked about albums of that year....with no signs of slowing.

72. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
- As of January, FF was not on this list. But their new releases has really given them a newfound boost of respect and influence. The has-beens are now the right now...and are making us remember that they never left.

73. Ryan Adams - Cold Roses (2005)
- Ryan's Grateful Dead opus was the first of 50 albums he released that year...and maybe his best with the now defunct Cardinals. The Dead style perfectly suited RA's talents that remains fresher than some his newer material. (How Do You Keep Love Alive?)

74. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
- Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't get this album's popularity. It might be my least favorite Radiohead release. But this album was the one that made them the household name...and trendsetters that they are today. (Idioteque)

75. M.I.A. - Kala (2007)
- Would Slumdog millionaire have been electric with out M.I.A.? Would the Grammy's have been as exciting without her pregnant belly? And would the world of have dance survived with out her?

76. Eminem - The Eminem Show (2002)
A step-down from the epic Marshall Mathers...but still proof that Eminem was no flash in the pan. His rhymes remained crisp as he continued ripping apart his own life and those around him.

77. Linkin Park - Meteora (2003)
- Before you start bashing me for this choice. How many nu-metal bands survived? how many continued/continue to sell to this day? Linkin Park just didn't out-last the others...they pushed forward. This album wasn't just proof of their songwriting at its peak...it was also the album that launched them into rock stratosphere. And if not for this album...the collab with Jay-Z would have never legitimized mash-ups as we know.

Buy these albums now...especially if you don't have them.