2012 was a spectacular year in music — one with so many records we truly loved that narrowing down the list was difficult. Ordering it, however, was almost impossible. This was a year of shifting genres and experimentation. This was a year that introduced us to some bands that will remain on rotation for years to come and albums that are already on their way to becoming modern classics.  Along with the return of many favorites, we were given the debuts from Django Django, alt-J, Frank Ocean, Kishi Bashi and Purity Ring — all records that seem poised to go into the pantheon of amazing first albums.

The list below is a collection of records that we all came back to over and over again, defining the experience we had in 2012 — it’s not definitive for everyone, but it’s absolutely definitive for us. Thanks to Lydia Conklin for creating the floral artwork for this playlist.

25. How To Dress Well – Total Loss
24. The Men – Open Your Heart
23. Chairlift – Chairlift at 6:15
22. Purity Ring - Shrines
21. Capybara – Dave Drusky
20. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
19. Lord Huron – Lonesome Dreams
18. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
17. Stepdad – Wildlife Pop
16. The xx - Coexist
15. Jessie Ware - Devotion
14. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
13. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
12. Grimes - Visions
11. Django Django – Django Django
10. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
9. Beach House - Bloom
8. Chromatics – Kill For Love
7. The Eastern Sea - Plague
6. Passion Pit - Gossamer
5. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
4. Tame Impala - Lonerism
3. Sharon Von Etten - Tramp
2. alt-J – An Awesome Wave
1. Kishi Bashi – 151a