A List of Lists – Our featured bloggers’ favorite albums of 2012
As you know, we asked our most frequently featured bloggers to cast their ballots for a bit of a “critics poll”. Since No Depression doesn’t employ a staff of writers, these are all folks who post here on their own, because they like to. They just happen to all have a taste in music and writing style which we recognize as being the cream of the ND community crop. We’d like to thank them for not only submitting their lists for this Featured Blogger Top 10, but also for taking the time out of their busy lives to frequently post great blogs on this site.
We thought folks in the community would be interested to read the full lists submitted for our Featured Bloggers Year-End Poll. So, in no particular order, here are the top picks of all the featured contributors who submitted lists for our Best of 2012 count:
HOLLY GEORGE-WARREN (blog)
- Jack White – Blunderbuss
- The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
- Wanda Jackson – Unfinished Business
- Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears
- Rodney Crowell & Mary Karr – Kin
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck & Ruin
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Chuck Mead & the Grassy Knoll Boys – Back at the Quonset Hut
- Marty Stuart – Nashville, Vol. 1: Tear the Woodpile Down
- Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale – Buddy & Jim
BIG BOY (blog)
- Omar & the Howlers – Too Much Is Not Enough
- Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth
- Los Lobos – Kiko Live
- Sam Lewis – Self-titled
- Paul Thorn – What the Hell Is Going On
- James Luther Dickinson – I’m Just Dead, I’m Not Gone
- Magic Slim – Bad Boy
- Meena – Try Me
- Michael Burks – Show of Strength
- Rolling Stones – GRR!
TWANG NATION (blog)
- Chris Knight – Little Victories
- Malcolm Holcombe – Down the River
- Darrell Scott – Long Ride Home
- Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
- Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale – Buddy & Jim
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears
- Turnpike Troubadours – Goodbye Normal Street
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- Shovels & Rope – O Be Joyful
EASY ED (blog)
- Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
- Antje Duvekot – New Siberia
- Anais Mitchell – Young Man in America
- The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
- Tift Merritt – Traveling Alone
- Amelia Curran – Spectators
- Sun Kil Moon – Among the Leaves
- Laneway – Turn Your Love Up
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck & Ruin
- Joe Pug – The Great Despiser
JOANNA COLANGELO (blog)
- Brandi Carlile – Bear Creek
- John Hiatt – Mystic Pinball
- Bob Dylan – Tempest
- Grace Potter – The Lion, the Beast, the Beat
- David Wax Museum – Knock Knock Get Up
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Gary Clark Jr – Blak & Blu
- Joan Osborne – Bring It On Home
- Dr John – Locked Down
- Chris Smither – Hundred Dollar Valentine
CHRIS MATEER (blog)
- Father John Misty – Fear Fun
- Carolina Chocolate Drops – Leaving Eden
- Trampled by Turtles – Stars and Satellites
- Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back
- Hurray for the Riff Raff – Look Out Mama
- Bettye LaVette – Thoughtful n’ Thankful
- Two Man Gentleman Band – Two at a Time
- The Wandering – The Wandering (Songs of the South)
- Elephant Micah – Louder Than thou
- Hiss Golden Messenger – Poor Moon
KATHY SANDS BOEHMER (blog)
- Barnaby Bight – The Longest Day
- The Lumineers – The Lumineers
- The Vespers – The Fourth Wall
- Pesky J Nixon – Red Ducks
- Tim Gearan – Riverboat
- Anthony Da Costa – Secret Handshake
- The Honey Dewdrops – Silver Lining
- First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
- Nels Andrews – Scrimshaw
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
DAN KING (blog)
- Ry Cooder – Election Special
- Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
- Lightnin Hopkins – The Very Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins
- Waylon Jennings – Goin Down Rockin
- Tony Rice – The Bill Monroe Collection
- Tedeschi Trucks Band – Everybody’s Talkin’
- Jerry Douglas – Traveler
- The Grascals – Life Finds a Way
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Del McCoury Band – American Legacies
- Special Consensus – Scratch Gravel Road
KEVIN OLIVER (blog)
- Various – This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark
- Various – Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash
- Jamey Johnson – Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochrane
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Tedeschi Trucks Band – Everybody’s Talkin’
- Kathy Mattea – Calling Me Home
- Dr John – Locked Down
- 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
- Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
- Field Report – Self-titled
PRESCRIPTION BLUEGRASS (blog)
- Detour – A Better Place
- Ricky Skaggs – Music to My Ears
- Grascals – Life Finds a Way
- The Hillbenders – Can You Hear Me
- Tony Rice – The Bill Monroe Collection
- Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back
- Bob Amos – Borrowed Time
- Bill Evans – In Good Company
- Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys – Release Your Shrouds
JELA WEBB (blog)
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- Jimmy LaFave – Depending on the Distance
- Anais Mitchell – Young Man in America
- Malcolm Holcombe – Down the River
- Nels Andrews – Scrimshaw
- Gretchen Peters – Hello Cruel World
- Rose Cousins – We Have Made a Spark
- Joel Rafael – America Come Home
- Grace Pettis – Two Birds
- Otis Gibbs – Harder Than Hammered Hell
MANDO LINES (blog)
- Jason Eady – AM Country Heaven
- Gretchen Peters – Hello Cruel World
- Shooter Jennings – Family Man
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck & Ruin
- Ray Wylie Hubbard – The Grifter’s Hymnal
- The Departed – Adventus
- Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now?
- Marty Stuart – Nashville Vol 1: Tear the Woodpile Down
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
HEARTH MUSIC (blog)
- Rayna Gellert – Old Light
- Jenny Ritter – Bright Mainland
- Le Vent Du Nord – Tromper le Temps
- O’Brien Party of 7 – Reincarnation Songs
- Martha Redbone’s Roots Music Project – Garden of Love: The Songs of Wiliam Blake
- The New Young Fogies – Volume One
- Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers – Old Gold
- Black Prairie – A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart
- Eric Bibb – Deeper in the Well
- John Doyle – Shadows & Light
JUSTIN WESLEY (blog)
- The Walkmen – Heaven
- Japandroids – Celebration Rock
- Zeus Busting – Visions
- Titus Andronicus – Local Business
- Cat Power – Sun
- 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
- Beach House – Bloom
- Robert Francis – Strangers in the First Place
- Dr Dog – Be the Void
- Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
musicJJMG (blog)
- Trombone Shorty – For True
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Various – The Descendents
- Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
- ahab – Live in London
BILL FRATER (blog)
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Chris Knight – Little Victories
- Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale – Buddy & Jim
- Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
- Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
- World Famous Headliners – World Famous Headliners
- The Trishas – High, Wide and Handsome
- Darrell Scott – Long Ride Home
- The Time Jumpers – The Time Jumpers
- Various – Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us
AMOS PERRINE (bl0g)
- Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
- Martha Wainwright – Come Home to Mama
- Leonarrd Cohen – Old Ideas
- Bob Dylan – Tempest
- Patti Smith – Banga
- Cat Power – Sun
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- David Byrne & St Vincent – Love This Giant
- Kelly Hogan – I Like to Keep Myself in Pain
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck & Ruin
BEN BONIN (blog)
- Bob Dylan – Tempest
- JP Harris & the Tough Choices – I’ll Keep Calling
- Cahalen Morrison & Eli West – Our Lady of the Tall Trees
- Dirty Three – Toward the Sun
- JD McPherson – Signs & Signifiers
- Tony Saviano – Guitaresque
- The Little Willies – For the Good Times
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Turnpike Troubadours – Goodbye Normal Street
- Bela Fleck & the Flecktones – Across the Imaginary Divide
JOE LEPPER (blog)
- First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
- Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament – The Violence
- Lambchop – Mr. M
- The Walkmen – Heaven
- The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
- Bill Fay – Life Is People
- Andrew Bird – Hands of Glory
- Alex Highton – Wooditon Wives Club
- Various – Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music
ALAN HARRISON (blog)
- Bap Kennedy – The Sailors Revenge
- Matraca Berg – Love’s Truckstop
- Lincoln Dunham – The Shovel v. the Howling Bones
- My Darling Clementine – How Do You Plead?
- Royal Southern Brotherhood – Self-titled
- Malcolm Holcombe – Down the River
- Gem Andrews – Scatter
- Otis Gibbs – Harder Than Hammered Hell
- Ian Segal and the Mississippi Mudbloods – Candy Store
- Awna Teixeira – Darkness
MICHAEL BIALAS (blog)
- The Vespers – The Fourth Wall
- Jack White – Blunderbuss
- Family of the Year – Loma Vista
- Sugar + the Hi-Lows – Self-titled
- First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
- Mark Knopfler – Privateering
- Shovels & Rope – O’ Be Joyful
- Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
JULIE WENGER WATSON (blog)
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- JD McPherson – Signs & Signifiers
- Uncle Lucius – And You Are Me
- Paul Thorn – What the Hell Is Going On?
- Lincoln Dunham – The Shovel vs. the Howling Bones
- Wood Brothers – Live Vol 1: Sky High
- Steve Forbert – Over With You
- Royal Southern Brotherhood – Self-titled
- The Time Jumpers – Self-titled
- Chris Robinson – Big Moon Ritual
HAL BOGERD (blog)
- Chris Knight – Little Victories
- Michael Rank & Stag – Kin
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- Kevin Gordon – Gloryland
- Chuck Prophet – Temple Beautiful
- Alejandro Escovedo – Big Station
- Ronnie Fauss – I Am the Man You Know I’m Not
- Sons of Bill – Siren
- Todd Snider – Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
- Todd Snider – Time As We Know It: Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker
PAUL CANTIN (blog)
- Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
- Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
- Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
- Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
- Cate Le Bon – Cyrk
- Beth Orton – Sugaring Season
- Patti Smith – Banga
- Metz – Self-titled
- Efterklang – Piramida
- Georgia Anne Muldrow – Seeds
RYAN MIFFLIN (blog)
- Bob Dylan – Tempest
- Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
- Dr John – Locked Down
- Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychadelic Pill
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana
- ZZ Ward – Til The Casket Drops
- Gary Clark Jr – Blak & Blue
- Dwight Yoakam – 3 pears
- Left Lane Cruiser & James Leg – Painkillers
GILLIAN TURNBULL (blog)
- Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
- Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears
- Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
- Lindi Ortega – Cigarettes and Truck Stops
- Calexico – Algiers
- Ian Tyson – Raven Singer
- Junior Brown – Volume Ten
- Scott MacLeod – Right as Rain
- Rose Cousins – We Have Made a Spark
- Various – Toronto Bound
KIM RUEHL (blog)
- Anais Mitchell – Young Man in America
- Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta
- Rose Cousins – We Have Made a Spark
- Carolina Chocolate Drops – Leaving Eden
- Rodney Crowell & Mary Karr – Kin
- Various – Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change
- Black Prairie – A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart
- Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
KYLA FAIRCHILD (blog)
- First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
- Shovels & Rope – O’ Be Joyful
- Rayland Baxter – Feathers & Fishhooks
- The Shins – Port of Morrow
- Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
- Sera Cahoone – Deer Creek Canyon
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck and Ruin
- Mark Lanegan – Blues Funeral
- Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is an Animal
FAITH PHILLIPS (blog)
- Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana
- Jamey Johnson – Living for a Song
- John Fullbright – From the Ground Up
- JD McPherson – Signs & Signifiers
- Ry Cooder – Election Special
- Paul Thorn – What the Hell Is Going On?
- Todd Snider – Time As We Know It
- Joe Baxter & the Lost Cause – Soldier Creek Waltz
- Gary Clark Jr – Blak & Blu
FRANK GUTCH JR (blog)
- Picture the Ocean – Self-titled
- Alcoholic Faith Mission – Ask Me This
- Whispering Pines – Whispering Pines
- Research Turtles – Mankiller Part 2 of 2
- Ticktockman – Ticktockman
- Laurie Biagini – Go-Go Girl in a Modern World
- Tom House – Winding Down the Road
- Green Pajamas – Death by Misadventure
- Winterpills – All My Lovely Goners
- Dan Miraldi – Sugar & Adrenaline
LEE ZIMMERMAN (blog)
- Malcolm Holcombe – Down the River
- Steve Almaas – Trailer Songs
- Jason Collett – Reckon
- Matt Keating – Wrong Way Home
- Terrence Martin – Field Recordings
- Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale – Buddy & Jim
- Various – Get Quiet About It: A Tribute to Jesse Winchester
- Cary Hudson – Mississippi Moon
- Scott Miller & Rayna Gellert – CoDependents
- Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Wreck and Ruin