YEAR IN REVIEW: My favorite songs of 2012

by Nicholas Cicale (@nickcicale)

The best Alternative, Hip-hop, and Pop songs of 2012.

Best Alternative/Rock Songs

1. Myth  – Beach House
2. Laura – Bats For Lashes
3. Where Are You Now – Mumford & Sons
4. Speed The Collapse – Metric
5. Somebody That I Used To Know- Gotye featuring Kimbra
6. Disparate Youth – Santigold
7. Latch – Disclosure and Sam Smith
8. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards – Tame Impala
9. Inhaler – Foals
10. Elephant – Tame Impala
11. Angels – The XX
12. Default – Atoms For Peace
13. Serpents – Sharon Van Etten
14. The House That Heaven Built –Japandroids
15. Bad Girls – M.I.A.
16. It’s Time – Imagine Dragons
17. For Those Below – Mumford & Sons
18. Youth Without Youth – Metric
19. My Number – Foals
20. Artificial Nocturne – Metric
21. Endors Toi – Tame Impala
22. Apocalypse Dreams – Tame Impala
23. Five Seconds – Twin Shadows
24. Hold On – Alabama Shakes
25. Sleeping Ute – Grizzly Bear
26. Lightning Bolt  – Jake Bugg
27. Animals – Muse
28. Holland Road – Mumford & Sons
29. The Mother We Share – CHVRCHES
30. Love Interrupted – Jack White
31. Chained – The XX
32. Mountain Sound – Of Monsters and Men
33. Babel – Mumford & Sons
34. Sixteen Saltines – Jack White
35. Ruin – Cat Power
36. Yet Again – Grizzly Bear
37. Under the Westway – Blur

Best Hip-Hop and R&B Songs

1. Pyramids – Frank Ocean
2. Mercy – Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha-T, 2 Chainz
3. Money Trees – Kendrick Lamar featuring Jay Rock
4. Loco-Motive – NaS featuring Large Professor 
5. Clique – Kanye West, Big Sean, Jay-Z 
6. New God Flow – Kanye West, Pusha-T, Ghostface Killah
7. Adorn – Miguel
8. Swimming Pools (Drank) – Kendrick Lamar
9. R.I.P. – Childish Gambino featuring Bun B
10. Sam (Is Dead) – Odd Future
11. Thinking Bout You – Frank Ocean
12. Sing About Me – Kendrick Lamar
13. m.A.A.d City – Kendrick Lamar
14. Stay Schemin – Rick Ross featuring Drake, French Montana
15. Strange Fruition – Lupe Fiasco featuring Casey Benjamin
16. Pilot Jones – Frank Ocean
17. Black Faces – Childish Gambino
18. Hardknock – Joey Bada$$
19. Put Em Up – Lupe Fiasco
20. Lost – Frank Ocean
21. Reach Out – NaS featuring Mary J Blige
22. good kid – Kendrick Lamar
23. Terrorist Threats – Danny Brown featuring Ab-Soul
24. Full Retard – El-P
25. Lamborghini Angles – Lupe Fiasco
26. Vava Voom – Bassnectar, Lupe Fiasco
27. Diced Pineapple – Rick Ross featuring Drake, Wale
28. Zero Dark Thirty – Aesop Rock
29. Form Follows Function – Lupe Fiasco
30. Climax – Usher
31. Thrift Shop – Macklemore
32. Fuckin’ Problems – A$AP Rocky
33. Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe – Kendrick Lamar
34. ITAL (Roses) – Lupe Fiasco
35. Cherry Wine – Nas, Amy Winehouse

Best Pop Songs

1. Somebody That I Used To Know – Gotye featuring Kimbra
2. Disparate Youth – Santigold
3. Latch – Disclosure, Sam Smith
4. Treasure – Bruno Mars
5. Bad Girls – M.I.A.
6. Skyfall – Adele
7. Locked Out Of Heaven – Bruno Mars
8. It’s Time – Imagine Dragons
9. We Are Young – Fun. featuring Janelle Monae
10. Too Close – Alex Clare
11. Climax – Usher featuring Diplo
12. Some Nights – Fun.
13. Genesis – Grimes
14. Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
15. Wide Awake – Katy Perry
16. Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
17. Everything Is Embarrassing – Sky Ferreira
18. Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding
19. Oblivion – Grimes
20. I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz
21. Home – Phillip Phillips
22. You’re the One – Charli XCX
23. That’s What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
24. Inspector Norse – Todd Terje
25. Birthday Cake – Rihanna featuring Chris Brown
26. Turn Up The Music – Chris Brown
27. Try – P!nk
28. Inspector Norse – Todd Terje
29. Stay – Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko
30. Madness – Muse
31. Losing You – Solange
32. Beez In The Trap – Nicki Manaj, 2 Chainz
33. Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
34. Ho Hey – The Lumineers
35. Running – Jessie Ware