NPR Music has become an invaluable resource over the past couple of years, streaming a ton of great albums before their release on its website and employing some very good music writers, queen O.G. Ann Powers among them. And now it’s unveiled its year-end list of 50 albums, and this thing is just nuts. The unranked list somehow finds room for Ab-Soul, Pallbearer, Fun., Pink, Dwight Yoakam, Dan Deacon, a healthy smattering of classical and jazz, and a ton of stuff I’ve never heard of. Check out NPR’s picks below.

Ab-Soul – Control System
Alabama Shakes – Boys And Girls
Alisa Weilerstein & Daniel Barenboim – Elgar & Carter Cello Concertos
Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
Astro – Astro
Simon Rattle & The Berlin Philharmonic – Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe
Bomba Estereo - Elegancia Tropical
Brooklyn Rider – Seven Steps
Cafe Tacvba – El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco
Carla Morrison – Dejenme Llorar
Cat Power – Sun
Cody ChesnuTT – Landing On A Hundred
Dan Deacon – America
Death Grips – NO LOVE DEEP WEB
Debo Band – Debo Band
Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears
Exitmusic – Passage
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Fun. – Some Nights
Homeboy Sandman – First Of A Living Breed
Iris DeMent – Sing The Delta
Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang – En Yay Sah
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
Karriem Riggins – Alone Together
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Leila Josefowicz – Salonen: Violin Concerto
Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
Matt Ulery – By A Little Light
Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2
Miguel – Kaleidoscope Dream
Neneh Cherry & The Thing – The Cherry Thing
Now, Now – Threads
Pallbearer – Sorrow And Extinction
Patrick Watson – Adventures In Your Own Backyard
Pink – The Truth About Love
Regina Spektor – What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas – Adams: Harmonielehre/Short Ride In A Fast Machine
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
Swans – The Seer
Ty Segall – Twins
The Very Best – MTMTMK
Vijay Iyer Trio – Accelerando
Wadada Leo Smith – Ten Freedom Summers
The 2 Bears – Be Strong

http://stereogum.com/1213131/nprs-50...-of-2012/list/

a ton of stuff I’ve never heard of

P!nk and Now Now!


Great list.

Originally posted by P!nkInside PINK THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE Ke$ha's the It Girl, Taylor Swift is valedictorian and Rihanna rules pop's freak-dancing prom. But nobody does genre-defying Top 40 arena music with more soul than 33-year-old Alecia Moore. Pink's as well-rounded as showbiz pros get, adept at rock and R&B, serious relationship stuff and mindless partying, dumb jokes and genuine heartache. She can work with every hit-making Svengali in West Hollywood — from Max Martin to Greg Kurstin to Nate Ruess of fun. — and still sound like nobody else. The Truth About Love is a big party, with A-list guests (Eminem!) and a sound that sashays from T. Rex-style glam to Caribbean dance beats to that old neon New Wave sparkle. But don't worry about getting lost; the hostess knows your name, and she's gonna pull you in the corner at some point and make you feel right at home. —Ann Powers Slaying

Originally posted by YoYo P!NK MADE A YEAR-END LIST .