Let's do this thing, finally. Didn't want to neglect my favourite EPs since they were some of my favourite releases of the year, so they're in brackets in the spot they'd occupy on the list if they were eligible.
1. Alcest – Les voyages de l’âme (15)
2. Pinback – Information Retrieved (13)
(Voltaire Twins – Apollo)
3. Hammock – Departure Songs (10)
(Agalloch – Faustian Echoes)
4. Metric – Synthetica (9)
5. Alpine – A Is For Alpine (7)
6. The Process – The Process (7)
7. DZ Deathrays – Bloodstreams (7)
8. Grimes – Visions (7)
9. Sugar Army – Summertime Heavy (5)
(School of Seven Bells – Put Your Sad Down)
10. Caspian – Waking Season (4)
11. Die! Die! Die! – Harmony (4)
12. John Talabot – Fin (4)
13. Ladyhawke – Anxiety (3)
14. Allo Darlin’ – Europe (3)
15. A Place to Bury Strangers – Worship (2)
My full list (currently 63 albums) with generally brief write-ups, overall thoughts on 2012, honourable mentions, etc., is here:
Proceed to Memory: My favourite releases of 2012 - Rate Your Music
I also thought I'd steal the following categories from iYup and Joey, though with the omission of the cover art categories since I just don't care about that sort of thing.
Best EP: Voltaire Twins – Apollo
Worst Album: Pumice – Puny
Most Average Album: The Big Pink – Future This
Most Disappointing Album: Anathema – Weather Systems
Most Overhyped Album: Tame Impala – Lonerism or Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, MAAD City
Most Unfairly Neglected Album: Pinback – Information Retrieved (seriously, it’s like the entire indie world just failed to notice one of the best indie rock bands ever released a new album; I’ve seen practically nobody mention it anywhere, positively or negatively)
Most Pleasant Surprise: Bailter Space – Strobosphere (both that Bailter Space suddenly resurfaced and that it didn’t suck)
Album People Loved at First and Then Completely Forgot About: Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife
Best Thing from Last Year that I Only Heard This Year: Voltaire Twins – Romulus EP
Best Thing from Ages Ago that I Only Heard This Year: Medicine – Shot Forth Self Living (1992, and it’s the only 5 star I gave on RYM this year apart from the new Alcest album)
Best Album Title: Indian Handcrafts – Civil Disobedience for Losers
Worst Album Title: Alpine – A Is For Alpine (or that stupid longwinded Fiona Apple title)