Â
Looking back at past playlists from 2012, here are, in my opinion, the best albums and songs of the year. Keep in mind, much of this music was released in late 2011, but became popular and took over the charts in 2012. As you can see, Rihanna created two incredible albums, YMCMB battled it out with Jay-Z and Kanye in the hip-hop/rap genre, and rising artists like Ed Sheeran and Frank Ocean made a big splash in the music scene. Although these choices may not completely align with the chart-toppers of 2012, they certainly took over my music library this past year. Â Â
Â
Best Albums of 2012
Best Pop Albums
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Rihanna- Talk That Talk
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Rihanna- Unapologetic
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Demi Lovato- Unbroken
Best Hip-Hop/Rap Albums
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Drake- Take Care
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch The Throne
Best R&B/Soul Albums
–      BeyoncĂ©- 4
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Frank Ocean- Channel Orange
Best Dance Albums
–Â Â Â Â Â Â David Guetta- Nothing But The Beat
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Calvin Harris- 18 Months
Best Alternative Albums
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Florence + The Machine- Ceremonials
–Â Â Â Â Â Â The Black Keys- El Camino
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto
Best Rock/Singer/Songwriter Albums
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Gavin DeGraw- Sweeter
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Ed Sheeran- +
[pagebreak]
Best Singles of 2012
1.    Rihanna- “Diamonds”
2.    fun. ft. Janelle Monae- “We Are Young”
3.    Coldplay- “Paradise”
4.    Drake ft. Lil Wayne- “The Motto”
5.    Katy Perry- “Part of Me”
6.    Alex Clare- “Too Close”
7.    The Lumineers- “Ho Hey”
8.    J. Cole- “Work Out”
9.    Rihanna- “We Found Love”
10. Jay-Z & Kanye West- “N***** in Paris”
11. Gotye ft. Kimbra- “Somebody That I Used To Know”
12. Nicki Minaj- “Starships”
13. Justin Bieber- “As Long As You Love Me”
14. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera- “Moves Like Jagger”
15. Gavin DeGraw- “Not Over You”
16. Frank Ocean- “Thinking About You”
17. Demi Lovato- “Give Your Heart A Break”
18. A$AP Rocky ft. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar- “F***in’ Problems”
19. Flo Rida- “Good Feeling”
20. B.o.B. ft. Lil Wayne- “Strange Clouds”
21. Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa- “Payphone”
22. Calvin Harris- “Feel So Close”
23. Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T, & 2 Chainz- “Mercy”
24. Beyoncé- “Countdown”
25. Ed Sheeran- “The A Team”
26. M83- “Midnight City”
27. Frank Ocean- “Swim Good”
28. Adele- “Set Fire To The Rain”
29. Kanye West, Big Sean, & Jay-Z- “Clique”
30. Bruno Mars- “Locked Out of Heaven”
31. Coldplay ft. Rihanna- “Princess of China”
32. Tyga- “Rack City”
33. Christina Aguilera- “Your Body”
34. Drake- “Marvin’s Room”
35. Ke$ha- “Die Young”
Â
Â
Â