Jukebox Hero

I stopped listening to the radio a long time ago, but somehow I still managed to (kind of) keep abreast of the albums released in 2012. Ironically, I spent more time listening to albums from years past (like Rizzle Kicks’ Stereotypical and The Rolling Stones’ Rarities), but I still picked my 5 top albums that were released this year to share with you all.

Rock of Ages soundtrack

Okay, so it’s a movie derivative, but this soundtrack is actually surprisingly good. If you like 80s hair metal, Tom Cruise, and mashups. I spent most of the summer listening to this album on repeat, to the point where if I heard the actual Bon Jovi version of “Wanted Dead or Alive” I would do a double take. If there’s one track that I can’t get enough of is the remake of “Here I go Again” because it’s a little bit more up-tempo than the Whitesnake original and it always seems to describe my life…

Example Evolution of Man

This album is one that I’ve only gotten recently, but I’ve spent so long listening to the singles that it definitely deserves to make the list even though I don’t know all of the tracks. So far I’m still really into “We’ll be Coming Back,” but I’m confident that Example’s blend of Brit-rap (seriously it’s a genre of it’s own) and dance pop will win me over.

Tiësto Club Life vol. 2: Miami

The first volume of Club Life (Las Vegas) made the list last year, so it’s only fitting that volume 2 makes it this year, since Tiësto just keeps getting better. I’m less fond of his solo tracks this time around, but I found that the remixes were so excellent that I didn’t really care. “Can’t Stop Me” and “Somebody that I used to Know” were my top tracks from the album, since they made awesome songs even better.

Dragonette Bodyparts

My most listened to song of 2012 is by far “Let it Go,” and the rest of the album is equally as delightful. It’s still electro-pop (my main genre of music besides rock), but it’s got a more “girly” playful sound than Tiësto and Example, so I don’t feel at all bad about over-dosing you guys on dance music. Plus, who can stop from being amused by Dragonette’s crazy dancing in the “Let it Go” music video?

Green Day Uno/Dos/Tré

To round out the selection of 2012 albums I give you the latest from Green Day, a trio of albums full of sarcastic lyrics, classic punk-rock melodies, and the temptation to wear too much black eyeliner (though when is there ever too much black eyeliner)? Green Day seems to have gone back to their roots with this album, as the sound is much simpler than American Idiot or 21^st Century Breakdown and more reminiscent of the Dookie stylings. I’m loving “Oh Love” and “Sex, Drugs, & Violence.”