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Listener Picks: Your Favorite Albums Of 2012

NPR listeners picked Mumford And Sons' <em>Babel</em> as their favorite record for 2012.
Courtesy of the artist
NPR listeners picked Mumford And Sons' Babel as their favorite record for 2012.

We're a big family at NPR, with amazing member stations and listeners tuning in or clicking from all over the world. Last week, when All Songs Considered posted its annual poll inviting people to pick their favorite albums of 2012, thousands of votes poured in from those listeners with sometimes surprising results.

Babel, by Mumford & Sons, is the listener pick for the 2012 album of the year. It didn't come out until this fall, but managed to climb quickly as the favorite, at least among those who voted in our year-end poll. It's followed closely by Of Monsters And Men, Alabama Shakes, Jack White and Grizzly Bear in the top five.

As you work your way through the rest of the most popular records you'll probably see a lot that you love, and you'll also likely find some that leave you scratching your head. That's the beauty of what happens when you have a large and wonderfully diverse group of voters with a broad range of tastes.

On this week's All Songs Considered we countdown through the top 25 most popular records from our listener poll.

You can see the top 100 albums at the bottom of the page and download a pdf of the full list.

The Top 100 Listener Picks:

  • Mumford & Sons, Babel
  • Of Monsters And Men, My Head Is An Animal
  • Alabama Shakes, Boys And Girls
  • Jack White, Blunderbuss
  • Grizzly Bear, Shields
  • The Lumineers, The Lumineers
  • Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
  • Beach House, Bloom
  • The xx, Coexist
  • Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel...
  • fun., Some Nights
  • The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
  • Japandroids, Celebration Rock
  • Regina Spektor, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
  • Passion Pit, Gossamer
  • Andrew Bird, Break It Yourself
  • Cat Power, Sun
  • The Shins, Port Of Morrow
  • First Aid Kit, The Lion's Roar
  • Tame Impala, Lonerism
  • The Tallest Man On Earth, There's No Leaving Now
  • Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan
  • Alt-J, An Awesome Wave
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
  • Kendrick Lamar, good kid, M.A.A.D. city
  • Gotye, Making Mirrors
  • Grimes, Visions
  • Lana Del Rey, Born To Die
  • Kishi Bashi, 151a
  • David Byrne & St. Vincent, Love This Giant
  • Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
  • Sigur Ros, Valtari
  • Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas
  • Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
  • Father John Misty, Fear Fun
  • Amanda Palmer, Theatre Is Evil
  • Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Here
  • Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts
  • Purity Ring, Shrines
  • Bob Dylan, Tempest
  • The Mountain Goats, Transcendental Youth
  • Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill
  • Best Coast, The Only Place
  • Santigold, Master Of My Make-Believe
  • The Walkmen, Heaven
  • Sleigh Bells, Reign Of Terror
  • Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory
  • Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man
  • Band Of Horses, Mirage Rock
  • M. Ward, A Wasteland Companion
  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
  • Gary Clark, Jr. Blak & Blu
  • Flying Lotus, Until The Quiet Comes
  • Lord Huron, Lonesome Dreams
  • Yeasayer, Fragrant World
  • Now, Now, Threads
  • Animal Collective, Centipede Hz
  • Hot Chip, In Our Heads
  • Django Django, Django Django
  • Glen Hansard, Rhythm And Repose
  • Ellie Goulding, Halcyon
  • Dr. John, Locked Down
  • Kimbra, Vows
  • Rufus Wainwright, Out Of The Game
  • Taylor Swift, Red
  • Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
  • Patrick Watson, Adventures In Your Own Backyard
  • Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Americana
  • Pink, The Truth About Love
  • Aimee Mann, Charmer
  • Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream
  • Dinosaur Jr, I Bet On Sky
  • Wild Nothing, Nocturne
  • Spiritualized, Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
  • Shovels & Rope, O' Be Joyful
  • Chromatics, Kill For Love
  • Stars, The North
  • Calexico, Algiers
  • Dan Deacon, America
  • Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur
  • Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man In The Universe
  • Titus Andronicus, Local Business
  • Death Grips, The Money Store
  • The Magnetic Fields, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea
  • Shearwater, Animal Joy
  • Twin Shadow, Confess
  • Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music
  • Heartless Bastards, Arrow
  • Esperanza Spalding, Radio Music Society
  • Swans, The Seer
  • Benjamin Gibbard, Former Lives
  • Rodrigo y Gabriela, Area 52
  • Lost In The Trees, A Church That Fits Our Needs
  • Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
  • Perfume Genius, Put Your Back N 2 It
  • Nas, Life Is Good
  • Ty Segall, Twins
  • DIIV, Oshin
  • Patti Smith, Banga
  • Dum Dum Girls, End Of Daze EP
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    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
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