

It's getting harder and harder to discern what actually constitutes a single, however. In this digital age, it's still pretty easy to know what constitutes a full-length album, so compiling a list of 20 records isn't all that hard you may change your mind after you've published your list - and I already have - but you know that each one of your selections is a full album. Our editors love music from both extremes and each individual list captures the personality of our editors, showcasing what music they loved best in 2012. This may mean you'll discover something challenging and experimental this may mean that you'll be surprised that somebody likes the entirety of the Carly Rae Jepsen album.

Some of these albums you may already know well - as a staff, we've also been taken with Frank Ocean, Fiona Apple, and Kendrick Lamar, just like so many other critics, bloggers, and music lovers - but some of the other selections may surprise you. And here they are, the personal lists of 19 of our editors, all picking and ranking the music they liked best this year. Like any other collection of music lovers, the editors of AllMusic can't help but succumb to the temptation of shepherding their favorite albums and songs of 2012 into a list.
