4th ANNUAL AMAZY MUSIC AWARDS: TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2012

I can't believe it's been four years since I started doing my little blog. What a fun time it's been and what fun I've had sharing my musings with all the little people in the world. Music has always been very, very important to me. Growing up it was my only escape out of my little Texas town into the life that I knew I wanted one day. Pop culture and music are my jam, y'all!!! Now, onward with my faves of 2012. It hasn't been a stellar year in albums, as far as I'm concerned, but when it was good, it was really good. These are the albums that caught and kept my attention this year from 10 to 1.  I tried to give my reasons, as best I could, why these albums made it to the top of my worlds this year. I hope they are well stated. Read it. My list, as usual, is pretty heavy with ladies, but it's an eclectic group of ladies at least! Right? I guess. Hope you enjoyed some of them too. If you didn't I guess you have a lot to learn about music, so pay attention. ;)

10. A Million Lights - Cheryl Cole. The British babe kicked it back up a notch from her 2010 effort Messy Little Raindrops and delivered an album full of potenial (yet inexplicabley unreleased) hits. Her voice seemed to improve, her choice of songs VASTLY imporoved and she even delivered one song, Mechanics of the Heart, that will be on my playlist for years to come. Release that song! Give us the happy ending we need, Cheryl! The first single, Call My Name, was the fastest selling UK single of 2012. Not too bad, Cheryl. Under the Sun, the title track and the Lana Del Rey penned Ghetto Baby were all standout tracks on the A Million Lights. Cole is currently back with Girls Aloud (who you might hear about later on in the month on this blog) touring, but hopefully we'll get another great album next year. Keep 'em coming, chippy!

9. The Truth About Love - Pink. Kicking off with a #1 song in Blow Me (One Last Kiss) and becoming Pink's first album to hit #1 in the US, The Truth About Love is definitely one of the most charasmatic, entertaining, balls-to-the-wall albums of the year. Pink hasn't always been an album artist to me (with the exception of the spectacular Missundaztood) but The Truth About Love is chock full of catchy hooks and great lyrics that keep you listening from start to finish. The remarkable Try, with its absolutely stunning video, and the fun True Love (ft. Lily Rose Cooper) are classic pop songs and sure to be staples of her shows from now on. Pink is back and she is more bad-ass and better than ever.

8. Halcyon - Ellie Goulding. It took about a year for her first US single Lights to reach the top 10, but Ellie Goulding didn't wanna wait to release new music. Halcyon is spirited, dark, moody, weird and wonderful. Her angelic voice, which I could easily mistake for Dolly Parton in its upper register, is glorious on the single Anything Could Happen, the album highlight Only You, and pretty much any other song you happen to drop into on this record. She's not afraid to sound different from what's on the radio these days, and it pays off. Halcyon deserves a lot of praise and hopefully a lot of sales too. Here's to the next Annie Lennox!

7. Dedicated - Wilson Phillips. Some things just get better with age. This is proven in two ways on the excellent album Dedicated by Wilson Phillips. Chynna, Wendy and Carnie, those singing starlets of the early 90s, are getting better and the songs of their parents, The Mamas & The Papas and The Beach Boys, are aging better than Sharon Stone.... AND THAT IS SOME FINE AGING THERE, GURL!! Stunning harmonies, great arrangements and that wonderful sound they make when they sing together blend for a magical bit of nostalgia and glee. Their acapella take on Good Vibrations alone is enough to make you buy this record, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Don't EVEN get me started on God Only Knows. Just don't. The ol' gals still got it.

6. True EP - Solange. I love surprises!! When I saw that Solange, Beyonce's little sister, had a new EP coming out I really thought nothing of it. Then I saw the video for Losing You, the first single. I loved the video but was OBSESSED with the song. I immediately got the EP and the rest is, as they say, history. Solange mentioned she was inspired by Janet Jackson's 80s and 90s albums with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and it shows. The sweet harmonies, a la Janet's Come Back To Me or That's the Way Love Goes, abound on this seven song set. It's cooler than cool and right up there with the best of her big sister. Check out my fave track, Don't Let Me Down, if you get a chance. It's a killer! One of the smoothest sets of 2012. And watch your be-ack, Beyonce!

5. Magic Hour - Scissor Sisters. The Scissor Sisters haven't really hit the nail on the head, album-wise, since their debut in 2004. Not that they don't know how to write a tune. They are arguably some of the best purveyors of pop working. Their whole game changed this year with the amazingly poppy Magic Hour. Jake Shears and company served up some straight up, mainstream fare along with some underground club gems that had the masses dancing and even showed up on Glee! Only the Horses, Keep Your Shoes On and Let's Have a Kiki are killer dance tracks, and Inevitable and Year of Living Dangerously are hauntingly gorgeous, lush songs that will keep you swooning along to their luxurious grooves. I would say that the Sisters are revving up for a resurgence, but they did just announce they were going on a haitus. Not for too long, fellas! Let's keep it going while it's hot! Cuz we're coming over.

4. Warrior - Ke$ha. Irresistabley brash, rude and fun is the only way to sum up both Ke$ha and her sophmore album Warrior. From the clubbified opening title track to the trashy glam of Gold Trans Am, Ke$ha hits all the right notes to keep you partying. Even the most subdued songs on the album, Thinking of You and Warrior, rock in their own way. Her dutet with punk legend Iggy Pop, Dirty Love, NEEDS a video, y'all! First single, Die Young, is currently sitting at #3 on the Hot 100 behind snoozer Diamonds by Rihanna (Spoiler alert: Rihanna is not on this list) and second single C'mon is on it's way up the charts now. Here is hoping that possibly the best Ke$ha track ever, Supernatural, gets a release. Things are off to a slow start supposedly for this album, but I seee an up-tick in the future. Rock on, Ke$ha!

3. Red - Taylor Swift. Another surprise! I have never, ever (pun intended) bought a Taylor Swift album before, but the pure joy of first single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together made me a believer. Turns out, the girl can write a tune or two. Red is one of the most even, enjoyable albums of the year delivering hook after hook and is so fat with hits it's ridunculous! Taylor's many past relationships (cough...slut...cough) have given her tons of ammo for funny, thoughtful and sometimes biting lyrics. The title song is pure magic and 22 reminds us that, yes, Taylor, you are 22. Bitch. Since I am apparently the last person on the planet to jump on the Taylor Swift bandwagon I won't bore you with any more details about the album except that I love it. There. I said it. Now shut up.

2. Born to Die: Paradise Edition - Lana Del Rey. Because of, or perhaps despite, all the hype I bought Lana Del Rey's album Born to Die. I subsequently listened to it almost every day for this entire year. Born to Die and its Paradise Edition are full of smart, sassy, gorgeous songs. Has she proven herself as a performer yet? No, not really. BUT she has more than proven herself as a singer/songwriter with a unique sound and point of view, not afraid of controversy. There is simply not even one throw-away track on this entire album. The strings, the audible pout, the self-proclaimed "Gangster Nancy Sinatra" has made her mark on teh music business in a very short period of time. Now what will she do with that foot hold? That remains to be seen, but 2012 was a stellar start.

1. MDNA - Madonna. DUH! Let's face facts. Madonna was, is and will always be the Queen of Pop. Her track record speaks for itself and this, her 12th studio album, is no exception when it comes to pop perfection. Madonna worked once again with William Orbit and newcomers Martin Solveig and Benny Benassi to create some of the best dance tunes she's done since Confessions on a Dance Floor and some of her most thought provoking lyrics since Ray of Light. If only Addicted had been released as a single it would have been my favorite single of 2012 BY FAR! The album did deliver the Madonna video we have been waiting for since Vogue, Girl Gone Wild. Back was the naughty, man-eating Madge we all crave and worship. Turn Up the Radio is Madonna's brightest single since Cherish and Falling Free is her most intimate moment since Nothing Fails. Of course, there is plenty of sass to distribute, including the HBIC song with Nicki Minaj I Don't Give A and the darkest song the Queen has ever made, Gang Bang. That shit is D-A-R-K, y'all! There is not any sign of a slow down from our lady and her tour more than showed evidence of that. MDNA is as addictive as the drug it psudeo-takes its name from and that is why it's my #1 album of 2012. I have spoken.

Stay tuned for the three-part run down of the top 15 singles of 2012 coming next soon.