(Bauer Griffin | Getty Images | Illustration by Zimbio)
From artists whose work rightfully resonated with millions to those who remain independent gems, these were the brightest moments in music in the past year. Be sure to check out the full list through the links below.
10. Muse: The 2nd LawThe 2nd Law could have easily become a complete disaster. When beloved British rockers Muse unveiled "Survival," the album's lead single and the official song of the London Olympic Games, some longtime fans feared the band had finally gone too far, with a bombastic arrangement that verged on self-parody. But in the context of the album, the song reflects a playfulness that's actually quite refreshing for a band often accused of hiding behind the same onslaught of sound over and over again. Despite the orchestral arrangements and the gothic backing choir, Muse doesn't take itself as seriously as you might think.
Though
Spin's Justin F. Farrar rudely dismissed the band as one "too devoted to a micro-managed version of Thom Yorke's dystopian despair," it actually sounds like the English trio had a rollicking good time putting
The 2nd Law together. It is, as another reviewer noted, the sonic equivalent of a blockbuster, intended to be enjoyed without pretense or preoccupation. There are funky '80s pop moments — the saxophones on "Panic Station," for example — packed in with surprisingly understated boner jams ("Madness"). It's by no means perfect, but so very entertaining. Consider it a popcorn album.
Choice track: "Madness"
9. Pink: The Truth About LoveIt's hard to believe consistent hitmaker
Pink hadn't scored a Number 1 album in the United States until this year, but at least she achieved that feat with a truly worthy album. While it's clear that much of
The Truth About Love, Pink's first release since giving birth to her daughter Willow in 2011, was written with Top 40 radio in mind, it's a league apart from other pop diva efforts because the whole thing sounds distinctly Pink — and not just because of all the swear words.
Pink co-wrote each and every track on the album, from the thumping party anthem "Here Comes the Weekend" to "True Love," which saves itself from being too saccharine with its opening line: "Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say." Pink's always confident voice sounds more brazen and beautiful than ever this time around, wrenching emotion out of each and every syllable without ever veering into melodrama.
Choice track: "Try"
8. Miguel: Kaleidoscope DreamMiguel had one of the most interesting radio hits of the last year with "Sure Thing," a song he co-wrote years ago with his then-preteen brother, but he's still flying just under the radar. This is partly because his latest effort,
Kaleidoscope Dream, is so wildly different from his 2010 Jive Records release
All I Want Is You that he almost sounds like a different artist. Chalk it up to having more control: Miguel wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, and produced and edited most of them, too.
"Being new to the industry, I think I let people who had experience guide me," Miguel explained to
LA Weekly earlier this year of his debut. "And after that learning experience, I came to the conclusion that you always have to go with your gut." His instincts led him to create something that's impressively intimate and elegant at once, an album that may not find a home on the radio but promises real warmth in the sadly sterile world of modern R&B.
Choice track: "Adorn"
7. Mumford & Sons: BabelCritics were divided on the sophomore effort from Londoners Mumford & Sons, who ushered in a painfully earnest folk-rock wave a few years back with
Sigh No More. Most reviewers took issue with how faithful the band remains to its own formula: Anthemic, singalong songs that swell and ebb and swell, with abstract lyrics and love and light, peace and hope, etcetera. Others were frustrated at the frequency with which Marcus Mumford gets Biblical (raised by the national directors of the Vineyard Church of the UK, he can't really help it).
However flawed,
Babel was still the breakaway album of 2012. It did not need a Pitchfork review to break Justin Bieber's first-week sales record for the year, nor to become the fastest-selling album of 2012 in the UK. The band has tapped into something that people really want — something accessible that at least claims to be honest, a respite from the smoke and mirrors of the Top 40 pop world. And for what it's worth,
Babel is an improvement on
Sigh No More in terms of its production, even if it occasionally feels like its shinier extension.
Choice track: "Whispers In the Dark"
6. Taylor Swift: RedTaylor Swift's approach to lyric writing is exactly opposite Marcus Mumford's: She achieves a striking resonance with her following by honing in on very specific details and images, like the sight of an ex-boyfriend's dorky childhood photos. Swift's songs are unrepentantly confessional and never too cool — she's like a wise big sister to her younger fans and a relateable echo of youth to their mothers. It's really no wonder that she's already sold almost 3 million copies in the weeks since its release.
Swift knows she has a lot of people to please, and somehow manages to play to all of them with surprising consistency on
Red. While there has been some mild backlash from the country community over the sheer poppiness of the album, Swift still nods to her country sensibilities from time to time, as with the gorgeous title track. She even manages to dabble with dubstep with some degree of grace (see: "I Knew You Were Trouble"), although ultimately she probably needn't have bothered — her career will far outlast that trend.
Choice track: "All Too Well" 
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