The 2012-13 Grampies

It's been two years since I posted a listing of my favorite albums, so these Grampies cover both 2012 and 2013 together.  I went cold-turkey on following music for quite awhile, actually, but have my friend and colleague, the Reverend Erich Fickel, to thank for putting the bug back into my ear, so to speak.  Along with that, the fact that my five oldest children all enjoy listening to music, and the awesomeness of Spotify, which makes it so easy to enjoy good music, encouraged me to begin listening more carefully and paying attention again.  My tastes still cover a gamut of genres and styles, and, frankly, I find it difficult sometimes to know where to draw the lines, or whether drawing lines even makes much sense.  In my own way of thinking, the category or "genre" of "Alternative" is actually defined by that very ambiguity, which blurs the lines between country, folk, pop, rock, blues, rap, and soul, and who knows what else.  I enjoy that diversity of sound.

So, anyway, over the past month or so, I've been considering contenders and compiling a list of my favorite albums from 2012 and 2013.  I opted to include sixteen (16) albums in each category: 4 x 4 in honor of my four babies grand (Sarena, Emma, Jude, and Cherianne).  In the case of my overall favorites, I did make an effort to keep it fairly balanced between the two years, but, otherwise, I didn't make any distinction between 2012 and 2013 as I was revisiting my enjoyment of the albums.  It's interesting, in retrospect, to see how that all shook itself out within each of the categories: Country, Pop Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Hard Rock & Metal, Ambiguous Alternatives, and Guitarists.  Sharp observers will discover that a handful of artists managed to land multiple spots across the landscape.  I realize that others may quibble with my classifications, even as I wrestled and debated within myself in many of these cases.  That's part of the fun.

Well, then, without any further ado: In honor of my babies grand. . . .


The 2012-13 Grampies

1. Train - California 37 (2012)

2. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)

3. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)

4. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)

5. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)

6. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)

7. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)

8. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)

9. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)

10. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)

11. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)

12. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)

13. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)

14. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)

15. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)

16. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)


Country

1. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)

2. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)

3. Thompson Square - Just Feels Good (2013)

4. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)

5. Chris Young - A.M. (2013)

6. Lady Antebellum - Golden (2013)

7. Darius Rucker - True Believers (2013)

8. Blake Shelton - Based on a True Story (2013)

9. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)

10. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away (2012)

11. Bucky Covington - Good Guys (2012)

12. Easton Corbin - All Over the Road (2012)

13. Zac Brown Band - Uncaged (2012)

14. The Band Perry - Pioneer (2013)

15. Chris Cagle - Back in the Saddle (2012)

16. Tracy Lawrence - Headlights, Taillights and Radios (2013)


Pop Rock

1. Train - California 37 (2012)

2. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)

3. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)

4. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)

5. Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest (2013)

6. Jason Mraz - Love Is a Four Letter Word (2012)

7. Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again (2012)

8. Five for Fighting - Bookmarks (2013)

9. Parachute - Overnight (2013)

10. Taylor Swift - Red (2012)

11. John Mayer - Born and Raised (2012)

12. Elton John - The Diving Board (2013)

13. Boys Like Girls - Crazy World (2012)

14. Courtney Jaye - Love and Forgiveness (2013)

15. Crystal Bowersox - All That for This (2013)

16. Barenaked Ladies - Grinning Streak (2013)


Rock ‘n’ Roll

1. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)

2. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)

3. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (2012)

4. Black Country Communion - Afterglow (2012)

5. Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (2013)

6. The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs (2013)

7. Place Vendome - Thunder in the Distance (2013)

8. Fergie Frederiksen - Any Given Moment (2013)

9. Shakra - Powerplay (2013)

10. Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull (2013)

11. Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

12. Kid Rock - Rebel Soul (2012)

13. W.E.T. - Rise Up (2013)

14. Ten - Heresy and Creed (2012)

15. Pink Cream 69 - Ceremonial (2013)

16. Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)


Hard Rock & Metal

1. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)

2. Amaranthe - The Nexus (2013)

3. Dream Theater - Dream Theater (2013)

4. Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land (2012)

5. Primal Fear - Unbreakable (2012)

6. Coldspell - Frozen Paradise (2013)

7. Dragonforce - The Power Within (2012)

8. Voodoo Circle - More Than One Way Home (2013)

9. James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance (2013)

10. Blessed by a Broken Heart - Feel the Power (2012)

11. Eden’s Curse - Symphony of Sin (2013)

12. Pretty Maids - Motherland (2013)

13. Trivium - Vengeance Falls (2013)

14. Love.Might.Kill - 2 Big 2 Fail (2012)

15. Megadeth - Super Collider (2013)

16. Black Sabbath - 13 (2013)


Ambiguous Alternatives: What You Hear Is What You Get

1. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)

2. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)

3. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)

4. Mumford & Sons - Babel (2012)

5. The Goo Goo Dolls - Magnetic (2013)

6. Redlight King - Irons in the Fire (2013)

7. SafetySuit - These Times (2012)

8. The Fray - Scars & Stories (2012)

9. Dawes - Stories Don’t End (2013)

10. Reckless Kelly - Long Night Moon (2013)

11. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods (2012)

12. Matt Nathanson - Last of the Great Pretenders (2013)

13. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - The Lion The Beast The Beat (2012)

14. The Lumineers - The Lumineers (2012)

15. Randy Rogers Band - Trouble (2013)

16. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter (2012)


Guitarists

1. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)

2. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)

3. Joe Robinson - Let Me Introduce You (2012)

4. Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum (2013)

5. John 5 - God Told Me To (2012)

6. John Mayer - Paradise Valley (2013)

7. Keith Urban - Fuse (2013)

8. Tremonti - All I Was (2012)

9. Jeff Loomis - Plains of Oblivion (2012)

10. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Made Up Mind (2013)

11. Orianthi - Heaven in This Hell (2013)

12. Paul Gilbert - Vibrato (2012)

13. Steve Lukather - Transition (2013)

14. Steve Vai - The Story of Light (2013)

15. Brad Paisley - Wheelhouse (2013)

16. Jack White - Blunderbuss (2012)