Welp:
2012
11.
Lotus Plaza -
Spooky Action At A Distance
10.
Cloud Nothings -
Attack on Memory
09.
Beach House -
Bloom
08.
Japandroids -
Celebration Rock
07.
The Shins -
Port of Morrow
06.
Lana Del Rey -
Born to Die
05.
Deftones -
Koi No Yokan
04.
Crystal Castles -
(III)
03.
Fiona Apple -
The Idler Wheel blah blah blah blah
02.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor -
A!DB!A
01.
Swans -
The Seer
Underdog of the year goes to Crystal Castles. An album I initially disregarded as trash quickly grew on me to become one of my favorites of the year.
EDIT:
I also have a list of the best singles of 2012 with commentary here:
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Chardizzle/the_best_singles_of_2012
17. Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
16. M83 - Steve McQueen
15. Dinosaur Jr. - Watch the Corners
14. Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless
13. Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
12. Santigold - Disparate Youth
11.Purity Ring - Fineshrine
10. Fiona Apple - Every Single Night
09. Beach House - Myth
08. Sky Ferreira - Everything Is Embarassing
07. Blur - Under the Westway
06. Swans - Mother of the World
05. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
04. Crystal Castles - Affection
03. The Shins - Simple Song
02. Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness
01. Guided By Voices - White Flag