2012--your favorite albums, what's held up, what hasn't...

[GulDukat]

I was thinking about 2012 (can't believe it was a decade ago), and what my favorite albums were, what I still listen to, etc. There are a handful of albums that come to mind.

I really liked Oceania by the Smashing Pumpkins and feel that's one of Billy Corgan's best albums. It's rooted in the classic SP sound, but takes some chances and it just a terrific body-of-work. I really liked that lineup too and felt that the album and tour were far stronger than the half-baked reunion albums that came later. Oceania Live in NYC was great too, a late career peak, imho. The Boston show for that tour was my favorite time seeing The Smashing Pumpkins.

2012 was also the year of the dinosaur, as Van Halen, Aerosmith, KISS and Rush all released (what will likely be) their final albums. I really liked Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth and am so glad that VH ended their career on such a high note with David Lee Roth. Aerosmith's Music From Another Dimension (produced by Jack Douglas) has some great material, along with some fluff. I don't remember KISS's Monster at all. I should give it another spin. I also need to listen to Clockwork Angels by Rush again.

I also really liked Blues Funeral by Mark Lanegan. I don't know why that album wasn't better reviewed.

Slash's Apocalyptic Love was a good, meat-and-potatoes rock album. While not a classic, I dig it.

ETA: How could I forget King Animal by Soundgarden!?