No. 1
Aesop Rock -
Skelethon
Where to start? The guy is my favourite MC of all time, he released my favourite album of all time (
Labor Days) and is the artist I have listened to more than any other (1,606 plays on last.fm) - yet he still doesn't cease to amaze me. I love the direction he took with this project, deciding to handle all of the production himself. It feels a lot more rock/electronic rooted than previous works, and I think he incorporates this really well with the lyrical themes and rhyming style.
My favourite song on the album has too be "Zero Dark Thirty" - which probably goes down as my favourite
Ace track ever at this point - and I think it absolutely displays everything good about this album. Great production, cryptic lyrics, awesome hook and that feeling of total control. There's not a lot that I would change about most of these tracks, but very rare do you listen to a song that is absolutely perfect.
Man, this album. Pete said it somewhere that maybe it won't instantly rank as one of his best right now, but the nature of
Aesop's work is that it gradually penetrates your very being, so I can see ones status being elevated over the years.
There you have it, my list. To see the rest follow this link...
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/TomCla..._best_of_2012_