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1. Death Grips – The Money Store

No album in 2012 impressed me more, or struck me as more forward-thinking, than Death Grips major label debut (and probable finale), The Money Store. Through aggressive rapping, super-tight drumming, and a dizzying array of samples taken mostly from YouTube videos, Death Grips has turned in an album that is simultaneously abrasive and catchy. Believe me, for as much as this album tries to put people off with its extreme sounds, it’s also one of THE catchiest albums of the year. Every track on this album makes me pump my fist and nod my head. Every track is this blend of searing complexity with hooks that never let your mind go. When L.A. Reid, music industry titan, signed Death Grips to Epic, he did so because – this is a true story – he thought Death Grips hit people in an emotional register that only Whitney Houston had hit people before. The comment seems absurd on its face, especially coming off of Death Grips’ 2011 album, ExMilitary which was cold and distant and aggressive. But I see what he means now. No other album makes me feel as good about, shit, about the state of music, of art itself, than this album. I don’t even think much when I listen to this album; I just feel good. I could spend some time dissecting the lyrics on this album, or I could spend time telling you what the samples sound like (the choppy vocal sample on “System Blower” for example is just audio of Serena Williams serving a tennis ball). But it’d be better if you just trusted me and listened to this album in full. This album is remarkably ahead of its time; musicians are going to scramble to in the next few years to catch up to it. This is basically a 10/10 album and, dare I say it, should go down as one of the greatest albums of the 21st century. I can’t say enough hyperbolic things about The Money Store. It’s the best album since 2010’s combo of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Agalloch’s Marrow of the Spirit. No album since has demonstrated such utter mastery of its forms and such aptitude to take their genres to new, un-thought-of heights. Get this album immediately, and let it soak in. Spend some time with it. Hopefully you find it as rewarding as I do. I want everyone to love an album, any album, as much as I love The Money Store.