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Top Songs Of 2012 -- a music playlist for you

By Gary Wien

originally published: 12/31/2012


It's that time of the year again when music journalists and critics praise their favorite songs and albums of the year. Personally, I simply can't rank the songs of the year, I prefer to put them together for a true music playlist. Thus, the songs listed here aren't in any particular order other than I liked the way they flowed together. I love all of these tunes and I hope you get the chance to check out these great artists. The full mix comes out to about 3 hours and will be aired on ThePenguinRocks.com several times in January.

Top Songs of 2012 Playlist

Justin Townes Earle - Am I That Lonely Tonight?
Smalltown Poets - Charlie Brown's Lament
Keith Monacchio - Coffee House
Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees - Death of New York
Kate Earl - One Woman Army
The Deadfields - Till the Next Time
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
The Decemberists - One Engine - The Decemberists
Tony Tedesco & Full Fathom 5 - Virginia
The Stamps - The Continuing Story of How I Learned to Smoke With My Left Hand
Imagine Dragons - It's Time
George Wirth - Righteous Man
Bob Burger - Piano At The Bottom
The Dirty Panties - Pretty In Pink
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
JD McPherson - North Side Gal
Arlan Feiles - Tomorrow's Gonna Be A Better Day
James Deely - Last Ride
Stellar Corpses - Dead Stars Drive In
Lo Kloza - Hot Air Balloon
Ryan Culwell - Walking Away
John K. Samson - When I Write My Master's Thesis
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
fun. - We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)
Val Emmich - Audience
Neon Trees - Everybody Talks
Metric - Youth Without Youth
Here & Sea - My Estella Stone
Scott Miller and Rayna Gellert - Someday Sometime
The Gaslight Anthem - "45"
Anthony D'Amato - On the Banks of the River Where I Died
The Avett Brothers - Live And Die
Radio Drive - Rising
Red Wanting Blue - Audition
John Eddie - Just A Song
Playmaker - Helicopter
Zak Smith - Brand New Party
Kyle Adem - Sunlight & The Sea
The Killers - Runaways
Kevin John Allen (with Jerzy Jung) - The Big Goodbye!
Moon Motel - Blanket
Mike June - The Lucky One
Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
Elevator Art - Tent City
The Shins - Simple Song
Bruce Springsteen - Land of Hope and Dreams


Listen to great tunes like these every day on The Penguin



Gary Wien is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist. He currently writes for NewJerseyStage.com and Jersey Arts, and serves as Program Director for ThePenguinRocks.com, an online radio station spinning indie rock and roll.




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About the author:

Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].


EVENT PREVIEWS

(CARTERET, NJ) -- The Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center presents John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm. The legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock band began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the "Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack".

Outpost in the Burbs Presents Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips in Benefit Concert for Toni's Kitchen on November 21st

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs will present an extraordinary evening of music featuring singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at the First Congregational Church in Montclair. The special concert will serve as a fundraiser in support of Toni's Kitchen, the Montclair based nonprofit dedicated to combating food insecurity and related challenges in Essex County and beyond. Showtime is 8:00pm.

 

FEATURED EVENTS


Shemekia Copeland with special guest Peter Karp

Thursday, November 05, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


Choir! Choir! Choir! Hallelujah”: An EPIC Anthems Sing-Along!

Friday, November 06, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Outpost In The Burbs
Montclair, NJ


Art Garfunkel: What a Wonderful World Celebration Concerts

Friday, November 06, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Morristown, NJ


Always Jovi with special guest, Shot of Poison

Friday, November 06, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
Carteret, NJ


Margarita Rovenskaya, piano

Friday, November 06, 2026 @ 2:00pm
Grunin Center - Bösendorfer Recital Room
Toms River, NJ



 

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