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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

(HAMILTON, NJ) -- Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) and Third Way Cultural Alliance announce a special evening celebrating the power of creative freedom through music, art and conversation. "Creative Freedom: A Salon Experience featuring Marshall Allen, Salvador Jiménez-Flores and Jamaaladeen Tacuma," will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.

bergenPAC presents Swingtime Big Band on Saturday

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- New York's high-powered Swingtime Big Band returns to Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Saturday, July 18, 2026 to celebrate America250 by showcasing the popular music that kept Americans dancing for decades—from the Lindy and Fox Trot to the Cha Cha to the Twist! Showtime is 8:00pm.
DePue Brothers Band to Bring "Grassical" Music to Sewell

DePue Brothers Band to Bring "Grassical" Music to Sewell

(SEWELL, NJ) -- Music at Bunker Hill welcomes the DePue Brothers Band on Sunday, July 19, 2026 at 3:00pm. In a departure from the series' customary chamber music fare, the DePue Brothers Band has long coined their music with the term "grassical," the combination of bluegrass with jazz, blues, rock, folk, and classical.
Albert Music Hall

Albert Music Hall's "Back to Our Roots" Benefit on Sunday to Support Preservation of Pinelands Music History

(WARETOWN, NJ) -- Albert Music Hall will present Back to Our Roots, a special fundraising concert on Sunday, July 19, 2026, inviting music lovers to enjoy an afternoon of live performances while helping preserve an important piece of New Jersey's musical heritage.

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Heather Maloney & Hayley Reardon on Sunday

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Heather Maloney & Hayley Reardon on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 7:30pm.
New Jersey Symphony to Make Rowan

New Jersey Symphony to Make Rowan's Marie Rader Series Debut with "Life & Liberty" on July 22nd

(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- The Marie Rader Series will launch its 2026-27 season, entitled "Life & Liberty," with the New Jersey Symphony's Rowan University debut. On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players featuring Rowan University Strings Faculty & Alumni will perform at Pfleeger Concert Hall. Showtime is 7:00pm.
The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Blues For Greeny and the music of Peter Green

The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Blues For Greeny and the music of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Blues For Greeny - The Music of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Dude Cervantes & The Panchos will open the night. Doors are at 7:00pm, music starts at 7:30pm.
Shinedown to Play Shows in Newark and Philly in July

Shinedown to Play Shows in Newark and Philly in July

(NEWARK, NJ) -- One of the biggest bands in the world, Shinedown, will be releasing their brand new studio album EI8HT on May 29, 2026 (via Atlantic Records) and released the new song "Outlaw." In addition, they announced their massive Dance Kid Dance Act II World Tour, taking the band to 11 countries across 54 dates, including local stops at Prudential Center in Newark on Tuesday, July 21st and Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 23rd.

Middletown Arts Center presents Reina Williams + The Remedy

(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The Middletown Arts Center presents a concert featuring Reina Williams + The Remedy on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Special guest performers Renee Maskin and Patrick Bamburak will open the show. Enjoy an evening of original music spanning reggae, hip-hop, soul, folk, Americana, and indie rock from some of New Jersey's most talented musicians. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Harmonium Choral Society presents "I Dreamed Last Night" on July 23rd

Harmonium Choral Society presents "I Dreamed Last Night" on July 23rd

(MADISON, NJ) -- On Thursday, July 23, 2026, Harmonium Choral Society presents I Dreamed Last Night. Directed by Lennie Watts with music direction by John Fischer, I Dreamed Last Night is a one woman show with Gloria Bangiola. There are songs and stories about dreams, hopes, wishes, ambitions, fantasies, nightmares, impossibilities and that big ol' American one we are all still working to make real. Showtime is 7:00pm.

 

FEATURED EVENTS


Streetlife Serenade - “The Billy Joel Experience”

Saturday, July 18, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


The Wag's Beatles Spectacular

Saturday, July 18, 2026 @ 7:30pm
The Vogel
Red Bank, NJ


Heather Maloney & Hayley Reardon

Sunday, July 19, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


Blues For Greeny The Music of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

Wednesday, July 22, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


Reina Williams and The Remedy, Patrick Bamburak, and Renee Masking

Thursday, July 23, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
Middletown, NJ



 

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