Today and next Monday I’ll be posting the ‘Best of 2012’, with all the best songs and albums from this past year. Some of the songs are popular, some are from artists you may never have heard of, but they are all awesome (in my humble opinion).

Please feel free to leave your ‘Best of’ in the comments section – I’m all ears for new music!!

Best of 2012 Mix – Part 1

1. THIS HEAD I HOLD, Electric Guest
2. BENCHWARMERS, Finn Riggins
3. TAKE A WALK, Passion Pit
4. TALL BUILDINGS, Diagrams
5. ONLY YOU, Among Savages
6. ORIGINS, Tennis
7. FEVER, Maps & Atlases
8. THE VICTORIANS ARE HERE , Secret Love Parade
9. LITTLE TALKS, Of Monsters and Men
10. TRUE ROMANCE, Citizens!
11. STUBBORN LOVE, The Lumineers
12. LOST IN THE LIGHT, Bahamas
13. CLOSER THAN THIS, St. Lucia
14. ELEPHANT, Tame Impala
15. SOME NIGHTS, Fun.

Nothing gets me to work longer and better than great, upbeat music. Here are the HCS Top 5 Albums from 2012 for working in the studio:

THE WANDERINGS OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE MIND, Among Savages
{Melodic and haunting while still being danceable and upbeat: ‘Terrified’ & ‘Cold Wind’ are great tracks in addition to the popular ‘New York City’.}

MY HEAD IS AN ANIMAL, Of Monsters and Men
{It’s the purely upbeat album we all wish Bjork would make. Aside from the fairly ubiquitous ‘Little Talks’, ‘Mountain Sound’ and ‘Lakehouse’ are awesome.}

SOME NIGHTS, Fun.
{I know, Fun. is everywhere, but that doesn’t make it any less good. There, I said it.}

GENERALS, The Mynabirds
{Primal, invigorating and toe-tapping, I dare you not to dance around listening to it. The title track and ‘Body of Work’ are standouts.}

THE LOOKING AWAY, Animal Kingdom
{A good flow of poppy synth goodness, listen from beginning to end and thank me later.}

and……..Happy Holidays from Chad & I – it’s been a busy year for us!!

The beautiful photo from our engagement session above at The Griffith Observatory is courtesy of Meghan Christine Photography.