2012 Album of the Year: #1. Frank Ocean: Channel Orange

Frank Ocean's Channel Orange is the cream of the crop, the best of the best of 2012.  Maybe it's an obvious choice--Ocean has been all over the place this past year, from coming out of the closet via internet, to releasing his new album shortly afterward, to being seen on Saturday Night Live, among other places.  The album doesn't always hit on all cylinders, there are stronger songs than others, but the album flows so well.  The lesser songs tie into the stronger songs so they need to be a part of Channel Orange, making it all work.  I definitely feel the influence of Prince on songs like "Forrest Gump" and "Bad Religion", I feel the influence of D'Angelo on tracks like "Sweet Life" , and I even sense some of the electronic experimentation of Radiohead and Flying Lotus on songs like "Pyramids".  Frank Ocean is the real deal.  I'm very interested to observe the growth of his career in the future for this young artist, as he released a gem of an album in Channel Orange, my pick for album of the year in 2012.