| Artist | Album | Title | Label | New |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jazzanova | In Between | Fade Out | Ropeadope | No |
| Frank Ocean | Channel Orange | Pink Matter (ft Andre 3000) | Def Jam | No |
| The Roots | Undun | I Remember | Def Jam | No |
| Meshell Ndgeocello | Pour une âme souveraine | Four Women | Naiive | No |
| D'Angelo | Live At Made in America | Devil's Pie/Chicken Grease | SR | No |
| David Byrne & St. Vincent | Love This Giant | Who | SR | No |
| Donald Fagen | Sunken Condos | Slinky Thing | Reprise | Yes |
| Wayne Krantz | Howie 61 | Check Yo Self | Abstract Logix | No |
| Robert Glasper Experiment | Black Radio | Afro Blue (f Erykah Badu) | Blue Note | No |
| Cody Chesnutt | Landing on a Hundred | Til I Met Thee | SR | No |
| Louis Cole and Genevieve Atardi | Think Thoughts | Paying The Price Now (f Tim Lefebvre) | SR | No |
| Samuel and the Dragon | Giles Peterson | Rising Up | No |
Best of 2012