Here's my "top 50" for the year...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/626954/the-diary-entries-of-a-little-girl-who-is-now-30-part-2/4230#post_9006421

Along with a bunch of honorable mentions (like 50 more...).

I dunno, the numbering was actually kind of spur-of-the-moment. Wasn't like I spent days pouring over which was #35 and which was #34 for example. The exception is the top 20 which I feel pretty strongly about.

Edit: For those who can't see head-fi or don't feel like browsing it:

50. School of Seven Bells "Ghostory"
49. Carter Tutti Void "Transcerse"
48. Hooded Menace "Effigies of Evil"
47. Chairlift "Something"
46. Glacial "On Jones Beach"
45. Dirty Projectors "Swing Lo Magellan"
44. Demdike Stare "Elemental"
43. Sigh "In Somniphobia"
42. Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, and Oren Ambarchi "Imikuzushi"
41. Monolake "Ghosts"
 
40. Ty Segall "Twins"
39. Wild Nothing "Nocturne"
38. Bats for Lashes "The Haunted Man"
37. Actress "RIP"
36. Golden Void "Golden Void"
35. oOoOO "Our Loving is Hurting Us"
34. Emeralds "Just To Feel Anything"
33. Dreamscape "La-Di-Da Recordings"
32. Trust "Trst"
31. Oren Ambarchi "Audience of One"
 
30. Nadja "Dagdrom"
29. King Dude "Love"
28. Moss Icon "Complete Discography"
27. Kendrick Lamar "Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City"
26. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats "Blood Lust"
25. Kandodo "Kandodo"
24. Cloud Nothings "Attack on Memory"
23. How to Dress Well "Total Loss"
22. Six Organs of Admittance "Ascent"
21. La Sera "Sees the Light"
 
20. METZ "METZ"
19. Nada Surf "The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy"
18. Goat "World Music"
17. Scott Walker "Bish Bosch"
16. Redd Kross "Researching the Blues"
15. Big Boi "Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors"
14. Beach House "Bloom"
13. Chromatics "Kill For Love"
12. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Mature Themes"
11. Mount Eerie "Ocean Roar / Clear Moon"
 
10. Flying Lotus "Until The Quiet Comes"
09. Woods "Bend Beyond"
08. Deathspell Omega "Drought"
07. Chelsea Wolfe "Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs"
06. Stinking Lizaveta "7th Direction"
05. Death Grips "The Money Store"
04. Frank Ocean "Channel Orange"
03. John Talabot "Fin"
02. Frankie Rose "Intersteller"
01. The Swans "Seer"

* * * * * * *

Honorable Mentions
 
Mrs. Magician "Strange Heaven"
Julia Holter "Ekstasis"
Memoryhouse "The Slideshow Effect"
Porcelain Raft "Strange Weekend"
Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell "Don't Hear It... Fear It!"
Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Alleujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!"
Teitanblood "Woven Black Arteries"
Lone "Galaxy Garden"
King Dude "Burning Daylight"
Sea and Cake "Runner"
Worship "Terranean Wake"
Holly Herndon "Movement"
DIIV "Oshin"
Peking Lights "Lucifer"
Twin Shadow "Confess"
Ty Segall Band "Slaughter house"
Ufomammut "Oro-Opus Primum"
Purity Ring "Shrines"
Fresh & Onlys "Long Slow Dance"
Best Coast "The Only Place"
Tennis "Young and Old"
Chrome Waves "Chrome Waves"
Evoken "Atra Mors"
2:54 "2:54"
Holy Other "Held"
Gary War "Jared's Lot"
Tamaryn "Tender New Signs"
Oren Ambarchi "Sagittarian Domain"
KTL "V"
Beak ">>"
Ultraista "Ultraista"
Anaal Nathrakh "Vanitas"
Blut Aus Nord "777 - Cosmosophy"
US Girls "Gem"
Memory Tapes "Grace  / Confusion"
Dum Dum Girls "End of Daze"
Mono "For My Parents"
Seapony "Falling"
Black Moth Super Rainbow "Cobra Juicy"
Om "Advaitic Songs"
Brian Eno "Lux"
Nite Jewel "One Second of Love"
Boyfriend "Egyptian Wrinkle"
Melody's Echo Chamber "Melody's Echo Chamber"
Tame Impala "Lonerism"
Soft Moon "Zeros"
Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin "Instrumental Tourist"

Don't worry about the duplications. I actually like seeing them.

I'll throw out some good ones that haven't been mentioned yet:

Air - La Voyage dans la lune
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Out of Frequency
Beth Orton - Sugaring Season
Bjork - Bastards
Cat Power - Sun
Craft Spells - Gallery
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (III)
David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant
Die Antwoord - Ten$ion
Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
Hot Chip - In Our Heads
Jack White - Blunderbuss
Junkie XL - Synthesized
Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
Oh Mercy - Deep Heat
Regina Spektor - What We Saw from the Cheap Seats
Saint Etienne - Words and Music by Saint Etienne
Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns
Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror
Squarepusher - Ufabulum
Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon
Van She - Idea of Happiness
Vitalic - Rave Age
The xx - Coexist

It will take me months to catch up on the other releases thanks to lists like the one above, probably months more for a best of ranking to coalesce.

Thanks for starting this Jon. I've been wanting to start this thread for a month, but have just been super busy lately.

My personal favorite top 25 are:

1 ) Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel
2 ) Tame Impala - Lonerism
3 ) Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
4 ) Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
5 ) El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
6 ) Ty Segall - Twins
7 ) Mount Eerie - Clear Moon / Ocean Roar
8 ) Grizzly Bear - Shields
9 ) Beach House - Bloom
10) Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
11) Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, Mad City
12) Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
13) Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
14) Father John Misty - Fear Fun
15) Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
16) Dinosaur Jr - I Bet On Sky
17) Chromatics - Kill For Love
18) Purity Rings - Shrines
19) Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber
20) The Walkmen - Heaven
21) Chris Cohen - Overgrown Path
22) Bats for Lashes - The Haunted Man
23) Brother Ali - Mourning in America...
24) DIIV - Oshin
25) Menomena - Moms

Great year for music, IMO. Looking forward to 2013 with new records expected from Atoms for Peace, Tegan & Sara, Earl Sweatshirt, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Christopher Owens (Girls), Local Natives, Kurt Vile... I've seen Low, Beach Fossils, Foxygen, Asap Rocky and Jim James albums already floating out in cyberspace as well. 

Had to add some other favourites and also applied an order to my initial list. Also working through albums listed by others that I've missed.