Pa smo dočakali tudi NME lestvico. V svoj izbor so uvrstili kitarske skupine kot sta The Cribs ali The Maccabees, ob tem pa ignorantsko spregledali rap sceno. Najboljši primer za slednje je Kendrick Lamar, ki je s svojim prvencem končal komaj na 44. mestu, pa čeprav je po besedah mnogih ustvaril v letošnjem letu vrhunec današnje rap scene. Frank Ocean se je povzpel na visoko tretje mesto, medtem ko je prestol zasedel Tame Impala in album Lonerism.
Lestvica najboljših albumov leta 2012 po mnenju revije NME:
- 50. Purity Ring – Shrines
- 49. Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes
- 48. The 2 Bears – Be Strong
- 47. John Talabot – fIN
- 46. Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe
- 45. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
- 44. Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, mAAd City
- 43. Ratking – Wiki93
- 42. Paul Weller – Sonik Kicks
- 41. Ty Segall – Twins
- 40. Polica – Give You The Ghost
- 39. Liars – WIXIW
- 38. TEED – Trouble
- 37. Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour
- 36. The Vaccines – Come Of Age
- 35. Metz – Metz
- 34. Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man
- 33. Hot Chip – In Our Heads
- 32. Graham Coxon – A+E
- 31. G.O.O.D. Music – Cruel Summer
- 30. Breton – Other People’s Problems
- 29. Mac DeMarco – 2
- 28. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
- 27. Jessie Ware – Devotion
- 26. Spector – Enjoy It While It Lasts
- 25. Ariel Pink – Mature Themes
- 24. Merchandise – Children Of Desire
- 23. Richard Hawley – Standing At The Sky’s Edge
- 22. Beach House – Bloom
- 21. Cat Power – Sun
- 20. Howler – America Give Up
- 19. Toy – Toy
- 18. Tribes – Baby
- 17. Grizzly Bear – Shields
- 16. Melody’s Echo Chamber – Melody’s Echo Chamber
- 15. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
- 14. The xx – Coexist
- 13. DIIV – Oshin
- 12. David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant
- 11. Django Django – Django Django
- 10. Jack White – Blunderbuss
- 9. Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg
- 8. The Cribs – In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull
- 7. Pond – Beard Wives Denim
- 6. The Maccabees – Given To The Wild
- 5. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
- 4. Crystal Castles – (iii)
- 3. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
- 2. Grimes – Visions
- 1. Tame Impala – Lonerism
