Looking back at 2011, it was a pretty damn good year for music. With great releases from every part of the musical spectrum and a slew of excellent emerging artists putting their name on the map, the momentum doesn’t end as 2011 drew to a close and we can expect a whole lot of good music to come out in 2012. Looking at some of the artists announcing releases in 2012, here is ten artists (out of hundreds, thousands, millions) that we should keep a close eye on. There is a whole lot more to look forward to that are not mentioned here (be sure to list em in the comment box below so we can all take note) that I wish I could list but that would take forever and forever I do not have, but here are a couple you can perhaps put on your radar. Oh and btw, some of these releases do not have a single out yet so the clips you see might be from a previous album.

1. Magnetic Fields – Love at the Bottom of the Sea
Stephin Meritt always has great, often heartbreaking songs up his sleeve, so every Magnetic Fields release is something to look forward to.

2. Grimes – Visions
2011 had Grimes making waves in the independent music scene, and now being signed to 4AD we should be expecting her latest album to be pretty damn good.

3. Hospitality – Hospitality
A band whose pop single has critics raving, their upcoming album on Merge should be on every pop-music lover’s radar.

4. The xx
A group whose first album made their name prominent in music publications everywhere (not to mention, everybody’s mouth), The xx will return with their sophomore release this year!

5. Gonjasufi: MU.ZZ.LE
The multi-talented musician returns with his 4th release via Warp Records. Check out the song above for a preview of what’s to come.

6. Lana Del Rey: Born to Die
Everybody loves the retro-original stylings of Lana Del Rey (Video Games, anybody?) and with her releasing Born to Die 2012, we will probably keep hearing her name this year.

7. Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself
The sweet singing-songwriting Chicago native’s latest album will most likely be heard in a whole lot of people’s stereos computers.

8. The Weeknd: Mixtape trilogy
Everybody fell in love with The Weeknd last year, and for good reason. The 3 free mixtapes he released were solid releases, and with a trilogy in the works its time to cop a physical version, people!

9. Masaki Batoh – Brain Pulse Music
Masaki Batoh from the now-legendary japanese psych-outfit, Ghost, is coming out with another release which will most likely open up quite a few minds out there.

10. Memoryhouse – The Slideshow Effect
The ethereal sights and sounds of Memoryhouse returns this year with a full-length via Sub Pop.