Pure Pop YearEnders: Sarah Moylan

Hey, I’m Sarah. If you’re at the store and there’s a Lady Pure Popper behind the counter, odds are good that it’s me. When I’m not at the store, I’m hosting my radio show on WRUV 90.1 (Panda-monium, 8-10 PM Mondays), eating cookies, biking uphill, or hysterically sobbing because the fourth Franz Ferdinand record STILL has not been announced.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Sean Dunne

I’m a student originally from Burlington who studies in Montreal. I love music and 2012 was a great year for anybody with the same passion. Narrowing down for this list was hard and the numerous honorable mentions include: Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape 2, Tammar – Visits, Blackbird Blackbird – Boracay Planet, Chromatics – Kill For Love, The Luyas – Animator, Wild Nothing – Nocturne, Diiv – Oshin, the xx – Coexist, Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light, Scuba – Personality, and Beach House – Bloom.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Willie Strausser

Honorable mentions:

Grizzly Bear – Shields
Pseudogod – Deathwomb Catechesis
Meshuggah – Koloss
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Mgla – With Hearts Toward None
Swans – The Seer
Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I
Astra – The Black Chord
High on Fire – De Vermis Mysteriis

I worked at Pure Pop up until August of this year and am now going to school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I like Cannibal Corpse and Katy Perry. My dream vacation would be an island holiday in the Maldives. If I could marry one famous musician, it would be Leslie Feist.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Joe Mullen

My name is Joe and I live in Burlington and I’m a senior at UVM and I also listen to music that’s not Lil B. Excluding Lil B mixtapes, my more general top 5 would be :
5-Joyce Manor-“Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired”
4-Merchandise-“Children of Desire”
3-Animal Collective-“Centipede Hz”
2-Fang Island-“Major”
1-Titus Andronicus-“Local Business”

All of those albums are awesome too so you should listen to them as well. Stay based, yall.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Justin Christopher Poulin

Here are a few quite honorable mentions for this year:

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
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
Levek – Look a Little Closer
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Joey Bada$$ – 1999

I’m a poor-traveled native of the Green Mountain state who’s a debt-collector by day and a starving artist by night. Well– I work with student loans and I dabble in music. I’m a recent graduate of Saint Michael’s College and proud to be living in an area where the arts–especially music–thrive. It’s sweet.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Brendan Meryman

So yeah, I guess these are my top five albums of the year. It’s not entirely obvious to me how I arrived at this conclusion. Certain albums drew me in, but I said “No!” and held out for those special gems that had me coming back for more. I listened to a lot of songs often enough to hate them, but those that retained their value reside in the albums above.

Have fun, don’t let the apocalypse get you, and keep listening to good music.

Pure Pop YearEnders: Shawn Beaulieu

My name is Shawn Beaulieu, I am a sophomore at Clarkson University, in Potsdam New York, studying Biochemistry. Rather than embarrass myself trying to justify each selection, I’ll simply let the music speak for itself. Here is the rest of my list:

6.Lonerism by Tame Impala
7.channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean
8. Luxary Problems by Andy Stott
9. Bish Bosch by Scott Walker
10. Kindred by Burial
11. WIXIW by Liars
12. Clear Moon by Mount Eerie
13. fIN by John Talabot
14. 1999: Mixtape by Joey Badass
15. Devotion by Jessie Ware
16. Beams by Matthew Dear
17. Shields by Grizzly Bear
18. Kill For Love by Chromatics
19. Until the Quiet Comes by Flying Lotus
20. good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
21. Celebration Rock by Japandroids
22. R.I.P by Actress
23. Heaven by The Walkmen
24. Cancer 4 Cure by El-P
25. Duality by Captain Murphy