The metal rag Decibel was the first prominent publication to drop a year-end best-albums list, but MOJO, that boomer-friendliest of all the major UK rock magazines, isn’t far behind. Given the magazine’s classic-rock proclivities, it’s probably not a shock that they named Jack White’s pretty-great Blunderbuss as their #1 pick for 2012; it’s got a combination of relevance, popularity, and 12-bar conservatism that we don’t often hear. (That combination also goes a long way toward explaining the Black Keys at #6.)

I wouldn’t necessarily call that Blunderbuss anointment an indication of lists to come. Instead, we get that from MOJO’s #2 pick: Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, which doesn’t have much to do with the magazine’s regular beat but which is generally undeniable critic-bait. Elsewhere, the list is extremely kind to enigmatic older gentlemen like Bill Fay, Leonard Cohen, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Scott Walker, and returning Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland, though a few interesting younger types like Julia Holter and Django Django also did well. Check out the full top-20 list below.

20 Lee Fields & The Expressions – Faithful Man
19 Advance Base – A Shut-In’s Prayer
18 Orbital – Wonky
17 Mark Lanegan Band – Blues Funeral
16 Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The Universe
15 Cat Power – Sun
14 Hot Chip – In Our Heads
13 The xx – Coexist
12 Tame Impala – Lonerism
11 Scott Walker – Bish Bosch
10 Bob Dylan – Tempest
09 Julia Holter – Ekstasis
08 Dr. John – Locked Down
07 Django Django – Django Django
06 Black Keys – El Camino
05 Dexys Midnight Runners – One Day I’m Going To Soar
04 Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
03 Bill Fay – Life Is People
02 Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
01 Jack White – Blunderbuss
(via Brooklyn Vegan)

No Fiona, MOJO? Really?