Neil Diamond 12 Songs (Columbia)
This year, many of those hungry for a sandpaper voice and pained-balladeer brooding turned to Bright Eyes’ often overwrought I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Me, I opted for this set of intimate, beautifully gruff contemplations of mortality, last chances, and amour won and lost that reminds us what made Diamond so potent in the first place. Conor Oberst could take a few tips on song structure and understated vocal projection from the old-schooler comeback of ’05.