Words by DJ Theory—

Our regularly scheduled Mixtape Mondays program gets the hold this week to make room for a few of our top picks from the year in the reggae/dancehall/soca/tropical/bass mixtape department. In no particular order, here’s some of the mixes we’ve covered this year most likely to have turned you on to a new artist, helped you hold a morning meds before work, later got you busted at work, and then eventually soundtracked your house party or midweek cardio attempt. After covering another 150+ mixes this year, catch some of the magic all over again with these 10 essential rewinds from 2012.