Over the past few years, the XLR8R podcast series has become one of our calling cards, something that our audience can always be counted upon to devour with an unparalleled sort of enthusiasm. This isn’t all that surprising—after all, each chapter of the series offers an exclusive, brand-new DJ mix from an artist whose work we’re excited about. Whether helmed by a veteran producer or a fresh-faced newcomer, the podcast format gives the artist the room to stretch his or her creative legs, which is likely why the results vary so wildly from week to week. Sometimes, the mix will be stacked with exclusive dubs and unreleased tunes. Other times, DJs use the opportunity to raid their record stacks and delve into the past. Regardless of the approach taken, it’s fascinating to see how different artists approach the opportunity, especially when they’re only allowed to take on the XLR8R podcast once—repeat appearances are not allowed. With so many mixes over the course of the year, selecting our favorites of 2012 was no easy task, but we’ve managed to put together a list of the 10 that we enjoyed the most. For the sake of comparison, we’ve also included a list of the 10 most popular podcasts, and it’s interesting to see just how much our tastes overlapped with those of our readers.

10. Ben Sims

9. Jonwayne

8. Midland’s Dimensions Mix

7. Champion

6. Fantastic Mr Fox

5. Redshape

4. Krystal Klear

3. George FitzGerald

2. Tom Demac

1. Shed

1. Fantastic Mr Fox
2. Lapalux
3. Disclosure
4. George FitzGerald
5. Jonwayne
6. Throwing Snow
7. Shed
8. Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka
9. Max Cooper’s Decibel Mix
10. Krystal Klear

XLR8R‘s Best of 2012 coverage will continue through the end of this week and all of next week, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to vote in our Readers Poll, and take a look at the other Best of 2012 pieces we’ve posted already:

XLR8R‘s Best of 2012: Top Downloads