 Good Kid , M.A.A.D City appeared on several year @-@ end top albums lists by music critics . It was named the best album of 2012 by BBC , Complex , Fact , New York and Pitchfork . The album was also ranked number two by Billboard , the Chicago Tribune , MTV , Spin and Time , number four by Filter , Jon Pareles of The New York Times and Ann Powers of NPR , number five by The Guardian , number six by Rolling Stone and number eight by Entertainment Weekly . In December 2012 , Complex also named Good Kid , M.A.A.D City one of the 25 classic hip hop albums of the previous 10 years . Complex also ranked its album cover as the best of 2012 , while Pitchfork included it on its list of the 20 best album covers of the year . In April 2013 , Vibe placed the album at number 19 on its " The Greatest 50 Albums Since ' 93 " list . 
