Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange was one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of 2012. After 2011’s highly acclaimed nostalgia, ULTRA mixtape, expectations incredibly high for Ocean’s debut album. Channel Orange didn’t disappoint: by year’s end, it was towards the top (or on the top) of nearly every critic’s poll, in magazines and blogs. As MTV News’s James Montgomery told Radio.com, “In five years, it will almost look bad if you didn’t have this album as number one, or very high on your list.” Watch our latest Inside Album Of The Year video to find out why Channel Orange was one of the big stories of 2012.

We spoke with experts, including Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly, Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone, James Montgomery of MTV, author Alan Light (The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah”) and Booker from AMP Radio weigh in on the R&B singer’s road to the GRAMMYs.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to Inside The Album Of The Year installments for other nominees fun. and Mumford & Sons.

Tune in to the GRAMMYs on CBS February 10 at 8PM EST/PST.

– Brian Ives, Radio.com