Joe La Puma's Top 10 Sneakers of 2012

It was tough choosing between these and the black Jeremy Scott Instinct Highs, but in the end I felt these were a bit more impressive. The sneaker marries high-fashion and sport perfectly, and the best part is the 3M pops on 'em. adidas' special projects have been really impressive in the past couple of years.

Ronnie will tell you I don't mess with the split tounge, but these are a great looking shoe. Out of all his collaborations this year I think this was my favorite. Simple, perfect.

Did we all sleep on these, or was it because they were basically impossible to get? Talk about pushing the envelope, Nike and Tom Sachs didn't mess around. The outsoles are made from materials that Nike uses on their special forces gear, and there's fabric present from the Mars Excursion Rover airbags. I have no clue what that is, but it's awesome.

Perfect fit, like a warm... anyway. As someone put it, the Roshe was the "people's champ" of 2012. Tons of strong colorways, with excellent comfort. Admittedly I don't own a pair (I never wear lowtops), but trying them on I could see why everyone loved them.

I wore these for the majority of the year. The black/white leather was the standout of the year, and then the all black colorway was a great follow-up. I'll switch off between these and the black/red IVs for the first few months of 2013.

Only time I got threatened on Twitter over sneakers is when I got a pair of these. They're cool to look at.

The Half Cab is like Vans' Air Force 1, legendary. I think releasing them with the tape and the whole backstory of Steve Caballero's discomfort with the original ankle design made these even more special. Sometimes the story makes the sneaker cool, and sometimes the look does, Vans and Supreme nailed it on both counts with this.

These were always a sleeper. I remember my mentor Brione Schneider at Finish Line wore these in 2002 with an olive Lacoste and brown Seven Jeans and stunted on everyone. The boot-like features make these so sick. Glad I got these for both wearing and sentimental purposes

Arguably the two biggest brands - Nike, and Kanye West - delivered again on this collab, and in my opinion improved on the first drop. The Yeezy 2 was more wearable, had better materials, and was another bullet on West's resume of designing forward-thinking products.

My second favorite sneaker of all time, only behind the Jordan III black/cement. The quality on these didn't disappoint, and I haven't took them off since I copped. Drop them every year and multiple pairs would still be a must.