Key: Album Name - Artist/Band
A-
Golden Heart - Dawn Richard
Modern Vampires of the City - Vampire Weekend
Love Lust Faith + Dreams - 30 Seconds To Mars
Ricky Reed Is Real - Wallpaper.
Smoke and Mirrors - Brett Dennen
Repave - Volcano Choir
Days Are Gone - Haim
Mosquito - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! - Panic! At The Disco
Overgrown - James Blake
Life Is Elsewhere - Little Comets
Evil Friends - Portugal. The Man
Shangri La - Jake Bugg
The Bones of What You Believe - Chvrches
Magna Carta… Holy Grail - Jay-Z
Lucid - Lyfe Jennings
Wassaic Way - Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Trouble Will Find Me - The National
Body Music - AlunaGeorge
B+
because the internet - Childish Gambino
Lost In You - Petula Clark
The Gifted - Wale
Wolf - Tyler, The Creator
Human Again - Ingrid Michaelson
Matangi - M.I.A.
AM - Arctic Monkeys
Shadows - Lenka
Love In The Future - John Legend
Sing To The Moon - Laura Mvula
Speak A Little Louder - Diane Birch
ARTPOP - Lady Gaga
Shulamith - Polica
New - Paul McCartney
Tales Of Us - Goldfrapp
Kiss Land - The Weeknd
Warp And Weft - Laura Veirs
Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song - Amos Lee
Doris - Earl Sweatshirt
Dream Cave - Cloud Control
Love and War - Tamar Braxton
All People - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Muchacho - Phosphorescent
Invisble Empire // Crescent Moon - KT Tunstall
In A Tidle Wave Of Mystery - Capital Cities
SongVersation - India.Arie
Bankrupt! - Phoenix
Born Sinner - J. Cole
Adding Up The Wasted Hours - The Lonely Forest
Gravel & Wine - Gin Wigmore
More Than Just A Dream - Fitz and the Tantrums
Reincarnated - Snoop Lion
Grownass Man - The Shouting Matches
The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You - Neko Case
Miracle Mile - STRFKR
Hall Of Fame - Big Sean
Victim Of Love - Charles Bradley
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action - Franz Ferdinand
Yours Truly - Ariana Grande’
Black Sun - Gold Fields
B
Girl Who Got Away - Dido
Secondhand Rapture - MS MR
Bitter Rivals - Sleigh Bells
Junip - Junip
Long. Live. A$ap - A$ap Rocky
Regions of Light and Sound Of God - Jim James
The 20/20 Experience Pt.1 of 2 - Justin Timberlake
The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars
B-Room - Dr. Dog
BE - Beady Eye
Ski Mask - Islands
Red Gold Green - RDGLDGRN
II - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Mourning Trance - Still Life Still
In A World Like This - Backstreet Boys
Comedown Machine - The Strokes
Indicud - Kid Cudi
Weekend - The Sounds
Yes, It’s True - The Polyphonic Spree
Old - Danny Brown
Woman - Rhye
Side Effects Of You - Fantasia
One: In The Chamber - Salaam Remi
Trap Lord - A$ap Ferg
Sistrionix - Deep Vally
B-
Heartthrob - Teagan And Sara
Mechanical Bull - Kings Of Leon
You Were Right - Brendan Benson
Loved Me Back To Life - Celine Dion
Ice On The Dune - Empire Of The Sun
Black Panties - R. Kelly
Tender Madness - Papa
Age Against The Machine - Goodie Mob
Ciara - Ciara
Last Of The Great Pretenders - Matt Nathanson
IV Play - The Dream
Mother - Natalie Maines
Once I Was An Eagle - Laura Marling
Arrows - Polly Scattergood
Lickety Split - Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Don’t Look Down - Skylar Grey
When The Night - St. Lucia
Synesthesia - Hands
Hush - The Limousines
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Epigrams and Interludes - Alex Day
Spreading Rumours - Grouplove
Strike Gently - The Virgins
Electric Slave - Black Joe Lewis
Talking Dreams - Echosmith
Stories Don’t End - Dawes
Don’t Be S.A.F.E. - Trinidad James
Nocturnes - Little Boots
Major Arcana - Speedy Ortiz
Sway - Blue October
Native - OneRepublic
The Blessed Unrest - Sara Bareilles
Home - Rudimental
Hobo Rocket - Pond
Lightning Bolt - Pearl Jam
The 1975 - The 1975
Right Place Right Time - Olly Murs
MGMT - MGMT
True Romance - Charlie XCX
Black Bear - Andrew Belle
Word Of Mouth - The Wanted
Moon Landing - James Blunt
C+
Lousy with Sylvianbriar - Of Montreal
Settle - Disclosure
When It Was Now - Atlas Genius
Prism - Katy Perry
Something About Knowing - Maria Taylor
Night Time, My Time - Sky Ferreira
The 20/20 Experience Pt.2 of 2 - Justin Timberlake
Glow - Royal Teeth
If You Wait - London Grammar
Good Company - Social Dregs
True - Avicii
The Third Eye Centre - Belle & Sebastian
Sunflower - Never Shout Never
Hotel California - Tyga
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts - Cold War Kids
Nuclear Winter - The Lonely Forest
Talk A Good Game - Kelly Rowland
Underground Luxury - B.o.B.
Make A Move - Gavin DeGraw
B.O.A.T.S. II #METIME - 2 Chainz
Bookmarks - Five For Fighting
MoM & DaD - Cherub
Hanging Gardens - Classixx
If You Leave - Daughter
I Am Not A Human Being II - Lil’ Wayne
Ghost on Ghost - Iron & Wine
Heart Of Nowhere - Noah And The Whale
Innocents - Moby
#willpower - Will.I.Am
Zendaya - Zendaya
Crimes of Passion - Crocodiles
C
Bangerz - Miley Cyrus
Demi - Demi Lovato
Wild & Free - A Rocket To The Moon
Alaska - The Silver Seas
Afraid of Heights - Wavves
Prisoner of Conscious - Talib Kweli
Wakin On A Pretty Daze - Kurt Vile
Overnight - Parachute
Britney Jean - Britney Spears
Free Your Mind - Cut Copy
Trill O.G. The Epilouge - Bun B
Take It Or Leave It - Cory Mo
The Invisible Way - Low
Heaven In This Hell - Orianthi
Bad Blood - Bastille
Mellow high - Mellowhigh
From Here To Now To You - Jack Johnson
Forever Halloween - The Maine
This Is… Icona Pop - Icona Pop
Better - Chrisette Michele
Get Wet - Krewella
Glow and Behold - Yuck
Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers - Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers
Corsicana Lemonade - White Denim
M.O. - Nelly
Excuse My French - French Montana
C-
Everything Is Debatable - Hellogoodbye
A Bad Girl In Harlem - New Politics
Girl Talk - Kate Nash
Wildewoman - Lucius
Cut 4 Me - Kelela
Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth - Kiev
Surfing Strange - Swearin’
D+
Watching Movies With The Sound Off - Mac Miller
Trap House 3 - Gucci Maine
Son of Sam - Krizz Kaliko
The Diving Board - Elton John
Avril Lavigne - Avril Lavigne
Save Rock & Roll - Fall Out Boy
Joy Of Nothing - Foy Vance
D
Stay Trippy - Juicy J
In A Perfect World - Kodaline
Closer To The Truth - Cher
All Around The World - Mindless Behavior
La Musique Numerous - AM & Shawn Lee
Holy Fire - Foals
D-
Authentic - LL Cool J
F
Night Visions - Imagine Dragons
Proof Of Life - Scott Stapp
Trust - Gambles
Neon - Jay Sean
Silence Yourselves - Savages
Key: Artist/Band - Album
The Top 20 Albums of 2013
#20. Stornoway - Tales from Terra Firma
Released in March, Stornoway's second album continued their reputation as disciples of The Decemberists in the Indie folk rock genre. Only making some noise in the UK charts, Tales from Terra Firma was never the exact same from track-to-track as most indie rock albums have trouble with. There is just the right mixture of high upbeat songs and low-key sad music. It's a well constructed album that is only disappointing in length as nine songs don't always please the biggest fans but there are enough five minute songs to make up for that including "(A Belated) Invite to Eternity" which starts out quiet and sad but picks up at the 3-minute mark and turns into a musical marathon.
#19. Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines
Standout Track: "Get In My Way"
The Prince vibes are strong with this one. As mentioned on the Top 40 Songs of 2013, Robin uses a technique with texting language on his sixth album's track names. Examples include "Ain't No Hat 4 That", "Give It 2 U", "Go Stupid 4 U" and "4 The Rest Of My Life". Robin has always wanted to experiment with the hip hop genre but not even he could have imagined the success of his first hip-hop/pop fused record. "Blurred Lines" and "Give It 2 U" are clear standouts for guest cameos and catchiness but my favorite track, "Get In My Way" is something you could imagine hearing on the radio in either the 70's or the 90's but certainly not today. As has been Robin Thicke's career, the song was a nice refreshing funk throwback.
#18. John Mayer - Paradise Valley
Standout Track: "Paper Doll"
The cover of this album does a perfect job of summarizing the picture you get in your head of male hipster protagonist wandering about the countryside with his dog on a windy, gloomy day. Paradise Valley is a relaxing album with John Mayer and his guitar, making fantastic music. Mayer does the right thing with this album and does not go for any pop or mainstream success and instead sticks with strong lyricism and excellent last-call at the bar or slow dance time with your significant other music. People won't hear anything off of this album except the song featuring Katy Perry (The weakest song on Paradise Valley) unless they actually take the time to listen to the whole 11-song collection including singles "Paper Doll" and "Wildfire".
#17. Primal Scream - More Light
Standout Track: "It's Alright, It's OK"
You should never judge a book by it's cover. The same goes for album covers as my first impression of Scottish band Primal Scream's tenth album was "Ok, this looks like it'll be incredibly weird and uncomfortable to listen to". After the first two tracks that took up sixteen minutes, all of my fears for this album were coming true as those two tracks were uncomfortable, unlistenable, and took up way too much time. Alas, the next eleven songs made up for those first two travesties with fun psychedelia and exciting rock tunes. The album is a solid B until the final two tracks, "Walking With The Beast" and "It's Alright, It's OK". The album truly only gets better with each passing track up until it's exciting conclusion leaves the listener with a warm feeling of satisfaction with it's 70's pop-vibes.
#16. Jessie Ware - Devotion (Gold Edition)
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Standout Track: "Sweet Talk"
Yes, I realize that I'm cheating the system a wee bit here by including a deluxe edition of an album released in August of 2012 but considering it was the first time I had personally had time to listen to the full album along with the few added tracks, it was a 2013 release to me. I'm very surprised that people haven't hopped on the Jessie Ware bandwagon as much as I thought they would. She has a beautiful voice placed over sultry beats and together, those two aspects created a phenomenal atmosphere for an album with tons of highs and no obvious low points.
Standout Track: "Timeless"
I was first introduced to The Airborne Toxic Event via VH1 back in the late 00's, when their song "Sometime Around Midnight" was slowly starting to make it around television. They seemed very Arcade Fire-like with their blending of alternative rock and orchestral arrangements. With Such Hot Blood, they prove that they are much more alt-rock than previously thought. The album still shows off many instruments but sounds much more like Dashboard Confessional than anything as alternative as Arcade Fire. Songs like "Timeless" should have made emo teenagers fans everywhere and yet, that didn't happen. The Airborne Toxic Event remains relatively unknown despite making quality music in a genre that too many people have given up on.
#14. Major Lazer - Free The Universe
Probably the album to receive the lowest amount of critical acclaim, Major Lazer's Free The Universe is just a fun dancehall-twerkathon of an album. Unlike Major Lazer's debut, Diplo's sophomore effort is filled with catchier beats and even has some cameos that work out perfectly. Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Dirty Projector's Amber Coffman, and even Wynter Gordon are used exceptionally smart on this album as they're allowed to show off their vocals and for Koenig & Coffman, in non-beat reliant singles. The biggest hit is more known for it's ridiculous premise and music video, "Bubble Butt (ft. Bruno Mars, Tyga, and Mystic)". Major Lazer experiments more freely with reggae and slower beats and creates one of the most schizophrenic yet enjoyable albums of 2013.
#13. JMSN - Pllajë
One of the most intriguing sonic experiences I had in 2013 was listening to JMSN (who I had no prior knowledge on) and his production skills in work on Pllajë. It begins with a song that perfectly captures the moment someone finishes climbing Mount Everest or overcomes some realistic obstacle in "Ada'". Pllajë is only the beginning of JMSN's career as the man who has remixed Kendrick Lamar tracks has a future product with another member of the Black Hippy crew Ab-Soul. All that and he's also a pretty good singer/songwriter with shades of James Blake and The Weeknd at moments. JMSN has chosen the correct career path in music.
#12. Billy Joe + Norah - Foreverly
Standout Track: "Kentucky"
Music aficionados have Green Day lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong's wife to thank for this genius idea of an album. It was really all Billy Joe's idea to recreate The Everly Brothers' 1958 album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. Armstrong's wife just playfully suggested a collaborative effort with jazz singer Norah Jones. The lead singer of Green Day and Norah Jones collaborate in 2013. If you would have told me that twelve years ago, I would've slapped you in the face or in a less dramatic expression, seriously doubt you. At the end of the day, it worked.
#11. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
Standout Track: "Afterlife"
When you throw together critical darlings like Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy as producer, that album is going to get a lot of buzz around the internet. Reflektor was entirely worth it as the first disk of the two-disc set is the #2 album of the year all by itself. With the second disc included, Reflektor moves down nine spots but is still a phenomenal album that I can not stop listening to and could see myself jamming out to in 2043. It's going to become a classic overtime with songs like "Normal Person", "We Exist", and "Here Comes The Night Time". The album and band achieved elite status for me with "Reflektor" and "Afterlife". "Reflektor" being a disco-infused seven minute roller-coaster ride of a song, while "Afterlife" being a great song that is unmatched in it's lyricism. The entire album is a successful experiment with Arcade Fire's most daring attempt yet singing about things like writings by Kierkegaard and morality.
#10. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart (Deluxe Edition)
The fifth studio album from Frank Turner is a punk-rock/folk-rock fusion that you don't typically hear anywhere else nowadays. Tape Deck Heart contains a lot of lyrical material to digest that could basically just be summed up as a happy break-up album. "Recovery" gets the album off on a great note as a neutral album that anybody who likes any genre could enjoy. "The Way I Tend To Be" is a perfect break-up song while songs like "We Shall Not Overcome" and "Plain Sailing Weather" keep the party going. At first viewing, my eyes immediately drew toward the song title "Wherefore Art Thou Gene Simmons?". I decided I must listen to that song more carefully than I had any other songs on the album. When I finally got around to the fourteenth track, I was impressed by Turner's storytelling capability from the viewpoint of both the male and female in the relationship (which was clearly his relationship as Frank Turner had admittedly just ended a long-term relationship).
#9. Yuna - Nocturnal
Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna wrote quite possibly the only good song with a whistling chorus in more than a decade with track #8 off of Nocturnal, "Come Back". There are shades of Feist and Corinne Bailey Rae glowing on Nocturnal with no lyrics that make you want to throw up (Katy Perry) and no incredibly depressing songs as Yuna's singing is one that just sounds like it should automatically come with a smile. Nocturnal does have some Malaysian influence in the instrumentals at certain points but at the end of it all, it's just a very well put-together pop record.
#8. Pusha T - My Name Is Name
Standout Track: "Nosetalgia (featuring Kendrick Lamar)"
"20 plus years of selling Johnson & Johnson's" has led up to the long-awaited solo debut album from Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music record label product Pusha T. I had been pretty excited for this album since I heard Pusha's collaboration with Rick Ross on "Millions" late in 2012. That song didn't even make the album. My Name Is My Name is a consistently great album with no weak links and perfect beats with an all-star cast of featured artists (Rick Ross, Jeezy, Kelly Rowland, The-Dream, Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Pharrell to name a few). It begins with Pusha T claiming he's at the peak of his career with the Joaquin Pheonix-produced "King Push" and becomes a journey that you invest your time and attention to without even realizing it.
#7. Lorde - Pure Heroine
Standout Track: "Royals"
'Twas the year of incredibly simple album covers. New Zealand rookie Lorde was either the most relatable songwriter of 2013 or the most pretentious. I think we've all universally agreed that she's just a teenager and therefor incredibly relatable as everyone is a teenager at some point. With dark, smoky vocals reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, Lorde's debut album Pure Heroine was heavily praised and almost universally agreed as a top 20 album of 2013.
#6. Chase & Status - Brand New Machine
An electronic album in the same idea as Major Lazer's aforementioned Free The Universe, I discovered Chase & Status this year and was surprised at their ability to pull off a greatly consistent album. Track-by-track, Brand New Machine is filled with bangers featuring the superb vocals of a Jacob Banks, the rapping of Pusha T, and even a collaboration of epic proportions with Major Lazer. Just because it isn't widely acclaimed or just because it wasn't a U.S. album release, doesn't mean Brand New Machine wasn't a fun record.
#5. Paramore - Paramore
Paramore have always been one of my favorite bands. With that said, they escalated up to a whole new level with their self-titled album Paramore. Paramore gives the band 2 perfect albums now along with 2009's Brand New Eyes. Instead of focusing on rock ballads, Paramore just decided to have fun with their three remaining members and dipped their fit into pop-rock, alt-rock, and plain old rock-rock. It's a perfectly constructed album from beginning to end with interludes featuring Hayley Williams singing over a ukulele.
#4. Patty Griffin - American Kid
Standout Track: "Faithful Son"
THE folk album of 2013, Patty Griffin's seventh album American Kid is an album with outstanding songwriting. Dedicated to her late father, 49 year-old Griffin has really outdone everybody in her genre with the emotion she put into American Kid. She's had a history in gospel music and even country music but thank god she stuck with well-written folk music on this album.
#3. Janelle Monae' - The Electric Lady
The Electric Lady is a nineteen-track album sent from heaven. It is the best-possible album that Janelle Monae could have made at this point in her young career. There's obvious respect coming from other featured artists like Erykah Badu, Prince, and Esparanza Spaulding in excellent songs by all. There's a "Hey Ya" inspired song and video for "Dance Apocalyptic". There's even a perfect ballad "Primetime" featuring Miguel. I love everything about this album and everything about Janelle Monae'. I would gladly trade the rest of Beyonce's career for ten more Janelle Monae' albums as I'm sure Monae' will keep blending genres with surprise guest appearances and quirky story lines.
#2. Mayer Hawthorne - Where Does This Door Go?
The only neo soul album on my top 20, Mayer Hawthorne and his smooth soulful voice took #2 on my countdown thanks to incredibly diggable tracks like "Allie Jones", catchy tunes like "Her Favorite Song" and surprisingly dance-able music at moments as well. At the end of the album, I could not find any flaws and with Mayer Hawthorne's great voice and a small cameo from rapper of the year Kendrick Lamar on "Crime", Where Does This Door Go was the soul album of 2013.
The #1 Album of 2013
Kanye West - Yeezus
Yeezus is either going to be one of your favorite albums ever or one of your most hated albums ever. For me, it's the most innovative and revolutionary thing to come out in 2013. As with most Kanye West albums, he is reshaping the entire genre of rap and hip-hop as he's been doing consistently well for the past decade. If you are not open to liking Yeezus then you should prepare to fall out of love with the rap/hip hop genre over the next few years. Every rap album that has been released since June 18th has had a track that could be described as "Yeezus-like" including most of Pusha T's My Name Is My Name, Beyonce's "Ghost", Childish Gambino's "Zealots of Stockholm" and many more. It's the most exciting and drastic change-of-pace yet in the best career for any music artist this century. Don't think that just because the man is marrying Kim Kardashian that Kanye West has completely lost his mind. He's just more self-aware in terms of media perception than he ever will be. His complete lack of caring what the paparazzi thinks about him is going to ruffle some feathers but frankly, why should it? The only people that care about what Kanye is throwing in the trash at 4 A.M. are Kanye and the paparazzi. It's nothing the public needs to know about and it's an invasion of privacy. Yeezus is maybe not the album the world wanted, but it's the album the world needed. In a year where racial slurs were highly debated and the whole conversation of race changed as people are beginning to realize that racism is very-much alive just hidden from national media in most cases until the Trayvon Martin case. Songs like "New Slaves" where it's made perfectly clear that there is a new sense of racism in the consumerism and classism, are what make Yeezus such a phenomenal album. Kanye West is full of himself, what rapper isn't? BUT the one thing that is incredibly misunderstood is why he titled the album Yeezus and why he compares himself to the 3 Michael's (Jackson, Tyson, Jordan). Kanye compares himself to those 3 at the top of their games and it's not inaccurate in any way yet Kanye does this because he just wants to spread self-confidence across the nation. Kanye grew up very self-conscious and he doesn't want any other kid to go through that and with songs on this album, he just wants people to feel better about themselves. Yeezus is basically the album that everyone should look up on Rapgenius.com before they die. Every track is a trip through Kanye's mind and career, culminating with "Bound 2". "Bound 2" is a soulful track featuring Uncle Charlie Wilson and shows that finally, Kanye is happy with everything he was upset with up to this point. He's getting married, he's a dad, and it looks like he may make a return to earlier radio-friendly Kanye West music with his new found optimism. It's still possible that he could make a Yeezus 2 but either way, I'm incredibly excited for what is next.
2014 will be the year of Gnesa.
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