Paste Magazine’s Top 50 Albums of 2013

1. Phosphorescent – Muchacho
2. Mikal Cronin – MCII
3. Foxygen – We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
4. Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady
5. Deerhunter – Monomania
6. Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze
7. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City
8. CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe
9. El-P and Killer Mike – Run the Jewels
10. Haim – Days Are Gone
11. Jason Isbell – Southeastern
12. The National – Trouble Will Find Me
13. Lucius – Wildewoman
14. Savages – Silence Yourself
15. Daft Punk – Random Acces Memories
16. Kanye West – Yeezus
17. Volcano Choir – Repave
18. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
19. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt
20. Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park
21. The Knife – Shaking the Habitual
22. Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium
23. Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold
24. M.I.A. – Matangi
25. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II
26. My Bloody Valentine – m b v
27. Bill Callahan – Dream River
28. Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
29. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork
30. Local Natives – Hummingbird
31. King Khan & the Shrines – Idle No More
32. Rhye – Woman
33. Autre Ne Veut – Anxiety
34. Pusha T – My Name Is My Name
35. Youth Lagoon – Wondrous Bughouse
36. Lorde – Pure Heroine
37. Typhoon – White Lighter
38. Danny Brown – Old
39. of Montreal – lousy with sylvianbriar
40. The Haxan Cloak – Excavation
41. Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse
42. Cass McCombs – Big Wheel & Others
43. Earl Sweatshirt – Doris
44. Charles Bradley – Victim of Love
45. Cayucas – Big Foot
46. Eleanor Friedberger – Personal Record
47. The Lone Bellow – The Lone Bellow
48. Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart
49. Speedy Ortiz – Major Arca
50. Dr. Dog – B-Room


Link with blurbs on each:

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/list ... -year.html

somewhat similar to spin's – less hip hop: http://www.spin.com/articles/best-albums-2013/?slide=1

man, that's a pretty awful list

okkervil river's the only one that will be on my year-end list

I've only heard those two from that list.

Kurt Vile is boring drivel and does not deserve a single further key stroke.

I actually really like the Parquet Courts album, because it sounds like a lot of different old bands, rather than one old band. The style of it is elastic enough have it's own identity.

I've not actually heard the Savages album but, in contrast, what I have heard seems to me to be stylistically too similar to a certain band of old.

I think the broader you play it the more likely you are to find your own unique character, rather than sounding exactly like Joy Division or exactly like Siouxie and the Banshees.

I like a lot of stuff on there.

Me too. Maybe it's that I have less time to search out new stuff but several of these will be on my year end.

I actually like that Kurt Vile record more with each listen. Something very effortless, almost passive, about it. Puts me in a nice mellow head space.

I'm just happy I've heard 4 or 5 of them.

Yeah, well put. That's still my favorite album of the year.

I use a similar logic to argue in favor of Foxygen although I'm not quite as hot on that one as I was early in the year.

Savages just suck.

I've heard 22 of those albums. A handful are among my favorites.

I've heard several of those.

I'd like to hear several more; maybe I'll get unlazy enough to Spotify them?

Am happy to see my AOTY on there--would be easy for a big joint like Paste to ignore.

My year-end list/mix is going to be hilariously uninformed this year.

That being said I did enjoy Cronin, Vampire Weekend, Daft Punk, and of Montreal (although I haven't given oM a ton of time). There's probably another 3-4 there that I've heard but didn't really dig aside from a song or two (Waxahatchee in particular).

These will likely appear somewhere on my list.

I listened to 6 of those and liked 1-3 okay.

Listened to the above, deleted the above for being dull as shit.

I actually listened to new music this year as it came out

1. Phosphorescent – Muchacho - pleasant but unmemorable.
4. Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady - I heard the singles but was unimpressed, I still have hight hopes for her
6. Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze - I love this album, my favorite of his so far and I've liked the others a lot
7. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City - I don't care about this band. If it's on fine, but I'm done trying to like them.
8. CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe - okay, but not my kinda thing
9. El-P and Killer Mike – Run the Jewels - really well done, but i don't see myself listening to it often.
12. The National – Trouble Will Find Me - I almost like them, but I don't. snores.
15. Daft Punk – Random Acces Memories - I like some of it a a lot, but some of it drags. It sounds amazing.
16. Kanye West – Yeezus - I need to listen to this again, I remember liking it but it didn't leave much of an impression
27. Bill Callahan – Dream River - Incredible. I love everything about this album.
29. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork - Kinda boring
48. Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart - I haven't heard this but I assume it's awful because everything i've heard by him is awful
50. Dr. Dog – B-Room - First two listens I was kind of disappointed but there albums have been growers and I've thought that in the past only to be proven wrong.

I'm so totally out of the loop. I recognize maybe half a dozen of those from individual songs heard out and about and that's about it.

I feel sorry for anybody who thinks Bill Callahan is "dull as shit".

I need to correct myself.

I also have the Charles Bradley album which I like. The first track in particular is a bit of a modern soul classic. The rest of it is pretty good too. It's on Daptone but as much as I like Sharon Jones, I like this better. The man has a great voice, there are tunes and it sounds great. Should be on Nobody's soul mix really.

He is pretty great. I need to listen that record more.

I find Bradley's comeback albums all have one song with an actual melodic hook, and then 9 songs of sweaty over-emoting in search of a tune.

There are a lot of lists already out now including Rolling Stone, Spin, Q, NME, Uncut, & Mojo. Jason Isbell is the only album I know and like on most lists.

The one that has the most overlap with me is American Songwriter's list:

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/ ... bums-2013/

My list will probably include 6 from that and I would include John Murry if I did have that album last year (UK release in 2012, US in 2013).

The previous one had TWO songs with a hook but I mostly agree with you: More sizzle than steak.

I bought a lot of discs this past year, but not one on that list.

There's a reason I quit buying Paste.

That's because you have no soul. Literally no soul, like a devil.

I like a few of the songs from the following, but unavoidably, they'lll end up hitting at the bottom of the batting order.

Mikal Cronin – MCII
Foxygen – We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze
Jason Isbell – Southeastern
The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II
Bill Callahan – Dream River
Local Natives – Hummingbird

Well this did get me to check out that Kurt Vile, which I dug. I can never explain why I like him, it feels like I shouldn't, but somehow I do. Great music to just have on around the house.