Songs of 2013

[Mattceinicram]

Just wondering, are there any best songs of 2013 out yet? Also what your guy's list so far?

[Nick]

Here's my unordered, very rough, best songs of 2013 thus far...

Justin Timberlake- Mirrors, Suit and Tie

My Bloody Valentine- Only Tomorrow, New You, Who Sees You

Foxygen- San Francisco

Vampire Weekend- Unbelievers, Ya Hey, Diane Young

James Blake- Retrograde

Phosphorescent- Song for Zula

Daft Punk- Get Lucky, Doin’ It Right

Chance The Rapper- Cocoa Butter Kisses

David Bowie- The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Primal Scream- 2013

The Knife- Full of Fire, A Tooth for an Eye

Deafheaven- Dream House

Kanye West- Black Skinhead, Blood on the Leaves, New Slaves

The National- Don't Swallow the Cap

Sigur Ros- Brennisteinn, Isjaki

Disclosure- White Noise, You and Me, When a Fire Starts to Burn

[Nassim]

I would have quite a few songs in common with Nick !

Unranked list too :

Chance the Rapper - Favorite Song, Good Ass Intro
Queens of the Stone Age - Fairweather Friends, The Vampyre of Time and Memory
Matmos - Very Large Green Triangles
La Femme - Si Un Jour, Saisis La Corde, Nous étions Deux
Settle - White Noise
The Knife - A Tooth for an Eye, Full of Fire
Savages - Shut Up
Kanye West - Hold My Liquor, I Am a God, Blood on the Leaves
Fuck Buttons - Red Wing
Run the Jewel - Get It

[Gillingham]

Unranked personal list:

Atoms for Peace - Before Your Very Eyes...
Autechre - Bladelores
Boards of Canada - Reach for the Dead, Come to Dust
Cave, Nick and the Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Foxygen - Oh Yeah
Holden, James - Renata
Low - Just Make it Stop
The National - Don't Swallow the Cap, Heavenfaced
Phosphorescent - A Charm / A Blade

[Romain]

My list so far :

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - From The Sun
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)
Granville - Jersey
Aline - Je bois et puis je danse
Aline - Elle et moi
Allah-Las - Don't you forget it
Allah-Las - Tell Me (What's On Your Mind)
Asaf Avidan - Different Pulses
Pendentif - Jerricane
David Bowie - Heat
David Bowie - Where are we now?
David Bowie - Dirty Boys
The Virginmarys - Just Ride
Atom For Peace - Before Your Very Eyes
Atom For Peace - Ingénue
Devendra Banhart - Daniel
Matthew E. White - One of these days
Depeche Mode - Heaven
Eels - Peach Blossom
Nick Cave - We No Who U R
Suede - For The Strangers
Suede - Always
Deerhunter - Blue Agent
Deerhunter - T.H.M.
Foals - Late Night
Arman Méliès - L'art perdu du secret
Arman Méliès - Arlésienne
Rachid Taha - Wesh (N'Amal)
Ólafur Arnalds - A Stutter
Ólafur Arnalds - Reclaim
Alex Beaupain - Après moi le déluge
Albin de la Simone - Elle s'endort
Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy
Cold War Kids - Jailbirds
Portugal The Man - Evil Friends
Portugal The Man - Creep In A T-Shirt
Daft Punk - Get Lucky

[Chambord]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=956

[Mattceinicram]

Ah I apologize. I didn't see that thread!

[Henrik]

[Nassim]

You can add Janelle Monae's Dance Apocalyptic song to my list ! Jackson 5 meet Sesame Street.

Q.U.E.E.N. is quite good too, I'm quite excited for September, 10 now !

[Henrik]

Can it get better than this? My favorite version is the Lissvik (one half of my beloved band "Studio") remix.

[Nassim]

I feel in love with this Australian folk slacker girly song :

[Jackson]

My favorites so far (really hard for me to rank):

Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine?
Annie - Invisible
Boards of Canada - Reach For the Dead
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Deafheaven - Dream House
Disclosure - White Noise
Forest Swords - Thor's Stone
Glasser - Shape
Huerco S - Prinzif
James Blake - Retrograd
James Holden - Renata
Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
King Midas Sound - Aroo
Mikal Cronin - Shout it Out
My Bloody Valentine - wonder 2
Primal Scream - 2013
Rustie - Slasherr
Thundercat - Oh Shiet, It's X
TV on the Radio - Mercy

[DocBrown]

I feel in love with this Australian folk slacker girly song

Thanks for posting this! Her first album (or double-EP, as she prefers) is out October 15, and can be streamed at Pitchfork.

[sonofsamiam]

Here's my Top 40 this year so far, one song per artist.

1. Julia Holter | Maxim's II
2. Fire! Orchestra | Exit, pt. 2
3. Daft Punk | Giorgio by Moroder
4. Goldfrapp | Drew
5. Matana Roberts | Amma Jerusalem School
6. My Bloody Valentine | wonder 2
7. Laura Marling | I Was an Eagle
8. Jon Hopkins | Open Eye Signal
9. Queens of The Stone Age | I Appear Missing
10. Boards of Canada | Reach for The Dead
11. The Knife | A Tooth for an Eye
12. Deafheaven | Dream House
13. James Blake | Retrograde
14. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds | Jubilee Street
15. Kanye West | Black Skinhead
16. Annie | Invisible
17. Oneohtrix Point Never | Zebra
18. Anna Calvi | One Breath
19. Rustie | Slasherr
20. Janelle Monae | Dance Apocalyptic
21. Arcade Fire | Reflektor
22. Primal Scream | 2013
23. Actress | Voodoo Posse Chronic Illusion
24. Peter Evans | 3625
25. Disclosure | White Noise
26. Fuck Buttons | The Red Wing
27. Dean Blunt | Demon
28. Rokia Traore | Melancolie
29. TV on The Radio | Mercy
30. These New Puritans | Fragment Two
31. The Haxan Cloak | Excavation, pt. 2
32. Run The Jewels | A Christmas Fucking Miracle
33. Mikal Cronin | Shout It Out
34. Elvis Costello and The Roots | Cinco Minutos Con Vos
35. Sigur Ros | Brennisteinn
36. Chvrches | Gun
37. Paul McCartney | New
38. John Grant | Pale Green Ghosts
39. Julianna Barwick | One Half
40. Ghostface Killah | Blood on The Cobblestones

No, I do not know why so many good tracks end in "2/Two/II". Strange.

Also, really need to check out releases by the following acts, either have not yet heard or have not given the proper time...

Prefab Sprout (really need to dig into this)
Peter Brotzmann (5 disc live album, which apparently is one of the best things he's done, but do I have the energy?)
Wadada Leo Smith (apparently released an album in June that I can't find anywhere)
James Holden (I have no excuse)
Shiina Ringo (apparently she released a single in Japan, just recently discovered how amazing she is)
Chance The Rapper
Neko Case
Yoko Ono
Autechre
Bill Callahan

[whuntva]

2013 has been mostly a *meh* year for me, but here are some of my favorites to date:

Alice in Chains-Mountain
Arcade Fire-Reflektor
Atoms for Peace-Before your Very Eyes
Daft Punk-Get Lucky
Editors-Hyena
Foals-Inhaler (I know it was a single last November, but Holy Fire was this year so I'm counting it)
Foals-My Number
Kanye West-Black Skinhead
Laura Marling-Master Hunter
The National-I Need my Girl
Nine Inch Nails-All Time Low
Nine Inch Nails-Copy of A
Sevendust-Decay
Sevendust-Mountain
Queens of the Stone Age-I sat by the Ocean
Queens of the Stone Age-My God is the Sun

[atldan]

I just came across this. Interesting. How can Get Lucky not be #1!?

http://prettymuchamazing.com/feature/best-songs-2013

1 Vampire Weekend, Step
2 (tie) Arcade Fire, Reflektor
2 (tie) Autre Ne Veut, Play by Play
4 Phosphorescent, Song For Zula
5 Daft Punk, Get Lucky
6 Torres, Honey
7 Vampire Weekend, Ya Hey
8 Kanye West, Black Skinhead
9 The National, Graceless
10 iceage, Ecstasy

[Jackson]

Here's my Top 40 this year so far, one song per artist.

1. Julia Holter | Maxim's II
2. Fire! Orchestra | Exit, pt. 2
3. Daft Punk | Giorgio by Moroder
4. Goldfrapp | Drew
5. Matana Roberts | Amma Jerusalem School
6. My Bloody Valentine | wonder 2
7. Laura Marling | I Was an Eagle
8. Jon Hopkins | Open Eye Signal
9. Queens of The Stone Age | I Appear Missing
10. Boards of Canada | Reach for The Dead

Nice, I knew you'd rate the Julia Holter album highly. On the jazz front, I didn't know Matana Roberts had new material, and I've been meaning to check out Fire Orchestra. Nice to see someone else recognize the TV on the Radio single.

I have a feeling you'll really like Wires by Floating Points. Nice blend of jazz and electronic, sounds as if Flying Lotus got really ambitious and focused for a single track.

Floating Points - Wires

[sonofsamiam]

Here's my Top 40 this year so far, one song per artist.

1. Julia Holter | Maxim's II
2. Fire! Orchestra | Exit, pt. 2
3. Daft Punk | Giorgio by Moroder
4. Goldfrapp | Drew
5. Matana Roberts | Amma Jerusalem School
6. My Bloody Valentine | wonder 2
7. Laura Marling | I Was an Eagle
8. Jon Hopkins | Open Eye Signal
9. Queens of The Stone Age | I Appear Missing
10. Boards of Canada | Reach for The Dead

Nice, I knew you'd rate the Julia Holter album highly. On the jazz front, I didn't know Matana Roberts had new material, and I've been meaning to check out Fire Orchestra. Nice to see someone else recognize the TV on the Radio single.

I have a feeling you'll really like Wires by Floating Points. Nice blend of jazz and electronic, sounds as if Flying Lotus got really ambitious and focused for a single track.

Floating Points - Wires

Cool, will put Floating Points on my to-listen list!

As far as others not on my T40, the Prefab Sprout record is great, FINALLY something that truly lives up to their heyday.

The Matana Roberts record is her 2nd in the Coin Coin series. It's less free jazz and more of an extended piece/song cycle, but definitely Matana. It's not as mind-blowing as the first, but still high quality stuff.

Julia Holter is truly someone to be reckoned with. Loud City Song is now my #1 this year, and I think it's overtaked Ekstasis, as it's a more unified and consistent album. Really catchy at times, too, even when pushing boundaries! I've heard her compared to lots of the obvious references (Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, etc.) but "Maxim's II" in particular reminds of a female Robert Wyatt. Brilliant.

Also, and maybe this is a subject for a topic unto itself ... Loud City Song marks 3 straight years with great albums for her (I consider 2011's Tragedy to be excellent as well -- "The Falling Age" may be her single greatest track).

So who was the last artist to actually put 3 great albums out in 3 consecutive years? I'm struggling with this, as it's so uncommon these days. Maybe R.E.M. from '86-'88? That would assume that Green is great, which is debatable. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone significant...

[Maschine_Man]

^ The White Stripes: S/T, De Stijl and White Blood Cells were all a year apart. (Not to mention Elephant was recorded in the first half of 2002).

Edit: My top 20 by 20 different artists:

1. Reflektor - Arcade Fire
2. Fly - The Child of Lov

3. Brief Encounters - Franz Ferdinand
4. Horns Surrounding Me - Julia Holter
5. Default - Atoms For Peace

6. San Francisco - Foxygen
7. Retrograde - James Blake
8. Ores & Minerals - Mazes
9. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) - David Bowie
10. Lesser Evil - Doldrums
11. Bugs Don’'t Buzz - Majical Cloudz
12. Q.U.E.E.N. - Janelle Monáe

13. Earthly Pleasure - Villagers
14. Send It Up - Kanye West
15. Young Hearts - Maston
16. Black Belt - John Grant
17. Ride On / Right On - Phosphorescent
18. Step - Vampire Weekend
19. Ísjaki - Sigur Rós

20. Drew - Goldfrapp

[Mattceinicram]

I just came across this. Interesting. How can Get Lucky not be #1!?

http://prettymuchamazing.com/feature/best-songs-2013

1 Vampire Weekend, Step
2 (tie) Arcade Fire, Reflektor
2 (tie) Autre Ne Veut, Play by Play
4 Phosphorescent, Song For Zula
5 Daft Punk, Get Lucky
6 Torres, Honey
7 Vampire Weekend, Ya Hey
8 Kanye West, Black Skinhead
9 The National, Graceless
10 iceage, Ecstasy

I'm surprised by the placement of Royals at 25 on this list. Interesting read nonethless

[Nassim]

Also, and maybe this is a subject for a topic unto itself ... Loud City Song marks 3 straight years with great albums for her (I consider 2011's Tragedy to be excellent as well -- "The Falling Age" may be her single greatest track).

So who was the last artist to actually put 3 great albums out in 3 consecutive years? I'm struggling with this, as it's so uncommon these days. Maybe R.E.M. from '86-'88? That would assume that Green is great, which is debatable. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone significant...

EVOL/Sister/Daydream Nation ends in 88 too.

In the 00s you can find a bunch of great albums 2 years in a row (Spoon, Radiohead, The Roots, Kanye West 2 or 3 times depending on how you rank Watch the Throne) but I don't see who could have made 3...
Some would argue for Blur, but I don't think The Great Escape is that, well, great.
Maybe Sufjan with Michigan, Seven Swans and Illinois.

3 great albums in 4 years in the 90s or 00s, that you find a bit more (PJ Harvey, A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Nirvana, Kanye West, Elliott Smith...)

[Romain]

Here is my list in progress of the best songs of the year

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - From The Sun
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)
Granville - Jersey
Aline - Je bois et puis je danse
Aline - Elle et moi
Allah-Las - Don't you forget it
Allah-Las - Tell Me (What's On Your Mind)
Asaf Avidan - Different Pulses
Pendentif - Jerricane
David Bowie - Heat
David Bowie - Where are we now?
David Bowie - Dirty Boys
The Virginmarys - Just Ride
Atom For Peace - Before Your Very Eyes
Atom For Peace - Ingénue
Devendra Banhart - Daniel
Matthew E. White - One of these days
Depeche Mode - Heaven
Eels - Peach Blossom
Nick Cave - We No Who U R
Suede - For The Strangers
Suede - Always
Deerhunter - Blue Agent
Deerhunter - T.H.M.
Foals - Late Night
Arman Méliès - L'art perdu du secret
Arman Méliès - Arlésienne
Rachid Taha - Wesh (N'Amal)
Ólafur Arnalds - A Stutter
Ólafur Arnalds - Reclaim
Alex Beaupain - Après moi le déluge
Albin de la Simone - Elle s'endort
Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy
Cold War Kids - Jailbirds
Portugal The Man - Evil Friends
Portugal The Man - Creep In A T-Shirt
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Sigur Ros - Hrafntinna
Woodkid - Iron
Woodkid - Boat Song
The Knife - A Tooth For An Eye
Foxygen - shuggie
Robin Thicke Feat T.I. & Pharrell - Blurred Lines
Iggy & The Stooges - Unfriendly World
Sweet Baboo - Let's Go Swimming Wild
Jacco Gardner - The One Eyed King
Jacco Gardner - Puppets Dangling
Queens Of The Stone Age - Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Queens Of The Stone Age - I Appear Missing
Junip - Baton
Savages - Strife
The Virgins - Flashback, Memories, and Dreams
The Strokes - 80's Comedown Machine
Vampire Weekend - Hudson
Endless Boogie - Imprecations
Mendelson - Avant la fin
Mendelson - Une autre histoire
Stromae - Formidable

Anna Calvi - Suddenly
Anna Calvi - Sing To Me
Chateau Marmont - Wargames

[HRS]

Also, and maybe this is a subject for a topic unto itself ... Loud City Song marks 3 straight years with great albums for her (I consider 2011's Tragedy to be excellent as well -- "The Falling Age" may be her single greatest track).

Sonofsamiam, I am glad that Maxim's II is someone else's favorite track of the year, too. Although, I feel as eager for placing the first part inside my top 10 of the year. The jazz experimentation somehow brought to my mind a similar kind of restlessness of that shown by Brigitte Fontaine in Comme à la Radio. The whole album is incredibly solid and I've already gushed enough on the albums thread. I can't think of any other artist having such a strong run of an album for each year in quite a while, but what strikes me the most is how different all of them sound and are from each other. Every single one of them had a concept to wrap your head around. From the Euripides concept of Tragedy to the jazzy ambience of Loud City Song to the sonic cohesion of Ekstasis, each of them had a character of its own. Holter is masterful in adapting other types of expression by other artists to the art of music -- be it Marienbad using Resnais or Colette and City Song. When making use of this artifice, she creates music that feels part of the cloth is cut from other people, but at the same time an entirely new entity governed by its own dynamics. The atmosphere of Loud City Song is miles away from the naiveté of Gigi, the musical. I also appreciate the use of field recordings and cut-up elements that only enriches the atmosphere. Like her literary references, we can point out possible influences on her music, but it sounds completely new and fresh. As you said, it's incredibly accessible even when it's pushing boundaries. She packs so many ideas that I just hope she can keep all going; she discusses her music as projects and I see possibilities of new experimentations after those three great deliveries. I have seen some connect it with tUnE-yArDs's w h o k i l l and Julianna Barwick's work. One can hope more females come up with those kind of interesting ideas, since even the failures are more amusing when they aren't done in mediocrity.

[Jackson]

Here's my top 40 on the cusp of the EOY lists rollouts and my annual listening binge (which will likely change a lot). My hunch is that this year is not as strong as 2012, which placed 26 songs on my most recent all-time list, the most since 2001.

1 | My Bloody Valentine | wonder 2
2 | Daft Punk | Get Lucky
3 | Huerco S | Prinzif
4 | Disclosure ft. AlunaGeorge | White Noise
5 | TV On the Radio | Mercy
6 | Floating Points | Wires
7 | Arctic Monkeys | R U Mine?
8 | Annie | Invisible
9 | The Range | Metal Swing
10 | Thundercat | Oh Shiet, It's X
11 | Primal Scream | 2013
12 | James Holden | Renata
13 | Jon Hopkins | Open Eye Signal
14 | James Blake | Retrograde
15 | James Holden | The Caterpillar's Intervention
16 | John Grant | Pale Green Ghosts
17 | Mikal Cronin | Weight
18 | Deafheaven | Dream House
19 | Mikal Cronin | Shout It Out
20 | Julia Holter | Maxim's I
21 | Boards of Canada | Reach for the Dead
22 | Steve Mason | Seen It All Before
23 | Rustie | Slasherr
24 | These New Puritans | Fragment Two
25 | Glasser | Shape
26 | Uncle Acid | Poison Apple
27 | King Midas Sound | Aroo
28 | Thundercat | Heartbreaks + Setbacks
29 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
30 | Lone | Airglow Fires
31 | Deafheaven | Vertigo
32 | Primal Scream | It's Alright, It's OK
33 | Inga Copeland | Speak
34 | Melt Yourself Down | Fix My Life
35 | Janelle Monae | Q.U.E.E.N.
36 | Run the Jewels | A Christmas Fucking Miracle
37 | Baths | Worsening
38 | My Bloody Valentine | only tomorrow
39 | Laura Marling | I Was An Eagle
40 | The Haxan Cloak | Excavation, Pt. 2

[Nick]

Here's my extremely rough, totally subject to change, top 40-

1. Daft Punk- Get Lucky
2. Arcade Fire- Reflektor
3. My Bloody Valentine- Only Tomorrow
4. Justin Timberlake- Mirrors
5. Robin Thicke- Blurred Lines
6. Kanye West- Black Skinhead
7. Disclosure- When a Fire Starts to Burn
8. Disclosure- White Noise
9. Vampire Weekend- Unbelievers
10. Vampire Weekend- Diane Young
11. Sigur Ros- Brennisteinn
12. Vampire Weekend- Ya Hey
13. The Knife- A Tooth for An Eye
14. Phosphorescent- Song For Zula
15. Deafheaven- Dream House
16. The Knife- Full of Fire
17. Kanye West- New Slaves
18. Arcade Fire- Afterlife
19. TV on the Radio- Mercy
20. Arctic Monkeys- Do I Wanna Know?
21. James Blake- Retrograde
22. Vampire Weekend- Step
23. Foxygen- San Francisco
24. Justin Timberlake- Suit & Tie
25. Chance the Rapper- Cocoa Butter Kisses
26. Fuck Buttons- The Red Wing
27. Daft Punk- Doin' It Right
28. The National- Don't Swallow the Cap
29. Kanye West- Bound 2
30. Sigur Ros- Isjaki
31. Janelle Monae- Q.U.E.E.N.
32. Daft Punk- Lose Yourself to Dance
33. Lorde- Royals
34. Jay-Z- Holy Grail
35. Anamanaguchi- Endless Fantasy
36. MGMT- Your Life Is a Lie
37. Kanye West- Hold My Liquor
38. Arcade Fire- Here Comes the Night Time
39. Arctic Monkeys- No. 1 Party Anthem
40. Justin Timberlake- Let the Groove Get In

[DocBrown]

For what it's worth I'm also working on a top forty list today. Usual disclaimers:


1. Laura Marling – I Was An Eagle
2. Torres – When Winter’s Over
3. Lorde – Tennis Court
4. The Civil Wars – Dust To Dust
5. Poliça – Chain My Name
6. Torres – Moon & Back
7. San Fermin - Sonsick
8. Deadmau5 (feat. Imogen Heap) – Telemiscommunications
9. London Grammar – Metal & Dust
10. Zola Jesus – Vessel (2013 Remix)
11. Alice & the Glass Lake – Higher
12. CHVRCHES – Recover
13. Frightened Rabbit – State Hospital
14. Camera Obscura – Desire Lines
15. MS MR - Hurricane
16. The Joy Formidable – Wolf`s Law
17. Mazzy Star – In The Kingdom
18. Savages – Shut Up
19. The Lone Bellow – Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold
20. The Neighbourhood – Sweater Weather
21. Postiljonen – Rivers
22. Deer Tick – Mirror Walls
23. Blitzen Trapper – Faces of You
24. Torres – Chains
25. Ane Brun – This Voice (2013)
26. Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener (thanks, Nassim)
27. Daughter – Lifeforms
28. Pillowfight – Get Your Shit Together
29. Laura Marling – Master Hunter
30. Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood – Cold Molly
31. Placebo – Loud Like Love
32. Sea Wolf – Sons and Daughters
33. The National – I Should Live in Salt
34. Jason Isbell – Travelling Alone
35. Lorde – Royals
36. Editors – A Ton of Love
37. Nico Vega – Beast
38. Rhye – Open
39. Over The Rhine – Meet Me At the Edge of the World
40. San Fermin – Casanova


And yes, I do think Torres' album is that good

[Illiniq]

In no order...these are the songs that have done the most for me this year...

Late Night - Foals
The Kitchen Floor - Little Green Cars
Wherever You Want To Go, That Kind Of Lonely - Patty Griffin
We Were Rock & Roll - Janelle Monae
Miste - Haxan Cloak
I Come From The Mountains - Floating Coffin
Colombia - Local Natives
I Know It's You - Guards
Two Fingers - Jake Bugg
Tears O Plenty, Stoned & Starving, Donuts Only - Parquet Courts
If I Had A Tail - Queens Of The Stone Age
New You - MBV
Piano Mantra - Mical Cronin
New Town Velocity - Johnny Marr
Obvious Bicycle - Vampire Weekend
Sacrilege - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Song For Zula ,The Quotidian Beasts - Phosphorescent
Freaky - The Men
The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
GMF - John Grant
Late March, Death March & Nitrous Gas - Frightened Rabbit
Whe No Who U R, Wide Lovely Eyes, Jubilee Street, Higgs Boson Blues - Nick Cave
Lose Yourself TO Dance, Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Normal Person, It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) - Arcade Fire
Help Me Lose My Mind - Disclosure
A Tooth For An Eye - The Knife
Prisoner's Song - Dropkick Murphy's
Shut Up - Savages
Down Down The Deep River - Okkervil River
Relatively Easy - Jason Isbell
I Should Live In Salt, Don't Swallow The Cap, This Is The Last Time, Graceless, I Need My Girl, Humiliation, Pink Rabbits - The National (easy to see why it's my album of 2013)
Blood On The Cobblestones - Ghostface Killah
KV Crimes, Air Bud - Kurt Vile
We Are The 21st Century, San Francisco - Foxygen
Open - Rhye
Kinda Fuzzy - Eels
Mute - Youth Lagoon
Black Skinhead - Kanye West
In Haze - Iceage
Best Of Friends - Palma Violets

Just picked up latest by Bombino, Sigur Ros, Fuck Buttons, Julia Holter, Julliane Barwick, Hookworms, Jagwar Ma, Tim Hecker, Lorde, and one or two others...so more coming

[Chilton]

This one hasn't been mentioned yet, probably my #1 for this year:
David Bowie - Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy)

[drewcannon3]

1. Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener
2. Charli XCX - Take My Hand
3. Wolf Alice - Bros
4. HAERTS - Wings
5. Waxahatchee - Lively
6. Charli XCX - SuperLove
7. Haim - The Wire
8. Miley Cyrus - #GETITRIGHT
9. Betty Who - You're in Love
10. Janelle Monae - PrimeTime

[John]

Since I didn't listen to a lot of albums in 2013 I thought I'd least chime in with my favorite 30 songs of 2013...

1. San Francisco- Foxygen
2. Team- Lorde
3. We Can't Stop- Miley Cyrus
4. The Wire- Haim
5. You're Not the One- Sky Ferreira
6. Mirrors- Justin Timberlake
7. Needle- Born Ruffians
8. The Mother We Share- CHVRCHES
9. Get Lucky- Daft Punk
10. I Was Wrong- Surfer Blood
11. Young Love- Felix Cartal
12. Shuggie- Foxygen
13. Concert Pitch- Empire of the Sun
14. Mixed Emotions- Annie
15. Safe and Sound- Capital Cities
16. Wrecking Ball- Miley Cyrus
17. 24 Hours- Sky Ferriera
18. All Night- Icona Pop
19. Flunky Minnows- Guided By Voices
20. The Sea- Swim Deep
21. What I Like- Charli XCX
22. Gun- CHVRCHES
23. Notice Me- Alli Simpson
24. Burn- Ellie Goulding
25. My Type- Saint Motel
26. Dreamers- Savoir Adore
27. New- Paul McCartney
28. Void- Superchunk
29. All My Life (Mitch Murder Remix)- Sally Shapiro
30. Weight- Mikal Cronin

[Nick]

Here's my semi definitive top 50-

1. Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Get Lucky
2. Arcade Fire- Reflektor
3. My Bloody Valentine- Only Tomorrow
4. Disclosure (featuring AlunaGeorge)- White Noise
5. Vampire Weekend- Diane Young
6. Disclosure- When a Fire Starts to Burn
7. Justin Timberlake- Mirrors
8. Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. and Pharrell)- Blurred Lines
9. Kanye West- Black Skinhead
10. Arctic Monkeys- Do I Wanna Know?
11. Haim- The Wire
12. Vampire Weekend- Unbelievers
13. Sigur Ros- Brennisteinn
14. James Blake- Retrograde
15. Deafheaven- Dream House
16. Vampire Weekend- Ya Hey
17. The Knife- Full of Fire
18. Phosphorescent- Song for Zula
19. Arcade Fire- Afterlife
20. Vampire Weekend- Step
21. Kanye West- New Slaves
22. Chvrches- Recover
23. Lorde- Royals
24. The Knife- A Tooth for an Eye
25. Foxygen- San Francisco
26. Chance the Rapper- Cocoa Butter Kisses
27. Fuck Buttons- The Red Wing
28. Drake- Hold On, We’re Going Home
29. Daft Punk- Doin’ It Right
30. The National- Don’t Swallow the Cap
31. TV on the Radio- Mercy
32. Kanye West- Bound 2
33. Sigur Ros- Isjaki
34. Janelle Monae (featuring Erykah Badu)- Q.U.E.E.N.
35. Autre Ne Veut- Play by Play
36. Justin Timberlake (featuring Jay-Z)- Suit & Tie
37. Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell)- Lose Yourself to Dance
38. J. Cole (featuring TLC)- Crooked Smile
39. Arcade Fire- Here Comes the Night Time
40. Todd Terje- Strandbar (Disko)
41. Chance the Rapper- Chain Smoker
42. St. Vincent- Birth in Reverse
43. Anamanaguchi- Endless Fantasy
44. The National- Graceless
45. Sky Ferreira- I Blame Myself
46. Haim- Falling
47. MGMT- Your Life is a Lie
48. Blood Orange (featuring Samantha Urbani)- You’re Not Good Enough
49. Kanye West- Blood on the Leaves
50. Pusha T- Numbers on the Boards

[Bruno]

Great choices, Nick!

[Rob]

As usual I am far behind in new music and can't make a very long year-list. However, I do have a definitive song of the year and it's a song I haven't seen on any end of year list, by critics or here on the site. Neither did I expected it to, because it is quite an obscure song: Bird Balloons by Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. Anybody here heard of it?

I came across it on a cd I got for my birthday in July. It was a cd that came free with Uncut apparently and contained a collection of 15 songs by mostly completely unknown artists, including the one by Lady Lamb. There where quite a few good songs on the compilation, but none struck me so much as Bird Balloons. In fact, despite discovering amazing music on a weekly basis, it rarely happens that I get struck so much as with this track. It's the feeling of hearing something completely new, something like nothing you have heard before. But despite complete unfamiliarity of the thing you feel immediately connected with it. Quite a feat for Bird Balloons, because that's a song that I can well imagine few people liking, because of it's many shifts in tone, unmelodiousness, little screams of hysteria and Aly Spaltro's weird way of singing en perhaps not conventionally great voice.

To me, however it was like hearing people playing and singing in six minutes precisely as they feel and they happen to go through a lot of different feelings, even though the (equally odd, but very memorable) lyrics at least give everything some context. I've been obsessed by this weird song for a few months. I also bought Lady Lamb's album, Ripely Pine, which is maybe not consistently great (the few lesser songs are at the start, sadly enough), but also very original and sometimes brilliant. Though Bird Balloons remains the standout and safely nestles itself in my top 10 songs of all time.

Here it is:

What do other people here think? I can imagine very well that this is one of those love-it-or-hate-it-songs. And perhaps people with a little more knowledge of music can point me in the way of something similar (if it exists).

As for mainstream music, for me this wasn't the year of Daft Punk's Get Lucky (though I like it a lot), but of Lorde's Royals. I don't see it appear here all that much in user's lists, though it does quite well with critics. It's rare that I truly love a song that's pure pop, but this is one of those happy exceptions. I love Lorde's singing and the almost a-Capella (despite some droning and drums in the background) feel of it, combined with the lyrics that state a problem I have with too much rap music: the self-aggrandizing lyrics put me off. I know, I know, I read the discussion here that there is enough hip-hop about other subjects, but still there is such a lot of it about how great the rappers think they are and what great things they possess and stuff like that. I've always wondered who cared about hearing all this nonsense, but apparently people love it. Anyway, I was happy to see Royals go from a song that was only occasionally played on the Dutch radio to a number one hit. It took many months, in a time where hits usually rise very fast. Royals earned it. Though, to my shame I still haven't heard Lorde's album.

[DaveC]

Great post Rob.

I nominated Ripley Pine for the Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2013 game. "Bird Balloons" is surely the centrepiece of the album. Although my favourite tracks are the last two and these will both make my year end songs list. The best moment on the album comes at the 2 minute mark in "Little Brother" when Aly Spaltro audibly tales a deep breath; Will she start yelling in the slightly out of tune manner of other tracks? Will she start thrashing out chords on her guitar? Or are we going into another rhythmic breakdown? But no, in the most surprising twist on the album, she continues as before and completes a song which wouldn't be out of place on a Marissa Nadler album; Brilliant. Maybe not for everyone, but a major talent IMO.

[Romain]

My current list :

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - From The Sun
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)
Granville - Jersey
Aline - Je bois et puis je danse
Aline - Elle et moi
Allah-Las - Don't you forget it
Allah-Las - Tell Me (What's On Your Mind)
Asaf Avidan - Different Pulses
Pendentif - Jerricane
David Bowie - Heat
David Bowie - Where are we now?
David Bowie - Dirty Boys
The Virginmarys - Just Ride
Atom For Peace - Before Your Very Eyes
Atom For Peace - Ingénue
Devendra Banhart - Daniel
Matthew E. White - One of these days
Depeche Mode - Heaven
Eels - Peach Blossom
Nick Cave - We No Who U R
Suede - For The Strangers
Suede - Always
Deerhunter - Blue Agent
Deerhunter - T.H.M.
Foals - Late Night
Arman Méliès - L'art perdu du secret
Arman Méliès - Arlésienne
Rachid Taha - Wesh (N'Amal)
Ólafur Arnalds - A Stutter
Ólafur Arnalds - Reclaim
Alex Beaupain - Après moi le déluge
Albin de la Simone - Elle s'endort
Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy
Cold War Kids - Jailbirds
Portugal The Man - Evil Friends
Portugal The Man - Creep In A T-Shirt
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Sigur Ros - Hrafntinna
Woodkid - Iron
Woodkid - Boat Song
The Knife - A Tooth For An Eye
Foxygen - shuggie
Robin Thicke Feat T.I. & Pharrell - Blurred Lines
Iggy & The Stooges - Unfriendly World
Sweet Baboo - Let's Go Swimming Wild
Jacco Gardner - The One Eyed King
Jacco Gardner - Puppets Dangling
Queens Of The Stone Age - Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Queens Of The Stone Age - I Appear Missing
Junip - Baton
Savages - Strife
The Virgins - Flashback, Memories, and Dreams
The Strokes - 80's Comedown Machine
Vampire Weekend - Hudson
Endless Boogie - Imprecations
Mendelson - Avant la fin
Mendelson - Une autre histoire
Stromae - Formidable
Anna Calvi - Suddenly
Anna Calvi - Sing To Me
Chateau Marmont - Wargames
La Femme - Nous étions deux
La Femme - Sur la planche
La Femme - Le blues de Françoise
The Black Angels - Evil Things
The Black Angels - Holland
Babyshambles - Fall from Grace
Babyshambles - Penguins
Babyshambles - Minefield
Gary Numan - Everything Comes Down To This
Eminem - Berzerk
Mick Harvey & P.J. Harvey - Glorious
Paul Mccartney - New
Bill Callahan - Spring
Bill Callahan - Ride My Arrow
Willis Earl Beal - Burning Bridges
Willis Earl Beal - Ain't Got No Love
Willis Earl Beal - Nobody Knows
Mavis Staples - I Like The Things About Me
Biffy Clyro - Opposite
Black Sabbath - God Is Dead
Brigitte Fontaine - Amour Poubelle
Crocodiles - I Like It In The Dark
Crocodiles - Cockroach
Hot Chip - Dark and Stormy
Julien Doré - Corbeau blanc
Laura Mvula - Make Me Lovely
Manic Street Preachers - Rewind the Film
Manic Street Preachers - 3 Ways To See Despair
The Computers - Mr. Saturday Night
The Computers - Nothing To Say
The Animen - My Pretty Ballerina
The Fratellis - Shotgun Shoes
The Fratellis - Whisky Saga
Saint Michel - Ceci n'est pas une chanson
Money - Who's Going To Love You Now
Money - Letter To Yesterday
Petit Fantôme - Peio

[Romain]

oops, I forget the best song and best videoclip of the year :

Joyeux Noël ! Happy christmas!

[Rob]

Great post Rob.

I nominated Ripley Pine for the Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2013 game. "Bird Balloons" is surely the centrepiece of the album. Although my favourite tracks are the last two and these will both make my year end songs list. The best moment on the album comes at the 2 minute mark in "Little Brother" when Aly Spaltro audibly tales a deep breath; Will she start yelling in the slightly out of tune manner of other tracks? Will she start thrashing out chords on her guitar? Or are we going into another rhythmic breakdown? But no, in the most surprising twist on the album, she continues as before and completes a song which wouldn't be out of place on a Marissa Nadler album; Brilliant. Maybe not for everyone, but a major talent IMO.

I hadn't noticed that Moderately Acclaimed topic yet. Nice to see someone else loving that album. I had hard time recommending it to people.

[Dan]

Well, it's time to crawl out of my hiding place. After all, it's 2014, and going into self-induced hibernation is so 2008.

There are about a zillion "recent" posts/threads to respond to, but they will probably all have to wait while I spend the first month of the new year trying to make sense of last year's music.

I'm looking forward to exploring it all. In the meantime, here are a few songs beyond the current critics' top 100 that I would like to recommend...

I'll start off with country songs for those who don't freak out at the prospect of good country music (you know who you are, you rare and beautiful creatures):

Guy Clark - My Favorite Picture of You

Slaid Cleaves - Texas Love Song

Brandy Clark - Stripes

And the best Italian song of the year, sung by a Norwegian...

Erlend Øye - La prima estate

Also, why is Daft Punk's "Giorgio by Moroder" so underrated?