The 55 Best Albums of 2013 (45-55)

 It's that time of the year...time for the best of lists.  Here at GBU it's been a big year.  We had a book come out...and the music this year was worlds better than last year. As usual we like to put together a list of the best music that you loved and compile it into one big uber list of 111 albums.  So it's time for you to vote.

 We want your 20 favorite albums of 2013.  You can email us...or just post it in the comment section of the blog.  And if you can't think of 20...list as many as you liked. If you liked just 1 album...then tell us that.  We collect everyone's responses and tally them up. So let us have them.  And as always...we will start off the voting with our own list.  Enjoy!

  Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2013 (45-55):

45.  Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull

46.  Noah and the Whale - Heart of Nowhere

47.  Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

48.  HBS - In Deep Owl

49.  Junip - Junip

50.  Disclosure - Settle

51.  James Blake - Overgrown

52.  Earl Sweatshirt - Doris

53.  Andrew Stockdale - Keep Moving

54.  Avicii - True

55.  Fitz and the Tantrums - More Than Just A Dream

Buy these albums and more...now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By James Blake

Looking for a job in today's world is much harder than it was years ago...and frankly, far more time consuming.  Big hub career boards like Career Builder and Monster are pretty awful.  All they do is point you to outdated job listings where you have to go to the site and fill out ten pages of personal data just to see if you qualify for the job.  My friend filled out an online application for a manager position at Panda Express. He said it took him 90 minutes.  To work at Panda Express!!  Sadly, he not only didn't get the job...he didn't even get an interview.  Having to fill out applications on every single site (and submit a fully filled out resume) seems so counter-productive...it's kinda obvious why we have such an unemployment problem in this country.  It's not that there isn't enough jobs...it just takes too long to fill out all the applications.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By James Blake:

1. CMYK (CMYK)
2. Limit To Your Love (James Blake)
3. Wilhelms Scream (James Blake) 
4. Unluck (James Blake)
5. Fall Creek Boys Choir (Enough Thunder)
6. Not Long Now (Enough Thunder)
7. Love Happens Here (Love Happens Here)
8. A Case Of You (Enough Thunder)
9. Enough Thunder (Enough Thunder)
10. Lindesfarne II (James Blake)
11. I Never Learned To Share (James Blake)

Buy James Blake's new album, Overgrown...now!!!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (34-44)

Just the other night, I informed a rather astute music person that the Book of Mormon was written by Matt & Trey from South Park.  Even after I told them, they still didn't believe me.  It took a web search on a cell phone to confirm my piece of incredulous information.  It wasn't that it was impossible to think that Matt & Trey had the musical chops to write a musical...it was insane to think they had won best play...especially for a play whose signature song is "Fuck You God."  Another piece of this story is how much smaller our worlds became in 2011.  With music libraries popping up available on everyone's phone, we really saw the beginning of the future of how we will listen to music.  Apple had started it with the iphone...but the Android platform doubled the market overnight.  How far away are we from best playlists instead of best albums?  Sooner than we think...

AND....it's time for your lists!  Send me your list of your favorite albums of 2011.  I WANT YOUR TOP TWENTY.  I will compile all your votes into a master list.  Send it via emaill...or just post it in the comment box below.

Here are the Best Albums of 2011 (34-44):

34.       Fucked Up - David Comes To Life

35.       Mastodon - The Hunter

36.       The Cool Kids - When Fish Rides Bicycles

37.       Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man

38.       James Blake - James Blake (Unluck)

39.       sbtrkt - sbtrkt

40.       Cults - Cults

41.       St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

42.       Mr. Dream - Trash Hit

43.   Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

44.   The Book of Mormon - Soundtrack

Buy these albums and more...now!!!  (all albums under $5 for a limited time)

The 11 Best Debut Albums of 2011 (so far)

All these albums are solid and every one of these artists is someone you should keep your eye on.  But there's one artist in particular I want to point attention to and that's The Weeknd.  An unknown artist who came from nowhere that has taken the blog world by storm with his first mix-tape/album.  Here's the kicker...he's giving it away for free.  What is original about the debut isn't just the music itself but the method in which he's distributing it.  The Weeknd has all but abandoned the traditional style of distributing music and fully embraced the 21st century.  Without a publicist or marketing department, he's managed to become well-known all on his own.  While the major labels are fighting tooth and nail for the fraction of floor space left on retail floors, the new emerging artists are passing them by...by embracing the future.

The 11 Best Debut Albums of 2011 (so far):


1.  Yuck - Yuck
2.  James Blake - James Blake
3.  The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
4.  The Weeknd - House of Balloons
5.  Foster the People - Torches
6.  The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
7.  The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
8.  The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
9.  Cults - Cults 
10.  Ringo Deathstar - Colour Trip 
11.  EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

Get The Weeknd's album, House of the Balloons for free!