The 111 Best Albums of 2013

Here it is, the 111 best albums of 2013...as voted on by YOU.  If you don't like the list...change your listening habits.  Have a great 2014.

1. Arctic Monkeys - AM
2. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
3. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
4. The Arcade Fire - Reflektor
5. Kanye West - Yeezus
6. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
7. Haim - Days Are Gone
8. David Bowie - The Next Day
9. Jason Isbell - Southeastern
10. CHVRCHES - Bones of What You Believe
11. Foals - Holy Fire
12. My Bloody Valentine - m b v
13. Paul McCartney - New
14. Burial - River Dealer
15. Phoenix - Bankrupt!
16. Lorde - Pure Heroine
17. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
18. Queens of the Stone Age - Like Clockwork…
19. Okkervil River - The Silver Gymnasium
20. Said The Whale - Hawaii
21. Danny Brown - Old
22. Phosphorescent - Muchacho
23. Volcano Choir - Repave
24. Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune
25. The Field - Cupid’s Head
26. Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors
27. White Lies - Big TV
28. A$AP Rocky - Long Live A$AP
29. Sky Ferreira - Night Time My Time
30. Drake - Nothing Was The Same
31. Savages - Silence Yourself
32. Olafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter
33. James Blake - Overgrown
34. Deerhunter - Monomania
35. Paramore - Paramore
36. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2
37. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart
38. Local Natives - Hummingbird
39. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
40. Peace - In Love
41. Small Black - Limits of Desire
42. Superchunk - I Hate Music
43. Caitlin Rose - The Stand-In
44. Disclosure - Settle
45. The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars
46. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap
47. Charli XCX - True Romance
48. Mikal Cronin - MCII
49. Fall Out Boy - Save Rock N Roll
50. Atoms for Peace - Amok
51. The Naked And Famous - In Rolling Waves
52. Earl Sweatshirt - Doris
53. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
54. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
55. Skylar Grey - Don’t Look Down
56. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
57. Nils Frahm - Spaces
58. Cayucas - Bigfoot
59. Eels - Wonderful Glorious
60. Everything Everything - Arc
61. Front Bottoms - Talon of the Hawk
62. Kisses - Kids in LA
63. King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath The Moon
64. John Moreland - In The Throes
65. The O’s - Thunderdog
66. Panthu Du Prince and Bell Laboratory - Elements of Light
67. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - S/T
68. Calexico - Spiritoso
69. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Made Up Mind
70. Lonely Forest - Adding Up The Wasted Hours
71. Streetlight Manifesto - The Hands That Thieve
72. Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
73. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get
74. Avicii - True
75. Beyonce - Beyonce
76. Bill Callahan - Dream River
77. M.I.A. - Matangi
78. Hookworms - Pearl Mystics
79. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action
80. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
81. The Beatles - On The BBC Volume 2
82. The Knife - Shaking The Habitual
83. J. Cole - Born Sinner
84. Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse
85. Shearwater - Fellow Travelers
86. Gov’t Mule - Shout!
87. The Deer Tracks - The Archer Trilogy Pt 3
88. Deafheaven - Sunbather
89. Yo La Tengo - Fade
90. Tegan & Sara - Heartthrob
91. New Order - Lost Sirens
92. Eisley -  Currents
93. Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live,Too Rare To Die!
94. Half Moon Run - Dark Eyes
95. Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
96. Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail
97. Juliana Barwick - Nepenthe
98. The Lone Below - The Lone Below
99. Lanterns on the Lake - Until The Colours Run
100. Renaissance - Grandine Il Vento
101. Patty Griffin - American Kid
102. Bells> - Fundamentals
103. Anna Calvi - One Breath 
104. Leagues - You Belong Here 
105. Night Beds - Country Sleep 
106. Hiss Golden Messenger - HAW 
107. Lights - Siberia 
108. Daughter - If You Leave 
109. Air Marshal Landing - You Used To Be Me 
110. Austin Lucas - Stay Reckless 
111. Tom Morgan - Orange Syringe 

The 55 Best Albums of 2013 (1-11)

Here they are...my 11 best albums of 2013.  Up next will be your top 111.  Last chance to send in your favorite albums now.  I will compile everyone's picks and publish the super list next week.  Just in time to start our chronicling of 2014.  Have a happy and safe new year!

Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2013 (1-11):

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Haim - Days Are Gone
3. Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune
4. Small Black - Limits of Desire
5. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
6. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
7. Kisses - Kids in LA
8. The Arcade Fire - Reflektor
9. Calexico - Spiritoso
10. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
11. Arctic Monkeys - AM

Buy these albums and more now!!

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 11 Best Albums of 2013 (so far)

It's the 4th of July mid-way point of 2013.  Time to take a little look back at what music we are loving here.

Sorry, I've been out of touch...but with such limited releases at this time of year...I've taken some time off to finish my book (which is based on this blog) so it can be published this November.  More on that to come.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2013 (so far):

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune
3. Capital Cities - In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery
4. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
5. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
6. Small Black - Limits of Desire
7. Pickwick - Can't Talk Medicine
8. Kisses - Kids in LA
9. Calexico - Spiritoso
10. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
11. Jim James - Regions of Light

Have a happy 4th!

The 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk

For 15 years, Daft Punk has redefined dance music, setting the bar so high...it seems like they're the only ones who can top themselves.  This weeks Daft Punk's new album once again redefines their genre.  The style of the new album incorporates their signature sound along with guest stars from alternative rock, hip-hop and funk.  It's a like a bouillabaisse of everything was great, thrown together to create something new.  As their new era dawns, their previous era comes to a dark close.  Their song "One More Time," from 2001's Discovery features a prominent house DJ, Romanthony from New Jersey.  This past week, he passed away from kidney failure.  This is considered by many to be one of the greatest EDM dance songs of all time.  If not the best.  (Yeah, I know it's only number 2 on this list...but let's not discuss that).   It's certainly not the way the duo would want to open their guest-heavy return...but in a way, it helps remind us of the guests that helped them get here in the first place.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk:

1. Something About Us (Discovery)
2. One More Time (Discovery)
3. Robot Rock (Human After All)
4. Digital Love (Discovery)
5. Human After All (Human After All)
6. Da Funk (Homework)
7. Face To Face (Discovery)
8. Aerodynamic (Discovery)
9. Television Rules the Nation (Human After All)
10. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Discovery)
11. Around The World (Homework)

Buy Daft Punk's new album, Random Access Memories...now!!

The 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk

Pushing forward to the end of the year, it's time for me to do a little pandering to my lovely peeps.  That's you...stand up and take a bow. 

Running this site isn't free.  Nor do I have hours of unlimited time to host lists and very cool MP3s.  Don't get me wrong...I love doing it.  But it would be nice that it wasn't a money-losing venture for me.  Anyway...all I ask is if you can get the time...cruise through my store and see if there's any music out there you like.  I get a small  (and I mean very small) percentage of each purchase.  But every purchase adds up.

Happy holidays and all that jazz.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk:

1.  Something About Us (Discovery)
2.  Human After All (Human After All)
3.  One More Time (Discovery)
4.  Robot Rock (Human After All)
5.  Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Discovery)
6.  Face To Face (Discovery)
7.  Da Funk (Homework)
8.  Television Rules The Nation (Human After All)
9.  Digital Love (Discovery)
10.  Around The World (Homework)
11.  Veridis Quo (Discovery)

Buy Daft Punk's Soundtrack to Tron: Legacy...now!!  (only $3.99 for a super limited time)

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55)

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55):

45. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank (2007)
- Add one of the 80s greatest guitar forces (Johnny Marr) to one of the most exciting alternative rock bands of the decade...and what do you get? Pure rock brilliance. (Invisible)

46. The National - Boxer (2007)
- Like a 2000-ton steel train slowly rolling down the tracks. It may not move at record-breaking speeds...but it's a force to be reckoned with. (Start A War)

47. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003)
- A mammoth album when it comes to alternative country. I assume that this album so good, the band knew they would never top it...and decided to move in other directions. (Golden)

48. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (2007)
- Tweedy & a bunch of other guys put together a record that sounds like someone created a radio that allows you to hear music from the 1970s. One of the perfect lazy afternoon records.

49. Girl Talk - Night Ripper (2006)
- If you don't think you can create your own music...just take all the best music of the past 30 years and mash them all together in one big remix. Greg Gillis takes mash-ups to a whole other level with this epic tour through the history of commercial radio. It takes talent to steal something this good.

50. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)
- I'm crazy to include this, right? And not just to include this in my list...but to make the top 50. Just say it. Say I'm crazy. Well...here's my reasoning: During this decade, no album has been talked about, written about, discussed, downloaded, leaked, speculated, even rumored more than this album. It was a tour de force before it even came out. And when it did come out...it had no chance. As many people who wanted to hear...just as many wanted to hate it. And many hadn't even listened to the record. But now, almost a year after its release, the record remains unique but solid effort. The album plays more like a movie score than a rock record. It challenges the concept that every song on a rock album should sound the same. It takes some gutsy chances, it pushes boundaries...sometimes with enormous payoff...sometimes not. But isn't that what great rock is supposed to be about? About challenging the norm? I honestly wish more albums sounded like this...I think rock would be alive and well if they did.

51. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2008)
- If GNR set the stage for the future, MGMT is that future. With an album that had more nooks and crannies than your grandmother's house, they rocketed on the scene with the uber catchy "Kids" even though the rest of the album sounded like something that might be featured on the next Nuggets box set.

52. Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
- If freak folk defined the indie scene this decade...I&W is the grandpappy. With the ultimate lo-fi production, it was like being transported back into time to a more peaceful era...where sitting on the porch drinking lemonade actually meant something.

53. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
- If you're looking for albums that weren't just great but helped shaped the decade...DP's album was the album that set the standard for club music. From the likes of Kanye West to Justice to Beck...this was the album that influenced anyone and everyone to bust a move.

54. Feist - The Reminder (2007)
- With a voice like Feist's...she could sing TV jingles and still be captivating. And with 1,2,3,4 as the perfect indie pop song...she had everyone...including pre-schoolers...singing along with her.

55. Hot Chip - The Missing (2006)
- It wasn't dance record...but it had more moves than most club albums could have dreamed for. Like the bastard offspring of Thom Yorke and Beck, it was tantilizing good time. (Colours)

Buy these albums now...right here!