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 11 Best Songs By Jason Isbell

Today I made my yearly pilgrimage to the kinetic annual event known as E3.  Every video game that is coming out next year...and then some...is on display for people to play and experience months before the general public.  It's a peep show for the video game community.  The PS4, Xbox One, WiiU, and Steven Spielberg were all on display.  It's a theme park for people with ADD designed by people with ADHD.   It's Vegas on stimulants. There's so much happening all at the same time...it's hard to absorb anything at all.  All the new games are so creative and original, it's hard to get a grasp on them.  I found myself playing games I already knew because they felt comfortable.  Diablo, Lego Marvel, Mario...were the games that I enjoyed the most.  I played a bunch of new games...but honestly, I couldn't remember a single one to save my life.  That said, I can't wait to go back next year.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Jason Isbell:

1. Go It Alone (Here We Rest)
2. Stopping By (Here We Rest)
3. Good (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
4. However Long (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
5. Shotgun Wedding (Sirens of the Ditch)
6. Alabama Pines (Here We Rest)
7. The Magician (Sirens of the Ditch)
8. Chicago Promenade (Sirens of the Ditch)
9. Seven Mile Island (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
10. Hurricanes and Hand Grenades (Sirens of the Ditch) 
11. Daisy Mae (Here We Rest)

Buy Jason Isbell's new album, Southeastern, now!!!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (12-22)

No song was more infectious this year than Foster the People's Pumped up Kids.  What started as a catchy indie rock diddy took off and became an international hit rocketing up the Billboard charts and propelling rock album sales.  Most people still don't know the song is about a school shooting.  Maybe that why despite its popular success, it's still retained its indie cred.  Hopefully this is a sign that there's still a place for rock music on the charts...or maybe it's opening the floodgates for a rock music revival.  One can only hope.

Send in your BEST OF LISTS!!!  I want your top 20 albums of the year...or as many as you would like to send.  Just stick them in the comment section or email them to me.  I will compile a list by New Year's and share it with you all.

Here are the 55 Best Songs of 2011 (12-22):

12.       War on Drugs - Slave Ambient (Baby Missiles)

13.       Bright Eyes - The People's Key

14.       Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

15.       Middle Brother - Middle Brother (Portland)

16.       Wye Oak - Civilian

17.       Jeff the Brotherhood - We Are Champions

18.       Foster The People - Torches

19.       Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

20.       Jason Isbell - Here We Rest

21.    VHS or Beta - Diamonds and Death

22.    Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong

Buy these albums and more from 2011...all for under $5...for a limited time!!!

The 11 Best Solo Songs By Jason Isbell

I finally got my live Soundgarden CD.  I ordered it on the 24th of March and received it on the 12th of April. That's what I got for the $5.50 they charged me for the speedy delivery option.  I'm glad I didn't pick the freight price.  I wouldn't have received the CD until the next reunion tour.  Here's the kicker, I ordered this from Soundgarden's own website.  Shouldn't that have great service for the most devoted fans?  Why did I get the pony express service?  It's not like CDs are some new technology that's been invented in recent years.  They had CDs last time Soundgarden was around.  Yet, somehow the industry will blame this on internet downloading...and turn around praise Steve Jobs for saving the music industry.

I was going to buy Jason Isbell's new album from his site...but after this, I'll stick to the $5.99 price on Amazon.  At least I know I'll have the album on my computer before I even finish completing the service.

Here are the 11 Best Solo Songs By Jason Isbell:

1.  Good (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
2.  The Last Song I Will Write  (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
3.  Brand New Kind of Actress (Sirens of the Ditch)
4.  Streetlights  (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
5.  Devil Is My Running Mate  (Sirens of the Ditch)
6.  Seven-Mile Island  (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
7.  Shotgun Wedding  (Sirens of the Ditch)
8.  Into The Mystic  (Live at Twist & Shout)
9.  Dress Blue  (Sirens of the Ditch)
10.  However Long  (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
11.  The Magician  (Sirens of the Ditch)

Buy Jason Isbell's new album...Here We Rest...now!!! (only $5.99)