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 Bands at Coachella by day...

Incredible line-up this year.  Impossible to do one list for the whole festival...so here's three lists! One for each day.  These are by no means the only good bands playing, just the ones that I'm most excited about.  And Saturday is easily the most packed day.

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Friday:

1. Outkast
2. Girl Talk
3. Broken Bells
4. The Replacements
5. HAIM
6. A$AP Ferg
7. Ellie Goulding
8. Waxahatchee
9. Bryan Ferry
10. Grouplove
11. Zedd

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Saturday:

1. Foster The People
2. Empire Of The Sun
3. Cage The Elephant
4. Nas
5. Muse
6. Pet Shop Boys
7. Skrillex
8. MGMT
9. CHVRCHES
10. Blood Orange
11. The Head and The Heart

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Sunday:

1. Arcade Fire
2. Neutral Milk Hotel
3. Beck
4. Superchunk
5. Lana Del Rey
6. STRFKR
7. Calvin Harris 
8. Disclosure
9. Preservation Hall Jazz Band
10. Chance The Rapper
11. Bad Manners

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 Songs By The Arcade Fire

South Park told us to blame Canada but today we may need to thank Canada for saving rock n roll.  Ten years ago, The Arcade Fire put a smile on our face with a Funeral...now they're brightening our lives with a Reflektor.  It took their return to make us realize how silent our world had been without them to show us how it is done.  It's like David Bowie stuffed the Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, and a French teacher and in a hypodermic needle and injected them into our veins.  The Arcade Fire have made a career of shining light on dim worlds.  From enlightening a funeral to electrocharging religion to enriching everyday life, The Arcade Fire is the dawn from the dusk.  Which reminds me, don't forget to set your clocks back this weekend for Daylight Savings Time.  It gives you an extra hour to listen to the new album.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Arcade Fire:

1. Suburban War (The Suburbs)
2. Ready To Start (The Suburbs)
3. Neighborhood #3 Power Out (Funeral)
4. Rebellion Lies (Funeral)
5. We Used To Wait (The Suburbs)
6. Month of May (The Suburbs)
7. No Cars Go (Neon Bible)
8. Keep The Car Running (Neon Bible)
9. The Suburbs (The Suburbs)
10. Wake Up (Funeral)
11. Antichrist Television Blues (Neon Bible)

Buy The Arcade Fire's new album, Reflektor...now!!

The 11 Best Rumored Albums of 2013

One of the best things about a new year is a whole set of new speculation about what albums could possibly be coming our way.  I've collected the best of them...let's see how many come true.

Here are the 11 Best Rumored Albums of 2013:

1. U2 (July) - Mercury Records announced the new album was coming in 2013...but no word yet from the band.
2. My Bloody Valentine - Album #3 (June) - Twenty-two years in the making, Kevin Shields claims the new album was completed on December 21st.  But will he let us hear it?
3. Arcade Fire (September) - The band's in the studio now with James Murphy, eyeing a late fourth quarter release.
4. Pearl Jam (October) - The band keeps saying they're working on a new album but no time line has been solidified.
5. Modest Mouse (August) - The mouse does everything at a glacial pace but they've been writing and recording for a couple years now.  Along with playing many new songs live...the time seems right.
6. MGMT - MGMT (June) - The band has been working on the album since 2011 and has said the release was imminent since then.
7. The National (September) - They've been playing new songs live and have stated they're looking at a 2013 release.
8. Portishead - Fourth (October) - Barrow claimed to start work on a new album in Sept 2011.  While two years is a normal pace for most bands...this is Portishead...it could mean ten years.  Here's to being optimistic.
9. Vampire Weekend (May) - They've been playing new songs and are claiming a new release this spring.  Looks promising.
10. Rilo Kiley (April) - With an obscure Facebook update...it could only mean one of two things.  New album or Coachella appearance.  Okay, three:  both.
11. Wolfmother - Gatherings (March) - The band claimed that a new album would be coming in March.  But they said this last year, too.

Bonus:  Dr. Dre - Detox (November) - Sometimes wishes are granted.

The 11 Best Songs By Bright Eyes

Today was an uber-epic day in the world of music.  Despite Radiohead announcing a new album out this Saturday, Green Day, The Flaming Lips and Foo Fighters releasing new songs, Quesadilla spaulding attacked by pre-pubescent tweens in need of pubes...there was one thing on the tip of everyone's tongue:  Who the fuck are the Arcade Fire?

I'm not a fan of award shows, you should know that by reading this blog.  I do watch them for the performances.  I don't really care who wins...but Arcade Fire swiping the album of the year was something worth smiling about. What is even more perplexing is how many so-called music experts took to the Twitter-verse to voice their complete and utter ignorance of the band.  Because these self-proclaimed musical geniuses hadn't heard of the band, they felt that they should not have won.  How is bragging that you've never head of Arcade Fire make you a musical expert? Would that be like publicly admitting your musical ignorance?  Arcade Fire isn't an unknown band.  They were probably the biggest rock band of last year.

Here's a crib list of Arcade Fire's musical accomplishments from the last year:

- August 8th, 2010, The Suburbs moved 160,000 units to have the #1 album on Billboard's Top 200...ousting Eminem from the #1 spot and beating Lady Gaga's remix album debut
- Had the highest critical ranking of any album in any category nominated for a Grammy
- Ranked in the Top 5 as one of the best albums of 2010 by Q magazine, MTV, Stereogum, Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, and Time Magazine
- It sold 500,000 copies in 2010 (and was only out for 5 months)
- The band will headline Coachella 2011

Oh yeah...and there's a new Bright Eyes out today...can't wait to see what happens when Conor finally wins something.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Bright Eyes:


1. Let's Not Shit Ourselves (Lifted or the Story is in the Soil)
2. Lua (I'm Wide Awake)
3. You Will. You?Will. You? Will. You?Will. (Lifted or the Story is in the Soil)
4. Middleman (Cassadega)
5. Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh (Fevers & Mirrors)
6. Something Vague (Fevers & Mirrors)
7. First Day Of My Life (I'm Wide Awake)
8. Ship In A Bottle (Digital Ash In a Digital Urn)
9. Four Winds (Cassadega)
10. Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come (Lifted or the Story is in the Soil)
11. Light Pollution (Digital Ash In a Digital Urn)


Buy Bright Eyes new album The People's Key ($3.99 for a limited time!)

The Unknown: Arcade Fire - Dark Prayer

I'm not sure there was anything more gratifying than reading last week, that not only did the Arcade Fire have the number one album (The Suburbs) on Billboard's Top 200, but they knocked Eminem out of the top spot to do it. I like Eminem. But this ousting is significant. It's symbolic. It's a glowing neon sign. It goes to show that people want more than what the big labels are shoveling down their throats. Eminem, the number one selling artist of the 2000s, was booted out of the top spot by an indie rock band. He wasn't beaten by another band on another major label. He was beaten by an long-term establish hit maker. He wasn't beaten by a awful American Idol artist. He was beaten by a respected band on a dingy label that has no money for publicity or promotion. That is lucky to get any radio play. That doesn't even know how to spell "auto-tune."

Wake up labels. Pay attention to what people want...not what you want them to want.

In celebration, here's an Arcade Fire Rarities Collection.

Here is Arcade Fire - Dark Prayer:

1. This Must Be The Place
2. Broken Window
3. Cold Wind
4. Brazil
5. Surf City Eastern Bloc
6. Poupee de Cire
7. Lenin
8. No Cars Go
9. Born On A Train
10. Guns of Brixton
11. My Buddy (by Alvino Rey)

Buy The Arcade Fire's new album, The Suburbs, now! (Still an affordable $7.99) Do it for no more reason than to stick it to the man.

11 More Best Albums of 2010 (so far)

Last week I made my best albums of 2010 list halfway list.  I had a lot of albums I had been listening to, and was unimpressed by most of them.  But since then...I took some good recommends from you readers and did some exlporing on my own and found some great albums I had neglected to pick up and some albums I had no idea had even been released.  This list does not replace the previous list...nor is it the next best...it's an addendum...for further exploration.

Here are 11 More Best Albums of 2010 (so far):

1.  Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (epic release from one our generations's best) - only $3.99 for this week!!
2.  Anais Mitchell with Justin Vernon - Hadestown (a folk-rock opera...too good to ignore) - only $5.00
3.  Menomena - Mines (amazing step forward for this indie rock outfit)
4.  O. Childen - O. Children (If Nick Cave sang for Interpol)
5.  Gayngs - Relayted (Another Justin Vernon side-project...everything he touches is gold)
6.  Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (stunning DJ mix-mash-jumble-up) - only $5.00!!
7.  Jay Bennett - Kicking At The Perfumed Air (...and it's free)
8.  Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker (grand indie melodies - a little freaky...but not folky)
9.  Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (there's something to be said for consistency)
10.  Delphic - Acolyte (great electronica that borders on trance...but never goes overboard)
11.  22-20s - Shake/Shiver/Moan (straight-up Euro alternative rock) -only $4.89 right now!!

Buy these albums and many more now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Arcade Fire

Less is more. It's my creedo. On my computer monitor I have it printed on a post-it. With everything I write I try to say as much as I can in as little words as possible. It's not easy. I feel the same way about music. Albums don't need to be 16 albums long. Just because CDs can hold more...doesn't mean they should. 10-12 songs should still be the bench mark for all albums. Keep it simple. Less is more. I've had the priviledge of listening to the Arcade Fire album this past week. And it's great...except...it's a bit too long. They could have trimmed it to 10 songs: 1,2 & 9-16 and it would be the album of the year. It would have been better than Funeral. It's still pretty awesome at times...and sometimes...I'm just hoping it would hurry up and get to the good stuff. Maybe I'm wrong...maybe it will grow on me.


Right now & for a limited time...we're selling the album for $3.99. That's less than $4. That's less than lunch. That's less than a gallon of gas. In the time it took you to read this...you could have gone out and worked and earned enough money to buy the album...that's how great of a deal this is.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Arcade Fire:

1.  Wake Up (Funeral)
2.  Intervention (Neon Bible)
3.  Crown Of Love (Funeral)
4.  Neighborhood #3 (Funeral)
5.  Antichrist Television Blues (Neon Bible)
6.  Keep The Car Running (Neon Bible)
7.  Rebellion Lies (Funeral)
8.  Headlights Look Like Diamonds (The Arcade Fire EP)
9.  No Cars Go (Neon Bible)
10.  Lenin (Dark Was The Night)
11.  Old Flame (The Arcade Fire EP)

Buy The Arcade Fire's new album  (The Suburbs) for only....$3.99!!!!

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (1-11):

In creating the top 11, it really comes down to finding albums that weren't only great but also helped define the musical landscape of the decade. These ablums don't need a lot of explanation of why they were chosen. If you haven't heard these discs...then you likely were in a coma for the Bush years. It's only fitting in my opinion, that the most potent artist of this decade (Jay-z) opens the decade with the Blueprint...and closes it with the Blueprint 3.0. I've been racking my brain...trying to come up with something clever to say that sums up the decade musically...but when sitting down to finally write it...I think letting the music play...just speaks for itself.

NOW...it's your turn....

What are your top 11 albums of the 2000s???

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (1-11):

1. Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)
2. Wilco - Yankee Foxtrot Hotel (2002) - War on War
3. The White Stripes - Elephant (2003) - Seven Nation Army
4. Coldplay - Parachutes (2000) - Yellow
5. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
6. Beck - Sea Change (2002) - Lost Cause
7. Green Day - American Idiot (2004) - American Idiot
8. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007) - Reckoner
9. Kanye West - College Drop-Out (2004)
10. The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004) - Laika
11. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

    
    

    Buy these albums now!

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

May get the next 11 out tomorrow...if not...off on a mini-vaca...will continue on Monday.

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

78. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer (2005)
- JG's first solo album since his Zero 7 years is a haunting yet beautiful folk record.

79. Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)
- Beck drafts super-producer Dangermouse (whose impact is felt through this list)...to create an album suited for radio play in the 70s on AM...but somehow feels fresh and new for this decade.

80. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)
- The indie supergroup featuring Neko Case, A.C. Newman, Ban Bejar (Destroyer) may be the best release any of them have done. Just a solid example of what happens when great minds think alike.

81. Pete Yorn - Musicforthemorningafter (2001)
- Pete Yorn's debut literally came out of nowhere. There was a very little buzz about this guy prior to the release...and being on Sony...there was very little thought that this might be anything more than a major label's attempt at woeing the indie crowd. But over the past decade...Pete has remained diligent about his craft, keeping it his own. And over that period...his debut has only ripened with age. (Lose You)

82. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (2000)
- Possibly the release that legitimized the underground hip-hop movement. Though none of their other releases...solo or as a group...came close the originality or personality of this debut, the album continues to be a heralded landmark on the hip-hop landscape. (Lausd)

83. Kings of Leon - Only By Night (2008)
- Six months ago...I may not have included this...but the album has fought and clawed its way in critical and commercial success. Something that is no small feat in today's music industry. But that aside, it's just a good rock record. Not as strong as maybe their last release...but their music has matured as they have.

84. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007)
- Though it lacks in life and "fire" that the debut had...it's still a collection of intensely constructed songs...dark but vibrant...morid but alive. Even when they're a half-step off their game...they're still a full step in front of everyone else. (Antichrist Television Blues)

85. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (2008)
- The one thing severely lacking from the 2000s are the pure old fashioned rock records. A few bands tried to carry the rock n roll torch...but very few came close. But on MMJ's release from last year...it was like the band was harnessing the past and everything that made them what they are. It may be too early to tell how great this record is...and who knows...a couple years down the road...I could see this album hanging out near the top. (The Librarian)

86. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
- This year's front-runner is a ecclectic mix of the future of music. Many people are struggling to grasp this album, which only means it's one that takes time. And any album with that kind of attention needed is one that is usually worth the time invested.

87. Kanye West - Graduation (2007)
- Maybe the weakest of KW's non-autotune releases...is still a masterful hip-hop album and a scolding lesson of what can be accomplished with smart production. And any album that samples Daft Punk should always get an honorary listing.

88. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000)
- ES' last official release before his death shows the singer growing and expanding. He may have conquered on tunes that were simple bare bones kid & and a guitar folk...but Elliott wasn't satisfied being just that. He was ready to challenge what he was capable of doing and where he could go...too bad we'll never know what he could do. (Somebody That I Used To Know)

Buy the best of the 2000s now!

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella

Festivals suck. All of them do. We think that they are great because a lot of great artists play at them. And sure, once in awhile a good performance is heard. But for the amount of money you pay, it's never worth it. Coachella is the bastardization of the music festival. More expensive to go for three days than to buy a used car. The drive out there is hellacious. The toilets are decorated with feces on the wall. It's hot. The food costs more than a dinner a Spago and tastes worse than a dinner at Del Taco. The crowd is usually filled with people you would never even invite over to your house. And 99.9 % of the time...the sound system is awful. If you're in the back of the crowd, you're lucky if you can understand every fifth word of the singer. So what's the point? There is no point. Good marketing and an awesome line-up sucks you in every time.

But if you already have tickets...then have a great time!

Here are the 11 best Bands at Coachella 2007

1. Rage Against the Machine (Freedom live)
2. Rodrigo y Gabriela
3. Kings of Leon
4. Ozomatli (Como Ves - Live at the Filmore)
5. Gogol Bordello
6. Arctic Monkeys (I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Reading)
7. The Roots (Mellow My Man live)
8. The Decemberists
9. Arcade Fire (Age of Consent - New Order Live Cover)
10. Tokyo Police Club
11. Amy Winehouse