2013

Music Monday 1.6.14

Music Monday 470

It's -40F wind chill here, which means you light up the fireplace and listen to Bon Iver. One of my favorite EVER albums, For Emma Forever Ago, is $5.

If you haven't checked it out yet, my Best Albums of 2013 list is up. Would love your thoughts. What music from last year did you enjoy?

Streaming free small 470

Damien Jurado: Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son - My love for this dude's music has grown the last few years. Excited for this one. I'm only five songs in and I'm very, very happy so far.

Music SaleCheap Albums from my 2013 list ($5 unless noted otherwise)...

Other cheap albums worth checking out...

Best Albums of 2013

Music Blown Away

The first nine months this year were just ok for me, but some late year discoveries bridged the gap. I bought less albums this year. As always, I found some real gems. Some you know about. I hope a few that you don't. Music discovery through year end lists is a joy for me and I hope for you. For my favorite compilation of year end lists check out Metacritic.

I'll given a lot of thought to my top 20. The honorable mentions are many, and all worth checking out. Also check out Greg Thornbury's year end list. There are albums there I'm just getting to know.

Buying Through Amazon: Some albums are pretty cheap right now, so if it looks interesting click through to Amazon to check prices and listen to samples. Clicking through my links and buying music (or anything) helps me to buy books & music as my family has no budget for either. And it costs you nothing extra to use my links! Thanks for your support. 

Previous Years -- My Best Albums

2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 

Now, on to the good stuff from 2013...

2013 Honorable Mentions (no particular order): Danny BrownOldDeerhunterMonomania | Derek WebbI'm Was Wrong, I'm Sorry, and I Love You | DisclosureSettle | The Lone BellowThe Lone Bellow | Laura MarlingOnce I Was An Eagle | Kanye WestYeezus | Local NativesHummingbird | LowThe Invisible Way | Neko CaseThe Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You | PhantogramEyelid Movies | Pusha T: My Name Is My NameBoards of CanadaTomorrow's Harvest | The Avett Brothers: Magpie & the DandelionOkkervil RiverThe Silver Gymnasium | WoodkidThe Golden Age | Frightened Rabbit: Pedestrian VerseJustin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience | Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap (free) | Kurt Vile: Wakin On A Pretty Daze

20. Burial: Rival Dealer EP | I'm cheating as I don't put EPs on my best albums of the year list, but Burial is always amazing and this is remarkable. Hear the culture speak to us.

19. FoxygenWe Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic | A lot of fun with throwback sounds and harmonies. Playful music but not childish. 

18. The NationalTrouble Will Find Me | These guys can do no wrong, but that can do better. A lot of the sound you love from The National, but it just doesn't have that handful of amazing. Still, it's really good. Oh, that all bands would miss like this.

17. PhosphorescentMuchacho | "Song for Zula." Nuff said.

16. JunipJunip | An early contender for a top list album, but the second half of the album just didn't hook me for long. Still, some great stuff here from Jose Gonzalez. "Line of Fire" is the bee's knees.

15. Chris ThileBach: Sonatas & Partitas | It's classical music with a mandolin. Love. I listen while working, reading, or doing nothing but listening. 

14. SavagesSilence Yourself | Grinding, growling, rocking, rolling, loud, aggressive without jumping in your face. In lots of ways, I think this is where punk music now resides.

13. Gregory Alan IsakovThe Weatherman | Gorgeous. Gentle & calming. Solid songwriting. 

12. Autre Ne VeutAnxiety | An emotional trip, but not without fun. The whole thing is good. Falsetto R&B, pop, electronic. Head bobbing will happen.

11. Forest SwordsEngravings | A sonic wonderland. Cinematic. Walking in slo-mo in your own movie scene. I can work to it, and I can just sit alone and let myself be swallowed up in the wonder.

Buke10. Buke & GaseGeneral Dome | Prolly not for everyone. But holy cow, one listen through "Hiccup" (though the video might make you sick) had me hooked. I agree with Exclaim, "The pair are making strummable instruments sound new again, and it sounds like redemption. Proceed frantically and without caution."

WaterLiars9. Water LiarsWyoming | It's similar to some music you may already love (Fleet Foxes, Pedro the Lion, Band of Horses). It feels lonely, and you will be thankful for it. One of the best lonely albums I've heard. I like what the New York Times says, "This duo’s dark, lonely, roots-minded indie rock is affecting, all the more for its sparseness." (HT: Kevin Cawley)

Sunbather8. DeafheavenSunbather | The best reviewed album on Metacritic. I think it's the first metal album I've listed in my years of doing this. I like what Crash Music said, "A record everyone with half an experimental ear should experience, even if they run from it, screaming."

Arcade7. Arcade FireReflektor | For all the Arcade Fire backlash on the one end and thoughtless love on the other, this is a great album. Building on where they came from and adding epic length dance songs, disco ball included. These songs swell and it's fun to get lost in them. But don't check your brain with the bouncer. The ideas here are thick.

MCII6. Mikal CroninMCII | Throwback pop music that is ridiculously current and joyful. This has set a lot of my mood this year with playful melodies occasionally over some power chords. It's a sock-hop with growl. The appeal of the music is immediate as well as lasting. I keep coming back to it.

Immunity5. Jon HopkinsImmunity | One album I'd love to make everyone sit and listen to. It's a sonic masterpiece. It's an album trying hard to push toward the top. Remember when I picked Four Tet for album of the year a few years ago? It's in that realm of awesome. Could have been my album of the year.

Isbell4. Jason IsbellSoutheastern | Packed with great songwriting. Heartfelt and genuine. This sounds like home, a safe place to admit you are a mess. The Independent: "brilliant: vivid, multi-faceted tales of souls adrift." Could have been my album of the year.

Arctic3. Arctic MonkeysAM | Don't miss "No. 1 Party Anthem." For an album that really rocks out, that song is a great change of pace and just amazing. If you like The Black Keys, you will dig this album. If you like just cranking it up, yeah, that's a reason to get it. Could have been my album of the year.

Chvrches2. Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe | Most played album of the year in my house. Hook-filled fun. Head-bobbing, foot tapping, energy-rich. And yet the songwriting is solid. It's not just fun, it's serious music. My discovery of the year. Could easily be my album of the year.

Vampire1. Vampire WeekendModern Vampires of the City | Breaking from the sound that made them great, this is their *beyond category* album. Some of the most creative, earworm music of the year with some of the best thought through lyrics of the year. Catchy but not at all cutesy. Massive, complex hooks. The most thought-provoking album of 2013.