The Top Fifteen Albums of 2013

When it comes to the last decade of music, almost no other year comes close to topping the murderer's row of excellent releases from 2013, which had several artists both new and established delivering their career best material. I assure you that in a weaker year almost any album in the top ten could have been the number one without question, but that is a testament to how strong this year really was, and because of that there was no way to restrict myself to just ten. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of these superb albums I've chosen to count down my fifteen favorite records that made the year such a legendary one.

Let's jump in!

#15) Kiss Land - The Weeknd (55 minutes, Alternative R&B)

After delivering a series of three mysterious, sexy and alluringly dark mixtapes that established his deviant bad boy persona, The Weeknd finally delivered his much anticipated debut album with this, a cinematic expansion of the lustful world he cultivated on his early work. The songs here are moody, melancholic and overtly sexual, setting the standard for what alternative R&B would be for the rest of the decade. His vocals are as breathy and spine-chilling as ever, flexing into his falsetto with ease over these sparse but evocative instrumentals. If the songwriting has dipped a little from his earlier efforts, the sonic ambience makes up for it, as the record exemplifies vibe music in a way little else does. The Weeknd would reach even greater heights on his following projects when he embraced a pop influence, but in terms of early Weeknd you can hardly do better than this set.

Essential Tracks: "Belong to the World" "Kiss Land"

#14) Because the Internet - Childish Gambino (57 minutes, Hip-Hop/R&B)

Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino's sophomore effort feels like a real artistic statement in a way his first album didn't. While that project was enjoyable, it also gave off the aura of a vanity project, an actor cosplaying as a rapper, but this is first and foremost a wildly innovative and frankly excellent hip-hop album that leans on Glover's strengths like his comic persona and his melodious singing voice. The best songs here are the ones that blend his backpack rap style with effervescent R&B beats and melodic hooks that show off his knack for funk that would come to full fruition on his next project, in fact the flat out rap tracks are some of the album's weakest. Gambino also deftly navigates the album's confusing, yet intriguing concept about life in the internet age with an album that walks the line between out and out humor and some deeply melancholic introspection. It is that blend of the upbeat and the moody that makes this such a unique record, as well as Glover's one of a kind persona. This is the moment where Childish Gambino stopped being a joke and became an artist worthy of serious recognition.

Essential Tracks: "3005" "Sweatpants" "The Worst Guys"

#13) The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - Eminem (1 hour and 18 minutes, Rap-Rock/Hardcore Hip-Hop)

Sequels are usually never as good as the original in film, and in music, sequels generally have an even worse track record. When Eminem decided to name his new album after the most beloved, acclaimed and influential project in his catalog it raised a lot of eyebrows, because he couldn't possibly reach those lyrical heights, but perhaps it was the title that inspired Em to drop by far the best album in his increasingly spotty catalog since 2002's "The Eminem Show". While this takes a lot of cues from his comeback record "Recovery" in the heavier themes of maturity and slightly more lyrical miracle type flows, it also sidesteps a lot of that album's drawbacks by exchanging ponderous ballads for fiery rap-rock tracks that give this album a sense of weight and fun that his album had either leaned way too hard on or seriously lacked. A balanced Eminem project, especially post-hiatus, is hard to come by, but this effort epitomizes why Em is still a leading man in rap so many years later because this album has it all from fiery throw-downs to emotionally transparent tell-alls, gripping storytelling to hilariously twisted joke songs and for once even the shameless pop crossovers work remarkably well. This is Em's last record before he became all skills and no substance, the most talented and boring rapper in the game, and as it stands, it was a hell of a note to go out on.

Essential Tracks: "Bad Guy" "The Monster" "Bezerk" "Rap God"

#12) The Next Day - David Bowie (53 minutes, Art Rock)

David Bowie's penultimate album feels like a career retrospective, with Bowie looking back on over forty years of music and asking himself what he learned from it all, and after taking it all in he made this, a record that indulges in so many corners of Bowie's artistry, reminding you of his best work while also being quite amazing in itself. The record takes from so many eras in his career from subtle, atmospheric Berlin styled tracks to glam-rock stompers, frail yet soulful ballads and world music tinged work-outs. It's all here, and Bowie, with his voice remaining uniquely powerful and emotive despite his age, delivers some of his finest song craft in years. Each song could easily sit on another Bowie album, but they all somehow still fit together, due to Tony Visconti's excellent, subdued production, and I think they are all the better for being together. Even though he had one more masterpiece in him, perhaps it is this album of his that feels most like goodbye. A late career gem from a generational talent.

Essential Tracks: "Where Are We Now?" "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" "Heat"

#11) Melophobia - Cage the Elephant (37 minutes, Indie/Garage Rock)

Cage the Elephant's third album shows the ramshackle garage band grow into more than just a run of the mill indie revivalist outfit, with a wide-ranging expansion of the group's sound palette embracing elements of psychedelia to create a unique blend of garage-centric riffage over enthralling, heavy production choices. The band tended to rely more on attitude than song craft on their earlier efforts but here the hooks punch deep and deliver some of their most memorable songs, all while the lead vocals demonstrate more range and emotion than ever before. This album shows an indie darling reaching their full artistic potential and becoming far more than the average garage rockers.

Essential Tracks: "Come a Little Closer" "Cigarette Daydreams" "Spiderhead"

#10) Pure Heroine - Lorde (37 minutes, Indie-Pop/Singer-Songwriter)

Sometimes a debut album will come along that is an absolute shock to the system, changing the pop landscape for the better, and Lorde's electric first record ranks among them without question. From the very first song, this talented New Zealander delivers her writerly, emotive singer-songwriter pop with a deft, raspy yet youthful delivery over sparse, electronic production that made an immediate impact on any songwriters who dared follow in her footsteps. The lyrics on this album concern themselves with deeply teenage ideas of love, loss and friendship but they make deep impacts due to how artfully she delivers her words, in such poetic and grandiose terms. She is by no means the first to feel these things, but she may well be the first to articulate them so beautifully. The production does everything to highlight Lorde's songwriting, never being so busy that her enigmatic voice ever gets lost. This album set so many trends in late 2010s pop music it's almost hard to believe. In one fell swoop this 17 year old toppled the established pop hierarchy with one of pop's smartest albums in years.

Essential Tracks: "Ribs" "Tennis Court" "Royals" "Team"

#9) Nothing Was the Same - Drake (1 hour and 7 minutes, Hip-Hop/Pop-Rap)

Drake has never really been a rapper's rapper, generally his best music relies less on his lyrical acumen and more on his excellent sense of combining R&B with softer, more atmospheric hip-hop beats to completely shift rap's dominant sound palette. His previous album, "Take Care" was his peak fusion of R&B and rap creating a plush, luxuriant soundscape over which he dropped sensitive, oversharing bars, but on this project, Drake becomes a better rapper than he ever let on that he could be. This feels like the man's only out and out hip-hop record before diving with full force into the world of trap bangers, as he has never put more effort into his lyricism, dropping multiple astonishing verses. The production, mostly from 40, has harder edges than his earlier work but retains the dreamy, cloud-rap aesthetic that makes up so much of the duo's best work. This is a lean, well balanced album for an artist who tends to overload albums with filler, there's barely anything worth cutting on display between the moody R&B joints, the lyrical displays of talent and the pop-rap club bangers all of which rank among his most enduring material. After this album the hype would completely overtake Drizzy, and he would never manage an album close to as good as this one again, but this remains a memorial to when Drake was more than just a pop culture monolith, he was a truly good artist.

Essential Tracks: "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" "Tuscan Leather" "Hold On, We're Going Home" "Worst Behavior"

#8) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk (1 hour and 14 minutes, House/Disco/Electronic)

Daft Punk's final album, their first in over eight years, is markedly different than the electronic duo's earlier material. As opposed to their devilishly catchy house music replete with infectious loops and creative sampling, this shows the duo embracing the sounds that inspired them by making a shimmering, lovable disco record paying tribute to their idols all while giving it a deeply futuristic aesthetic makeover. This is the duo at their most collaborative, holding space for guests galore from older icons like Giorgio Moroder and Nile Rodgers while also giving time to newer artists like Julian Casablancas, Panda Bear and Pharrell all adding their own unique elements to the retro-futurist brew. These songs resemble pop songs far more than their mostly instrumental dance tracks, some have vocals that aren't just chopped and looped, but while this is on the surface unusual for Daft Punk, their unique compositional style fits both the thumping dancefloor grooves of the disco songs here as well as the more expansive, progressive rock inflected songs here which show the group pushing beyond what was expected of them to create dazzling multipart opuses. The group's only downfall is that sometimes the proceedings can be a little too polished and mechanical to make an impression, but in its best moments this is truly a masterpiece of retro-futurism, an album that sounds like your favorite styles of yesterday filtered through a sound that hasn't even come to pass just yet. Daft Punk are still living in the future, even ten years later.

Essential Tracks: "Get Lucky" "Instant Crush" "Give Life Back to Music" "Fragments of Time" "Giorgio by Moroder"

#7) ...Like Clockwork - Queens of the Stone Age (46 minutes, Hard Rock/Alternative)

Queens of the Stone Age could always be counted on when it came to laying down heavy, riff-driven rock anthems full of wicked guitar work and elements of stoner metal but save their 2002 masterpiece "Songs for the Deaf", they couldn't really be considered an essential album band. That changed on this brilliant 2013 project spurred by lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Josh Homme's traumatic near death experience which gave his songwriting a sense of vital emotion and dread that makes these songs so much deeper and more intriguing than their usual headbanger fare. Queens indulges in balladry on this album more than ever before and these moments of intense, expressive vulnerability from Homme make the album the most balanced and relistenable in the QOTSA catalog, while still delivering pulse pounding heavy guitar tracks that have more hooks and dynamic contrast than ever before. Homme brings in several star studded collaborators from frequent flyers like Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri and Dave Grohl to famous faces like Elton John and Alex Turner, all delivering moments that elevate their respective tracks, but Josh Homme is the star here, putting in the performance of his career. This record singlehandedly elevates QOTSA from being above average rockers to perhaps the most dynamic heavy rock band of our era.

Essential Tracks: "I Appear Missing" "My God Is the Sun" "I Sat by the Ocean" "If I Had a Tail" "Keep Your Eyes Peeled"

#6) Paramore - Paramore (1 hour and 3 minutes, Pop-Rock/Power Pop)

The true test of a band's mettle sometimes comes when the loss of a particular member devastates the group and changes the dynamic. In Paramore's case, two of their founding members and creative drivers, Josh and Zac Farro, both quit the band leaving the band as an unexpected trio, and perhaps it was this sudden transformation that led Hayley Williams and company to for the most part abandon their typical pop-punk style and trade it in for an album that explodes with creative possibilities playing with all sorts of genres that would have been unheard of on their previous albums. The manic creativity that defines this album gives it an infectious energy that makes it stand out from any other more stylistically focused Paramore LP, and that means that not every song hits, but what this lacks in consistency it makes up for in ambition and pure effervescent joy. Hayley in particular has never sounded so full of joy when she sings here, hitting new heights vocally and compositionally as she tries her hand as pure pop, Spector-esque wall of sound production, and even post-rock dirges while imbuing her typical power-pop bangers with funk, gospel and harder rock influences, even adding a few soft acoustic ballads for good measure. Paramore has never sounded as wild and free as they do here, and that makes for one compelling mid-career record.

Eseential Tracks: "Ain't It Fun" "Still Into You" "(One of Those) Crazy Girls" "Fast in My Car" "Hate to See Your Heart Break"

#5) The Electric Lady - Janelle Monae (1 hour and 7 minutes, Neo-Soul/Progressive-R&B)

Janelle Monae's follow up to her groundbreaking ambitiously funky space opera debut "The ArchAndroid" is more of the same in a sense, but when nobody else in the world makes anything close to what Janelle is making, that's no problem at all, in fact its welcome. In all ways, this record is a sequel, picking up the same loose science fiction plot threads from her debut, but where that album was deliberately expansive and cinematic, with lengthy songs full of twists and turns, this record focuses in more on funk and groove than ever before. Her first album was impressively soulful, but on here Monae dives even deeper into her unique retro-futurist vision of soul by enlisting stars like Miguel, Solange, Erykah Badu and Prince to add their flavors to the mix while also putting her own spins on Minneapolis funk, neo-soul and even disco rhythms. Her ambition never gets the best of her, knocking every luxuriant vocal performance or uptempo jam out of the park. The album is a marvelous, all-encompassing sensory experience that allows us all to step into Monae's endlessly imaginative world for a brief time, and it always invites you to come back. A truly brilliantly unique vision of what funk could be if we were all a little bit more wonderfully weird.

Essential Tracks: "Electric Lady" "Q.U.E.E.N." "Primetime" "Givin' 'Em What They Love" "We Were Rock and Roll"

#4) AM - Arctic Monkeys (41 minutes, Indie-Rock)

Rock and roll is at its heart, a deeply cool form of music, one where the performers, at their best, tend to radiate an untouchable aura of slickness, and so much of that was missing in the current era of pop music, but the saviors of sleek arena rock came from an unusual place. For their first four record, Arctic Monkeys were a brilliant yet quirky and jangly indie rock band in the mold of The Strokes, a deeply British quartet that delivered relentlessly energetic and hooky songs but this album completely breaks form for them, as Alex Turner transforms the band into a leather clad Stones-like rock band that traffics in immediately memorable guitar licks and stomping choruses built to raise arena rock from its early grave. These songs are huge, in both their rock energy and the hook craft as Turner writes many of his catchiest ever songs here. The secret that makes this more than the average big dumb rock record is that Turner is both a brilliantly charismatic vocalist but also a superb lyricist, imbuing these songs with a sense of desperation and melancholy, masking his sorrows and loneliness in the endless party lifestyle of rock excess. In one excellent record Turner and company revitalized a dying genre with a breath of fresh air. So what if it's big dumb rock? There's always a place for that in my heart.

Essential Tracks: "R U Mine?" "I Wanna Be Yours" "Knee Socks" "Do I Wanna Know?" "Arabella"

#3) Beyoncé - Beyoncé (1 hour and 6 minutes, R&B/Electro-Pop)

Beyoncé's fifth album is a transformational one. For fifteen years, she had been a purveyor of infectious pop bangers, soft soul ballads and smash hit albums that while packing lots of great singles had always been more or less spotty projects, so with this, Bey changes her strategy away from crafting big hits and instead curating a holistic album experience where every track truly blends together into a cohesive whole effortlessly and the effect is transformative. The record is darker than her previous material, a nocturnal, sultry record, almost a loose concept album about love, lust and sexuality where she explores each topic in depth, while also touching on beauty standards and feminism in her direct but powerful lyrics. Beyoncé's vocals have rarely been richer and more soulful than they are here, imbuing the proceedings with a sense of intimacy that fits the luxuriant material. The many producers here create unique tracks with hints of pop bliss, disco funk, sultry bedroom grooves, hip-hop inflections and even some gentle ambient textures but the star is always Beyoncé who commands the album with her immense charismatic presence. While she was always a great pop star, this is the album where she made the leap into being a truly legendary artist. A beautiful, intimate piece of art.

Essential Tracks: "Partition" "Rocket" "Drunk in Love" "Blow" "Haunted"

#2) The 20/20 Experience - Justin Timberlake (1 hour and 10 minutes, R&B/Progressive-Pop)

Sometimes a producer and an artist find each other and bring the absolute best out of themselves, one such collaboration is the work of Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, who together have crafted some of the 21st century's best pop music. Very little music can be described as truly cinematic, but this album can only be understood in such grandiose terms with each song becoming more than just a pop song, with the arrangements feeling utterly fluid, transforming from one sonic palette to another. Each track is at least two distinct ideas and flavors and the duo transition between them so effortlessly, creating seven and eight minute pop masterpieces that are so lush and luxurious that you never want the pillowy production to end. Timberlake's voice has never been in higher form, delivering airy falsetto with ease and fitting in gorgeously with whatever background he is gifted from Timbo. Speaking of the production, that is what raises this album to such dizzy heights, with each track having its own identity taking from Latin funk, soft R&B balladry, ambient soundscapes, heavy industrial hip-hop percussion and luxurious disco sonics but they all feel right at home here due to the sheen of sultry seduction that ties all the tracks together. After this record, Timberlake would give in to the excesses that made this album so unique and lose his artistry in the process, but in terms of larger than life pop records this is second to none. There's a reason this album is called an Experience, cause it truly is a full body listening journey.

Essential Tracks: "Suit & Tie" "Pusher Love Girl" "Mirrors" "Spaceship Coupe" "Blue Ocean Floor"

#1) Modern Vampires of the City - Vampire Weekend (43 minutes, Indie-Rock/Baroque-Pop)

Vampire Weekend's third album is a mature, brooding piece of work that grapples with questions of faith, mortality and identity and somehow still remains an incredibly joyful and fun listen due to the band's endless energy, clever lyricism and superb melodies, cementing them as one of the greatest indie bands not only of their generation but of all time. After the world music touches of their first two albums, the band indulges in more baroque textures giving the album a haunted feeling full of classical instrumental textures that lets the songs feel well arranged while also giving them adequate room to breathe. The melodies are as infectious and bouncy as always when it comes to the hooky, energetic pop songs but some of the best tracks here are the thoughtful ballads which show the band stretching themselves to incorporate new influences such as subtle hip-hop beats and gospel vocal arrangement. Ezra Koenig's vocal performances and lyrics have always been a key strength of the band, but rarely has he ever been a deeply philosophical as he is here, with many songs diving into his own feelings of ambiguity about religion and faith and how that ties into his Jewish identity, while also wrestling with his own mortality. Nearly every song could be an essay, but Koenig condenses these immense, mixed feelings into sharply written poetry that never feels depressing, it is ultimately a hopeful record and therein lies its brilliance. Despite the grey scale cover, the album is wildly colorful, stretching the band in so many ways that just demonstrates their inherent strengths. Sadly, Ezra would split from VW's former writing partner Rostam Batmanglij after this record and the band would never quite make material as multilayered as this. As it stands, this is the group's most affecting work and one of their best.

Essential Tracks: "Step" "Hannah Hunt" "Unbelievers" "Diane Young" "Ya Hey"

Thanks for going on this musical journey through 2013 with me to celebrate 10 years of these amazing albums! Look out for the Top Ten Albums of 2023 very soon!

Happy 10th Anniversary to some truly wonderful albums!