Musically, 2013 has been an audible cornucopia of greatness. The emergence of so many exceptional new artists, like Earl Sweatshirt and Jake Bugg, and continued excellence of heavy-hitters like Kanye West and Daft Punk, add to a tremendous year of music. So, whittling down the list of worthy albums has been as fun as it has been daunting. Just know that the end result has tons of joyous thought and hours upon hours of wonderful listening behind it.

For kicks, feel free to check out the much changed mid-year Best Albums of 2013 (so far…) list, or, if you feel nostalgic, rediscover the Best Albums of 2012. Truly great albums require multiple listens that, if given the opportunity, shine in a whole new light. But I digress. Without further ado, here are this year’s best albums, all of which can be heard on this Spotify playlist. Enjoy!

Just Missed:
Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park;  Laura Marling, Once I Was An Eagle;
Rudimental, Home;  Bill Callahan, Dream Riiver, Paul McCartney, New

Best Albums of 2013
*Indicates a song that is not on Spotify at present.

25. Kurt Vile, Wakin On A Pretty Daze
best tracks: Shame Chamber, KV Crimes,
Wakin On A Pretty Day, Was All Talk

24. Disclosure, Settle
best tracks: White Noise, Help Me Lose My Mind,
When The Fire Starts To Burn, Latch

23. Portugal. The Man, Evil Friends
best tracks: Creep In A T-Shirt, Plastic Friends,
Purple Yellow Red and Blue, Modern Jesus

22. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz
best tracks: Wrecking Ball, We Can’t Stop,
FU, Do My Thang

21. Phoenix, Bankrupt!
best tracks: Entertainment, Trying to Be Cool,
Don’t, The Real Thing

20. Woodkid, The Golden Age
best tracks: Iron, Run Boy Run,
I Love You, The Golden Age

19. Jake Bugg, Jake Bugg
best tracks: Lightning Bolt, Taste It,
Two Fingers, Simple As This

18. Waxahatchee, Cerulean Salt
best tracks: Dixie Cups and Jars, Swan Dive,
Brother Bryan, Hollowed

17. James Blake, Retrograde
best tracks: Retrograde,Overgrown
Life Round Here,Voyeur

16. Earl Sweatshirt, Doris
best tracks: Hive, Chum,
Sasquatch, Whoa

15. Sky Ferreira, Night Time My Time
best tracks: Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay),
Boys, Heavy Metal Heart, 24 Hours

14. The National, Trouble Will Find Me
best tracks: Demons, Graceless,
Fireproof, Sea of Love

13. Arcade Fire, Reflektor
best tracks: Here Comes The Night Time, Reflektor,
We Exist, Here Comes The Night Time II

12. Haim, Days Are Gone
best tracks: The Wire, My Song 5,
Let Me Go, Forever

11. Arctic Monkeys, AM
best tracks: Do I Wanna Know?, R U Mine?, Arabella,
Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?

10. Lorde, Pure Heroine
best tracks: Tennis Court, Royals,
Team, White Teeth Teens

9. Danny Brown, Old
best tracks: 25 Bucks, Side B [Dope Song],
Wonderbread, Dope Fiend Rental

8. Chvrches, The Bones of What You Believe
best tracks: Recover, Lungs,
The Mother We Share, Gun

7. The Neighbourhood, I Love You
best tracks: Sweater Weather, Afraid,
Staying Up, Female Robbery

6. Lucius, Wildewoman
best tracks: Turn It Around, Wildewoman,
Two of Us on the Run, Go Home

5. John Grant, Pale Green Ghosts
best tracks: GMF, Pale Green Ghosts,
Glacier, I Hate This Town

4. Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
best tracks: Step, Diane Young,
Ya Hey, Finger Back

*3. Chance the Rapper, Acid Rap
best tracks: Juice, Everybody’s Something,
Smoke Again, Chain Smoker

2. Mala Rodriguez, Bruja
best tracks: Quien Manda, Miedo A Volar,
33, Caliente – Medley 

1b. Kanye West, Yeezus
best tracks: Black Skinhead, I Am A God,
New Slaves, Blood on the Leaves

1a. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
best tracks: Instant Crush, Get Lucky,
Within, Doin’ It Right

Check out, and listen to, the Best Songs of 2013 and,
if you love TV, make sure to check out the Best TV Shows of 2013! 

Related articles

• Best albums of 2013: 20-11 (theguardian.com)
• Album Review: Portugal. The Man, “Evil Friends” (90rpm.wordpress.com)
• Andy’s Pick: Hip Hop/rap Album of 2013 (shakeappealblog.wordpress.com)
• Daft Punk Melt Hearts in ‘Instant Crush’ (freshwaddabrooks.com)
• Kanye West Beats Drake To The Top Of Magazine’s Album Poll (contactmusic.com)
• Albums Of The Year 2013: 10. The Strokes – Comedown Machine (jamiemuirmusic.wordpress.com)
• The Best Albums of 2013: 10-1 (frontpsych.com)