Top 10 Best Albums of 2013

2013 has been a pretty great year for music; we got to see a bunch of old bands put out stellar new material, and we also saw a lot of up and comers get their due as well with albums that I know I'll be spinning well into the new year. It was tough condensing the year into a top 10, but I think I narrowed it down to the best of my ability. So, without further adieu, here are my top 10 favorite LPs of 2013!

10. Danny Brown "Old"

XXX was an excellent mixtape and really put Danny Brown in the underground rap spotlight. With Old, Danny uses the dark/crazy album set-up with the first half finding Danny rapping about getting older and his place in the game and life in general; while the second half is one hyper, energy packed jam after another. I thought this LP was fantastic, maybe not as great as XXX, but that's mostly because that mixtape was my introduction to Danny.

9. Chance The Rapper "Acid Rain"

On this mixtape, Chance The Rapper really showed himself to be an exciting and eccentric voice in the world of hip hop. From song to song, Chance mixes influences and alternates between rapping and singing with ease. I'm excited to see what Chance has in store for 2014, especially if any of it is as memorable as songs like "Cocoa Butter Kisses".

8. Disclosure "Settle"

I didn't get a chance to do a full review for this album, which I still regret because this is simply one of the best and most memorable debuts I've heard in quite a while. It is also an incredibly tight, and consistent house-influenced pop LP, and that's no mean feat. I thoroughly enjoyed this LP for just how joyously dance-able nearly every track was, a true standout for the year.

7. Kurt Vile "Wakin' On A Pretty Daze"

Mixing influences from artists like Neil Young and the hazy reverb-laden production of his former band, The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile manged to put out the mellowest release of 2013, and seal me in as a fan of his music. I love the rich production and the sincerity of this album; as soon as the first track starts, I'm sucked into a warm feeling and don't leave until the final strums of "Goldtone" stop.

6. Pusha T "My Name Is My Name"

Pusha T did something this year that I didn't expect; he put out not only his best solo album yet, but also managed to blend poppier moments with his usual tough-as-nails bars with only a couple of them coming off as clunky (I didn't forget the track "Let Me Love You"). This album grew on me in a pretty big way and I'm able to say that it was truly one of this year's best.

5. Run the Jewels "Self-Titled"

Let me tell you something, put Killer Mike and El-P together and it's going to end up on a "best of list" somewhere, whether it's Pitchfork or my lowly little blog. It's impossible to deny the power of these two as MCs, and El-p's production? Forget about it. No other rap album this year pulled me in like this one did, and that says a lot, considering this year was actually a pretty decent year for rap LPs from guys who rap with as much technical ability as these two.

4. Arcade Fire "Reflektor"

Arcade Fire have gone from  awe-inspiring indie darlings to a Grammy award winning act who's latest LP has proven to be one of this year's most polarizing. Obviously, I sit on the side who thinks this LP is something great, but It didn't start that way. At first, I thought this record aimed to high and forgot to integrate a meaningful concept; however, on further listening, and digging deeper into the lyrics, I found that Reflektor was an Arcade Fire album unlike any other before it. Because for the first time, the band not only sang about overcoming whatever funk they're in, but they actually did, with songs that sleekly grooved their way across the near hour and a half this album lasts. This is a record about overcoming a technology obsessed world by using it to create music that feels both synthetic and natural.

3. Savages "Silence Yourself"

No other LP this year rocked as hard as Silence Yourself, and I'm not talking about volume. Savages have crafted an album with the soul of a classic Post-punk album, emphasis on punk, making all other attempts at this style of music seem paltry in comparison. The band not only creates layered, detailed songs with booming drums and catchy guitar rifts, but they also write lyrics that spit in the face of conformity. While yes, the band itself seems a little too wrapped-up with being a "serious" band, but that doesn't matter if the songs they make are as great as what's on this LP.

2. Daft Punk "Random Access Memories"

I was so excited to hear the new Daft Punk album, I listened to that 30 second sample for "Get Lucky" over and over, and even watched all of the videos featuring contributors to the LP in hopes that I'd hear a new snippet, or figure out what direction they were going in. In short, I wasn't disappointed. If you want to know the extent of my appreciation for this LP in detail, check out my review! But for now, I'll say that RAM is not only one of the best albums that 2013 has to offer, but it is also one of the best Daft Punk LPs, second only to Discovery.

1. Vampire Weekend "Modern Vampires of the City"

This LP came as a surprise to me, not because it was good, because lets face it, this is a Vampire Weekend LP, and at the very least, their LPs are good. No, this album surprised me with how drawn in I was to every part of it, something that their last LP didn't do. While I loved Contra  it just wasn't saying anything lyrically that captivated me like this LP does. MVotC is an incredibly human record, discussing relationships, death and God with complete sincerity, and a ton of wit  and charisma. I loved this album from the first time I heard it and that feeling only grew as the year went on. While it's not a perfect record, I was hard-pressed to find an LP this enthralling and wondrous.