Although I've always gone out of my way to make clear this is not a critical list, but rather a recounting of my personal favorites, I don't think calling it "Best Music of 2013" does justice to my real motivation here. Sure, I'm hoping some friends and readers (not that these terms are mutually exclusive) will find a few recommendations that work for them, but ultimately my purpose is to share the music that made an impact on me, and in some cases, defined my year.
As you know if you visited last month, December 22 marks the 10th anniversary of this blog. To celebrate the occasion, that will also be the day my top ten countdown begins, just as it did in 2003.
That was almost five years before I met KJ and nearly eight years prior to the day LC was born. Needless to say, my life has changed considerably for the better in the meantime. I like to think this blog helped me get through some times I was less happy than I am now, so if you've been a reader here, you're at least a small part of that. Thank you.
OK then...let's move on, since I'm sure you clicked this link to read about music anyway.
As I said previously, this year the emphasis is on the top ten, and since it's not yet December 22, you'll have to wait a few more days for that. But, there were more than ten albums I really enjoyed this year, so without further ado, here's the rest of the list:
21. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
20. Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
19. Night Beds - Country Sleep
18. Califone - Stitches
17. Phosphorescent - Muchacho
16. CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe
15. Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record
14. Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse
13. Matt Pond - The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand
12. Holopaw - Academy Songs, Volume 1
11. Mark Kozelek & Desertshore - s/t
Why a top #21, you ask? The answer is simply that last year I decided not to worry about round numbers, but instead to recognize the number of albums that I really enjoyed. After that, we start to venture into "pretty good" territory, and that's just not what this list is all about.
Stay tuned for the top ten.
21. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
20. Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
19. Night Beds - Country Sleep
18. Califone - Stitches
17. Phosphorescent - Muchacho
16. CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe
15. Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record
14. Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse
13. Matt Pond - The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand
12. Holopaw - Academy Songs, Volume 1
11. Mark Kozelek & Desertshore - s/t
Why a top #21, you ask? The answer is simply that last year I decided not to worry about round numbers, but instead to recognize the number of albums that I really enjoyed. After that, we start to venture into "pretty good" territory, and that's just not what this list is all about.
Stay tuned for the top ten.
Posts
3 of my top 10 showed up fast. Looking forward to seeing the rest.
ReplyDeleteI like your top 21 idea. I'd say I really liked 23 albums this year, but I'm hooked on round/square numbers for countdowns like this.
Oh, believe me, I'm hooked on round numbers too. It was pretty difficult to stick with this idea. (Well, I did do a top 33 for a year or two, but that's a pretty obvious exception.)
Delete