20. Seabird – Troubled Days. The piano melodies alone are worth a listen. It’s a bit less optimistic in many ways their previous feel-good album, but that’s entirely OK.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT8RXZ2LbOw&h=297&w=450]

 

19. BRONCHO – Can’t Get Past the Lips. BRONCHO show that punk music still has some life in it. Musically, they have more in common with the first-wave of punk rock (Ramones, Buzzcocks) than they do with  the bands that are somehow considered punk today (Green Day and All Time Low). With two-minute tracks, fuzzy guitars, constantly repeated lyrics and obnoxious vocals with a hint of Cockney, Can’t Get Past the Lips is 20 minutes of wishing you were back in the 70s.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R2Y429oizE&h=297&w=450]

 

18. The Strokes – Comedown Machine. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I thought Comedown Machine was an impressive release. It may not be their best work, but it’s still one of the best albums of the year. “Tap Out” is definitely one of my favorite guitar performances of the year.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7PINAYE4z4&h=297&w=450]

 

17. Iceage  – You’re Nothing. Hardcore that sounds more like 7 Seconds than Hatebreed? Cool. The slight accent and speed make this album one of the best hardcore releases in years.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coVPmp3lmKk&h=297&w=450]

 

16. Jaimeo Brown – Transcendence. Transcendence is easily one of the most beautiful gospel albums to have come out in a long time. The album echoes the praises of Blind Willie Johnson, a century later. To top it off, it’s filled with incredible jazz percussion.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUba1yMQvTw&h=297&w=450]

 

15. Haim – Days are Gone. 80s pop + 90s R&B = 2013’s Haim. The songs are memorable and capture the sound late 80s pop brilliantly. Odds are you’ll be dancing like Madonna by the end of the music video.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIjVpRAXK18&h=297&w=450]

 

14. Jars of Clay – Inland. It isn’t their strongest release, but it’s worth a few listens. With songs like “Loneliness & Alcohol” and “Fall Asleep,” the band continues to remind me why I love them. It’s a pity that they’re viewed almost solely in the Christian market at this point.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TayrSGgnSBY&h=297&w=450]

 

13. War Generation – Start Somewhere Never Surrender. This is one of the first rock albums that have blown me away in a long time. Jon Bunch (former singer of Further Seems Forever and Sense Field) proves that he still has one of the best voices in alternative music.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njm0IfRz7Z8&h=297&w=450]

 

12. Five Iron Frenzy – Engine of a Million Plots. I was mildly skeptic about this album until I saw the music video for “Zen & Art of Xenophobia” and absolutely lost it. The band is almost as cheesy and third-wave ska-y as they were on Cheeses of Nazareth.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYjmz19s-Lg&h=297&w=450]

 

11. My Heart to Fear –Algorithm. Just when I decided I’d burn a Devil Wears Prada album every time I heard a new crappy metalcore band, My Heart to Fear came out with a solid release that proves the genre can still be good. The innovative vocals and musicians makes it the one best metalcore releases since the days of early Killswitch Engage, Zao and Converge.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJutrpi_RAU&h=297&w=450]

 

10. Keyoung – Left Handed Son. An EP probably doesn’t actually fit on a top albums list, but this one is more than worth mentioning. Left Handed Son features a brilliant mix of spoken word poetry, simple instrumental backgrounds, and thought-provoking lyrics. The alliteration and mental pictures are spot-on.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzdSgVSDE0o&h=297&w=450]

 

9. Kvelertak – Meir. Black metal with guys hailing Rock & Roll instead of Satan? Totally kvlt. Take a AC/DC and replace Brian Johnson with Skeletonwitch’s Chance Garnette and you got Kvelertak. The album has the power of black metal mixed with the joy of rock and the energy of punk. I’ll take it.

[As if the world needed more evidence that Norway is metal, this year the Prince and Princess of Norway saw Kvelertak in a club in San Francisco] [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbrtS8E0kpY&h=297&w=450]

 

8. Extol – Extol. In 2005, Extol continued in a direction from progressive death metal to progressive rock. They went on hiatus shortly afterwards. When they announced a new documentary and album, fans were wondering which way the reunited Norwegian group would go musically. Like many, I was pleased to see them go back to their metal roots in a huge way. The album is heavy but never gets boring.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3bIjZMEZCU&h=297&w=450]

 

7. James Blake – Retrograde. An album filled with somber, melancholy songs with hints of electronic, neo-folk, soul and R&B music sounds pretty much perfect. It’s intriguing that this album has received plenty of mainstream attention at the same time as Katy Perry and Rihanna. It almost even gives me a hope for modern radio. I have never been more thankful for an artist to take a break from the world of dubstep.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlaRjP8pg0Q&h=297&w=450]

 

6. Holly Williams – The Highway. Holly Williams might have the most convenient entry into country music. As the granddaughter of Hank Williams (and conversely, the daughter of Hank Jr. and half-brother of Hank III), many people will listen simply because they’re intrigued. I was one of those people, but after two tracks, her family became a very mild reason for listening. She doesn’t just deserve attention because of her grandfather. No, she deserves attention because she is currently the most authentic and heartbreaking female voice in country music. Anyone who complains about the state of country music today needs to ignore Taylor Swift and check out Holly Williams. Absolutely beautiful.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48L059yseKs&h=297&w=450]

 

5. In Vain – Ænigma. Ænigma is arguably the most underrated metal album of the year. Kvelertak and Deafheaven have received their fair share praise worldwide, Carcass and Gorguts have made it onto many top metal lists back and Extol has received a welcomed return (especially in the realm of Christian metal), but very little is said of Norway’s In Vain. This album mixes Opeth’s combination of growled and sung vocals with In Vain’s own breed of progressive metal. The band has definitely found their niche and uses it incredibly well. They aren’t bound by a genre, but instead pave the way for something new. Heck, the album has a freaking saxophone on it! And it works! It works brilliantly! Everything is neatly put together in the album’s epic nine minute closing track, “Floating on the Murmuring Tide.” Fans of any metal or progressive subgenre need to take time to listen to this masterpiece.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKT2IDFElow&h=297&w=450]

 

4. Plumb – Need You Now. Plumb (Tiffany Arbuckle Lee) is yet another artist that disappeared for a few years before coming back with possibly the best album of her career. Because of her struggles in marriage and anxiety, the songs on Need You Now are more potent and more personal than ever. It makes me smile and want to hug a puppy to hear the amazing resolution to her marriage conflicts. Her love is real and amazing to hear.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeI6yRVu-uY&h=297&w=450]

 

3. Deafheaven – Sunbather. 2013 was a year that metal brought something mainstream America could hold onto. I never thought I’d see the day when an American black metal band would end up on the top album lists from NPR, Pitchfork, Spin and so many more. And yet I can’t blame any of them; instrumentally, Sunbather is closer to My Bloody Valentine than Emperor, but vocally they’re just as strong as Wolves in the Throne Room. Unless you’re extremely deep in the underground metal scene, you probably have never heard anything like Sunbather. Oh, and any doubts of it not being “kvlt” are dismissed with the albums’ brutal closing track.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWyVhIBmdGw&h=297&w=450]

 

2. Pocket Vinyl – Death Anxiety. Odds are most of you won’t recognize this name. I wouldn’t have if I didn’t hear about them through a music festival a few years ago. I would’ve missed so much if I ignored the name. This album features the lyrics of David Bazan, the piano playing of Ben Folds and the atmosphere that only Pocket Vinyl can bring. The lyrics are without a doubt the most intriguing point. If you were raised in the church but struggled with doubts (which every Christian has at some point), or have simply wrestled with Christianity and atheism, than this album is heavily worth listening to. The struggles of doubt are consistent lyrical themes throughout the entire album but are highlighted in the brilliant “Foggy Mess.” The music perfectly matches the anxious and uncertain lyrics. It’s well played. The only weak spot is the nine-minute solo piano piece which ends the buildup of the previous and latter songs.

Most of all, I am moved and impressed by the honesty and boldness of the lyrics. The songs are powerful. Transparency is consistent and it makes me feel like I understand a thing or two about the two members of Piano Vinyl even if I’ve never spoken a word with them. More so, it makes me feel like they understand me.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfyeo1CEES0&feature=c4-overview&list=UU41_oM3J8VxcnRpeT4x32-w&h=297&w=450]

 

1. CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe. I wrote back in August that CHVRCHES’ Recover EP was the most exciting thing to happen in music all year. If the full-length proved to be anything like the single “Recover,” than the album would easily be the best of the year. Half a year later, this theory became a fact.

Almost every track on The Bones… is excellent. “We Sink” is one of the most catchy songs of the year, “Science/Visions” is a memorable gem with a balance of energetic dance beats/ethereal vocals and “Lungs” has a neat (though a bit overused) use of the vocorder effect. Above all, “Recover” will be the song I think of when I think of 2013.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyqemIbjcfg&h=297&w=450]

Honorable mentions: Dustin Kensrue, Judy Kang, O’Brother, Solamors, Maranatha, Larry & His Flask.

Albums I still need to listen to: Queens of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, Gorguts, Carcass, etc.

Now it’s your turn. Post your favorite albums!