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It’s that time again. 2013 is a done deal, and in terms of music it differed from 2012 in three distinct ways: (1) more digital downloads, (2) more variety and (2) more surprises.
Point (3) really fed Point (2) – I just kept being tipped off to certain albums (usually friend recommendations) that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about or tried. And of course, no one was expecting a comeback album from David Bowie, much less a good one.
As for Point (1), it was a question of budget. With local CD stores shrinking and/or disappearing, I really do rely on Amazon to get CDs I actually like, and the international shipping surcharge is murder. Plus, let’s be honest – the first thing I do with the CD is rip it and stick the songs on my iPod. My only concern with digital has been making sure I can keep copies of them (one great thing about CDs – they serve as physical back-ups for my MP3s). But after some experimentation, I found the local iTunes to be pretty reliable. (I’d buy from Amazon, but only Americans are allowed to buy digital tracks there, because piracy is killing music, you see). And you can’t beat the price. However, I still buy CDs for albums I can get locally that are worth the extra money.
Anyway …
Like last year, 2013 yielded a field of good albums but not many awesome ones. Indeed, some of the better releases of 2013 weren’t new music at all, but re-releases of old music (as covered in our pre-show awards). And, as always, there’s not much here in the way of new acts – most of the artists on my list are still old-timers, with some even pushing their early 70s.
Still, this is one of the stronger Top 10s I’ve had in awhile. So it’s all good, really.
Let’s get to it.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought/acquired/downloaded between December 2012 and November 2013, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2013
1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Push The Sky Away (Bad Seed Ltd)
2. David Bowie, The Next Day (ISO/Columbia)
3. The Thermals, Desperate Ground (Saddle Creek Records)
4. Dog Party, Lost Control (Asian Man Records)
5. Joanna Wang, Galaxy Crisis: The Strangest Midnight Broadcast (Sony)
6. Marnie Stern, The Chronicles Of Marnia (Kill Rock Stars)
7. Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood, Black Pudding (Heavenly)
8. David Lynch, The Big Dream (Sunday Best)
9. Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (Anti-)
10. Throwing Muses, Purgatory/Paradise (Throwing Music)
11. Tony Joe White, Hoodoo (Yep Roc)
12. The Fall, Re-Mit (Cherry Red)
13. Johnny Dowd, Do The Gargon (Mother Jinx Records)
14. MIA, Matangi (Interscope)
15. Janelle Monae, The Electric Lady (Bad Boy/Wondaland)
16. The Relatives, The Electric Word (Yep Roc)
17. Black Sabbath, 13 (Vertigo)
18. They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Idlewild/Megaforce)
19. !!!, Thr!!!er (Warp)
20. Petra Haden, Petra Goes To The Movies (Anti-)
( Capsule reviews included! )
And we’re done here.
Same time next year,
This is dF
Point (3) really fed Point (2) – I just kept being tipped off to certain albums (usually friend recommendations) that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about or tried. And of course, no one was expecting a comeback album from David Bowie, much less a good one.
As for Point (1), it was a question of budget. With local CD stores shrinking and/or disappearing, I really do rely on Amazon to get CDs I actually like, and the international shipping surcharge is murder. Plus, let’s be honest – the first thing I do with the CD is rip it and stick the songs on my iPod. My only concern with digital has been making sure I can keep copies of them (one great thing about CDs – they serve as physical back-ups for my MP3s). But after some experimentation, I found the local iTunes to be pretty reliable. (I’d buy from Amazon, but only Americans are allowed to buy digital tracks there, because piracy is killing music, you see). And you can’t beat the price. However, I still buy CDs for albums I can get locally that are worth the extra money.
Anyway …
Like last year, 2013 yielded a field of good albums but not many awesome ones. Indeed, some of the better releases of 2013 weren’t new music at all, but re-releases of old music (as covered in our pre-show awards). And, as always, there’s not much here in the way of new acts – most of the artists on my list are still old-timers, with some even pushing their early 70s.
Still, this is one of the stronger Top 10s I’ve had in awhile. So it’s all good, really.
Let’s get to it.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought/acquired/downloaded between December 2012 and November 2013, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2013
1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Push The Sky Away (Bad Seed Ltd)
2. David Bowie, The Next Day (ISO/Columbia)
3. The Thermals, Desperate Ground (Saddle Creek Records)
4. Dog Party, Lost Control (Asian Man Records)
5. Joanna Wang, Galaxy Crisis: The Strangest Midnight Broadcast (Sony)
6. Marnie Stern, The Chronicles Of Marnia (Kill Rock Stars)
7. Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood, Black Pudding (Heavenly)
8. David Lynch, The Big Dream (Sunday Best)
9. Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (Anti-)
10. Throwing Muses, Purgatory/Paradise (Throwing Music)
11. Tony Joe White, Hoodoo (Yep Roc)
12. The Fall, Re-Mit (Cherry Red)
13. Johnny Dowd, Do The Gargon (Mother Jinx Records)
14. MIA, Matangi (Interscope)
15. Janelle Monae, The Electric Lady (Bad Boy/Wondaland)
16. The Relatives, The Electric Word (Yep Roc)
17. Black Sabbath, 13 (Vertigo)
18. They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Idlewild/Megaforce)
19. !!!, Thr!!!er (Warp)
20. Petra Haden, Petra Goes To The Movies (Anti-)
( Capsule reviews included! )
And we’re done here.
Same time next year,
This is dF
