One of the things I liked to do with my bi-weekly column, “The Key of G,” was to make top 10 release lists at the end of the given year. While I enjoyed that, I always felt a little disingenuous because I don’t listen to that much new music; I spend most of my time digging for and listening to old records. Hence, my top 10 lists would barely be made, as I squeezed in a few listens right at the end of the year to go with the few albums from artists that I always keep up with. Further, I never kept a running list, so my top 10 would have omissions, on top of my already poor sample size.
My mission in 2013 was to listen to as many new releases as possible and to document them. What I have now is a list of 60 albums from 2013 that I listened to and ranked in order. Mind you, this list is not meant to be definitive; there is a lot that I didn’t listen to for several reasons, mainly just because there isn’t enough time in the day to hear everything. I did listen to almost everything from artists that I am a fan of, which is something I have done a poor job of over the years. I also branched out to some artists I never was a fan of before. I also discovered some new artists I had never heard of at all, which was quite nice in most instances.
Here is the list of all 60 albums I listened to in 2013. Again, this list is not intended to be definitive at all; it is just a list of what I listened to, ranked solely by my opinions. I am sure there will be some disagreement and head scratching, but some of you might also see some new things to check out. And that’s what it’s all about anyway.
60. “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk
59. “The Last Ship” by Sting
58. “Age Against the Machine” by Goodie Mob
57. “Trouble Will Find Me” by The National
56. “Wish You Were Here” by Samiyam
55. “Obsidian” by Baths
54. “Say That To Say This” by Trombone Shorty
53. “Born Sinner” by J. Cole
52. “Rebel Era” by Griz
51. “Excavation” by The Haxan Cloak
50. “Reflektor” by Arcade Fire
49. “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic” by Foxygen
48. “Kenny Dennis LP” by Serengeti
47. “Release” by Random Rab
46. “Drown Out” by Daedelus
45. “I Hate Music” by Superchunk
44. “The Diving Board” by Elton John
43. “R Plus Seven” by Oneohtrix Point Never
42. “Trap Lord” by A$AP Ferg
41. “Legends Never Die” by R.A. the Rugged Man
40. “Settle” by Disclosure
39. “Dreaming Into Being” by Bluetech
38. “In the Kitchen” by Hieroglyphics
37. “The Event II” by Deltron 3030
36. “My Name is My Name” by Pusha T
35. “Black Radio 2” by Robert Glasper Experiment
34. “The North Borders” by Bonobo
33. “The Second Album” by Latyrx
32. “Magna Carta Holy Grail” by Jay-Z
31. “Yeezus” by Kanye West
30. “Anything in Return” by Toro y Moi
29. “Defend Yourself” by Sebadoh
28. “Slow Focus” by F&@k Buttons
27. “Museum of Consciousness” by Shpongle
26. “More Is Than Isn’t” by RJD2
25. “Engravings” by Forest Swords
24. “One True Vine” by Mavis Staples
23. “Defcon 5… 4… 3… 2… 1” by Man or Astro-man?
22. “One For The Road” by Devin the Dude and “Trill OG: The Epilogue” by Bun B
21. “Psychic” by Darkside
20. “Acid Rap” by Chance the Rapper
19. “King Remembered in Time” by Big K.R.I.T.
18. “Yessir Whatever” by Quasimoto
17. “Late Pass” by Jel
16. “No Poison No Paradise” by Black Milk
15. “Better Off DEAD” by Flatbush Zombies
14. “Wise up Ghost” by Elvis Costello & the Roots
13. “Twelve Reasons to Die” by Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge
12. “Home” by Nosaj Thing
11. “Doris” by Earl Sweatshirt
10. “Milk Money” by Dosh
9. “Victim of Love” by Charles Bradley
8. “False Idols” by Tricky
7. “Dusk To Dawn” by Emancipator
6. “Hokey Fright” by The Uncluded
5. “Tape Two” by Young Fathers
4. “13 Degrees Of Reality” by The Heliocentrics
3. “Old” by Danny Brown
2. “Tomorrow’s Harvest” by Boards of Canada
1. “Run the Jewels” by Run the Jewels
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