We’re coming up to the end of the year, which means there’s currently a deluge of ‘best of’ lists hitting us from all angles online.
I don’t like to dwell too much on picking out the ‘best’ when it comes to albums as to pick one excellent album out as ‘better’ than another seems a bit odd really.
Instead, I’ve decided to collate all the ‘best albums of 2013’ lists from the music sites and blogs I respect and read a lot and totted up the scores for each album to come up with a definitive top 10 albums of 2013 – as per popular blogosphere opinion.
The sites I used to collate the list are:
The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/music/series/best-albums-of-2013
Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9293-the-top-50-albums-of-2013/
Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202
Pretty Much Amazing: http://prettymuchamazing.com/feature/best-albums-2013
Stereogum: http://www.stereogum.com/1567541/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/
Complex: http://www.complex.com/music/2013/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/
NME: http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-50-best-albums-of-2013/326689/1/1
The Quietus: http://thequietus.com/articles/13960-albums-of-the-year-2013
Consequence Of Sound: http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/12/albums-of-the-year-2013/
Drowned In Sound: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4147268-drowned-in-sounds-favourite-albums-of-2013–top-20
FACT Mag: http://www.factmag.com/2013/12/09/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/
Clash: http://www.clashmusic.com/features/clashs-top-albums-of-2013
Under The Radar: http://www.undertheradarmag.com/
To organise the top 10, I gave each album ranked on the above lists a score out of 10 – number 1 got 10 points, number 2 got 9 points and so on. Here’s how it turned out:
Top 10 albums of 2013
1. Kanye West – Yeezus
Total score: 93
Best position: 1 – The Guardian, Pretty Much Amazing, Stereogum, Complex, Consequence Of Sound
2. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City
Total score: 60
Best position: 1 – Pitchfork, Rolling Stone,
3. My Bloody Valentine – mbv
Total score: 32
Best position: 1 – Under The Radar
4. Disclosure – Settle
Total score: 30
Best position: 3 – Pitchfork
5. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Total score: 29
Best position: 3 – The Guardian, Rolling Stone
6. Arcade Fire – Reflektor
7. Danny Brown – Old
8. James Blake – Overgrown
9. HAIM – Days Are Gone
10. Deafheaven – Sunbather
So there you have it – the best 10 albums of 2013 according to lots of different music sites, blogs and ‘experts’.
Personally, I’m surprised David Bowie’s The Next Day, Foals’ Holy Fire and Atoms For Peace’s AMOK aren’t listed very high – but then what do I know!?
What were your favourite albums of the year? Join the discussion in the comments below…
