Once again, I publish a list of the best songs of the year. They are all in my “Best of 2013″ playlist on Spotify.
I hedge by telling you that I read fewer reviews than last year and that I had a *large* listening gap over the summer. I also listened to less bluegrass and rap than last year. I was skewed towards indie and (quizzically) electronic this year.
Without further ado:
20. Thomas Rhett – “Beer With Jesus”
19. Ben Howard – “Keep Your Head Up”
18. Cage the Elephant – “Come a Little Closer”
17. Cold War Kids – “Miracle Mile”
16. Phosphorescent – “Song For Zula”
15. MGMT – “Alien Days”
14. Daft Punk, Panda Bear – “Doin’ It Right”
13. Arctic Monkeys – “Do I Wanna Know?” / “R U Mine?”
12. Yuck – “Middle Sea” / “Out of Time”
11. New Politics – “Harlem”
10. Low – “Just Make It Stop”
9. Queens of the Stone Age – “My God Is The Sun” / “I Sat By The Ocean”
8. Phoenix – “Don’t”
7. Waaves – “Sail To The Sun” / “Demon To Lean On”
6. Daft Punk, Julian Casablancas – “Instant Crush”
5. Kanye West, JAY-Z, Big Sean – “Clique”
4. Parquet Courts – “Master Of My Craft” / “Borrowed Time” / “Donuts Only”
3. Drake – “Started From the Bottom”
2. Vampire Weekend – “Ya Hey”
1. Kurt Vile – “Never Run Away”
Honorable mentions (in no particular order):
Speedy Ortiz – “Tiger Tank”
Dum Dum Girls – “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”
Kanye West – “Black Skinhead”
John K. Samson – “When I Write My Master’s Thesis”