As of right now, I have heard 100 albums in 2013. Even then, there’s still plenty of music I haven’t gotten to, including the new James Blake album, a new LP from Serengeti and several recent singles.
Still, since it’s the end of June, this feels like the appropriate time to bring out the lists. It’s now both the midpoint for the year and the time when the Echo stops running for the rest of the summer.
So, here’s my 25 favorite albums and 40 favorite songs of 2013 (so far).
Albums
1. The Uncluded: “Hokey Fright” (Rhymesayers)
2. Yo La Tengo: “Fade” (Matador)
3. Vampire Weekend: “Modern Vampires of the City” (XL)
4. Rilo Kiley: “RKives” (Little Record Company)
5. Kacey Musgraves: “Same Trailer Different Park” (Mercury Nashville)
6. Bettie Serveert: “Oh, Mayhem!” (Second Motion)
7. Kanye West: “Yeezus” (Def Jam)
8. Ashley Monroe: “Like a Rose” (Warner Bros.)
9. Rachid Taha: “Zoom” (Wrasse)
10. Pistol Annies: “Annie Up” (RCA)
11. Parquet Courts: “Light Up Gold” (What’s Your Rupture? ’12)
12. Dawn Richard: “Goldenheart” (Our Dawn)
13. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba: “Jama Ko” (Out Here)
14. Chance the Rapper: “Acid Rap” (free download)
15. Disclosure: “Settle” (Cherrytree)
16. They Might Be Giants: “Nanobots” (Idlewild)
17. Paramore: “Paramore” (Fueled By Ramen)
18. Jonny Fritz: “Dad Country” (ATO)
19. Fat Tony: “Smart Ass Black Boy” (Young One)
20. Daft Punk: “Random Access Memories” (Columbia)
21. Low: “The Invisible Way” (Sub Pop)
22. A$AP Rocky: “Long.Live.A$AP” (Polo Grounds/RCA)
23. Tricky: “False Idols” (False Idols)
24. Brad Paisley: “Wheelhouse” (Arista Nashville)
25. Wussy: “Duo” (Shake It)
Songs
1. Vampire Weekend: “Step” (XL)
2. Kanye West: “New Slaves” (Def Jam)
3. Mariah Carey (feat. Miguel): “#Beautiful” (Island)
4. Justin Timberlake: “That Girl” (RCA)
5. Betty Who: “Somebody Loves You” (Betty Who)
6. Yo La Tengo: “Ohm” (Matador)
7. Kacey Musgraves: “Follow Your Arrow” (Mercury Nashville)
8. Rilo Kiley: “Well, You Left” (Little Record Company)
9. The Uncluded: “Tits Up” (Rhymesayers)
10. Ashley Monroe: “Two Weeks Late” (Warner Bros.)
11. Pistol Annies: “Trading One Heartbreak for Another” (RCA)
12. Bettie Serveert: “Had2Byou” (Second Motion)
13. Antwon: “Still Guarded” (free download)
14. Brad Paisley (feat. Charlie Daniels): “Karate” (Arista Nashville)
15. The National: “Demons” (4AD)
16. Charli XCX: “You (Ha Ha Ha)” (Asylum)
17. The Replacements: “Lost Highway” (New West)
18. They Might Be Giants: “Stone Cold Coup d’Etat” (Idlewild)
19. Tegan and Sara: “Drove Me Wild” (Vapor/Warner Bros.)
20. The Uncluded: “Teleprompters” (Rhymesayers)
21. The Knife: “Full of Fire” (Rabid)
22. Azealia Banks: “BBD” (YouTube ’12)
23. Annie: “Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts” (Totally)
24. Vampire Weekend: “Ya Hey” (XL)
25. The Joy Formidable: “This Ladder is Ours” (Atlantic)
26. Paramore: “Still Into You” (Fueled By Ramen)
27. Parquet Courts: “Stoned and Starving” (What’s Your Rupture? ’12)
28. Yo La Tengo: “Is That Enough” (Matador)
29. The Pirouettes: “Hortensia Summer” (self-released ’12)
30. Fall Out Boy: “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” (Island)
31. Chelsea Light Moving: “Sleeping Where I Fall” (Matador)
32. Earl Sweatshirt (feat. Tyler, the Creator): “Whoa” (Tan Cressida/Columbia)
33. Low: “Clarence White” (Sub Pop)
34. Disclosure: “Stimulation” (Cherrytree)
35. Kacey Musgraves: “Back on the Map” (Mercury Nashville)
36. Chance the Rapper (feat. Vic Mensa & Twista): “Cocoa Butter Kisses” (free download)
37. J. Cole (feat. Miguel): “Power Trip” (Roc Nation/Columbia)
38. Dawn Richard: “Riot” (Our Dawn)
39. Daft Punk (feat. Julian Casablancas): “Instant Crush” (Columbia)
40. Jonas Brothers: “Pom Poms” (Jonas Enterprises)
