BUnow’s Top Albums of 2013
When reading articles like Zoe’s “Top 10 Singles of 2013“, which details the best of the best songs of the year, it’s easy to tell that 2013 was a great year for music. BUnow’s staff is full of music junkies, and a few of us wanted to share our own favorite albums that came out in the year just past.
Native – One Republic
“I just love this band! This new album seems fresh and a bit different than the previous ones. A lot of the tracks are varied and I love the theme with the drums and its ‘native’ feel.” – Kyreem Powers
Settle – Disclosure
“This duo of brothers from the UK is making serious waves in the underground dubstep and house music scenes. Odds are that if you read any other Best of 2013 album lists, you will find this one near the top. ‘Settle’ was originally released in July and recently was re-released with a whole second album’s worth of remixes that guests created of cuts from the original album. Much of Disclosure’s music features the vocals you would find in house music alongside drums and the ‘wub-wub-wub’ noises you’d expect from dubstep.” – Matt Blockus
One of Disclosure’s biggest hits from the album is a love song called “Latch“.
AM – Arctic Monkeys
“The Arctic Monkeys have explored a range of sounds over the years, from the gritty garage punk of their early days to psychedelic stoner rock to glitzy guitar pop . Most recently, the band has outdone themselves with what is arguably their best effort to date, described by frontman Alex Turner as his band’s ‘most original yet’. AM seamlessly blends 70’s-style rock songwriting with heavy drum & bass rhythms for a broad track listing chock full of sex appeal, taking listeners on a creeping journey from the bars and the parties to the hotel at night’s end. Sounds on the album range from the haunting guitar-laden rock on the opening track ‘Do I Wanna Know?‘ to Turner’s sedated club crooning on ‘No. 1 Party Anthem‘ to throbbing jump-around dance beats like ‘Snap Out of It.’ Easily my favorite album of 2013.” – Nick Cellucci
When it Was Now – Atlas Genius
“I ran into this album by accident and was glad I did. I was a nice memory for me. I was in the phase for trying to discover new music and was on an Indie kick. This album fed that hunger and gave me something more. Each track was very different and each track had a different mood which finally led me to search for music like it. The music is very unique and combines both an old and modern feel which makes this album a must for me!” – Kyreem Powers
Anything In Return – Toro y Moi
“One of my favorite albums of 2013 is this one by Toro y Moi (pronounced toe-row eee mwah). As the founder of a new genre dubbed ‘chillwave,’ Chaz Bundick, the face of Toro y Moi, has been creating new sounds with an avant-garde flavor since 2010. Combining the instrumentation of indie-rock, pop, and jazz with the progression of hip-hop and dance music, Toro y Moi is unlike many other musical acts that are out there today. ‘Anything In Return’ is the third album effort from the group and is perhaps the most approachable as well. It was released in January 2013 and I’ve been playing it all year ever since.” – Matt Blockus
Take a listen to the first single from the album, “So Many Details“.
2014 promises to be another great year full of great albums, and we’ll be back when it’s all over to share our favorite albums once again. In the meantime, what were some of your favorite albums of 2013? Let us know in the comments down below!
