Best Albums of 2013: 20-11

The Best Albums of 2013: Nos. 20-11

2013 was a banner year for music.  No matter what your musical tastes, there was something for you.  Every genre was well represented and I'm not sure that 2014 can live up to what last  year brought to the table.  I'm a music junkie and it was really difficult to narrow all the stellar releases that came out this year to a trim twenty.  There were so many other albums that I could have included and if you need more recommendations, then just come see me.  After the jump, is the first half of my list.  (Also, I know  that January is almost over, but I've been busy.  Let it go.)

20. Sara Bareilles, "The Blessed Unrest"

This was a banner year for Sara Bareilles.  She released one of the biggest singles of the year.  She released her third album.  She was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year.  The Grammys got a lot of flack for the last one and I can understand it.  I mean, out of all of the albums that were released this year is this one of the five best?  Probably not.  That doesn't take away from the fact that it is a pretty great record.  It would be great based on "Brave" alone.  The self-empowerment anthem co-written by fun.'s Jack Antanoff has only gotten more popular as the year has gone on.  The fact that Katy Perry's mega single "Roar" sounds a lot like it has only helped the original.  Sara even performed at the Staples Center with Taylor Swift during her Red tour.  How else would you know that you had a great year?  It's Taylor Swift, people!  

Besides, "Brave" the whole album is full of top notch piano pop, proving once again that Sara may be the heir to Carole King, who I hear she is performing with at this Sunday's Grammy awards.  If you have been living under a rock and haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch the video for "Brave."

19. Dawn Richard, "GoldenHeart"

Do you remember a little girl group called Danity Kane?  I'm sure you do.  They were the focus of Diddy's MTV series, "Making the Band."  They released two relatively successful albums and then Diddy broke them up.  You may have thought that the ladies of DK just shuffled off to relative obscurity and for the most part you'd be right.  You'd be wrong about Dawn Richard.  She hustled.  She worked hard.  She was part of Diddy's shortlived band Diddy Dirty Money.  She released a kick ass mixtape that you can still download for free and an EP called "Armor On." They were just the warm ups for her first full length solo album.  "GoldenHeart" is song after song of futuristic, forward thinking R&B music.  Dawn's voice glides and curves over electro beats, but unlike some of her peers Richard never loses the emotion behind what she is singing.  It's never 

cold.  She has this great Brandy vibe and it's a record that gets better with every spin.  Also, if you are still bummed out about DK breaking up, good news.  They're going to be releasing some new music in 2014.  So maybe Dawn will be making an appearance on next year's list.  

18.  Elton John, "The Diving Board"

A lot of attention has been paid this year to David Bowie and deservedly so.  The Thin White Duke made a triumphant return to the music scene in 2103.  He released his first album in a decade.  "The Next Day" It's a great album, but when I'm forced to choose between Seventies greats I go with Sir Elton every time.  I'm not sure why this album didn't get the attetion that Bowie's did.  It's a great album.  Stellar production by T-Bone Burnett.  Songs written by Elton and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.  There's not a dud in the bunch, the standout being lead single, "Home Again."

The reason why "The Diving Board" may have been overlooked is because this is the just the most recent album in a long line of winners that Sir Elton has been churning out, starting with 2001's "Songs from the West Coast."
You can watch the video for "Home Again" below.

17. Natalia Kills, "Trouble"

Natalia Kills released her debut album, "Perfectionist", in 2011.  It went relatively unnoticed in the United States, coming off as a passable Lady GaGa ripoff.  I bought it and enjoyed it for what it was, but wasn't expecting huge things from Natalia.  She released a buzz single called "Problem" in early '13 and it was decent.  A club banger about how Natalia is a "goddamn problem" and she knows what you all were saying about her.  I was afraid that her sophomore effort would just be more of the same.

Then she released her first official single, "Saturday Night" and I knew that Natalia had arrived.  Kills mines her troubled childhood as the daughter of a convicted criminal.  The video ends with a home video of young Natalia talk singing into a homemade microphone.  "Saturday Night" was my song of the summer.  I probably listened to it a hundred times and when "Trouble" finally dropped I was pleased to discover that the rest of the album was just as spectacular.  Natalia samples Hall and Oates on one song and the next she sounds straight out of Motown.  She kills.  Check out the video for "Saturday Night."

16. Alice Smith, "She"

I was worried that Alice Smith was never going to be seen again.  In 2006, she released her debut album, "For Lovers, Dreamers & Me" and it was one of the best debut records I've ever heard.  It was critically acclaimed.  Music critics and R&B fans were falling all over themselves.  I was working at Barnes & Noble in the music department when it was released and I think I recommended it to everyone who came in.  I waited and waited and waited and waited for her to release her sophomore album and then nothing.  I had resigned myself to the fact that this one, perfect album is all I would get, but then I got some awseome news.

In late 2012, Alice announced that she was starting up a Kickstarter campaign to fund her long delayed sophomore record.  Donations flew in and I was pleased to discover that I wasn't the only one waiting for Ms. Smith's new album.  It was worth the wait.  "She" doesn't overstay it's welcome.  It is one of those albums that are the perfect length.  There is the power piano pop of opener "Cabaret," the guitar laced love song "Ocean" and Cee Lo, "Fool For You" has been snatched from you.  It forever belongs to Alice.  The album closer and title track is the definition of what a female empowerment album should be.  I only hope I don't have to wait another 7 years for the follow up.  Check out the video for "Fool For You."

15.  Disclosure, "Settle"

EDM.  It sort of seemed like you were on the way out this year.  People seemed to kind of be over the synth heavy, bass thumping of David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, and Skrillex.  It's not dead though and there are some artists out there putting a new, thoughtful spin on the genre.

The English brothers, Guy and Howard Lawrence, proved that EDM still had some life in it with their debut album.  If you'll pardon a cliché, the whole album is a party that doesn't stop.  You can tell that the duo really enjoy what they're doing and they put emotion in it.  That is what is sometimes missing from most EDM.  It's cold and impersonal, but Disclosure isn't.  From the stomping repetition of "When a Fire Starts to Burn" to the heartbreak of "F for You," this is an album that you want to listen to immediately after it's over.
Check out the video for the infectious "When a Fires Starts to Burn."

14.  Drake, "Nothing Was the Same"

Drake gets a bad rap. He sometimes comes off a little douche-y.  He's almost, dare I say, the John Mayer of the hip hop community.  He tries for swag and succeeds more than he fails, but sometimes it feels like he is apologizing for the softer side that he shows.   For a lot of hip hop fans, what Drake raps about isn't what they want to hear about.  Some hip hop afficionados don't want to listen to an 8 minute drunk dial rapped by a Canadian former child actor.  Well, too bad for them.

In 2013, Drake seemed to finally reconcile the two sides of himself: the softer side and the swag side.  He reminded everyone that he could really spit with lead single, "Started From the Bottom," but was also radio ready with his massive hit single, "Hold On, We're Going Home."  He also seemed to finally stop apologizing and basically told his detractors that he was here to stay.  "Nothing Was the Same" is a dense record and it can take a few listens to really digest, enjoy and appreciate what Aubrey Graham is bringing to the table, but once you do this record can turn any Drake doubter into a believer.  While you're at it, watch the video for "Hold On, We're Going Home."

13. Paramore, "Paramore"

Paramore has had a rough couple of years.  In 2010, founding members, Josh and Zac Farro, released an open letter to fans telling them they were leaving the band.  The brothers attacked front woman, Hayley Williams, calling the band a manufactured product of a record label and that the other members were just there to support her.  It was not great.  No one would have been surprised if Paramore had just decided to go their separate ways.  With her powerhouse vocals, Hayley could have a successful solo career, but they perservered and released their best album yet.

Their self-titled fourth album finally lived up to the potential that they had shown on their previous albums.  They don't shy away from the angst that they had to deal with, they deal with it head on with songs like lead single, "Now" and "Grow Up."  Album closer, "Future," is a cool, static-y, stream of consciousness rumination that ends the album on a hopeful note.  And, "Still Into You" may be one of the best singles of the year.  So, you should watch the video.

12.  Fall Out Boy, "Save Rock and Roll"

Were people besides me clamoring for a Fall Out Boy reunion?  That was the question when the boys announced that they would be releasing their first album since 2008's "Folie á Deux."  The answer was a resounding yes.  The album's lead single, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)," was a smash.  It conquered the radio and iTunes charts pretty much immediately.  The success of that single wasn't a fluke.  FOB was back with a vengeance, releasing the most authentic, fully realized album of their career.

The songs are so strong, that they're in the process of releasing a video for every song.  What other album that came out this year can say that it had Foxes and Courtney Love on it?  Here's hoping that Fall Out Boy is here to stay.

Check out the video for "The Phoenix."

11. Miley Cyrus, "Bangerz"

Oh, Miley.  You bedevil me.  You release a catchy earworm single, then you release the video.  It's a blatant attempt at being controversial and grown up, which really just makes you look like more of a kid.  I mean, from the skull made out of french fries to the "twerking" to the tongue, the video for "We Can't Stop" is desparate with a capital D.  I wish I could say subsequent videos were better but "Wrecking Ball" and "Adore You" are just more attempts at envelope pushing.

While Miley's videos leave a lot to be desired, the music on "Bangerz" is decidedly fresh and funky.  Album opener, "Adore You," is maybe one of the most beautiful pop ballads of the year and hands down the best song on the production.  There are some duds like the Britney Spears assisted title track and deluxe edition closer "Hands in the Air" featuring Ludacris, but the hits outnumber the misses and it just makes you wish young Miley had more faith in her music.  Fuckin' bangerz.
Check out Miley, Jimmy Fallon and the Roots rocking "We Can't Stop."

So, there you have it.  The first ten.  Any surprises?  Agree?  Disagree?  What do you think will show up in the top ten, which I wil post in a couple of days?  Hit the comments.