My Top 10 Albums of 2013

'My favorite of 2013' lists are going to start being posted, it'll be a little while before I post my top films because there are still a few that I want to see before I finish my list.

2013 is over and 2014 is starting it's second of it's 52 weeks.  People are starting to regret the gym membership they just started, and remembering that french fries taste good.  Get over those failed resolutions by listening to some of these albums that are in my Top 10.

Also I know there are probably some albums that you're thinking I've omitted or should have listed instead of another one, but keep in mind that these are my 10 favorite albums from the albums that I've listened to from 2013.  Maybe Lorde's album is great, maybe One Direction's album would send me in one direction, and that direction is towards musical heaven.  Maybe Beyonce has one of the greatest albums of ALL-TIME.  But these are my favorites for now, so I don't know, just deal with it, man.

In All Seriousness:

Here are my Top 10 Albums of the year of 2013.

10. 'Mechanical Bull' by Kings of Leon

Favorite Song: Temple

Kings of Leon changes their sound with each album.  It's a different experience every time, which I like a lot.  Kings of Leon's southern rock sound is something I've been a fan of for awhile.  I would say as a whole this is not one of their best albums, but it's one of the more interesting albums of the year.

9. 'Vessel' by Twenty One Pilots

Favorite Song: Migraine

This band Twenty One Pilots came to Hofstra for our spring music fest, and I had never heard of them before that.  They were great live, and me and a bunch of my friends came back to our dorms and downloaded this album.  We listened to it a bunch, and I still enjoy it now.

8. 'Repave' by Volcano Choir

Favorite Song: Comrade

I'm a huge fan of Bon Iver, and the lead singer Justin Vernon is also in this band.  His voice is so calming, he's one of my favorite singers for sure.  Volcano Choir definitely has a similar sound to Bon Iver, but it's different enough to not seem like a kind of Bon Iver 2.  A short, but enjoyable album.

7. 'Yeezus' by Kanye West

Favorite Song: Bound 2

It took me multiple listens before I liked Yeezus.  I still think it is towards the bottom of Kanye's discography rather than the top, but it's grown on me for sure.  The production value of his songs are always great, which is why Kanye is one of my favorite rappers.

6. 'Trouble Will Find Me' - The National

Favorite Song: I Need My Girl

The National has a sound that is very specific to some people's taste.  I know some people who just can't listen to them because they find them boring, but I love all of their stuff.  Their music is so relaxing, but also depressing and emotionally distressing at the same time.  I love listening to their music on car rides or as I'm trying to go to sleep.

5. 'Days Are Gone' by HAIM

Favorite Song: The Wire

The first time I listened to HAIM was when they appeared as the musical guest one SNL one week.  They sounded great, and just seemed really cool so I listened to their entire album.  It was a really I guess 'groovy' sound, and I just loved it.

4. '...Like Clockwork' by Queens of the Stone Age

Favorite Song: If I Had a Tail

Josh Homme's guitar riffs (especially in 'If I Had a Tail') are great.  They give the songs a great build up, and I love that.  Josh Homme's voice has always been really interesting to me too, whether it's been QoTSA stuff or Them Crooked Vultures, his voice is just great to listen to.  One of QoTSA's best albums if not their best in my opinion.

3. 'The 20/20 Experience part. 1 and 2' by Justin Timberlake

Favorite Song: Pusher Love Girl and Cabaret

I included both part 1 and 2 because I loved both of them and didn't want to pick one, or have them both on the list separately.  Justin Timberlake is extremely talented in my opinion.  His music is great, and anything he does with Jimmy Fallon is awesome.  This 2-part album has some of the best work of his career.  I've been a JT fan since his N'SYNC days, and I'm even more of a fan now.

2. 'AM' by Arctic Monkeys

Favorite Song: Do I Wanna Know?

One of my favorite bands, and this is probably my favorite album by them.  It's become my go-to driving song, because their songs are so fun to sing along to, and just blast as your driving.  The rhythms and lyrics in this album are really some of their best stuff and I plan on listening to this album a TON until I need to listen to something else.

1. 'Modern Vampires of the City' by Vampire Weekend

My favorite album from my favorite artist.  I probably listened to MVotC close to 50 times since it was released in March.  I still love it, every song on the album is great.  Getting to see them in concert was great, they put on the best concert I've been to.  The lyrics are clever and fun to listen to.  Musically they did a lot of different, interesting stuff that they haven't done before which I loved.  I don't know, just everything about this album I find great and I hope other people give it a listen.

~Ryan Moncrief