The best album releases of 2013

Every “best of” list is extremely subjective, so keep that in mind. I’ve enjoyed most of the musical products from these artists previously, and they did not fail me in 2013. This list is ranked in alphabetical order because they are all that good.

ARCADE FIRE

“Reflektor”

Rating: 3.75/5
Release date: Oct. 28
I’m a sucker for French lyrics, so when I heard the lyrics “Entre la nuit” on the title track, I knew I’d fall in love. Of course, lyrics aren’t always enough, but Arcade Fire’s instrumentals don’t disappoint.

The concept behind the album’s music is pretty interesting, too. Win Butler talked about how “Black Orpheus” from 1959 inspired his lyrics, especially in the themes of isolation and death. Additionally, Butler said Haitian rara music inspired him after he visited the country with band member Régine Chassagne, whose family is from Haiti.

The double disc album is fresh and less clean as Arcade Fire’s former albums. Additionally, it has David Bowie, and James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem helped produce it. What’s not to like about that?

DAFT PUNK

“Random Access Memories”

Rating: 4.5/5
Release date: May 17
When I first heard the teaser for “Get Lucky,” I knew I was going to be hooked on “Random Access Memories.” I remember obsessively looking for the full song on the Internet before Daft Punk released it. The sheer amount of talent on this album is staggering, and while the robots are perfectly fine on their own, they couldn’t have picked better artists like Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, Panda Bear and Pharrell Williams to help out.

The album came out near the end of my study abroad experience in Spring Semester, so I can’t help but feel melancholy whenever I listen to some of the tracks, especially “Fragments of Time.” The song is about exactly how I was feeling — I didn’t want to leave my friends and my new home. It’s a pretty cheesy song, but it gets that moment.

The album is an epic of nearly 75 minutes, and it definitely takes you on a ride. It’s difficult to get through it without dancing — especially with “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself to Dance.” To top this album off, I even got to dance to “Get Lucky” in a massive discothèque in my host city, Rennes, France. I’ll never forget that energy.

FOXYGEN

“We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic”

Rating: 4/5
Release date: Jan. 22
This album came out a few days after I landed in France for the Spring Semester, so listening to it now reminds me of many of the feelings I had in those first few weeks — and it’s not a negative. I listened to this album on repeat for days, especially the tracks “San Francisco” and “Shuggie.” A month or so later when I thought I had gotten “San Francisco” out of my head, I heard it while grocery shopping at Carrefour, and it just pulled me back in.

Truly, it’s a perfect retro-rock piece. It’s hard to not like this solid album.

KANYE WEST

“Yeezus”

Rating: 4/5
Release date: June 18
Regardless of how people take Kanye West as a person, he’s a genius when it comes to music. He continued that with “Yeezus,” which is an intense album. It’s not an easy listen by any means, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it.

I do think that “Blood on the Leaves” was a bit of a missed opportunity, as he takes the Nina Simone rendition of “Strange Fruit,” which talks about lynchings, and twists it into a song about drug hookups and fame.

Still, this album is powerfully progressive. It’s dark and intense.

KEVIN DEVINE

Kevin Devine launched a Kickstarter early in 2013 to release his two latest albums. “Bulldozer” is a solo album with Rob Schnapf and “Bubblegum” is a full band album with the Goddamn Band, produced by Brand New’s Jesse Lacey. The fan response to the Kickstarter was massive, earning him more than $114,000 for recording and tours and making it the 12th largest funded music project on Kickstarter.

The two albums are different, and it’s hard to pick which one I like better.

“Bubblegum”

Rating: 4.5/5
Release date: Oct. 15
When I first started “Bubblegum,” the opener (“Noble Prize”) shocked me by how raw and loud it was. Devine has certainly grown in his abilities, and “Bubblegum” is proof. The entire album is very full and includes a few songs that call out the government — “Private First Class” and “Fiscal Cliff.” I particularly like “Private First Class,” as he calls attention to the hypocrisy of the condemnation of Pfc. Chelsea Manning.

“Bubblegum” also has one of my favorite new songs from him, “Redbird.” The song is an abstract about Maher Arar, who was tortured in Syria due to the U.S. government suspecting him of being a member of al-Qaeda. Syria and Canada later called him innocent, and he was cleared of any terrorism links. It contains some of my favorite lines from the album, “I held the fear in my mouth, I choked it down and now I’ll never let it out / It’s never only the one thing / Always another / Waiting in line.” I can’t get that song out of my head, and it’s a good problem to have.

“Bulldozer”

Rating: 4.5/5
Release date: Oct. 15
From this album, he presents a bit tamer songs, but the tracks are still well put together and developed. The songs really drive the listener through.

The second song on the album — “Now: Navigate!” — is my second favorite from the double release. The song starts out with, “There are tiers, as in levels, to reality” where he paints the picture of opposites in the example of a rich Nordic model to two black public high school kids and how they relate. He goes on to sing, “And if it’s nobody’s fault / Then I’m not to blame / I just work in the dark / I just carry the weight / Slender shoulders and blindfolds / Stranded in cycles / Now, now, now: navigate!”

The double release really highlights his ability to not only be one of the best songwriters out there, but also the improvement in his musical abilities since his first release. He’s one of my favorite musicians, and my contribution to the Kickstarter was worth it.

THE KNIFE

“Shaking the Habitual”

Rating: 4/5
Release date: April 5
The Swedish duo — siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer — are brilliant. There’s no way around it. The Knife reigns, in terms of electronic music to me. The two are pretty dark and extremely talented.

Feminist and queer theory influenced the album, which I can get behind. The Knife doesn’t stray away from political statements and the two criticize the idea of the nuclear family as well as the royal family. In the album’s manuscript it says, “What we do is political. That should be impossible to misunderstand.”

This album is an impressive unit of art, though it isn’t an accessible album — it takes a certain listener to digest its at times uncomfortable, aggressive and challenging sounds. The album cover assaults your eyes with the bright colors, which seems tame compared to the music that spans nearly 100 minutes.

LORDE

“Pure Heroine”

Rating: 4/5
Release date: Sept. 27
This 17-year-old musician from New Zealand took over the airwaves with her “Royals” single from “The Love Club EP” — it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t know that song. While the EP has some good songs on it, it was a relief when she released “Pure Heroine,” which also contains “Royals.”

It’s a strong album and great for those rainy days where you want to slip into a trance. Her haunting vocals display some pretty mature lyrics that carry the album more than the beats, which are more minimal and far from surprising. Is this the start of the era of Lorde? If she continues to grow musically, it’s very possible.

TEGAN AND SARA

“Heartthrob”

Rating: 4/5
Release date: Jan. 29
Tegan and Sara is one of my favorite bands, so I was overjoyed when I learned the twins were releasing a new album. When “Closer” was released, I instantly loved it, even though it was a departure from the band’s usual indie and gentle sound. Despite the overload of pop, I found it to be a fresh change. While I wasn’t as excited for “I Was a Fool,” which was leaked not too long afterward, it ended up growing on me.

Rolling Stone called this album the duo’s “most commercial record of their career,” and that’s very true. It’s powerful and it’s accessible. It almost feels like the album is a quick one because of how easy it is to listen to. It’s got the more pop songs, a bit of a power ballad and some pretty sad songs. While it’s not my favorite Tegan and Sara album, it’s still a good listen.