1. Generic Treasure – Modern Hut – A dystopian masterpiece about 2013 disassociation filled with doubt and dismay, made acidic by acoustic renditions of great pop songs.
2. Power Of Trinity… A Slight Return (EP) – Tomas Doncker – Protest music with a funky guitar and a back beat
3. When I was An Eagle – Laura Marling – Jungian archetypes meet boy-gods and all are punished to a melody you can sing in the shower.
4. Yeezus – Kanye West – Industrial strength beats and a litany of recriminations… so where are his damn croissants?
5. Yes, You – Jahn Xavier And The Bowerytones – A piece of agitprop pop rock sould blueprint for recrimination against discrimation, full on roar.
6. Fairy Tale And Myth – Suzzy Roche And Lucy Wainwright Roche – Writing a song about Edith Wharton is one thing, writing a song about Lily Barth something else again. But then, has there ever been a more quirkily mythic folkie than our own Suzzy? Here joined by her daughter.
7. Mother – Natalie Maines – Country girl embraces her inner alt rocker, becomes modern country girl and the better for it.
8. Side Effects Of You – Fantasia – She has gone through a lot to get here, a nigh on perfect soul record, mixing dance and ballads to equal effect and sounding very much like the woman who has survived the life she has, indeed survived.
9. Modern Vampires Of The City – Vampire Weekend – God and man reconciled
10. m b v – My Bloody Valentine – Decades later and this is nearly exactly the album you had hoped, guitar modulations and bruised melodies aplenty.
11. Paramore – Paramore – The great reunion album of 2013. The great return of 2013. A shockingly good album
12. Southeasterner – Jason Isbell – Country rocker sobers up, falls in love, likes it.
13. Save Rock And Roll – Fall Out Boy – Emo boys remember how it’s done.
14. Shellshag Forever – A band that have survived and thrived by building a romance and a musical environment that suits them and here they manage to share it in perfect melody and harmony
15. The Elvis Club – The Del Lords – Americana garage rockers as great as ever.
16. 3.0 – Marc Anthony – Welcome return to form
17. This Is The Tomas Doncker Howling Wolf Ep -We Hope He Likes It – Tomas Doncker – As powerful and original a version of Mr. Wolf classics as you could hope for. And more.
18. Based On A true Story – Blake Shelton – Astoundingly, consistently tuneful country album.
19. In Time – The Mavericks – 1990s country band add anything they damn well feel to the main ingredients and come out with near perfect country rock.
20. Love Is Everything – George Strait – Superior country album by the numbers.
21. Without A Net – Wayne Shorter – It is, of course, all about the horn. But he plays it often and the music is unlike what we rockers are even slightly used to
22. Less Radio – The Normal Living – Spector meets Springsteen at Penn Station
23. Fourth Corner – Trixie Whitley – Highly ambitious, somewhat polished, blues pop from a new master on her debut album.
24. Time – Rod Stewart – has his mojo back for the first time in decades.
25. Claire’s Diary – Claire’s Diary – A sonic surf and pop debut album so fresh and bitingly alive.
26. Wakin On A Sunny Daze- Kurt Vile – Like Neil Young in mellow mode with a better guitarist but weaker songs.
27. Re-Mit – The Fall – More of the same, ain’t that enough? Plus rockabilly elements!
28. Reasons To Live – Hilly Eye – Another debut album, another soundscape folkie feminist masterpiece.
29. The 20/20 Experience – Justin Timberlake’s worst solo effort is overstuffed in every imaginable way include length of songs, song suites and hooks.
30. Fade – Yo La Tengo – High melodic quotient stories of monogamy.
31. I Got A Boy – Girls Generation – Nice piece all girl band throws everything they’ve got at K-Pop and watch a lot of it stick.
32. Fidlar – Fidlar – Punky rock and roll from L.A.
33. Adam Ant is marrying The Gunner’s daughter – Adam Ant – A sprawling mess of a rock and roll album.
34. My True Story – Aaron Neville – His back pages, produced by Keith Richards.
35. Cheaters Game – Kelly Willis And Bruce Robison – Songs for swinging married couples.
36. Honeys – Pissed Jeans – Way out there punks come noise merchants come hardcore guys.
37.Beautiful – Teena Marie – Ivory snow r&b old school. A magnificent album filled with strong songs, great vocals and, well, naff lyric kinda comes with the territory but a fine farewell from the great dance diva
38. Random Access Memories – Daft Punk – French disco, sometimes more than French disco.
39. IV Play – The-Dream – The 21st century’s Babyface.
40. The Next Day – David Bowie – the hangover part IV
41. One Big Particular Loop – Polysenso – Jazzy, experimental, obtuse, catchy. From the Mid-West.
42. Jamie Lidell – Jamie Lidill – Blue eyed soul goes hi-tech.
43. Face The Music – Avant – Classic r&b
44. Tinvulva – Tinvulva – Rioting grrrls
45. The Bronx IV – The Bronx – Hard rocking album.
46. Memphis – Boz Scaggs – Includes Mink de Ville’ covers.
47. She – Alice Smith – Excellent old fashioned r&b except not rally old fashioned.
48. Afraid Of Height – Wavves – Eccentric surf punk experimental stuff.
49. Mosquito – Yeah Yeah Yeah – Their worst album is still pretty awesome
50. Wolf – Tyler, The Creator – Rich but still bumming
51. True Believers – Darius Rucker – Solid country album
52. Same Trailer, Different Park – Kacey Musgrove -You can take the girl outta the trailer park…
53. A State Of Trance – BT – More melodic than the live DJs tend to play it.
54. Bankrupt – Phoenix – Not bad but a bit bland in the middle.
55. True Romance – Charlie XCX – Betetr pop than you imagine it will be
56. Right Place, Right Time – Bruno Mars – Right on
57. Strike Gently – The Virgins – It took awhile to kick in but moves forward from their Some Girls meets First Impressions vibe.
58. Vanishing Point – Mudhoney – They’re back!
59. Trouble will Find Me – The National – Depressed songs about happy things.
60. A – Agnethea Faltskog – 70s superstar return
61. Wheels – Laura Stevenson – Pounds even when it ponders
62. Everybody Loves Sausages – The Melvins – Dream covers go to hell.
63. The Messiah – Sizzla – Rastaman
64. My Shame Is True – Alkaline Trio – Not just the funniest album title, the smartest pop punk
65. Sound The Alarm – Booker T – Better than the last one
66. J.AC.K. – Forever The Sickest Kids – Emo doesn’t just live, it improves.
67. Queensryche – Queensryche – Hard hitting second cousin to glam
68. More Light – Primal Scream – Not prime Primal but not bad at all.
69. Born Sinner – J. Cole – Maybe a third of this is really good modern hip hop
70. Pythons – Surfer Blood – Excellent indie pop surf and turf
Best reissue:
71. Don’t Look Down – Skylar Gray – Shockingly good album from Eminen protegee brings singer songwriter into 21st century.
72. Magna Carta Holy Grail – Jay Z – Its on here where BP3 didn’t make it because it is his best album in a decade and he rocked it live.
73 electric – Pet Shop Boys – Upbeat disco (i mean RELATIVELY)
74. Home Life – Andrew Cedermark – The poppier stuff is really good
75. Bakersfield – Vince Gill, Paul Franklin – Owens, Haggard, plus steel guitar solos
76. Body Music – Alunageorge – EDM duo from the UK are pretty damn hot.
Reissue
At Stax – Elvis Presley
Rumors (Super deluxe) – Fleetwood Mac.
Wings Over America
Best Over 50
Fairy Tale And Myth – Suzzy Roche And Lucy Wainwright Roche – Folk with bite though you don’t hear it at first
Love Is Everything – George Strait – Superior country songs made simple
Without A Net – Wayne Shorter – It is, of course, all about the horn. But he plays it often and the music is unlike what we rockers are even slightly used to
Adam Ant is marrying The Gunner’s daughter – Adam Ant – A sprawling mess of a rock and roll album.
My True Story – Aaron Neville – His back pages, produced by Keith Richards
Memphis – Boz Scaggs – R&B stuff from a past master.
Sound The Alarm – Booker T – Better than the last one
Comment: I would say that after the top ten or so there are just too many albums to be in a real favorite