The Best 5 Albums of 2013 According to Mary Magpie

2013 was a pretty interesting year for music, and though there’s more than five records that came out this year that I’ve been digging, there are only some worthy of making a list.

5.  “The Things We Think We’re Missing”- Balance and Composure.  There are a few tunes on this album that I really don’t care for at all, but there are some indisputably wonderful songs.  “Dirty Head” and “Parachutes” have really grown on me and the haunting quality of Jon Simmons’ new vocal approach has creeped its way into my heart.  Well done, boys.

4. “Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die”- Panic! At The Disco.  Talk about winning back the fans regardless of member changes.  Urie is now the only original member still in the group, and god does he carry it well.  This album is reminiscent of their first, and that’s a great thing.  They were losing momentum with Ryan Ross and Jon Walker in the band, and by them splitting, it allowed P!ATD to grow into a superband that’s gonna continue releasing fantastic music and making teen girls melt.

3. “Save Rock And Roll”- Fall Out Boy.  Slump or comeback of the year?  Debatable, considering there’s groups of fans who’ve fallen out of love with the band because of this new turn they’ve taken.  Personally, it’s the best comeback ever.  They’ve grown fantastically and it’s like they were never gone at all.  I adore the new album and am proud to call myself a fan of this album ‘cos damn, this band really did save rock and roll.

2. “Tape Deck Heart”- Frank Turner.  Oh boy, Frankie dear.  This album hit a personal note with me, with Turner’s tales of woe and recovery and moving on.  Seeing him live was life-changing and solidified this album’s number two spot on this list.  The songs are beautiful and gut wrenching, then followed by a peppy tune to make you dance.  He’s a magician with emotions.

1. “Put Yourself Back Together”- Real Friends OR “Modern Vampires of the City”- Vampire Weekend.  That’s right.  Two number one albums.  I do this because they’re so intensely different and are played equally as often as the other on my Spotify.  Real Friends are a phenomenal band that I’ve become a massive fan of and are my favourite band of the harder side of poppunk lately.  As for Vampire Weekend, I listen to their entire discography at least once a day, but ‘Modern Vampires’ has grown on me and made me into a megafan.

Some honourable mentions are: “Vessel” by Twenty One Pilots, “The Greatest Generation” by The Wonder Years, “Sempiternal” by Bring Me The Horizon, and “What You Don’t See” by The Story So Far.

2013 has been a fantastic year, and these albums have made it that much better.