The Soundtrack Of My Life's Top 25 Albums Of 2013

Oh, what a wonderful time 2013 has been!  As another year comes to an end, we look back and realize just how many fantastic albums were released.  Along with the arrival of a new year comes the treacherously amusing task of creating a "best of" list.  This year I've even included clickable album titles, so you can grab each one if you feel the urge.  So without further delay, here are The Soundtrack Of My Life's top twenty-five albums of 2013.

25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

24. Hunx And His Punx - Street Punk
23. Bastille - Bad Blood
22. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
21. Devendra Banhart - Mala
20. Arctic Monkeys - AM
19. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
18. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
17. Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
15. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
14. Small Black - Limits Of Desire
13. Pet Shop Boys - Electric
12. Icona Pop - This Is...
11. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

10. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City

9. Haim - Days Are Gone

8. M.I.A. - Matangi

7. Savages - Silence Yourself

6. Lorde - Pure Heroine

5. Kate Nash - Girl Talk

4. Doldrums - Lesser Evil

3. Goldfrapp - Tales Of Us

2. James Blake - Overgrown

1. David Bowie - The Next Day

Tegan And Sara - Closer

Tegan and Sara have debuted the lead single from their upcoming seventh studio album.  While further details about this untitled record are still behind closed doors, the single may be an unusual sign of what's to come.  "Closer" takes Tegan and Sara further into the realm of dance pop music.  After collaborations with Morgan Page, Tiësto, and David Guetta, this shouldn't come as a complete surprise.  But still, I wonder if the entire record will take on this sound or if "Closer" is simply the odd track from a set of less electronic songs.  Either way, I'm always eager to hear new material from Tegan and Sara and "Closer" doesn't disappoint.

"Closer" will be available to download on September 25th and their new album is scheduled for early 2013.

Playlist - Flyleaf, Phoenix, and more

It's been a long time since I've done one of these. If I remember correctly, the last one was all the way back in September. As I promised, another Grammy post is coming, just a little later.

Flyleaf - Memento Mori

I picked up this album on its release day, so I've had some time to listen to it. I bought the deluxe edition which came with a second CD of songs. Definitely get the two-disc version. A very good album, and very different from their debut. The stand out song for me is "Swept Away". It's completely different from anything they've ever done. The intro has full on screaming and the verses are half spoken half sung.

La Roux - Bulletproof

I wrote a post about La Roux here. Catchy dance-pop music pretty much sums it up. I predict they'll be a hit in the States as well as the UK, in which they are already popular.

Phoenix - 1901

Ever since the commercial with this song started coming on, I've been listening to this over and over. This is my first song from them. I felt that they should have been nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy. Oh well...

Tegan and Sara - Hell

If you look at the column to the right of this post, you'll see that I'm playing this on my guitar. I find that every time I play, I play this song first. It's awesomely catchy and upbeat. It should be a hit on Alternative Rock radio.