1) Deafheaven – Sunbather

California-based metal group Deafheaven exploded from 2013 with the eccentric and colossal LP titled “Sunbather,” the second studio album of their career. Standing as one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of 2013, “Sunbather” is widely noted as a heavily emotional experience, engaging listeners to exhort different feelings of anger and loathing combined with contentment and warmth. The album, consisting of four lengthy tracks connected with a few short interludes, is reminiscent of post-rock bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and incorporating many musical elements from black metal, shoegaze, post-rock and even noise rock. The widespread success of Deafheaven also brought issues, with many metal fans criticizing their success to be more associated with the “hipster” indie scene. Regardless of how music fans think of them, Deafheaven surely created an album that proved their full potential and are now looking towards a very successful future.  

Track to listen to: “Dream House”

2) Kanye West – Yeezus

Hip-Hop behemoth Kanye West made 2013 a headlining year with the release of “Yeezus,” an album that saw West experiment with an aggressive and minimalistic approach. Although heavily acclaimed by critics and most fans, some argued that this may have been Kanye’s least attractable record. Composed of heavy industrial beats and odd melodies, West surely highlighted the best aspects of the recent experimental hip-hop wave and brought it to the mainstream world. His lyricism is centered mainly on polarizing sides of living with extreme braggadocios while also exposing himself (and the world) to be a modernist “slave” to corporate consumerism. Although at times “Yeezus” can appear contradicting, Kanye proves to himself and the rest of the world that there are just no borders when it comes to innovation.

Track to listen to: “New Slaves“

3) Touché Amoré – …Is Survived By

Touché Amoré, now officially veterans in the new Post-Hardcore/Punk music scene, came out with a solid LP “…Is Survived By” in 2013 and brought out some heavily emotional songs with the punk mood that most fans can easily be familiar with. Through the help of lead singer Jeremy Bolm’s powerful lyricism, the new Touché Amoré album is going to bring plenty of great material for their future concert set lists.

Track to listen to: “Harbor“

4) Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend, arguably one of the most important indie groups currently, released this critically-acclaimed LP that combined both the quirky baroque pop that brought them to their fame and also added a mature edge. Tracks like “Step” and “Hannah Hunt” prove to fans that the band can provide elegant pop music that separates from their usual sound from their first two albums.

Track to listen to: “Step“

5) Pity Sex – Feast of Love

Shoegaze had a great year in 2013, and Pity Sex was just one of those bands that greatly benefited with their great album “Feasts of Love.” The full-length LP contains some the year’s nicest tracks coming from the “year in Indie.” With influences from the obvious shoegaze/alt-garage genres, Pity Sex often gives the musical vibe from a certainly popular Pop-Punk scene. The instrumentals of the albums contains great fuzzy guitar/bass tones and off-the-wall chord structures that many fans of My Bloody Valentine and Pixies could easily get into.

Track to listen to: “Fold“

6) Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap

Chicago artist Chance the Rapper earns a very deserving spotlight 2013 with the help of his mixtape “Acid Rap,” a breakthrough release that established Chance’s odd characteristics. Born and raised in Chicago, this upcoming rapper associates the struggles of drug abuse, gun violence and bittersweet nostalgia within his lyricism. From his freakish ad-libs scattered around each track to the jazzy Chicago-influenced beats, “Acid Rap” is definitely one of the most memorable hip-hop projects to come out last year.

Track to listen to: “Juice“

7) My Bloody Valentine – MBV

More than 20 years after the release of their excellent 1991 record “Loveless,” shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine decided that 2013 was the year fans got to experience their much-anticipated follow-up with the brand new “MBV.” Although most fans were hesitant to believe such a thing could be possible, it was later proven that the group never lost their distinct sound. From the heavily-distorted guitar tones to the odd chord progressions, My Bloody Valentine used this album to let everyone know that they are still the big timers when it comes to the shoegaze genre.

Track to listen to: “Only Tomorrow“

8) Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

When news gathered around that Electronic legends Daft Punk would come out of the blue with a brand new record, instant hype quickly gathered around the musicsphere. After plenty of teasing from the French duo, Daft Punk finally released “Random Access Memories,” their first-full length LP since 2005. The album, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year is an excellent follow-up that features plenty of funk/early electronic elements, most notably in the single “Get Lucky.” The album is also packed with great musical features, like vocalist Panda Bear (of Animal Collective fame) and Chic’s Nile Rogers. This “tribute” record is a great addition to Daft Punk’s discography, and although it is unlikely to hear anything from them in a live setting, “Random Access Memories” was an effective statement of relevance from the legendary group.

Track to listen to: “Doin’ It Right (ft. Panda Bear)”