For anyone that may have checked out my recap at the end of 2012 (If you haven't, scroll down), you may remember that there were some plans to make these updates much more frequently. Things were supposed to be reviewed and recapped as they happened. Opinions were to be rendered. Grades were to be assigned. Rolling rankings were to be kept.
That didn't happen. Well, it kinda happened a little bit. Some preliminary album reviews were drafted and a few sports predictions were made, but none of it ever saw the light of day. It likely never will.
But anyway, that's enough of that. Similar to every December since 2006, I have put together a collection of rankings in an attempt to quantify the pop-culture of 2013. With no further explanation necessary, let's dive in.
Top Albums of 2013
Honorable Mention: The Shouting Matches - Grown Ass Man; The National - Trouble Will Find Me; The Avett Brothers - Magpie and the Dandelion; Arcade Fire - Reflektor; Phoenix - Bankrupt!
Top Tracks
- Sweet Persuasion
- Wild Child
Recommended If You Like: Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder
Top Tracks
- The Great Depression
- We Could Be Kings
RIYL: The Horrible Crowes, The Menzingers
Top Tracks
- Recovery
- Oh Brother
RIYL: The Gaslight Anthem, Hot Water Music
Top Tracks
- The Ceiling
- Hard Times
RIYL: Trampled By Turtles, The Civil Wars
Top Tracks
- Sins
- Catholic Girls
RIYL: The Starting Line, Young Statues
Top Tracks
- Foolish Kids
- Kinda Go To Pieces
RIYL: The Get Up Kids, Saves The Day
Top Tracks
- The Great Divide
- San Francisco
RIYL: Youngblood Hawke, Grouplove
Top Tracks
- Shake
- Homecoming Heroes
RIYL: The Lumineers, The Avett Brothers
Top Tracks
- There, There
- I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral
RIYL: The Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball
Top Tracks
- Hannah Hunt
- Diane Young
- Step
- Everlasting Arms
RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes
Top Songs of 2013
Honorable Mention: Don't Swallow the Cap - The National; Pompeii - Bastille; Changing of the Seasons - Two Door Cinema Club; Sirens - Pearl Jam; Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
#15) The Wire - Haim
#14) Open Ended Life - The Avett Brothers
#13) Sins - The Dangerous Summer
#12) Foolish Kids - Matt Pryor
#11) The Great Divide - The Mowgli's
#10) The Great Depression - Dave Hause
#9) Sweet Persuasion - Brett Dennen
#8) Little Games - The Colourist
#7) There, There - The Wonder Years
#6) Dreaming - Smallpools
#5) Thunder Clatter - Wild Cub
#4) Recovery - Frank Turner
#3) The Ceiling - The Wild Feathers
#2) Hannah Hunt - Vampire Weekend
#1) Shake - The Head and the Heart
Most Disappointing Albums of 2013
#3) Shone - Heat Thing
#2) The 1975 - Self-Titled
#1) Fall Out Boy - Save Rock & Roll
10 Things I Loved During 2013
This is a new list this year, but the concept is still simple. This is a list of all the things I really loved in 2013, but they didn't have to originate in 2013 like everything else in this post. Think of it as a catch-all category for items that don't necessarily fit elsewhere.
#10) Dynasty Leagues
#9) The Dan Patrick Show
#8) Oxbow
#7) Frank Turner
#6) The look on people's face's during Glory Hallelujah at Frank Turner concerts
#5) Abbey Burger
#4) Spotify Premium
#3) Breaking Bad
#2) Music Festivals
#1) Chris Davis
Top Sports Moments in 2013
#15) Matt Harvey "honors" Quallcom on the Dan Patrick Show
#14) Lance Armstrong admits to steroid use
#13) Bruins score twice in 31 seconds to force OT in Game 7 vs Toronto
#12) "Dunk City" advances to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament
#11) The last 2:00 of Vikings/Ravens
#10) Andy Murray wins Wimbledon
#9) Peyton Manning & Nick Foles throw 7 TDs in a game
#8) Yasiel Puig arrives and propels Dodgers to division title
#7) Super Bowl blackout. It was Roger Goodell's idea, obviously.
#6) Cardinals win Game 3 of the World Series on a defensive interference call
#5) David Ortiz's Grand Slam in ALCS Game 2
#4) Deadspin reveals that Manti Teo's girlfriend was a catfishing scheme
#3) Pirates host a playoff game ("Cuuuuuueeeeeeetttttttttttooooooooo" chant)
#2) Chris Davis (the other one...) returns a missed Alabama FG attempt for winning TD
#1) Mariano Rivera is removed from his final game by Derek Jeter & Andy Pettitte
