Three big themes for me this year:
1. I spent a lot of time listening to stuff that was new to me but which didn't come out this year, or which I hadn't listened to in more than a decade. Aaron Dilloway, Emot, my own 90s records, some other things.
1b. Is this what middle age feels like?
1c. I also spent a lot of time listening to digital libraries of bird songs and calls, trying to get better at recognizing them. That really shouldn't be relevant here, but it took a lot of my listening time.
2. I've given up on my old reliable methods of staying current on anything, and nothing's replaced them. I haven't even read my smattering of reliable top-#0s lists. There are probably awesome things I missed like house singles.
3. I almost want to talk more about the albums that don't show up on these list. Yeezus, the Kniφfe, Beyoncé, Modern Vampires (only because I believe some here think it stellar), etc.

My rules, you don't have to use them:
Songs from the album list are pretty much excluded from the song list.
Released in calendar year 2013.
This is some mix of "favorite" and a more objective "best", but "best" is just about how well things meet my (capricious) tastes.
I go until I don't. Continue reading Friday Music Day: Best of 2013 →