Albums

1. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2. The Avett Brothers - Magpie and the Dandelion
3. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
4. Volcano Choir - Repave
5. Polica - Shulamith
6. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - We The Common
7. Cloud Cult - Love
8. Lorde - Pure Heroine
9. Laura Marling - Once I Was An Eagle
10. Lucius - Wildewoman

Songs

1. Daft Punk - Lose Yourself to Dance
2. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
3. The Avett Brothers - Part from Me
4. James Blake - Retrograde
5. Bombino - Amidinine
6. Lucius - Turn it Around
7. Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps - Magazine
8. Zach Sobiech - Clouds
9. Har Mar Superstar - Lady, You Shot Me
10. The Shouting Matches - Mother When?

There are some up years and some down years when looking back at new music. 2013 marked new albums from some cornerstone artists - Arcade Fire and Daft Punk - whose albums did not disappoint, and both landed in my top albums and songs. There were also some newbies that made their mark including Lorde. James Blake won his second Mercury Prize with the follow up to his debut, which included the phenomenal Retrograde. Local music this past year has also continued to impress. Caroline Smith and Har Mar Superstar, who both went more soulful, had solid records this year with great singles. And The Avett Brothers continue to their residency in the CD player of my car but with another new album this year Magpie and the Dandelion, a continuation of 2012's The Carpenter. All in all, I'd call 2013 an "up" year.

Related

• Top 89: Staff Picks
• The Top 89 of 2013
• Top 89 of 2013: Bonus Categories