I bought a lot of music in 2013. Consequently, it’s taken me a while to decide what stood out most to me last year. But I’m finally ready to record my favorite music lists from 2013. This will have to be a relatively quick series of posts. First up: my favorite albums.

My favorite album of 2013 was a no-brainer: one stood out head and shoulders above the rest, and I only liked it more the more I listened to it. My favorite album of 2013 was More Than Just a Dream by Fitz and the Tantrums. I first heard the lead off single on Alt-Nation. Once I sampled the whole album I was hooked and downloaded it immediately! It’s difficult to choose just one track to represent this album–I love the first 7 tracks almost equally–but I’ll feature that first single, also titled “More Than Just a Dream”:

I love this group’s “soul-influenced indie pop” (Source). The whole album is fun to listen to, and one or two other tracks will appear in some of my other music lists this week.

I will list the other nine albums on my list alphabetically rather than try to rank them.

American Kid by Patty Griffin 

I’ve loved Griffin’s music for nearly 20 years, and her latest album is no exception. Here’s “Ohio”:

ARTPOP by Lady Gaga

I totally get why people are bored with Gaga’s music, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is actually her best album to date. A number of tracks stand out, and I think she isn’t get her due for how accomplished this album is. My favorite track is “Gypsy”:

Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 by Chris Thile

I love “artsy” albums, and this is the artsiest one from 2013! It’s amazing that Thile is able to play Bach on just a mandolin:

Beyonce by Beyonce

That Beyonce was able to drop an entire album without anyone really noticing beforehand is amazing. That it’s actually a great album and that every track has its own video is crazy. It’s a superb accomplishment. Here’s “Drunk in Love”:

Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart 

I love this alt-folk group’s Let’s Be Still. Here’s the lead-off track, “Homecoming Heroes”:

Another track from this album will show us in a list later this week.

Pure Heroine by Lorde 

Like everyone else, I can’t believe Lorde is only 17, mostly because her music is so phenomenal. Pure Heroin was probably my second favorite album of 2013. Here’s “Team”:

Pushin’ Against a Stone by Valerie June 

I love Valerie June’s folksy music. It’s a great combination of coolness, insight, and frailty. Here’s a beautiful live version of “Somebody to Love”:

Settle by Disclosure 

This is my favorite dance album of 2013. “When a Fire Starts to Burn” is one of my favorite tracks from the album:

Wildewoman by Lucious

We saw Lucius live at our local music festival last year. They’re great live, and both PJ and I loved their album too. Here’s “Turn it Around”:

So, those are my 10 favorite albums from 2013. I think there’s less diversity than usual — most of them are routinely played on Alt-Nation. Maybe I’ve just become more consistent in my musical tastes!