- Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City. It took a few listens to grow on me. But, after the initial shock wore off, it seems to fit right in with all their other stuff.
- Shouting Matches - Grownass Man. A nice, simple, throwback rock and roll sound. Nothing flashy or fancy here, but the songs feel comfortably familiar even on the first listen. It's the same trick that the Black Keys and Alabama Shakes pull off: good songwriting, sincere and un-mannered performances worked into a well-worn and much-loved style.
- Mazzy Star - Seasons Of Your Day. Sounds like a putdown to say this is more of the same old Mazzy Star, except that I can never get enough Mazzy Star. So, more is awesome.
Honorable Mentions:
- David Bowie - The Next Day. I like it better, on whole, than some of his classic records. I think the lesser songs on this are better than the lesser songs on, for example, Scary Monsters; but this doesn't have the one or two killer songs that Scary Monsters did. I won't listen to Scary Monsters all the way through. But this one I will.
- Queens Of The Stone Age - Like Clockwork. I like this as much as I like any QOSTA record, and in much the same way. "Hey, these guys are great!" Twenty minutes later "Oh, this song again?" The difference between this and Mazzy Star is that Mazzy Star's distinctive and unvaried style just clicks with me in a way that QOTSA doesn't; I don't mind hearing fifteen slow hypnotic Mazzy Star songs in a row, but after two or three thumping, grinding QOTSA songs I'm worn out. Good in small doses, is what I'm saying.
I've bought a ton of music this year, as I always do. But very little of what I bought was released in 2013, and not much that was stuck with me. So, just the three.