10. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience
Another album with song-length issues, one gets the feeling that this isn't the album Arcade Fire thought they were making: rather than a career-defining opus, it's merely a good disco-ish record with a few problems. And while it doesn't stack up to the likes of Funeral, Arcade Fire have proved that an average album from them is still better than most peoples' best efforts.
8. Pearl Jam, Lightning Bolt
It's been 22 years since Ten came out, so of course this wasn't going to be Ten. It's not even No Code. But it is a good collection of rock songs from one of the world's biggest bands, who continue to follow the Bruce Springsteen career path, which is a career path that any artist should aspire to.
9. Arcade Fire, Reflektor
Arctic Monkeys had success early- frontman Alex Turner was just 19 when the band's debut album came out. Many would have assumed the band had peaked then, but they have now been proven wrong thanks to AM. Arctic Monkeys have changed their sound-- it's now riff-driven, old-school rock, but they haven't lost many of their trademarks, such as Turner's biting wit.
Chvrches had one of the most impressive debuts of the year. What it all comes down to, really, is their impressive ability to write killer pop songs. This album is full of them, from "The Mother We Share" to "Gun" to "Lies;" it never lets up.
Some albums can be penciled into publications' year-end lists as soon as they're announced; the publications are pretty sure these albums will be among the year's best, but they need to account for all possibilities. Trouble Will Find Me could have been inked into those lists. Over the past few years The National have become indie rock's most consistent band, churning out a great album every three years. How impressive these albums are can be lost in that consistency, but listening to Trouble Will Find Me fixes that quickly. It may not have the top spot, but there was never any doubt it would be on here.
4. Haim, Days Are Gone
2013's most impressive debut sounded like Fleetwood Mac reborn. Haim call to mind the days when pop wasn't generic, impeccably produced music by big names; it was just softer rock like Fleetwood Mac. Take that '70s pop sound, throw in a little Michael Jackson, modernize it, and you've got Days Are Gone. This album could be a collection of number one hits from 1980, one after the other.
It's no surprise that Daft Punk's most successful album came out in a year in which EDM, which they pioneered in many ways, is the big musical trend. What is surprising is that they achieved that success by making a throwback disco album. With the help of cameos from a wide variety of great artists, Daft Punk made their best album this year, not with the sounds they pioneered, but with the sounds that inspired them to make music in the first place. Plus, this album reminded everyone how awesome Nile Rogers is.
2013 was the year of big comebacks. Three of the artists on this list alone came out with a proper album for the first time in 6 or more years. And none did it better than Queens of the Stone Age. This band has been around a long time-- their first album came out in 1998-- and after a 6-year hiatus, you could be forgiven for writing them off. But they came back with ...Like Clockwork, their strongest material in years and an album that blows its predecessor, 2007's Era Vulgaris, out of the water. It's QOTSA's trademark blend of the strange and the catchy, but done better than they had done it in a long time.
1. Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
What can I say about Modern Vampires of the City? It's the sound of a young band maturing, taking the things that made their first two albums good and refining them, while adding new elements to make their third album amazing. It starts off with a murderer's row of songs: "Obvious Bicycle" then "Unbelievers" then "Step" then "Diane Young," and never lets up or stops impressing. It's 2013's best album.
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