Ants Albums of the Year 2013

Pitchfork: 9.2 (BNM)

"Reflektor is closer to turning-point classics such as U2's Achtung Baby and Radiohead's Kid A--a thrilling act of risk and renewal by a band with established commercial appeal and a greater fear of the average, of merely being liked."- Rolling Stone

760/27/10260/ryguy469, Noremac, luccic12, trippingbillie4

#4

Daft Punk

Random Access Memories

Metacritic: 87

The A.V. Club: B+

Pitchfork: 8.8 (BNM)

"This is a dazzling album, steeped in soul and brimming with an uncommon musicality, all rhythmic urgency and compelling melodies and anthemic choruses."- Blurt Magazine

646/28/9044/ComeNFrmTheCold

#5

Local Natives

Hummingbird

Metacritic: 77

The A.V. Club: B-

Pitchfork: 8.1

"From the first sung note of Hummingbird, Local Natives are frank in their presentation of a serious album, challenging listeners to heal along with them; cognizant that investment is proportional to remuneration."- Paste Magazine

585/25/7312.5/Kiko, SYDM6, laura22

#6

Kanye West

Yeezus

Metacritic: 84

Pitchfork: 9.5 (BNM)

"Kanye West doesn’t give the listener a second to realize the album is more a masterly response to a masterpiece than a masterpiece itself. With one sweep of the hand, West brushes away expectations. And then he sticks you squarely across the face."- Pretty Much Amazing

623/22/6853/HR Pufnstuf, TwoStep2888

#7

Kurt Vile

Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Metacritic: 82

The A.V. Club: Not Reviewed

"Its ambrosial melodies and austere instrumentation edify his canon of work, which has long been rewarding for its risky sensibilities and perseverance. Yet that’s what makes Wakin so curious; it’s Vile’s most derivative record to date."- Consequence of Sound

545/22/5995/Route_2

#8

Frightened Rabbit

Pedestrian Verse

Metacritic: 79

The A.V. Club: A

Pitchfork: 7.6

"The songwriting is the driving force behind the album, and any reservations about whether or not Frightened Rabbit would transform into radio-friendly M.O.R. are swept away."- AllMusic

435/21/4567.5/Julia Roberts, msjpearson, Beefsteak1138

#9

Justin Timberlake

The 50/50 Experience

Metacritic: 75

Pitchfork: 8.4 (BNM)

"As a complete package, The 20/20 Experience will surely be remembered as one of the first of what will hopefully become a trend in popular music of releasing challenging, experimental, and expertly written material."- Sputnikmusic

385/20/3850

#10

Jason Isbell

Southeastern

Metacritic: 87

Pitchfork: 7.7

"There’s a real dynamic arc here, not just for the album as a whole, but also within each and every individual song, and whether or not you’ve gravitated toward county music in the past, that unrivaled depth of passion makes this record an absolute essential."- AbsolutePunk

373/19/3543.5/keithcoldroses, Auzz76, thom hudson, tiger_rag81, grace2

#11

Volcano Choir

Repave

Metacritic: 77

Pitchfork: 7.8

"The album remains surprisingly cohesive, effectively splitting the difference between the fussed-over refinement of Bon Iver and the sometimes unfocused experimentation of Volcano Choir’s first album, 2009’s Unmap. It’s a balancing act that pays off." -The A.V. Club

416/16/3328/LadyMadonna68

#12

CHVRCHES

The Bones of What You Believe

The A.V. Club: A

"She, Doherty, and multi-instrumentalist Iain Cook have crafted one of the year’s best albums, which means that buzz won’t be dying down any time soon."- The A.V. Club

350/19/3325/aclark0622, Ascf33, thebridge15

#13

Atoms For Peace

AMOK

Metacritic: 76

Pitchfork: 6.9

"AMOK is as heady and immersive as any great Radiohead album, but those comparisons eventually wilt: Yorke's new band has discovered a symmetry all its own."- The Boston Phoenix

320/18/2880

#14

Phosphorescent

Muchacho

Metacritic: 85

Pitchfork: 8.8 (BNM)

"A beautiful outing in hauntingly pastoral heartbreak. Impressive."- Clash Music

335/13/2177.5

#15

Deerhunter

Monomania

Metacritic: 81

The A.V. Club: B+

Pitchfork: 8.3 (BNM)

"Monomania is stacked with track-to-track unshakable, albeit twisted, pop melodies and an atmosphere of unrest that will stick with you between repeated listens. "- Magnet

255/15/1912.5

#16

James Blake

Overgrown

Metacritic: 82

Pitchfork: 8.0

"In 1996, The Fugees set the whole urban blues thing in motion with The Score. With a work of such stark emotional beauty, Blake has picked up the torch once again with Overgrown."- The Line of Best Fit

264/13/1716/thestand

#17

Phoenix

Bankrupt!

Metacritic: 71

The A.V. Club: B-

Pitchfork: 7.5

"The songs on Bankrupt! all still feature scintillating synths, gorgeous melodies and soaring moments of transcendent skill but with more of a flair for the dynamic tense of music."- Delusions of Adequacy

247/16/1605.5

#18

Sigur Rós

Kveikur

The A.V. Club: B+

Pitchfork: 8.1

"Though Kveikur is more anxious and busy than a lot of their past output, it still possesses the heavenly quality all their other records so admirably held on to as well."- Paste Magazine

231/13/1501.5

#19

Mikal Cronin

MCII

Metacritic: 84

Pitchfork: 8.4 (BNM)

"Already so many people have been championing 2013 as the strongest year for music in recent memory, and they’re not wrong, but here’s an album that has the punch and wit to stick around with the best."- Consequence of Sound

279/10/1395

#20

Youth Lagoon

Wondrous Bughouse

Metacritic: 74

Pitchfork: 8.7 (BNM)

"With Wondrous Bughouse, Powers has deftly managed his expanded musical toolset to craft an impressively sophisticated and compelling--yet often unsettling--collection of psych-noise arrangements, with much to burrow into and explore on repeat listens."- The A.V. Club

206/13/1339

#21

Autre Ne Veut

Anxiety

Metacritic: 78

The A.V. Club: Unreviewed

"The lack of vanity, the frank way it strives for accessibility only serves to further magnify the greatness of Anxiety. It does the most ideal thing art can do: it tries to make sense of life itself, without pretense or guile."- Tiny Mix Tapes

232/11/1276

#22

Foxygen

We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

The A.V. Club: Unreviewed

Pitchfork: 8.4 (BNM)

"In the end, however, the album's coherence comes in its incredible architecture of all these ideas, and the way the band sells them with everything they've got, taking what could be incredibly obtuse music back into the realm of pop from which it was born."- All Music Guide

230/11/1265

230

232

#23

My Bloody Valentine

M B V

Metacritic: 87

Pitchfork: 9.1 (BNM)

"The perfect album, albums with no filler, albums that when over, leave you breathless and don't inspire you to want more music from the band, but make you want to listen to the album from the start, all over again; m b v is that album."- AbsolutePunk

210/12/1260/coldengrey12

#24

Disclosure

Settle

Metacritic: 81

The A.V. Club: Unreviewed

Pitchfork: 9.1 (BNM)

"Nothing on Settle is left wanting. Disclosure’s debut full-length, after a series of tight and well-curated EPs, has high points as high as any record this year."- CMJ

210/10/1050

#25

Rhye

Woman

Metacritic: 79

The A.V. Club: Unreviewed

"Woman works because it balances restraint and candor, presenting love in neither a chaste nor debauched light. Milosh, through his gossamer vocals, delivers a message of stunning clarity: despite the risk, love is beautiful."- Pretty Much Amazing

173/12/1038

#26

The Avett Brothers

Magpie and the Dandelion

Metacritic: 67

The A.V. Club: C-

Pitchfork: Unreviewed

"Magpie is chock full of tracks that show the Avett Brothers are (very wisely) growing their sound, while remaining true to their core principles and what listeners like about them to begin with."- American Songwriter

169/12/1014

#27

Washed Out

Paracosm

Metacritic: 73

Pitchfork: 7.4

"Paracosm is essentially a travelogue, albeit wrinkled, scuffed, and faded so as to match the love-worn tastes of its creator."- Slant Magazine

198/10/990

#28

The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

Whenever, If Ever

Metacritic: ?

The A.V. Club: ?

Pitchfork: 7.8

"It’s a spirit available to everyone and possessed by no one, yet so few bands choose to pursue it even as those that do tend to be rewarded-- it’s a realization that you can be ambitious and striving with kindness, pushing against a palpable resistance without turning existence into an "us vs. them" zero sum game."- Pitchfork

247/8/998

#29

Eminem

The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Metacritic: 72