1. Kanye West, Yeezus<\/i> (Roc-a-Fella\/Def Jam)
\n<\/b>This is the album that defined the year for me. It\u2019s completely different from Kanye\u2019s previous masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy<\/i>, but it\u2019s just as impressive. This minimalistic, industrial-rap tour de force is packed with awe-inspiring moments, and it deserves every ounce of praise it\u2019s gotten, and more.<\/p>\n
2. Eat Skull, III<\/i> (Woodsist)
\n<\/b>Eat Skull\u2019s latest is also their strongest, and III<\/i> is as weird and catchy as anyone could justifiably ask for. Is it too much to say this is the best thing to come out of Portland since the \u201977 Trail Blazers?<\/p>\n
3. Purling Hiss, Water on Mars<\/i> (Drag City)
\n<\/b>Water on Mars<\/i> is another grower, and I\u2019m continually impressed by how strong this album is and how great this Philadelphia psych rock trio has become.<\/p>\n
4. Pere Ubu, Lady from Shanghai<\/i> (Fire)
\n<\/b>Pere Ubu almost never disappoints me. Lady from Shanghai<\/i>, another classic album from the band, is loaded with challenging, thought-provoking, and energizing avant-garde rock.<\/p>\n
5. Obnox, Corrupt Free Enterprise<\/i> (12XU)
\n<\/b>Obnox\u2019s Bim Thomas has been on quite a roll lately. The two-piece has developed into one of the best live bands out there, and Corrupt Free Enterprise<\/i> really represents that sonic assault well.<\/p>\n
6. Liquor Store, In the Garden<\/i> (Almost Ready)
\n<\/b>This album\u2019s release came as a big boost to the end of the year. Liquor Store\u2019s epic neo-classic rock jams are still growing on me, and I\u2019m sure this is one I\u2019m going to be coming back to for a long time.<\/p>\n
7. Ty Segall, Sleeper<\/i> (Drag City)
\n<\/b>Sleeper<\/i> is a definite change in direction for Segall, from louder garage rock to quieter, introspective acoustic tunes. It\u2019s still great though, and a fitting addition to his discography.<\/p>\n
8. Ghostface Killah, Twelve Reasons to Die<\/i> (Wax Poetics)
\n<\/b>Concept albums are hard to pull off, but this one works. Ghostface is in fine form here, but what really makes this album shine is Adrian Younge\u2019s provocative production work.<\/p>\n
9. Connections, Body Language<\/i> (Anyway)
\n<\/b>Columbus\u2019 favorite sons followed up their strong debut album with an even better sophomore effort. Body Language<\/i> is loaded with great pop-rock jams that leave me wanting more.<\/p>\n
10. David Bowie, The Next Day<\/i> (Columbia)
\n<\/b>Bowie\u2019s first studio album in 10 years was maybe the most pleasant musical surprise of 2013. The Next Day<\/i> might not have the flashiest songs of his career, but it still stands along with the records from Bowie\u2019s prime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Top 10 Albums 1. Kanye West, Yeezus (Roc-a-Fella\/Def Jam) This is the album that defined the year for me. It\u2019s completely different from Kanye\u2019s previous masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but it\u2019s just as impressive. This minimalistic, industrial-rap tour de force is packed with awe-inspiring moments, and it deserves every ounce of praise it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2479],"tags":[242,275],"class_list":["post-676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-of-the-year","tag-best-of-2013","tag-ron-wadlinger"],"yoast_head":"\n