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PRESS: Best of 2013 | Top 50 Singles REVEALED
Member Since: 7/10/2007
Posts: 3,365
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PRESS: Best of 2013 | Top 50 Singles REVEALED
Hi and welcome to my Best of 2013. I've done this a couple of times before and it's always a great time so I am really looking forward to doing it again. I love playing around with graphics and I always do short write-ups as well. So without further ado, here are the charts that I'm planning to present this year:
 Top 20 Albums
01 Beyoncé 'BEYONCÉ'
02 Justin Timberlake 'The 20/20 Experience'
03 Lorde 'Pure Heroine'
04 Katy Perry 'PRISM'
05 Rebecca Ferguson 'Freedom'
06 Lady Gaga 'ARTPOP'
07 James Arthur 'James Arhur'
08 Miley Cyrus 'Bangerz'
09 Rudimental 'Home'
10 Ariana Grande 'Yours Truly'
11 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 'The Heist'
12 Kings of Leon 'Mechanical Bull'
13 Jay Z 'Magna Carta Holy Grail'
14 Drake 'Nothing Was The Same'
15 HAIM 'Days Are Gone'
16 Jessie J 'Alive'
17 John Newman 'Tribute'
18 Avicii 'True'
19 Demi Lovato 'Demi'
20 Britney Spears 'Britney Jean'
Top 10 TV Shows
01 Breaking Bad
02 How I Met Your Mother
03 2 Broke Girls
04 Modern Family
05 The Big Bang Theory
06 Game Of Thrones
07 New Girl
08 Grey's Anatomy
09 The Amazing Race
10 Raising Hope
Top 10 Music Videos
01 Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball'
02 Ellie Goulding 'Burn'
03 Justin Timberlake 'Mirrors'
04 Rihanna 'Stay'
05 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 'Can't Hold Us'
06 Katy Perry 'Unconditionally'
07 Lady Gaga 'Applause'
08 Beyoncé 'XO'
09 P!nk 'Just Give Me A Reason'
10 Katy Perry 'Roar'
Top 10 Movies
01 Gravity
02 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
03 12 Years a Slave
04 American Hustle
05 Captain Phillips
06 RUSH
07 Now You See Me
08 Prisoners
09 The Great Gatsby
10 The Heat
- Top 50 Singles
Feel free to comment on anything and I'll make sure to leave a comment on your charts as well.
I'll be kicking things off with my Top 20 Albums of 2013 tomorrow. In the meantime, you can check my thread from last year here. 
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Member Since: 8/10/2012
Posts: 11,988
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Cool. Excited to see your choices
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Member Since: 10/3/2009
Posts: 35,844
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Can't wait!
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Member Since: 10/5/2009
Posts: 137,162
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Love the banner + fonts. 
Your lists sound nice! I'm ready. 
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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The banner is good, can't wait 
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Member Since: 7/10/2007
Posts: 3,365
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I am starting this year charts with my Top 20 Albums of 2013.
Kicking this year charts off is Britney Spears with her eight studio album - Britney Jean. While I didn't expect much out of her with this album I was quite disappointed with it on the first spin but it grew a little on me cause a few songs on it I really like. Alien is hands down the best track on the album and it would have been a lot better if there were more songs on it like that. Instead, most of them are heavily auto-tuned, with EDM breakdowns that honestly are a bit outdated and I think everyone is tired of hearing that kind of songs by now. However, I could still enjoy some of them like Til It's Gone, Perfume and Tik Tik Boom. While it's Britney's weakest album in my opinion with songs like Work Bitch, Passenger, Chillin With You and Don't Cry ruining it for me, it still managed to get into my Top 20 albums as I enjoy some of the songs too much not to include it.
Next up, it's Demi Lovato with her album 'Demi'. To be honest this is the first album of hers that I've really enjoyed from beginning to end. She grew on me thanks to the X Factor and her quirky character, so I really gave this album a chance. It's a great pop album, mixture of fun, upbeat songs and great ballads. While I like the latter better as they allow her to showcase her vocals, I feel that by the end of the album, it gets a bit boring and the second half is not as strong as the first. Highlights for me include the singles Heart Attack, Made In The USA and Neon Lights, as well as Nightingale and Warrior.
At number 18 on this year charts comes Avicii with his debut album 'True'. While it gave us one of the biggest songs of 2013 - Wake Me Up, the rest of the album is filled with banger songs that are great for parties but it's not the typical dance album. I love the fusion of different sounds and I think they sound great and fresh - that's why I love this album. While I prefer the songs with vocals better to the others, it's still a great listen from beginning to end. Other songs I like include You Make Me, Hey Brother, Addicted To You and Dear Boy.
With another debut album at number 17 comes John Newman with 'Tribute'. I instantly fell in love with John's voice when I heard Love Me Again on the radio so I couldn't wait for the whole album and it didn't disappoint. I love its sound and the retro vibes that make it sound fresh and different. It goes perfectly with his vocals. The rest of the album stays true to the sound of the first two singles - Love Me Again and Cheating, and is an enjoyable listen overall. Album heights for me are Losing Sleep, Try, Easy, Running and Gold Dust.
Closing up my first update is the second studio album by Jessie J - 'Alive'. While I loved her debut "Who You Are" I was really excited for the follow up but for me it failed to reach it's predecessor, peaking much lower, outside the top 15 this year. As it's not a bad album overall, it feels a bit inconsistent and forgettable. Its ups, including It's My Party, Thunder, Breathe, Wild, Gold and Conquer The World are great, but the rest of the album falls a bit short. I still love Jessie, I saw her live earlier this year in Birmingham and she is a great performer and is very likeable, but I just can't deny that I expected much more. Better luck next time I guess.
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Member Since: 9/22/2010
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I LOVE the fonts and OP.
Also, Britney and Demi had really good albums. 
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Banned
Member Since: 9/1/2012
Posts: 10,317
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Britney Jean
True was one of my most anticipated albums from 2013... and it wasn't that good imo  I want the old Avicii back!
John Newman
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/11/2007
Posts: 63,796
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Demi
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 61,634
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Britney
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Member Since: 7/10/2007
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Opening the Top 15 are HAIM with their debut album 'Days Are Gone'. I first heard of this group when they were supporting one of Rihanna's concerts from her Diamonds World Tour this summer in Lyon, France. To be honest I didn't give them much chance as I went to see Rihanna and I was running out of patience by the time they took the stage, but following their success I gave the album a listen and instantly fell in love with it. It's a great fusion of soft rock and pop, delivering some great tunes. I love how well their voices go together and fit the type of music perfectly. Standouts for me include Falling, Forever, The Wire, If I Could Change Your Mind, Don't Save Me and Go Slow.
Drake has always been one of my favourite rappers because I love how he brings something different to the hip-hop industry. I love his laid-back style and sound. Even though I enjoy his singing more than the rapping, the whole album is consistent and a great record that mixes rap with pop and r&b, as all of his previous records. I have to say this is my least favourite album by Drake so far, as I thought Thank Me Later and Take Care were genius on a whole different level, maybe this one is a bit more hip-hop than the previous two for my preference, but Nothing Was The Same is still an enjoyable effort. Standouts include Furthest Thing, Started From The Bottom, Wu-Tang Forever, From Time, Hold On We're Going Home, Too Much, Pound Cake and Come Thru.
I typically do not listen to that much rap, but this year has seen some great hip-hop releases. One of my favourites had to be Jay Z's twelfth studio album 'Magna Carta Holy Grail'. I originally do not even give Jay Z a chance, but tracks such as Holy Grail and Part II (On The Run) with Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé had me hooked. I just recently started warming up to a lot of the other songs on the record as well such as Picasso Baby, Tom Ford, Oceans and Heaven. Overall, I think its a great rap record that made me listen to much more hip hop than before which can only be a good thing.
I've loved Kings of Leon ever since the release of Only By The Night, and while I feel they have failed to reach the greatness of that album ever since, they still deliver some variety to my music taste and are far from what I usually listen to. Mechanical Bull is their sixth studio album and is true to the bands earlier works which is probably why I don't like it as much as their last two albums. It's a bit more rock and loud, and while I prefer their slower tracks I still enjoy this one. Album's best tracks include Supersoaker, Rock City, Beautiful War, Wait for me (my absolute favourite as I can hear most similarities with Only By The Night in it), Tonight and Coming Back Again. I am still waiting for them to slay me with songs like Closer, Sex on Fire and Use Somebody, though.
One of the best newcomers this year, are Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who fall just one position short from my top 10 this year. What sets this album from the rest is Macklemore's ability to tell a story and almost every song feels deeply personal and gets you hooked since the beginning. When the lyrics do not do this, the best rap album of the year delivers a hell of catchy tunes such as Can't Hold Us and Thrift Shop, which are one of the years best songs in my opinion. The album sounds fresh and new, and at the same time sounds familiar in a way. It's a perfect mixture of radio friendly songs that capture people's attention and meaningful songs that deal with societal problems and more deep matters. Other standouts include Ten Thousand Hours, Same Love, White Walls, Wings, Wake and Starting Over.
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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KOL + Drake but my favorite from this set is The Heist! what an amazing album, it was one of my faves from 2012 and 2013
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Member Since: 11/5/2005
Posts: 29,791
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Britney, Demi, Jessie J & Jay-Z 
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Member Since: 2/13/2012
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"Alive" and "Britney Jean" making someone's lists Drake
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2008
Posts: 87,284
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Magna Carta and Days Are Gone 
Demi and Britney Jean <3
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Member Since: 7/10/2007
Posts: 3,365
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The first album in my Top 10 is the debut album by Ariana Grande 'Yours Truly'. I first came across Ariana with The Way, which was an instant bop. I loved her voice and couldn't help but compare her with Mariah, as she delivers great vocals in the song. Later Baby I and Right There had me completely hooked and I instantly fell in love with the whole album. For me, it was a complete shock that somebody coming from Nickelodeon could do such a varied album stylistically and have such an amazing voice. I love how beautifully written the tracks are and she delivers an impressive and strong performance. Other standouts include Honeymoon Avenue, Lovin' It, You'll Never Know and Almost Is Never Good Enough.
At number nine this year is Rudimental's album 'Home'. One of the best dance albums of the year, it is one of those records that you can never really get bored of cause it has a great variety and delivers a mixture of sounds and styles that almost everybody could enjoy. The fusion of drum'n'bass, house, dance and pop feels like an experiment that could almost sound dated but somehow succeeds in being a great listen for me ever since it came out. My favourite tracks include Feel The Love, Right Here, Hell Could Freeze, Spoon, Powerless, More Than Anything, Baby, Free and Waiting All Night.
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Member Since: 4/10/2011
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Britney Jean, The Heist
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Rodumental! Amazing music 
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Member Since: 10/3/2009
Posts: 35,844
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The Heist.
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