100. "Graceless" - The National
99. "Down the Deep River" - Okkervil River
98. "Whoa" - Earl Sweatshirt f. Tyler, the Creator
97. "Entertainment!" - Phoenix
96. "Story of My Life" - One Direction
95. "Lord Summerisle" - Blood Ceremony
94. "Bugs Don't Buzz" - Majical Cloudz
93. "Lecce, Leaving" - Lee Ranaldo & The Dust
92. "Wake Me Up" - Avicii f. Aloe Blacc
91. "F For You" - Disclosure
90. "God is Dead?" - Black Sabbath
89. "The Oil Slick" - Frightened Rabbit
88. "Versace" - Migos
87. "Fall Back" - Factory Floor
86. "Hannah Hunt" - Vampire Weekend
85. "The Long Road Home" - Inter Arma
84. "A Body Shrouded" - Altar of Plagues
83. "Berzerk" - Eminem
82. "Where Are We Now" - David Bowie
81. "Strandbar (disko)" - Todd Terje
80. "Hesperus" - Wold People
79. "Vino Verso" - Oranssi Pazuzu
78. "Royals" - Lorde
77. "Hush Hush" - Pistol Annies
76. "Days Are Gone" - Haim
75. "She Will" - Savages
74. "Orchard" - Windhand
73. "It Starts and Ends With You" - Suede
72. "Hood Pope" - A$AP Ferg
71. "Diane Young" - Vampire Weekend
70. "Nobody Asked Me (If I Was OK)" - Sky Ferreria
69. "Pink Slips" - Okkervil River
68. "I Appear Missing" - Queens of the Stone Age
67. "The Only Shrine I've Seen" - Darkside
66. "Brighter!" - Cass McCombs f. Karen Black
65. "Come Walk With Me" - M.I.A.
64. "Reflektor" - Arcade Fire
63. "Brainfreeze" - Fuck Buttons
62. "Pretty Boy (Peaking Lights Remix)" - Young Galaxy
61. "Sleeper" - Ty Segall
60. "Pallid Hands" - In Solitude
59. "PrimeTime" - Janelle Monae f. Miguel
58. "My Number" - Foals
57. "Shabba" - A$AP Ferg f. A$AP Rocky
56. "I Wanna Be Yours" - Arctic Monkeys
55. "All You're Waiting For" - Classixx f. Nancy Whang
54. "Song For Zula" - Phosphorescent
53. "86" - Dawn Richard
52. "Hello Stranger" - Julia Holter
51. "Kush Coma" - Danny Brown
50. "Come Back Haunted" - Nine Inch Nails
49. "Monomania" - Deerhunter
48. "Dance Apocalyptic" - Janelle Monae
47. "Ohm" - Yo La Tengo
46. "Goldtone" - Kurt Vile
45. "Do I Wanna Know?" - Arctic Monkeys
44. "Full of Fire" - The Knife
43. "The Mother We Share" - Chvrches
42. "Merry Go 'Round" - Kacey Musgraves
41. "So Far..." - Eminem
40. "Captive Bolt Pistol" - Carcass
39. "Chain Smoker" - Chance the Rapper
38. "#Beautiful" - Mariah Carey f. Miguel
37. "Avocado Baby" - Los Campesinos
36. "Bound 2" - Kanye West
35. "Waking On A Pretty Day" - Kurt Vile
34. "Elephant" - Jason Isbell
33. "Me and You and Jackie Mittoo" - Superchunk
32. "Banana Clipper" - Run the Jewels f. Big Boi
31. "I Blame Myself" - Sky Ferreria
30. "Falling" - Haim
29. "Karate Chop" - Future f. Casino
28. "Rival Dealer" - Burial
27. "Love is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy)" - David Bowie
26. "Need U (100%)" - Duke Damont f. A*M*E
25. "Partition" - Beyonce
24. "Small Plane" - Bill Callahan
23. "Dream House" - Deafheaven
22. "Weight" - Mikal Cronin
21. "Feds Watching" - 2 Chainz
20. "Q.U.E.E.N." - Janelle Monae f. Erykah Badu
19. "Wrecking Ball" - Miley Cyrus
18. "Leave No Cross Unturned" - Darkthrone
17. "Bugati" - Ace Hood f. Future & Rick Ross
16. "Nosetalgia" - Pusha T & Kendrick Lamar
15. "XO" - Beyonce
14. "Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster" - Thee Oh Sees
13. "Follow Your Arrow" - Kacey Musgraves
12. "Roar" - Katy Perry
11. "Latch" - Discolsure
10. "Step" - Vampire Weekend
With their surprisingly solid third record, Vampire Weekend cemented their reputation as one of indie rock's more consistent acts right now. It was easy to think, even after 2010's Contra, that these guys might just be destined for flash-in-the-pan status. But Modern Vampires of the City showed a band growing in all the right ways, never more than on "Step", one of the album's two advance singles. It's a lush production making nice use of the harpsichord, a near ballad with a chorus not likely to leave your head anytime soon.
9. "Black Skinhead" - Kanye West
It took me a long time to crack the code to Yeezus, at least to fully enjoying it, but this was the song that finally helped me to find the way in. The production, with a little help from everyone's favorite helmeted robots, was noisy, unsettling and insidiously ingratiating, getting under your skin even when you didn't want it to. Lyrically, it is as messy as Yeezus is throughout, but Kanye sounds more ferocious and rabid than he ever has before. Even if Yeezus as a whole wasn't a success, credit to Kanye for spinning out.
8. "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk
The most inescapable tune of 2013, but at least it was a damn good one for once. The Nile Rodgers funk guitar is the icing on the cake, what hooked me from the first time I watched the commercial from Coachella in advance of the single's full release. In a year when Kanye went full-on abrasive and a young girl from Australia brought us her brand of goth-pop, it was nice to hear such an unabashedly joyous pop song all over the radio.
7. "Imagine It Was Us" - Jessie Ware
This was a later UK single that was appended to the end of the North American version of Devotion, but it ended up being one of my favorite tracks on her debut. While I liked "Wildest Moments" and "110%" well enough, this 80s synth-pop song was the one that fully won me over. The beat, courtesy of Julio Bashmore, thumps much harder than I anticipate and pairs nicely with Ware's sweaty delivery. For me, this was the album's liveliest track.
6. "Lanzarote" - Lindstrom & Todd Terje
Todd Terje has had quite a great few years, kicking off with 2012's fantastic "Inspector Norse" and it's parent It's the Arps EP. Continuing the lead-up to his long gestating debut studio album, he released the also fantastic single "Strandbar"and this brilliant collaboration with Hans-Peter Lindstrom. Lindstrom brings his climactic space-disco to the party and it pairs extremely well with Terje's melodic instincts. I'd love a full album-length collaboration between these two.
5. "Stoned and Starving" - Parquet Courts
"Stoned and Starving" was the longest track and statement of intent on Parquet Courts breakthrough second record, Light Up Gold. Stretching their slacker indie rock out with multiple guitar solos that allow the song to ebb and flow like waves washing across the floor of your local dive bar. There's a line here that can be traced through The Velvet Underground, Tom Verlaine and Pavement, that Parquet Courts have picked up and run with. But, true to their punk spirit, this is really just a song about being stoned and starving.
4. "Doin' It Right" - Daft Punk f. Panda Bear
In an album filled with some unexpected collaborations, pulling in Animal Collective's Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) was probably the most surprising. And, with some time and distance, arguably the most successful. Noah's chilled out vocals mesh really well with the groovy simplicity of one of the more minimal tracks on Random Access Memories. It adds a life-affirming, buoyant tone to the end of a diverse record, rounding things out on a hopeful note.
3. "New Slaves" - Kanye West
Like "Black Skinhead", Kanye West unleashed "New Slaves" on an unsuspecting SNL audience in advance of the album's full release. This is the even fiercer, less cohesive of the two - structured more as one of his trademark rants than a typical verse-chorus-verse rap song. West unleashes a tirade that (ridiculously enough) conflates his attempts to break into the high fashion world with the history of the black struggle in America. It feels personally intense and intensely personal, giving white America the most haunting version of Kanye West they could imagine. Even more so when he projected this on the side of a few buildings around the world in a PR stunt. The first truly punk rock moment Kanye has pulled off.
2. "Still Into You" - Paramore
After an acrimonious split (as detailed in several of the other songs on their self-titled fourth album) with the Farro brothers, the remaining founding members (Hayley Williams and Jeremy Davis) forged forward with the bands most unabashedly pop, and greatest, album yet. And "Still Into You" is their greatest album's greatest song, a sugar-sweet pop metal ballad that should have soundtracked a thousand proms.
1. "The Wire" - Haim
When it came time to pick my favorite single of 2013, it was really a no-brainer. This was the song I played most throughout the year, the one I used to convert as many other people as possible to the cult of Haim. "The Wire" is textbook perfect pop as far as I'm concerned, a guided tour through the last forty years of popular music, from the folk influenced vocal melodies to the Fleetwood Mac polish and snap to the Mutt Lange arena guitar touches. Wonderful.
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