No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2013

No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2013

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50.

February 19, 2013
Critic Score
79
37 reviews

But brooding in a deeper level of sonic misery and great hooks doesn’t necessarily make You’re Nothing the excellent punk album it manages to be, as it’s the growth the band displays throughout the album that really makes it worthwhile.

49.

April 16, 2013
Critic Score
76
16 reviews

Enthusiastic and strange, a perfect good-time balance of the artfully absurd and the sonically robust. 

48.

September 30, 2013
Critic Score
78
20 reviews

47.

February 26, 2013
Critic Score
74
6 reviews

Antipodes is that rare record that looks at the demise of grunge/post-hardcore as a popular medium while glorifying its dying days, an unfortunate fate brought upon them before big labels turned their attention towards pop rock earnestness.

46.

November 18, 2013
Critic Score
75
34 reviews

Orchestrated almost entirely by Hynes and rounded out with numerous guest artists, this latest effort is thoroughly modern, oozing with style, and backed by gifted musicality.

45.

January 29, 2013
Critic Score
78
30 reviews

This was an interesting direction to go in and it definitely has a lot of potential. But the duo will need to do a better job balancing the synths and the songs to succeed.

44.

May 7, 2013
Critic Score
82
24 reviews

Cronin certainly does share some commonalities with his longtime collaborator Ty Segall, particularly a fondness for guitar solos, nasally vocals, and bombastic percussion. However, MCII sounds much more concise and meticulously assembled than any of Segall's efforts.

43.

August 26, 2013
Critic Score
81
24 reviews

It’s like a walk in the woods on an autumn day – it might be vast, yet it’s also pleasingly intimate, and while there’s a definite chill in the air, it’s still a nourishing experience

41.

February 11, 2013
Critic Score
76
33 reviews

Through their first two releases, Foals were able to showcase their evolving sound, but with Holy Fire, their evolution stops dead in its tracks. 

40.

March 19, 2013
Critic Score
75
38 reviews

With the exception of the single Mirrors, which seems best suited for a supermarket checkout line, The 20/20 Experience is an absolutely delicious guilty pleasure.

39.

January 22, 2013
Critic Score
80
14 reviews

Exponentially mature lyrics for this young woman. Her words are cultured and grounded.

37.

February 26, 2013
Critic Score
74
46 reviews

While questions may frequently come up over how much of a band project Amok really is, the music for the most part, makes up any misgivings people may have. 

36.

September 24, 2013
Critic Score
77
29 reviews

Nothing Was the Same is the work of someone who is not happy to sit on his laurels and determined to build, which is admirable in this day and age of get rich quick artists who quickly fade when they have to build upon and repeat their original success.

35.

March 19, 2013
Critic Score
78
23 reviews

There probably aren’t enough moments that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, but after the initial struggle to get into, it’s a rewarding record to return to.

34.

April 1, 2013
Critic Score
76
44 reviews

It at least represents the culmination of all of The Flaming Lips’ oddball experiments and elongated, anti-sonorous jams into a single, abrasively beautiful cacophony. 

33.

January 15, 2013
Critic Score
80
39 reviews

Fade is a sign of perseverance for the group, as the album perfectly details just what is so essential and appealing about the group, and why there will always be a place for these guys in the world of indie rock.

32.

October 14, 2013
Critic Score
83
29 reviews

What it does manage to do ... is function as an engagingly visceral work of provocation, on balance interspersing his trademark beauty with enough challenging moments to reward repeated visits, even if listening to it never exactly feels like a pleasurable experience, and maybe that’s enough.

31.

June 3, 2013
Critic Score
76
36 reviews

Disclosure have found an erratic blend of deep house and pop that, while not entirely original, has moments of greatness. 

30.

June 11, 2013
Critic Score
89
23 reviews

Sunbather is an absolutely massive, all-encompassing experience, one that’s both frighteningly intense and indescribably beautiful – often simultaneously.

29.

September 3, 2013
Critic Score
81
29 reviews

On this, her latest and most emotionally charged album, she's managed to create a painful outpouring of honesty, one that strikes that coveted balance of both melodic and lyrical expression; her message is equally powerful from each direction.

28.

October 8, 2013
Critic Score
84
29 reviews

Old is all about developing the character of one very conflicted dude, and to me that’s its crowning achievement.

27.

May 3, 2013
Critic Score
78
36 reviews

Monomania is arguably their most imposing, and by far their most courageous, proving that Deerhunter have a frontman who’s willing to open up his soul to fit the demands of the stage. 

26.

May 14, 2013
Critic Score
85
12 reviews

This mind-expanding record will inspire a more inexpressible connection: you will carve your own niche within its deep and absorbing textures, and you will find new things upon every listen.

25.

April 12, 2013
Critic Score
71
20 reviews

On True Romance, Charli XCX manages that rarest of things – a straight-up pop record that’s inventive and rewards repeated listening.

24.

February 18, 2013
Critic Score
84
47 reviews

We know better than to call Push The Sky Away Nick Cave’s best album, but if you want a portrait of the artist, as an artist, the album qualifies as “essential” even by the strictest definition.

23.

June 11, 2013
Critic Score
81
44 reviews

Tomorrow’s Harvest’s greatest strength is how it brings the classic Boards of Canada sound into the modern age and makes it feel totally fresh and alive again – a rare feat for almost any electronic artist.

22.

March 11, 2013
Critic Score
82
27 reviews

Grant’s work here aims at something much more rare than perfect – to be entirely necessary, serving to not only function as an essential outpouring for the artist, but as a well-intentioned fount of advice to the listener

20.

September 24, 2013
Critic Score
79
42 reviews

The Bones of What You Believe is a huge, disappointing bummer.

19.

October 1, 2013
Critic Score
80
29 reviews

Lopatin ultimately leaves us with a marvelous instance of artistic clarity. A moment where concept and execution synchronize perfectly and allow us the unique opportunity to experience sound as a purely emotive device.

18.

March 5, 2013
Critic Score
77
23 reviews

What’s particularly striking about its ten romantic sketches is how ‘mature’ they are. And mature in the traditional sense of the term, rather than as a euphemism for the cheap and tawdry.

17.

September 27, 2013
Critic Score
77
37 reviews

16.

March 12, 2013
Critic Score
81
46 reviews

It’s one of the year’s best albums, and a genuinely great work of unashamed pop music that finds a way to be adventurous.

15.

May 21, 2013
Critic Score
84
47 reviews

It’s difficult to complain when it sounds so good, and it’s easy to say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but eventually you have to play the game on “Hard,” even if that means falling short once or twice before you come through.

13.

April 9, 2013
Critic Score
81
39 reviews

Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze strikes with a gust of pent up emotions, a trailblazing record that openly affirms a personal accountability for self without slipping into heavy-handedness.

12.

May 6, 2013
Critic Score
80
41 reviews

It could be the closest post-punk has come to full-bodied artistry since Interpol took their own post-punk influences and gave us Turn On The Bright Lights all those years ago.

11.

April 8, 2013
Critic Score
80
44 reviews

Of course, no-one genuinely expects something so monstrously obtuse to make much of a difference at all, but at least The Knife are still daring to believe that it could, and there is every chance that Shaking The Habitual could be at the cutting edge of a resurgent wave of socially-conscious electro-pop

10.

September 9, 2013
Critic Score
81
43 reviews

Ultimately, AM is the latest jewel in a crown that will continue to increase in value for a long time to come. It is flawless, and a true ascendance from boys to men.

9.

April 8, 2013
Critic Score
82
44 reviews

The bottom line is, Overgrown is an unforgettable album by a limitlessly talented songwriter who, at 24 years old, may just be beginning to approach his prime.

8.

June 4, 2013
Critic Score
83
49 reviews

All the personalities put themselves in the background to let the songs shine and the moods are laid out in such a manner with the music that the flow is nearly perfect. ...Like Clockwork is easily the best release from the band since Songs for the Deaf.

7.

May 27, 2013
Critic Score
86
40 reviews

There are two primary things that make Once I Was An Eagle take flight: Lyrics and progression, which together make the album intelligent, confident, and, perhaps most importantly, recursive. 

6.

October 29, 2013
Critic Score
77
49 reviews

Reflektor hits too many high points to entirely consider it a failure, and despite its convoluted lyrical content and overreaching scope it still crosses the double album finish line with satisfactory results. 

5.

May 21, 2013
Critic Score
83
50 reviews

What Daft Punk have done on Random Access Memories could be seen as a methodically curated, musical museum of the future, rather than a conservatory for experimental collaboration.

4.

May 14, 2013
Critic Score
81
45 reviews

Modern Vampires of the City is nothing short of a pop music achievement, a standout album in a year full of standout albums. 

3.

June 18, 2013
Critic Score
83
46 reviews

It’s a dense, difficult listen, nigh impossible to compare to the rest of Kanye West’s work, and its rewards come slowly.

2.

September 10, 2013
Critic Score
83
41 reviews

Janelle Monáe has not simply lived up to our expectations here; she has shattered them, delivering a confident, creative, and enormously entertaining record that marginally betters her sublime debut.

1.

February 3, 2013
Critic Score
87
42 reviews

mbv follows its predecessor without aggrandizing its past resources, and as such, delivers a wallop of sweet, sweet distortion in a way that comes naturally to them.

Original Source: http://www.noripcord.com/features/top-50-albums-2013-part-two
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