From the rise of Lorde with “Royals”, Disclosure and their buzz song “White Noise”, chart-topping heavyweight Kanye West with “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves”, Coldplay’s new Hunger Games track “Atlas”, local acts like Pup and their ferocious single “Resovoir”, and other homegrown bands like Said The Whale and their emotionally driven song “Helpless Son”, 2013 has been a strong year for songs and below are our picks for the best songs of 2013.
Click each name to view their picks or scroll down to view more:
Kayla Baker
Adam Harrison
Jason Hodgins
Sasha Kalra
Dianna Lee
Stephen McGill
Sarah Rix
Mehek Seyid
Curtis Sindrey
Calum Slingerland
Patrick Topping
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Kayla Baker
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Song: Don’t Swallow The Cap
Band: The National
Album: Trouble Will Find Me
Record Label: 4AD
Released May 17, 2013
The National never fail to soothe my soul in this hectic city lifestyle. It’s easy to get lost in the lyrics and melody of this song. “I have only two emotions/careful fear and dead devotion/I can’t get the balance right”. This is my favorite pick from their sixth studio album.
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Song: One Way Trigger
Band: The Strokes
Album: Comedown Machine
Record Label: RCA
Released March 26, 2013
This is one of those songs everyone begs you not to sing along with. Lead singer Julian Casablancas high register vocals on this track are hard to mimic, but so catchy that you’ll probably try.
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Song: Helpless Son
Band: Said the Whale
Album: Hawaiii
Record Label: Hidden Pony Records
Released September 17, 2013
While this might not seem at first like the standout track on the Canadian indie-rockers’ new album, it quickly became my absolute favorite. Tyler Bancroft, one of the lead singers of Said the Whale, wrote this emotionally driven song, writing on YouTube that its “dedicated to anyone who has ever had to watch a loved one suffer.”
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Song: Sense
Artist: Tom Odell
Album: Long Way Down
Record Label: Columbia Records
Released June 24, 2013
This British piano-man writes emotionally charged ballads and this one is no exception. I feel like this song was plucked right out of a romantic comedy from the late ‘90s, playing at the essential scene near the end when everything falls apart and the main character is drinking at a bar in the middle of the night and it’s raining… well you get the idea.
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Song: Say My Name (Destiny’s Child Cover)
Band: Paper Route
Album: N/A
Record Label: Universal Republic
Released: November 27, 2013
You can’t deny the risk you take when covering a Destiny’s Child song, but this Nashville born band nails it. JT Daly, lead vocalist for the band, shows he can really sing. This will definitely tide me over until album number three is released.
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 
Wow Sasha this list is pretty bad. Four songs? Seriously dude…You couldn’t even include a Jhene Aiko song? She’s killing it this year.
Posted by Patrick Lucas | December 16, 2013, 11:13 pmSorry that I couldn’t satisfy you with an inherently subjective list that makes me shorten a year’s worth of music into five songs. Jhene Aiko and so many other people that didn’t make this list were awesome this year.
Posted by Sasha | December 17, 2013, 11:18 am