While you were sleeping, popular music got interesting again.
2013 was a strange and intriguing year and the music that dominated the charts and warmed the coldest critics’ hearts was just as offbeat and idiosyncratic. Two of hip-hop’s biggest names dropped midsummer blockbusters (one of which made this list), a former Disney star became the new face of “twerking” and a white rapper from Seattle made his bid to become this year’s goofy, cuddlier version of Eminem. And Beyoncé proved she is still Beyoncé.
But this list is about albums.
These are the ten albums that defined 2013 in pop music; the hip-hop, rock, R&B and dance pop that provided the soundtrack for a year of tragedy and triumph.
