As a college radio station, we all listened to a lot of music this year. It was a great year for music and we decided that we wanted to share some of our favorite albums with you. These are in no way meant to be a definitive "best of" list, because who are we to say album A is better than album B. The following albums are our personal favorite albums of the year 2013, they aren't album reviews. They're just our opinions. Love them? Hate them? Did your favorite album get left out? Join in on the fun and leave us a comment. Thanks and let's all hope 2014 is an awesome year for music.Jon Tracey: Laura Stevenson - Wheel
The week before this album came out, a few friends of mine were talking about Laura Stevenson. As a fan of BMI it sparked my interest, and I promptly listened to Sit Resist by Laura Stevenson and the Cans. At first listen it really blew me away. I listened to Wheel as soon as it came out, and it did not disappoint. Her voice is soothing, her melodies catchy, and this album overall is just exactly the kind of music that I really like. It’s groovin’, it’s catchy, it tugs at your heartstrings, and I just really liked Wheel. What more can I say?
Alexis Hunzinger:
Jim James - Regions of Light and Sound of God
After much deliberation, I decided that my favorite album of 2013 is Jim James' solo album, Regions of Light and Sound of God. I nearly overlooked it because it was released earlier in the year, but then I caught his performance of Austin City Limits last weekend and remembered why I enjoyed the album. Each song has its own nice progression within it and each is beautifully crafted. Just as Jim James' unique voice roped me into the My Morning Jacket scene, it pulled me straight into his ballads in this album. Pretty sure I traveled through space and time when I first listened to this. It's melodic, it's soulful, it's Jim James. He's the f***ing man.
Alleya Weibel:
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Vampire Weekend killed it this year with the release of their most recent album. It was definitely a go to for car music when driving around this summer. I get to see them right before this semester commenced at Lollapalooza and they were a sure highlight of the festival.
Matt Shancer:
The Reptilian - Low Health
Low Health starts out with the song "PAN (sucks)" and it promises that the rest of the album is going to be full of that delicious noodle punk we all love so much. This genre is especially dear to my heart. It's just great to see that every year albums come out that not only embody the spirit and sound of this genre, but they do a damn good job and produce a great album as well. I found this album when I heard the track "Chimney Wizard" on the radio and immediately knew I had to get the rest. An excellent piece of skramz showing the genre is not dead and hopefully will never die!
Nicholas Clark:Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels
If you wanted bombastic, hardcore rap that forces you to nod your head along then look no further. El-P and Killer Mike put out one of the most fun albums in recent memory of any genre and it was completely free. Run the Jewels is hip hop at its finest. The duo trade verses and their flows complement each other so well that it’s difficult to imagine them ever being apart. From braggadocio to more politically charged lyrics, they pull it off flawlessly. If you left them off of your end of the year list, be careful: “Every word murderful/ Surgical, painful, purposeful/ And I'm taking left off your f**k list personal.” The chemistry between the two is palpable and it seems like they’re long lost brothers. Killer Mike puts it best when he says, “Producer gave me a beat/ Said it's the beat of the year/ I said El-P didn't do it/ So get the f**k outta here.”
Tyler Cochrane
CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe
Many good albums came out this year, and I could write pages listing my favorite albums and honorable mentions. I have to pick one though, so my favorite album this year goes to CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe. I've been following CHVRCHES since last year when they had just a few tracks on their SoundCloud account. With the marketing genius of Glass Note Records behind them, they blew up following the releases of Recover EP and the single "The Mother We Share". I even heard "The Mother We Share" in between Michael Buble and Taylor Swift at Kohl's Department Store. They were Kohl's famous even before their album came out. When The Bones of What You Believe finally came out in September it met every one of my high expectations. It was the perfect pop album. Every song was fun and danceable/head bobable. The B-sides were just as good as the singles. The lyrics weren't overly cheesy or cliche like with a lot of pop music. That's why CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe was my favorite album this year. Second place goes to Buke and Gase - General Dome and Echosmith - Talking Dreams.
Andy Peterman:
Mat Zo - Damage Control
Mat Zo used to make trance music for a label called Anjunabeats, but he’s discovered the boundaries of all of electronic music, and then he did a parkour leap over them. In the electronic music world, there are those artists that have a bunch of singles out, maybe a couple unreleased tracks on Soundcloud, but has been promising some sort of LP in the future. The album for Mat Zo finally came, and it sounds nothing like I’ve ever heard. The album is totally genre-breaking, and adds elements of lots of different styles of music to its emotional electronic theme. It’s not repetitive (like lots of dance music is), and some of the tunes are almost pop-level catchy. On the other hand, there are tracks that are so intense and emotional that they almost make me cry. It’s a package of a lot of unique and fantastic songs, and that’s why it’s my favorite album of the year.
Jane Seibold:Baths - Obsidian 
Music to dance and cry to. On a road trip this summer I listened to it four times in a row.
