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Lizzo, BNLX, the4onthefloor, and other local music luminaries choose their favorite songs of 2013

by Jay Gabler

December 25, 2013

Each year we ask our listeners to vote on their favorite songs of the year, and their ballots determine the Top 89 songs we play on New Year's Eve. This year, we asked some of our favorite local musicians to share their picks as well. If you haven't submitted your ballot yet, don't delay! Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. on December 25.

Lizzo (GRRRL PRTY, the Chalice)

  • Aby Wolf — Brave Boy

  • Caroline Smith — Magazine

  • The Cloak Ox — Pigeon Lung

  • GRRRL PRTY — Wegula

  • Har Mar Superstar — Prisoner

  • James Blake — Retrograde

  • Miguel — Adorn

  • Polica — Chain My Name

  • Run the Jewels — Banana Clipper feat. Big Boi

  • Toro Y Moi — So Many Details

Ed Ackerson (BNLX)

  • Arctic Monkeys — One For The Road

  • BNLX — Opposites Attract

  • Foxygen — No Destruction

  • Fury Things — Vapors

  • Jagwar Ma — Come Save Me

  • Johnny Marr — Upstarts

  • My Bloody Valentine — New You

  • Palma Violets — Best Of Friends

  • Parquet Courts — Borrowed Thyme

  • Savages — City's Full

Gabriel Douglas (the4onthefloor)

  • Caroline Smith — Magazine

  • Low — Just Make It Stop

  • Taj Raj — Romani

  • Volcano Choir — Byegone

  • Zach Sobiech — Clouds

  • This is the Last Time — the National

  • I Was An Eagle — Laura Marling

  • Everybody Smokes — bbGun

  • Kids — Diarrhea Planet

  • Hydrant Eyes — Actual Wolf

"Random thoughts: I went into this thinking I was totally out of the loop on a lot of stuff and expected to find some obvious songs I loved through listening but not by memory, but didn’t really find any this year. Also, on many of my favorite albums, I didn’t care for the lead singles (Laura Marling, the National, Jason Isbell) as much as other tracks off the records. I didn’t know that Trampled By Turtles re-released 'Codeine' or that Wilco re-released 'I Got You (At the End of the Century),' which are both favorites of mine in both of their respective catalogs. Here are my top albums too."

Drew Christopherson (Poliça, Marijuana Deathsquads)

  • Bill Callahan — Javelin Unlanding

  • Boards Of Canada — Reach For The Dead

  • The Cloak Ox — Pigeon Lung

  • Har Mar Superstar — Prisoner

  • Heavy Deeds — Light Lunch

  • James Blake — Overgrown

  • Phosphorescent — Song For Zula

  • Tame Impala — Mind Mischief

John Mark Nelson

  • Actual Wolf — Victims and Things

  • Arctic Monkeys — Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

  • Broken Bells — Holding On For Life

  • Dan Wilson — Disappearing

  • Dawes — From a Window Seat

  • Father John Misty — Nancy From Now On

  • James Blake — Overgrown

  • Junip — Line of Fire

  • Vampire Weekend — Diane Young

  • Volcano Choir — Alaskans

Cobey Rouse (batteryboy)

  • Cage The Elephant — Come A Little Closer

  • Cloud Cult — Good Friend

  • Cloud Cult — You're The Only Thing In Your Way

  • The Ericksons — Animal

  • Har Mar Superstar — Lady, You Shot Me

  • Low — On My Own

  • Phosphorescent — Song For Zula

  • Volcano Choir — Byegone

  • Yo La Tengo — I'll Be Around

  • Batteryboy  — Winter's Gate

Janey Winterbauer (the Witnesses, the New Standards)

  • Boards Of Canada — Reach For The Dead

  • Daft Punk — Lose Yourself To Dance feat. Pharrell Williams

  • The Dismemberment Plan — Waiting

  • Har Mar Superstar — Lady, You Shot Me

  • Junip — Line of Fire

  • The National — Graceless

  • Nine Inch Nails — Came Back Haunted

  • Queens of the Stone Age — My God Is The Sun

  • The Starfolk — Come and Play

  • Thao and The Get Down Stay Down — We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)

Niki Becker

  • Caroline Smith — Magazine

  • Cloud Cult — Good Friend

  • Janelle Monae — Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu

  • Jeremy Messersmith — Tourniquet

  • Lorde — Royals

  • Phosphorescent — Song For Zula

  • The Preatures — Is This How You Feel?

  • Prissy Clerks — Tiny Brains

  • Rilo Kiley — Let Me Back In

  • Zach Sobiech — Clouds

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.