DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays.
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 | Dave’s Music Database:Top 50 Songs of 2013 |
These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.
DMDB Top 1%:
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 12/30/2013; last updated 1/18/2023. |
| First posted 12/31/2013; updated 1/8/2021. |
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| Dave’s Music Database:Top Albums of 2013 |
Based on a combination of year-end lists (see resources at bottom of page) and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2013. Be sure to also check out the DMDB post of the top 50 songs of 2013.
Resources and Related Links:
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Q is a British music magazine which has published numerous best-of lists over the years. Based on those lists (sources at bottom of page) and year-end lists, here are the best songs from each year.
Beyoncé
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Released: December 13, 2013 Peak: 13 US, 110 RB, 2 UK, 13 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 2.3 US, 0.6 UK, 5.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B/pop |
Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.
Total Running Time: 66:35 |
Rating:  3.852 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About the Album:
“The greatest female R&B artist of the century finally made a record as sexy, snarling, soft, strange, and outright superlative as she is.” GQ “This album was the smart risk that made it all happen.” VC This “was a record seemingly designed to convey, clearly and calmly, that there was simply no one else in her lane.” Surprise Release
“Beyoncé pulled off pop’s biggest heist, disappearing off the face of the earth to make a visual masterpiece behind closed doors, with a ring of secretive collaborators. Shooting music videos around the world while on tour, Bey wore in-ear headphones throughout filming to keep the material under wraps. When she finally unleashed the self-titled project the hugely ambitious album laid down the blueprint for a whole new way to release music.” NME
“On an unassuming Thursday night, when most people were either getting ready for bed or still reeling over the latest drama-filled episode of ABC’s Scandal,” SP Beyoncé’s eponymous fifth album was released on iTunes with no warning. Such releases are more common now, but when Beyoncé dropped with zero promotion, it “completely disrupted existing models of distribution,” VC “setting the internet on fire, setting new metrics of success for the out-of-nowhere album release model.” BB As she said, “I didn’t want to release my music the way I’ve done it…I am bored with that.” RS500 It showed that she wasn’t afraid of “an unconventional marketing strategy.” VC “Marketing campaigns, it implied, were for the little people.” GU
It worked, earning a Guinness world record as the fastest-selling album in iTunes’ history IS selling 80,000 downloads in just three hours, VC “revolutionizing how albums are conceived and released.” PF “To this day, the music industry has yet to figure out how to top Beyoncé, as a multimedia tour de force and sheer news event – the only person who has is Beyoncé herself.” SP
Visual Album
Beyoncé also broke ground as a “a full-suite visual album,” RS’19 redefining “what constituted an album package.” VC It was “the first major pop album to adapt to the way we listen to, and watch, music in the YouTube age.” PF It “was a kaleidoscopic experience that heightened the senses” SP with each track accompanied by “an artfully directed video and packaged as one immersive, even cinematic experience.” VC The vidoes were “shot around the world: New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and of course, her native Houston.” RS500
The Music
“After being previously accused of being too robotic and having a cold personality,” SP “the famously guarded singer [was] more candid than ever” SP offering “a court side view of her explorations of feminine sexuality and intimate relationships.” CS’19 “Black women are often urged to be silent, yet Beyoncé made it more comfortable to own and express your identity.” SP This set “the mold for a more politically aware, sexually confident and altogether provocative iteration of Queen Bey.” BB
The songs were “an unprecedented display of her blossoming self-realization.” VC She tackled “heavier sociopolitical issues more directly than ever before.” VC For example, Flawless “was an unprecedented summit of women’s continuous fight for gender equality” SP complete with a sample from a 2012 Ted talk by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, offering “a breakdown of feminist theory.” VC It “helped establish Beyoncé as a fierce interpreter and purveyor of black feminist thought for the pop masses. PF
The album “deals a lot with sexuality and her marriage to Jay-Z, and those songs ended up being the best on the album.” IS
Rob Sheffield wrote in Rolling Stone that “she hits nasty highs all through the album, from the squishy slow jam Rocket” IS to “the fractured Timbaland production Partition [in which] she and Jay get kind of rough in the back of the limousine. She has to warn the chauffeur, ‘Driver roll up the partition please.’” IS Both songs “highlighted her innate provocative nature” SP while others, such as “Pretty Hurts and Jealous, found her face-to-face with her insecurities.” SP
There were “big-time bangers and anthems” VC like the “club-ready Drunk in Love” SP which “will get played at weddings as long as there are weddings.” RS’19 Blow, a song about oral sex, “was best paired with disco lights and rollerblades.” SP Sheffield called it the best on the album, saying that it “has an air of melancholy in the chilly neo-disco groove.” IS There were also “high-profile collabs Superpower with Frank Ocean [and] Mine with Drake.” RS500
She also “stretched her sonic capabilities” SP and sought “more challenging music with no regard for airplay.” SP “The production was dank, sexy, and shook the electro-pop environment…to its core with booming R&B bass lines and rattling trap hi-hats, which would soon become the new norm.” CS’19 Sheffield said “the vibe on Beyoncé is moodily futuristic R&B, strongest when it goes for full-grown electro soul with an artsy boho edge.” IS
Impact and Accolades
The album was at the helm of a renaissance in which R&B found itself “creeping up behind hip-hop and surpassing rock entirely as the more innovative, album-centric genre.” SP It also “laid the groundwork for Lemonade, her next visual album, which would…tell the story of her rage, liberation, and ultimate forgiveness for her husband Jay Z’s alleged infidelity.” VC
“It was nominated for five Grammy Awards, took home three, secured her Video Vanguard Award at the 2014 VMAs…and earned Beyoncé the distinction of being the first female artist to have her first five albums debut atop the Billboard 200 chart. SP The album spent a whopping 185 weeks on that chart.
Notes: A second disc included videos of the songs.
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Resources and Related Links:
Other Related DMDB Pages: 
First posted 12/18/2020; last updated 4/21/2022. |
 | The MonsterEminem & Rihanna |
Writer(s): Marshall Mathers, Bebe Rexha, Robyn Fenty, Aaron Kleinstub, Jonathan Bellion, Bryan Fryzel, Maki Athanasiou (see lyrics here) Released: October 29, 2013 First Charted: November 3, 2013 Peak: 14 US, 16 BA, 13 DG, 11 ST, 14 RR, 22 A40, 113 RB, 11 UK, 13 CN, 13 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.31 UK, 10.78 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1033.48 video, 1053.31 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:This was the thirteenth trip to the top of the charts for Rihanna and the fifth for Eminem. Three years earlier, the pair collaborated on the #1 hit “Love the Way You Lie.” They also worked together on “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” that year and “Numb” in 2012. “The Monster” topped the charts in a dozen countries. Surprisingly, it was Eminem’s first time topping the R&B chart in the United States. It originated as a song by singer Bebe Rexha. She was working on her debut album and wrote the hook for “The Monster.” She was inspired by a quote saying “We stop looking for the monsters under our beds when we realize they’re inside us.” SF She then worked on the song in the studio with Jon Bellion, who came up with the melody. SF Once the song ended up in Eminem’s hands, he added his own verses. He knew he wanted to work with Rihanna again on the song because, as he told her, “I think that people look at us a little crazy.” SF It became a song finding “Eminem pondering the negative effects of his fame while Rihanna comes to grips with her inner demons.” WK Rexha hoped her vocals would be featured on the song, but she was replaced with Rihanna. As she said, “Nbody even told me. I just heard it on the radio.” SF However, she ultimately considered it a blessing because, she said, it “put me me in a position where people in the music business started knowing who I was and started respecting me.” SF Atlanta Black Star described “The Monster” as “an old school rap song…[that] blends genres with Eminem’s rap vocals, rock gutiars, and Rihanna’s pop-style singing of the chorus.” WK Critics like Idolator’s Mike Wass noted it wasn’t as powerful as “Love the Way You Lie” but that it was still “undeniably catchy and hook-filled enough for top 40 radio success.” WK Resources:Related Links:
First posted 7/29/2023. |
image from nydailynews.com
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for the 2014 class. Artists are eligible for the Hall 25 years after the release of their first single or album. The newest slate will be inducted on April 10, 2014, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in New York City. HBO will air the event in May. Here are the inductees:
Peter Gabriel: He was inducted into the Hall in 2010 as a member of Genesis. As a solo artist since the ‘70s, he has explored electronic and world music. His video for #1 hit “Sledgehammer” ranks as one of the best videos of all time.
image from details.com
Daryl Hall & John Oates: This blue-eyed soul duo has the most successful Billboard chart run of any twosome in music history. They started in Philadelphia in the early ‘70s, but hit their peak in the early ‘80s with #1 hits “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” and “Maneater.” They’ve sold more than 13 million albums.
image from nydailynews.com
Kiss: Miracles never cease. Members of the Hall induction committee swore they’d never let the mother of all hair bands in while fans have raised a stink in the 15 years the group have been eligible and been passed up. Critics have never liked the band, but the KISS Army represents one of the most loyal fan bases in the history of rock. They’ve sold over 20 million albums on the strength of rock classics like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and power ballads like “Beth.”
image from blabbermouth.net
Nirvana: The group most associated with grunge enters the Hall in its first year of eligibility, 25 years after the release of the single “Love Buzz” in 1988. Three years later, they would take over the world with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and parent album Nevermind. The group’s heyday was short-lived when lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide months after the release of the 1994 follow-up, In Utero, but their influence had been cemented.
image from coolcleveland.com
Linda Ronstadt: She emerged from the folk scene in Los Angeles in the 1960s and became one of pop music’s biggest successes in the 1970s with a blend of country and rock, selling more than 30 million albums and winning a slew of Grammy awards. She regularly covered classics from rock’s pioneers – among them were the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved,” Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” and Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou.”
image from fanart.tv
Cat Stevens: This British folk singer/songwriter made a name for himself in the 1970s with hits like “Wild World” and “Peace Train.” He converted to Islam in 1977, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and stepped out of the spotlight for more than two decades. He has sold more than 15 million albums.
image from pianosheetmusiconline.com
E Street Band: Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Hall in 1999. Now his backing band since 1973 is inducted with the Award for Musical Excellence.
image from morrisonhotelgallery.com
Brian Epstein: He receives the Ahmet Ertegun Award (for non-performers) for his work as the manager of the Beatles. He signed them and then sheparded them until his death in 1967. Paul McCartney said, “If anyone was the fifth Beatle it was Brian.”
Epstein in white hat, image from efemeridesdelamusica.blogspot.com
Andrew Loog Oldham: He also receives the Ahmet Ertegun Award (for non-performers) – and also for producing one of rock music’s most acclaimed bands – The Rolling Stones. He was with them for their formative years, helping to push Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write original material.
Oldham (second from left) with the Rolling Stones, image from zombiesenelghetto.tumblr.com
Symphony No. 7 in A major |
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Composed: 1809-1812 First Performed: December 8, 1813 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > symphony |
Parts/Movements:
Average Duration: 37:40 |
Rating: 4.140 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About the Work: “Ludwig van Beethoven completed this work in 1812, but withheld the first performance until December 8, 1813, in Vienna. It is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, plus timpani and string choir.” RD “1812 was an eventful year for the very famous, seriously deafened Beethoven. July was especially noteworthy. At Teplitz he finally met Goethe (1749-1832), but was disappointed to find (he felt) an aging courtier who was no longer a firebrand or kindred democrat; worse yet, a musical dilettante. A week before that only meeting of German giants, Beethoven had written the letter to his mysterious ‘immortal beloved’ that was discovered posthumously in a secret drawer. Then, toward the end of the year, he meddled unbidden in the affairs of his youngest brother, Johann, who was cohabiting contentedly with a housekeeper. Somehow, he found time to compose the last of his ten sonatas for violin and piano and to complete a new pair of symphonies – the Seventh and Eighth – both begun in 1809. He introduced the Seventh at a charity concert for wounded soldiers, and repeated it four nights later by popular demand.” RD “Richard Wagner called Symphony No. 7 ‘the apotheosis of the dance,’ meaning of course to praise its Dionysian spirit. But this oxymoron stuck like feathers to hot tar, encouraging irrelevant and awkward choreography (by Isadore Duncan and Léonide Massine among others) and licensing the music appreciation racket to misinterpret Beethoven’s intent as well as his content. Wholly abstract and utterly symphonic, the Seventh was his definitive break with stylistic conventions practiced by Mozart, Haydn, and a legion of lesser mortals who copied them. He stretched harmonic rules, and gave breadth to symphonic forms that Haydn and Mozart anticipated. If, in his orchestral music, Beethoven was the last Austro-German Classicist, he did point those who followed him to the path of Romanticism.” RD “While the poco sostenuto introduction begins by observing time-honored rules of harmony, within 62 measures it modulates from A major to the alien keys of C and F major, then back again! The transition from solemn 4/4 meter to 6/8 for the balance of an evergreen vivace movement (in sonata form) further exemplifies Beethoven’s conceptual stretch.” RD “Coming from the 20-minute funeral march of his earlier Eroica Symphony, Beethoven created an allegretto ‘slow’ movement. He established a funerary mood (without its being specifically elegiac) through the repetition of a 2/4 rhythmic motif in A minor, the most somber key of the tempered scale. A minor serves more than an expressive function, moreover; it readies us for the reappearance of F major in a tumultuous five-part Scherzo marked Presto. Two trios go slower (assai meno presto), in D major – a long distance harmonically in 1812 from the work’s A major tonic. The beginning of a third trio turns into a short coda capped by five fortissimo chords.” RD “A major finally returns in the final movement. Here more than anywhere else in his orchestral music, Beethoven became a race-car driver. As in the ‘slow’ movement, the rhythm is 2/4, but sonata-form replaces ABA. And there’s a grand coda longer than the exposition, the development, or the reprise, which, furthermore, begins in B minor! But modulations bring it back to A major in time for a heart-pounding final lap with the accelerator pressed to the floor.” RD |
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Last updated 4/17/2022. |
image from grammy.com
The nominations for the 2014 Grammys were announced on Friday, December 6, 2013. Below are the nominees for the major awards. The full listing is available here. The 56th Grammy Awards will be held January 26, 2014. Album of the Year:
Record of the Year:
Royals
Song of the Year:
Roar
Best New Artist:
