Top 5 Rock Albums Of 2013

2. Arctic Monkeys - AM

There is little left to be said about this album that has not already been said. When the Arctic Monkeys released Humbug, I became worried. It wasn't a bad album, it was just that if I wanted to listen to Queens of the Stone Age, I would go listen to Queens of the Stone Age. Suck It and See was better, but this now blows everything away. It would be unfair to keep complaining that the band doesn't sound like the band that released Whatever I Say I Am, but if Arctic Monkeys continue with this sound, I think they will have very few complaints.

Alex Turner mentioned that the band wanted to make the whole album in the vein of "R U Mine?". They succeeded in that and without making every song actually sound the same. There's the "Sabbathesque" track "Arabella", hip hop flavored and grammatically confusing "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" and the hypnotic "Do I Wanna Know". Personally, my favorite aspect of the album is the falsettos provided by bassist Nick O'Malley and drummer Matt Helders. I am a firm believer that falsettos make everything better and should be used more often (see Muse's "Panic Station").