The Ten Best Songs Of 2013

20 December 2013 | 12:01 pm | Dan Condon

The good, the great and the controversial.

On Wednesday we told you what we thought the best albums of 2013 were, now we're narrowing that down to the best individual songs of the year. The results are intriguing, to say the least.

No one even came close to beating the number one song, the margin was remarkable. Only three artists who made it into the top ten albums of 2013 also score a spot in the single songs list, while four of the artists who released the best songs didn't even make the top 20 in the albums list.

Listen to the hottest tracks of the year here on Rdio and Spotify.

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1. Daft Punk – Get Lucky (ft. Nile Rodgers & Pharrell Williams)

You've heard it a million times in 2013 and you'll hear it a million more over the coming summer. It's rare that a song this popular in the mainstream captures the hearts of our writers, but this was a pretty damn special song from a pretty damn special record.

Daft Punk went all out on Random Access Memories when it came to enlisting guests to feature and they came out blazing with the brilliant Pharrell Williams (who had a pretty massive year in 2013) on vocals and the legendary Chic founder Nile Rodgers on guitar. It's a light, breezy, funky slice of pop genius that's naughty enough to make it a little edgy, but innocent enough that you'd feel okay playing it just about anywhere.

“Rodgers makes great party music and has done so for decades,” I wrote after hearing the song for the first time. “So it's suitable that he appears on Get Lucky, which owes a great deal to the influence of the '70s funksters, because this track will make you feel good. I think this could be the best pop song Daft Punk have ever written and, while there's nothing at all groundbreaking about it, I just love the classic soulfulness that pumps through it.”

A brilliant song, a deserving winner and, to be honest, no one song even came close to taking it from the top of our writers' poll in 2013.

2. Arcade Fire – Reflektor

The album didn't quite make it into our top ten, but the title track was beloved by our writers in 2013. Seven-and-a-half minutes of deep groove that brought in elements both tribal and synthetic, classic Arcade Fire harmonies, a bi-lingual nod to their Montreal home and an arrangement that owes more than a little to the Eno-produced Talking Heads days. Arcade Fire weren't doing anything new with this tune, but they are the right band to bring these big indie jams back to life.

3. James Blake – Retrograde

Its release early this year sent the internet crazy; the prodigious James Blake was not only back, but he was sounding better than he ever had. An incredibly delicate, sparse song that obviously showcases Blake's brilliant falsetto, but less conspicuously also shows the deft touch when it comes to putting together a modern-day R&B classic.

4. Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know?

A big, fat stomping rock song with a big, bluesy riff that backs up the winding lyrics of front man Alex Turner through its verse before the vocals join that same melody for a big chorus. The restraint Arctic Monkeys show on this big single is what makes it such a masterwork; rather than falling into big passages of noisy guitars they layer falsetto backing vocals and counter-riffs to add a point of difference and a little more substance to the overall arrangement.

5. Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener

If Avant Gardener doesn't take you right to the scene of an overgrown sharehouse garden on a scorching Melbourne summer's day, then you've clearly never been in that position. It's one of those special songs that doesn't benefit from any hyperbole – though it has received plenty – so, instead, here are a few key quotes straight from Courtney Barnett's brilliant song.

The yard is full of hard rubbish it's a mess and
I guess the neighbours must think we run a meth lab

I'm breathing but I'm wheezing
Feel like I'm emphysem-in'
My throat feels like a funnel
Filled with weet bix and kerosene and

Oh no, next thing I know
They call up triple 0
I'd rather die than owe the hospital til I get old

The paramedic thinks I'm clever cos I play guitar
I think she's clever cos she stops people dying

Reminds me of the time
When I was really sick and I
Had too much pseudoephedrine and I
Couldn't sleep at night

I take a hit from
An asthma puffer
I do it wrong
I was never good at smoking bongs.
I'm not that good at breathing in
.”

6. Lorde – Royals

There was no way that New Zealand's Lorde wasn't going to be a superstar, anyone who heard her even prior to the release of Royals knew that, but it's safe to say the magnitude of her success has taken plenty of people by surprise. This is a such a smart song; catchy as fuck, sure, but also kinda funny and kinda venomous in its dissection of the lavish lifestyles of some. Yes, it is rather ironic given the success she has enjoyed in recent months.

7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jubilee Street

Jubilee Street won't live on with the same power as previous Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds songs like Into My Arms, Red Right Hand, or even more recent single Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, but there's something captivating about the meandering narrative from one of the greatest lyricists in modern music and the sparse, repetitive backing from his trusty band. The way it builds up to something far more grandiose than you would have expected in the song's beginning few minutes is absolutely stunning and the track serves as one of many highlights from the brilliant Push The Sky Away LP.

8. The Smith Street Band – Don't Fuck With Our Dreams

It's just insane how popular The Smith Street Band has become in Australia over the past 12 months or so, but we're damn pleased to see it. Don't Fuck With Our Dreams is the title track from their EP of 2013 and is a rollicking tale of dedicating your life to living on the road and taking your songs to any places you can. The title of the track came from a particularly nasty incident that took place in Byron Bay earlier in the year and it gives you an idea of how passionate these guys are about what they do.

9. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines (ft. T.I. and Pharrell Williams)

There is no more controversial song from 2013 than Blurred Lines, for more reasons than one.

Marvin Gaye's family reckon it sounds a bit too much like this song:

Plenty of people think both the subject matter and the film clip are a little distasteful.

But plenty of people loved it; it went platinum eight times in Australia and spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the ARIA charts. Plus, our writers rated it as the ninth best tune of the year.

10. Drake – Hold On, We're Going Home

The second single from Drake's acclaimed third album Nothing Was The Same is a classic example of the Canadian artist attempting to make timeless music; and we reckon he's at least very damn close. Drake's classic melody and the understated, but still attention-grabbing, production from duo Majid Jordan all sound, at this stage, like they could still be on radio in 20 years' time. But, for now, it's the tenth best song of the year according to our writers.

Have your say in the 2013 Readers Poll and win sweet prizes! Click the image below to get right amongst it.