Max's Top 30: A Year of Metal, Pop Punk & Everything In-between

Brace yourself.

When making my list, I went back and forth over how to rank albums that I felt had an impact on me this past year. I considered the importance of each release and how it influenced or changed it's relative genre or scene. I judged the musicianship, songwriting and lyricism that each album was made of but ultimately, the albums that made my list are the ones that I've listened to the most – the ones with staying power. I've listened to this pile of songs an ungodly amount, and it's only fair that their playability is a testament to my enjoyment this year. I present to you my top 30 albums of the year.

Best Of The Year 2013: Third Quarter Update

Welcome to MuzikDizcovery's quarterly article on our favorite releases of the year to date. Each of our staff members has posted a list of our five favorite albums of the year to date, with a little blurb showing why we love each one so much. Every album released in 2013 that we have heard was eligible, even if the album has not been released to the public just yet. As always, there's a wide variety of music on these lists, and every release on here is worth checking out. Kanye West, Vampire Weekend, The 1975, The Wonder Years, Captain, We're Sinking and Justin Timberlake all take prominent spots in multiple lists, and represent some of the best that 2013 has to offer. Check out of all of our lists below, and click on the links in the album names for our coverage.

Best Of The Year 2013: First Half Update

Welcome to MuzikDizcovery's quarterly article on our favorite releases of the year to date. Each of our staff members has posted a list of our five favorite albums of the year to date, with a little blurb showing why we love each one so much. Every album released in 2013 that we have heard was eligible, even if the album has not been released to the public just yet. As always, there's a wide variety of music on these lists, and every release on here is worth checking out. Owel, The World Is A Beautiful Place, Kanye West, Captain, We're Sinking, Rare Monk, Justin Timberlake, Sigur Ros, The Knife, Tegan And Sara, Youth Lagoon, The Wonder Years and Lights and Motion all take prominent spots in multiple lists, and represent some of the best that 2013 has to offer. Check out of all of our lists below, and click on any links in the album names for our reviews.

Album Review: The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation

Album Rating: A

Within a short four years, six-piece pop punk act The Wonder Years have worked their way up from the bowels of dirty basement shows to the festival stage of The Vans Warped Tour. Their last record, Suburbia I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing was met with widespread acclaim amongst fans of the pop punk — some even say it set a new bar for the genre. With The Greatest Generation, the band has released not just a magnificent follow up to Suburbia, but completely blown it out of the water. It is with this record that The Wonder Years enters the big leagues and perfect their sound. The Greatest Generation is the best music the band has done, and very well may be the best the genre has seen in years.

Artist of the Day: The Wonder Years

It's hard to deny that The Wonder Years are the biggest up and coming band in the pop punk scene. Over a couple years the band has went from playing small clubs to House of Blues and eventually to main stage Warped Tour. After releasing The Upsides and the fantastic follow-up Suburbia I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing, The Wonder Years are on the fast track to become the next New Found Glory.

Casey's End Of The Year Extravaganza

More than likely this is going to be a clusterfuck of information, so I'll keep this intro short. Below, I've put together a list of my favorite EPs, albums, and songs of 2011. My tastes have widened drastically this year, so much that I currently have over 9000 songs in my library just from 2011. While the top of my lists focus more on my customary pop punk and pop rock realms, the deeper cuts of my lists are full of albums that before this year I never would have expected to like. Fireworks, The Wonder Years, Childish Gambino, M83, Farewell Fighter, Yellowcard, SBTRKT, and many more can be seen below. For a Spotify playlist containing the songs of the year list, click right here.

My 2011 Alphabet

2011 was a solid year for music but it was a year without any identity. 2011 had no reoccurring themes (unless you are Ali and are a lot smarter than me,) it had no "defining moment," and it had no clear artist or song of the year. 2011 to me was more of a pillar of consistency across multiple genres. 2011 was a year that was so complicated that it cannot be defined with just a few paragraphs or links to a few songs. It has to be defined almost like an alphabet or a dictionary. So here is my 2011 dictionary*

*Songs without descriptions are simply good songs!*

Kyle's Albums of the Year 2011

2011 has been a year of both disappointment and pleasant surprises. My taste in music is in constant motion, but at the end of the day, the following are, in my humble opinion, the most impressive and enjoyable releases of the year. 

Album Review: The Wonder Years - Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing

One of the few but significant drawbacks to releasing critically acclaimed music is the expectation of a follow up of equal or greater value. Philadelphia, PA based pop punk giants The Wonder Years know all too well of this caveat, with the huge success that was their 2010 release The Upsides. Up to the release of The Upsides, The Wonder Years had been a gimmicky pop punk band featuring breakdowns, goofy lyrics, and Nintendo synth lines. However, from the day that The Upsides went public, The Wonder Years have no doubt been dreading the weight that was the demand for another album that could compete with The Upsides. Daringly titled Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, The Wonder Years’ follow up unquestionably delivers. Suburbia is everything that should be expected from the talented group that created The Upsides. Released June 14th, 2011, it is the band’s debut on Hopeless Records.

The Wonder Years Announce New Album/Post New Song

The Upsides ended on many end of year lists, including my own. So there was no doubt that The Wonder Years' follow up to that record would be one of the most hyped records of 2011. Let that hype begin. The band has released all of the information for their new record Suburbia I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing, including the track listing (13 songs!!) and album artwork (seen to the left). To make things even better, they released the first track "Local Man Ruins Everything" for streaming. The band definitely shows a progression in the track, losing some of the pop-punk traits and adding in some definite influences from 90's emo. Though different from the band's older tracks, it's too soon to make any big judgments on the track. I want to hear the song in the context of the album, and we will see if Surbubia can rival The Upsides. You can stream the track here. The album is out June 14th on Hopeless Records.

Albums Of The Year 2010 #10: The Wonder Years - The Upsides

2010 was a "pop-punk" revival of some sort. No Sleep and Run For Cover Records rose up with excellent signings and many great pop-punk bands became quite popular such as Fireworks, Man Overboard, Transit, and This Time Next Year. However, The Wonder Years may easily be the biggest breakout of this group of bands. Way back in January, the band released The Upsides which immediately became an anthem for many AP.net college students. The lyrics involved the hardships between friends, failed relationships with girls, and how to look past them. The opening track, "My Last Semester", immediately croons the listener with the absolute message of the album, as vocalist Soupy Campbell states that he's "not sad anymore, I'm just tired of this place". "New Years With Carl Weathers" represents the band's ultimate style, with the driving melodies and instruments along with humor and brutal honesty of the lyrics. "All My Friends Are In Bar Bands" is a perfect closer, as Soupy wonders about what has happened to his old friends and brings all his new friends (vocalists Matty Arensault of A Loss For Words, Dave Mackinder of Fireworks, Shane Henderson of Valencia, Jamie Rhoden of Title Fight, Nik Bruzzese of Man Overboard) to assist him in chanting the album's opening line again and again. The band has busted out huge this year, and has recently signed with Hopeless Records. The band recently re-released The Upsides on Hopeless with four new tracks, all of which are excellent. The positivity of the album brings a fresh breath into music that seems to be rather negative these days. Check out The Wonder Years on myspace here.