Top 20 Albums Of 2013: 12-11

12. EXO - XOXO



I was a huge supporter of this Korean/Chinese band’s debut EP last year, and I was initially disappointed with the full album because I felt it lacked the dramatic bombast that I’d loved from them in the past. One reissue later and I realized that, once I let my expectations go, this was an excellent, soulful K-Pop album in its own right. Even so, I’m looking to see them back in my top ten once they rekindle a little bit of the magic found on last year’s EP.

11. Katy Perry - Prism



This is a tough one. I really wanted to be able to put it higher, because it is a good collection of expensive pop songs, but I wish it wasn’t so safe. Had she taken a risk and done something a little off kilter, I might regard this more as a pleasant pop album. That being said, “safe” Katy Perry is still miles above most pop stars, and I did love that melody was key throughout the album, even at the expense of risk-taking. I went off Roar pretty quickly, but the album’s latter half of midterm 90’s-esque jams, is surprisingly effective.