Best Songs of 2013 Madness Has Begun!

I've been waiting for this moment since February. As a huge music nerd, I like talking about music even if it's not within my video-making wheelhouse. I actually planned to make my second ever video a countdown for my picks for the best songs of last year (and filmed footage for it, which then got properly fucked up) and, since I never actually finished that venture, my yearning to do the same this year has been even higher than it would normally have been. So, I've been keeping tabs on every truly memorable and noteworthy song I've heard this past year and have amassed a whopping 52 candidates for what will probably end up being 10 finalists. Since I'm making this a huge thing for this year, I figured I should lay down some ground rules for how I'm organizing my final list.

• One song per artist/band. As much as I would love to put every song from ...Like Clockwork on this list, it just wouldn't be fair to all of the other equally great music from this year.
• Songs are judged on a purely subjective scale. Though the title of it is "Best," it's not actually the be-all-end-all decider of these matters. And, let's face it: "Matt's Favorite Songs of 2013" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it.
• Songs must have first debuted in 2013. That means that, if song was on an album that came out in 2012 and then became a single in 2013, it doesn't count, and vice versa. I'm still debating on whether Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark) qualifies on these terms.
• Covers are fair game. Trust me, this will matter.
• This one's purely personal, but strong openers/closers and/or insanely good lyrics hold a lot of clout. As a big album person, the former usually makes a huge, weighted impact on my opinions. The latter is just due to my admiration for great writing.

...and that's honestly it for now. I don't really have many clearly defined indicators for what I deem "best," but this seems to encapsulate what my thoughts have been towards this list so far. If I think of more, I'll tack them on. Also, I'll put a tally of the number of songs in the running after each round of listening and subsequent elimination that I go through, updating this post whenever I narrow the playing field further.

• Initial # of Candidates: 52
• After First Round: 24
• After Second Round: 20
• After Third Round: 12
• After Fourth (and Final) round: 11

...I'm going to lose my mind doing this, aren't I?