As I alluded to in my December mix, I'm engaged in a prolonged wrestling match with Best of 2013 lists and all of the great music I missed. Here's my swing at making my own list, in which I've simply gone through all twelve of my monthly lists and plucked out the stuff that I remember particularly enjoying.

I've been kind of surprised that Jim James' Regions of Light and Sound of God hasn't shown up on any of the lists I've seen. It's easily one of my favorites of the year, if not my number one. Most of the music on this is from 2013, but I've included Chavela Vargas because she was a new discovery for me, and one that made a deep impression. Also, she fits well with the plethora of women making great music in 2013. It's my experience that this is kind of a golden age for great music made by women, in almost every genre. With that in mind I've rounded out my best-of list with one track each from each of this year's Guest Lists, five of which are from ladies in 2013.

I've been thinking about some "musical resolutions" for 2014, and I've come up with a few, including: exploring Soundcloud and Bandcamp as ways to discover new music that is not on Spotify, and listening to more new rap music. I'll let you know as more come to me, and feel free to share yours, too.

Happy New Year to everyone! And here's to great listening in 2014.

Chavela Vargas – Paloma negra

Jim James – A New Life

Gramma's Boyfriend – Glitter

Bassekou Kouyate + Ngoni ba – Sinaly

Vampire Weekend – Step

Courtney Barnett – History Eraser

Deathfix – Dali's House

Bombino – Amidinine

Chris Thile – Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto

Lucius – Nothing Ordinary

Arctic Monkeys – Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?