best music of 2013

Juan Atkins, whose 1983 debut album was reissued this year. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Pitch-shifted soul and a pop song's game of chutes and ladders were among 2013's awesome tapes. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

Macklemore (left) and Ryan Lewis, whose "Thrift Shop" was the biggest song of 2013, according to Billboard's year-end chart. John Keatley/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

America should listen to more Manilla Road. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Bard Ylvisaker (L) and Vegard Ylvisaker of Ylvis perform "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" in September. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

Jason Isbell performs at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival. Meagan Beauchemin for NPR hide caption

King Courtesy of the artists hide caption

Savages lead singer Jehnny Beth during the band's visit to KEXP in Seattle. Brittney Bush Bollay/KEXP hide caption

Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett is one of KEXP's favorite discoveries of 2013. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Wayne Shorter. Robert Ashcroft/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Wayne Shorter, who turned 80 in 2013, won the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll by a large margin. Robert Ashcroft/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Magda Giannikou and one of her co-conspirators from her Banda Magda. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Classical albums we loved this year. NPR/Denise DeBelius hide caption