Best Albums of 2013 (So Far)

Record-setting debuts, big comebacks and more.

The Best of the Best - 2013 is the year of the comeback. With several of music’s most revered artists releasing some of their most outstanding material to date, we’ve rounded up some of the best albums of the year, thus far. With Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, J. Cole's Born Sinner and Kanye West’s Yeezus still on the tongues of music aficionados everywhere, it’s safe to say that for being only seven months in, this year in music is proving to be pretty sweet.By Moriba Cummings(Photos from left: Courtesy ROC NATION, GOOD Music)
Album of the Year: Jay Z – Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay Z didn't just shake up the world with his new age marketing scheme for the release of Magna Carta Holy Grail but he delivered one of the most introspective and sophisticated albums of his career. (Photo: RocNation)
Kanye West, Yeezus - Kanye West has been throwing a very public tantrum all year, and it's the best thing that's happened for his career. He's no longer hiding behind his master ability to create timeless hip hop tracks, instead, he went against all traditional corporate processes with Yeezus — no cover art, radio singles or polite interviews with the media — and exposed that this "frustration" is something only the brave can understand ... and he did it with only 10 tracks.(Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, GOOD Music, Def Jam, Roc Nation)Album of the Year: J. Cole – Born Sinner - Landing at the top of the Billboard 200 chart (his second No. 1 album) off of singles like "Power Trip" and "Crooked Smile," J. Cole is making this rap thing look easy. (Photo: RocNation)

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The Best of the Best - 2013 is the year of the comeback. With several of music’s most revered artists releasing some of their most outstanding material to date, we’ve rounded up some of the best albums of the year, thus far. With Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, J. Cole's Born Sinner and Kanye West’s Yeezus still on the tongues of music aficionados everywhere, it’s safe to say that for being only seven months in, this year in music is proving to be pretty sweet.By Moriba Cummings(Photos from left: Courtesy ROC NATION, GOOD Music)

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