2013 Revealed

Each year, I frantically spend the last couple of months trying to clean up my backlog of records I've received, and post as many of them as I can before we ring in the new year. Because of this, I tend to leave my year end summary until January 1st. Marcus gives me shit for it each year, telling me that it belongs on December 31st...and I guess that logically makes sense...so you win, Marcus...here is my End Of The Year post.

I love stats, and comparing my buying habits year to year, so let's get nerdy.

381 new records and CDs purchased for 2013. Of those, 169 of them were for music that I previously didn't own...so that means 56% of my purchases this year were for music that I already owned in one form or another. I can't decide if it was crazier to buy so many records that I already owned, or that I still managed to buy so much new music. Add in the 88 albums, EPs and demos that I downloaded for free, and that is a shit ton of new music.

Shit got out of control in 2012. I bought anything that I desired, and it stretched my savings account way too thin. I vowed that 2013 was going to be different. I was going to slow things down, and make better choices on what I was buying. Yeah, that appears to have lasted for three months, and then once we got to April, all forms of restraint were lost.

2013 wasn't as strong as the year before, but it was still no slouch.

I still picked up some killer records, and here is a list of my top 5 from this year.

1. Black Sabbath 'Vol. 4' UK Vertigo swirl labels - I never really expected to own any Vertigo swirl labels for Sabbath. Now that I have one, I want the other three.

2. Mindset test pressings for Leave No Doubt and the EP Collection. It would be unfair to pick one over the other, so they both tie for second place.

3. Chain Of Strength 'What Holds Us Apart' clear vinyl - I've got a small Chain collection, but I'm picking them off one at a time. Felt good to grab this copy.

4. Brotherhood 'No Tolerance For Ignorance' on red vinyl - Another classic that felt good to knock off the want list...plus Ron Brotherhood commented on my blog post, which was pretty cool as well.

5. Reveal 'Descent' number 1 - It may seem a bit silly to most people, that this record would make this list...sitting side by side with Chain and Brotherhood. I already had 5 copies of the numbered cover, but collecting this record is an obsession, and getting number one from Marcus was like a cool "I've got your back, bro" moment for record nerds.

I love making Top 10 lists. They are entirely pointless, and in most cases the only one that really cares about them is the one that put it together. I love looking back as the years pass, and checking out what was blowing my mind at the time.

Hardcore got off to a slow start this year, and I struggled to find anything new to listen to. As the months ticked by, I slowly started to find some strong releases that rejuvenated my faith in Hardcore.

As soon as it was released, a lot of people were talking about The Rival Mob album as the record of the year. While I toyed with giving the Red Hare LP the top spot, in the end, I had to go with the record that said the word "fuck" the most.

While Hardcore got off to a slow start, Metal dominated for the early part of 2013. New releases or old staples...it didn't matter, this year belonged to Metal. I bought more new releases on vinyl than I ever have, and I started buying some original pressings for those old thrash albums I listened to as a kid.

While I rarely get out to shows these days, I did find the time to check out Clutch live...twice. Great band and I never got tired of their new album this year...therefore, they get the top spot.

Because I love stats, I like to end each year by looking at what I spent the last 12 months listening to. No surprises, as the list reflects a few older bands, like Clutch, Fu Manchu, Grand Magus, and Orange Goblin, that I discovered, plus some of the new bands that I spent a lot of time with. Funny that not one Hardcore band made the top 5 this year.

So there you have it. My year end post. Thanks for hanging out for another year and watching how stupid I can get over records. Keep stopping by, and check out what gems 2014 brings to my collection.