Overseas it was a year of big rollouts. There was a lot of hype behind releases by Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus. But will these acts be remembered for paparazzi fights and "twerking" more than their music?
Instead of ranking the year's releases, The Japan Times music writers decided to just share what they liked this year and why. Hopefully, long after the twerking has stopped, we'll still be singing along to some of these artists at karaoke.
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 'Nanda Collection'
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Melt-Banana, 'Fetch'
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Yosi Horikawa, 'Vapor'
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Sapphire Slows, 'Allegoria'
The best Japanese albums of 2013: Church of Misery, 'Thy Kingdom Scum'; Capsule Caps, 'Lock'
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