Best Kids Music of 2013: Top 10 Debuts

Every year I wonder whether there are going to be any musicians who decide to turn their attention to making music for kids, and every year I am not disappointed. It's a silly attitude to take on my part, because doing these sorts of follow-up looks back at the year gives me hope and tells me I should stop wondering, that right now somebody I've never heard of -- and who may never have heard of these artists or any of the other artists on this site -- is for the first time recording music for kids and families that's going to be great.

Here are my top 10 debut albums from 2013, with "2013" defined as being "between November 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013," coinciding with the Fids & Kamily 2013 voting year. Sometimes debuts drop through the cracks thanks to the slow pace of reviewing, so albums like Vered's Good Morning My Love and Helen Austin's Always Be a Unicorn (which were October 2012 releases, and so just miss the November 1, 2012 starting point) somehow didn't make my list of top debuts from from 2012, either. And of course, there are post-September 30, 2013 albums like Red Yarn's The Deep Woods and Introducing Jelly of the Month Club that I would not be surprised to see on this list next year.

One other caveat -- there some debuts from experienced kindie folks who made music with new friends. Debuts from Underbirds, Todd & Cookie, and more might very well have made this list were it not for the fact that those participants, artists like Todd McHatton, Morgan Taylor, and Mista Cookie Jar, aren't new to the kids music world.

So here they are, in alphabetical order. It was hard picking the list this year -- there were a couple albums that I thought would make it but somehow got squeezed out by all the other wonderful talent here. Which must mean that there are a lot of musicians who think that trying their hand at making great music for kids is a worthwhile endeavor.

Cat Doorman

The Cat Doorman Songbook

Review - "reminds families of the worlds and possibilities that lie outside our door, if only we're willing to see them and create them ourselves"

Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble

I Like Everything About You Yes I Do!

Review (Coming Soon!) - Old-school rhythm, with soul to spare. It doesn't sound a lot like most of the other albums on this list, and that's one of its strengths.

Chris Doud, Willy Tea Taylor, and More

Color This Album

Review - "It's a romp through a world of animals and imagination, and the long-awaited (spiritual) sequel to the classic Bloodshot Records album The Bottle Let Me Down."

Lesley and the Flying Foxes

A Day in the Life of a Boogaleeboo

Review - "It's got a sense of wide-eyed wonder at, and celebration of, the human experience."

Boxtop Jenkins

You're Happier When You're Happier

Review - I"f you're going to title your album "You're Happier When You're Happy," you darn well better deliver an album that makes listener happy (or happier). And on his debut, floppy-eared Boxtop Jenkins, the creation of singer-songwriter Franklin Bunn and producer Glenn Matullo, do indeed."

Martykins & Friends

Martykins & Friends

Review - "I suppose any album gutsy enough to feature a song called "The Funky Lumberjack" had better be willing to follow through and, you know, be kinda funky. Surprisingly enough, that song, off the debut album from bassist Martin McSweeney is, well, kinda funky."

Pointed Man Band

Swordfish Tango

Review - "A combination of Tom Waits and Shel Silverstein, the Beatles and Parisian cafes, the music smells of hardwood floors and flannel and wood construction blocks."

Shine and the Moonbeams

Shine and the Moonbeams

Review - "While it's not really the first R&B and soul album in kids music, it's the first that got the sometimes insular "kids music world" excited."

Paul Spring

Home of Song

Review - "Home of Song is an ode to books and stories, and to the families who nurture them."

The Watson Twins

Pioneer Lane

Review - "a tiny jewel of an album that will give the listener a warm, fuzzy glow…"

My Favorite (Best?) Kids Music of 2012

While the posting date on this says 2012, I have to tell you the truth. I am totally back-dating this thing. I am writing this at the end of October 2013 in preparation of writing my Top 10 lists for 2013.

You see, my secret shame is that I never published my list(s) of my favorite kids music of 2012.

Oh, the shame, it burns...

Now, it's not like I didn't seriously think about this subject last year. Besides co-coordinating the 2012 Fids and Kamily Awards, I also voted in them, and the top 10 albums below reflect my vote in the awards. But I do receive far more great kids music than I can fit into my ten-slot F&K ballot, so this is my opportunity to give some shout-outs to some artists. Looking at this list, there are easily 6 or 7 of those albums on the list from #s 11 through 25 that could easily be swapped into the Top 10 list.

So in order not to make this already more embarrassing or major-movie-romantic-comedy-like, without further ado (or, frankly, comment), here are my lists of the best (or at least favorite) in kids music, circa 2012. (If you define, as I do, 2012 as being Nov. 1, 2011 through Oct. 31, 2012.)

Top Kids Music Albums

1. The Okee Dokee Brothers - Can You Canoe?

2. Elizabeth Mitchell - Blue Clouds

3. The Board of Education - Binary

4. Dog on Fleas - Invisible Friends

5. Johnny Bregar - My Neighborhood

6. Lunch Money - Spicy Kid

7. Recess Monkey - In Tents

8. Various Artists - Science Fair

9. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Make Believers

10. Various Artists (Matt Wilson) - WeBop: A Family Jazz Party

Albums 11-25 (unranked, shown in alphabetical order)

Caspar Babypants - Hot Dog!

Coal Train Railroad - Swings!

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - A Potluck

Duke Otherwise - Creepy Crawly Love

Elska - Middle of Nowhere

Jennifer Gasoi - Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well

Jumping Through Hoops - Rockin' to the Fiddle

Randy Kaplan - Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie

Kori Pop - Songs for Little Bean

Elizabeth Mitchell - Little Seed

Elena Moon Park - Rabbit Days & Dumplings

The Pop Ups - Radio Jungle

Renee & Jeremy - A Little Love

They Might Be Giants - No! (Deluxe Reissue)

Laura Veirs - Tumble Bee

A special shout-out here to Adventures of Chicken Weebus , which isn't really kids music so I didn't really consider it for this list, but based on pure entertainment value definitely ranks in our Top 25.

Top Kids Music Debut Albums (listed alphabetically)

Duke Otherwise - Creepy Crawly Love

Elska - Middle of Nowhere

Kepi Ghoulie - Kepi for Kids

Jumping Through Hoops - Rockin' to the Fiddle

Kori Pop - Songs for Little Bean

Alison Faith Levy - World of Wonder (I know, not quite fair given her history with the Sippy Cups, but still...)

Elena Moon Park - Rabbit Days & Dumplings

Play Date - Imagination

Laura Veirs - Tumble Bee

Various Artists (Matt Wilson) - WeBop: A Family Jazz Party

Best Kids Music 2011: Top 25 Albums

The high point in my list of the best kids music of 2011 is this, my list of my favorite kids music albums of the year. By "year," again, I mean albums with Nov. 1, 2010 through Oct. 31, 2011 release dates available to the general public. That means albums like Laura Veirs' Tumble Bee, with a Nov. 8, 2011 release date, have to wait another 12 months before appearing in this list. (I would be shocked -- albeit incredibly delighted -- if there were 25 albums better than that particular one in the next year.) I do use the word "favorite" advisedly. I receive something approaching 300 family music albums every year. I review maybe 20% of those. Last year I picked out 20 albums, and cutting off this list this year at 20 just seemed cruel. But, as it turns out, increasing the number on the list to 25 didn't make things any easier. Albums from folks like Laura Doherty, Chip Taylor, Todd McHatton, and ScribbleMonster -- albums I genuinely liked -- didn't make the list. That's what happens when albums in the top 10% of everything I heard this year can't fit into the number of slots available; I had probably about 40 albums I was seriously considering for this list. So the difference between what goes in this list and what stays off is as much about personal preferences as it is about "objective" quality. (That's why I came up with the idea for Fids and Kamily, thinking that the personal preferences of many folks would be a much better approximation of "best.") In any case, here are those 25 albums, ranked from most favorite to a little less most favorite, that I (and we) most appreciated this year. (As always, the top 10 reflects my Fids and Kamily ballot.)

1. Caspar Babypants Sing Along! [Review] "I really, really like Sing Along! -- the Caspar Babypants disks have been favorites at our house for a long time, and I see no reason why this new album won't join its predecessors in heavy rotation. If he can keep it up, Chris Ballew might just create a body of work for preschoolers to rival Raffi's."

Best Kids Music 2011: Top 10 Album Packages

It was a little harder this year picking out 10 favorite album packages in my review of the best kids music of 2011. Not because design is getting worse, but because I am slowly entering the 21st century when it comes to reviewing music. Which means accepting electronic versions of albums in lieu of the physical CD. Now this isn't a case of asking you kids to get off my damn lawn. Really, I'm fine with it -- while I prefer the physical product (if only because I tend to listen to music sooner that way), I understand why mp3s are easier, especially for the artist. And while receiving the slim jackets that just consist of the front and back cover and the CD mean I don't get all of the lovely album art or have lyrics handy when listening, when you have something like 1,000 or CDs in boxes, there is a certain allure in having those slim packages. And it should be noted that the primary focus, of course, is the music encoded in the mp3s or tucked away in those slim packages. Caspar Babypants CDs (which do feature cute cover art from Kate Endle) come in slim packages -- they could come wrapped in newspapers and I'd be overjoyed to get them to listen to the music inside. But an attractive package can sometimes help break down the barriers to listening to kids music for people new to the genre who think that it's still cheap and chintzy. This list is also a little bit like Wheel of Fortune. (Hunh?) Remember how on the final bonus round puzzle the finalist used to get to choose a few letters which (if present) would be turned by Vanna? Yeah, well everybody ended up picking "E" and "T" and "S" and other common letters. So now they automatically show those letters (along with "R," "N," and "L") and the finalist picks other letters. I sort of feel like Smithsonian Folkways and Putumayo and Dan Zanes are sort of like the "E" and "T" and "S" of album packaging -- you're always going to get quality work for them. I'd probably be better off just eliminating them from consideration and picking, say, a Top 5. Maybe next year. Anyway, with the caveat that it feels weird not putting Dan Zanes or Putumayo on this list (I'm sure they were lovely as always, but we received "slim" packages this time around not that I'm in any way complaining, I swear), here are my 10 favorite kids music album packages of 2011, listed in alphabetical order.

Lori Henriques Outside My Door It's probably unfair that Henriques' brother is Joel Henriques, proprietor of the most excellent Made By Joel website, which shares arts and crafts projects for children. But, it's important to take advantage of the talents you have in your midst, and the packaging features cute line drawings, the lyrics (important for Henriques' wordy songs), and recycled paper. That looks lovely... just as the rest of these disks do...

Best Kids Music 2011: Top 10 Debuts

I'll kick off my review of the best kids music of 2011 with a look at the year's best debuts. As was the case last year, we didn't know many of these artists a year ago (or if we did, we had no idea they had a kids music album in them). But these albums caught my ear fairly quickly and some of them even made my top albums of the year list. I should note that, as I did last year, by using the word "debut," I'm assuming that this isn't the last family music album from each of these artists. Albums from Holly Throsby and Chip Taylor, for example, would've been considered for this list, but I've made the assumption that their family albums will be their sole foray into the genre. I would be happy to be proven wrong, next year or at any point in the future. So here are ten debut kids music albums (listed alphabetically by artist) worth celebrating.

The Alphabeticians Rock Leading off this alphabetical list is this Portland, Oregon duo (Eric Levine and Jeff Inlay, AKA Mr. E. and Mr. Hoo) who trade in sharp, hook-filled guitar jangle-pop and slightly absurd lyrics. (Sample song title: "Eric Saw Peter Buck's Girlfriend and Then He Saw Peter Buck".) But then again, isn't looking at life through a child's eyes a little absurd once we've left our adult glasses on too long? Listen here.

A Small Nod from Small Magazine

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music to listen to and develop opinions on -- these are the times when I search for a video featuring an animated cat to just move forward and create. So when the lovely magazine Small Magazine said they'd be featuring me in an upcoming issue and asked for 5 albums I'm digging right now, I was (a) flattered, and (b) eager to have a short, time-limited assignment. So head here to find out about those five albums, three of which aren't even out yet, technically speaking. Of course, I should note that asking me to pick just five is very much a point in time snapshot, especially given the volume of music moving across my desk now -- if you asked me to make that list today, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't look the same. But these five (including one debut) are all quality disks.