It seems pretty logical. People listen to music they like, right?

Except when they don't.

In my case, I have a wonderful job wherein I get to write a bit about music. I take the responsibility seriously and, as such, spend a lot of time each week listening to all sorts of music because I think I should be reasonably familiar with what's going on.

Inasmuch as it's long been my opinion that probably 75-90 percent of ANY music isn't very good at any time, this means I hear a lot of music I don't like.

But I'm not complaining. I never know when someone or something I least expect will pleasantly surprise me. In fact, this happens a lot.

And regardless of my pessimistic estimations that most music is bad, there's an incredible amount of great music created every year.

Now, with our new "Just Listen" blog, I will herewith share with you several of my favorite songs from 2013. One note: I really like Steven Wilson's "Drive Home," which is not available on Spotify. I've included a link here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycYewhiaVBk

Otherwise, in no particular order, here are tunes that really made me happy this year.

Listening to them, I'm a bit surprised at how mellow I've become as I get older – or at least I seem to place a premium on melody. If we were to listen to a list of my favorite songs from 1974 or 1985, for example, I suspect the stylistic difference would be jarring. Or maybe not.

Maybe soon I'll compile a few lists from Koster's Long-Ago Past. In the meantime, feel free to share your favorite tunes from '13 – or let me know what you think of mine. Insults are welcome!