Apple posts 'Best of 2013' section on iTunes, highlights the year's best apps, songs, movies and more
Apple has posted its annual Best of 2013 list across all media types, including music, movies, TV shows, apps, books and podcasts.
According to Apple's seasoned editors, the iPhone App of the Year went to Duolingo, a free app designed to teach users new languages via clever mini-games. iPhone Game of the Year was given to Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption, a "handcrafted game about fishing with guns, chainsaws & toasters." Though not an official category, I also think this game should be in the running for App Title of the year.
On the iPad side of the fence, App of the Year went to Disney Animated. Though priced at US$9.99, the app, by all accounts, offers a lot of bang for the buck. The app description reads:
Discover how Walt Disney Animation Studio films are brought to life. Dozens of top animators, artists, technicians and designers contributed to making Disney Animated an unprecedented hands-on experience. Disney Animated, presented in English, captures the original storytelling of all Disney animated films, allowing you to browse never before seen concept art, visual effects and more.
iPad Game of the Year was awarded to the universally acclaimed BADLAND, an action-adventure game that also won an Apple Design Award at WWDC this year.
Per usual, there's a whole lot of data to digest with Apple's best of 2013 lists. For instance, here are the top five paid iPhone apps of 2013.
Minecraft - Pocket Edition
Heads up!
Temple Run: Oz
Angry Birds Star Wars.
And below are the five top-selling free iPhone apps:
Candy Crush Saga
YouTube
Temple Run 2
Vine
Google Maps
Turning away from apps and to music, Apple bestowed Artist of the Year upon Justin Timberlake, Album of the Year to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist, Song of the Year to Lorde's "Royals," and its Breakthrough Artist award to Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
The top 10 selling albums and songs are as follows:
How impressive is it that Beyoncé took the number two spot when her album hasn't even been out for a full week?
If you head on over to iTunes, you can access many more award categories broken down by genre.
Movie-wise, Best Movie went to Gravity, while Best Animated Movie went to Despicable Me 2.
On the TV front, TV Show of the Year deservedly went to Breaking Bad, while the Best Breakthrough award was given to ABC's hit show Scandal.
If you're a fan of the written word, the Best Fiction Book award was given to George Saunder's Tenth of December, while Best in Nonfiction was awarded to Bill Bryson's One Summer.
And finally, we come to Podcasts. In that category, the Best New Video Podcast award went to AsapScience, while the Best New Audio Podcast was given to the Adam Carolla-produced The Adam and Dr. Drew Show. Score one for the Aceman!
Again, if you head on over to Apple's Best of 2013 section on iTunes, you'll find much more detailed info about the kinds of music, movies, TV shows, apps, books and podcasts that really caught people's attention this past year. You can also peruse listings of top sellers across every medium and specific rankings across multiple genres within each category.
