It's that time of year again: The snow falls and Christmas trees light up, uncles get embarrassingly drunk on eggnog and Fuse rolls out our annual best-of lists. Next up: The Fuse Staff's 40 Best Songs of 2013. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, herein lies your go-to list of the essential tracks from the past 12 months, from punk to pop, rock to R&B and beyond. 

All your favorites artists—Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Vampire Weekend, Miley Cyrus, Kings of Leon and many, many more—are all included. Plus, there are other lesser-known gems ripe for discovery, like "On Blue Mountain" by Los Angeles' '60s-lovin' youngsters Foxygen, "Avant Gardener" by Aussie psych-folk troubadour/CMJ favorite Courtney Barnett and "Sister Cities" by Philly indie rockers Hop Along.

Listen to each track here and read why these 40 tracks are our favorite from 2013.

Want more Best of 2013 stories? Of course you do! Check out The 9 Ugliest Hip Hop Beefs, The 25 Best Live Performance Photos and The 8 Craziest Music Memes from 2013. And check back to Fuse.tv for more in the coming weeks!