The 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs and Websites of 2013

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Welcome to one of the web’s most anticipated lists of the year: The 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs and Websites of 2013. This is the second such list I have made since founding DailyTekk and it’s very special. A website can only be featured ONCE in this annual series, so make sure to check out last year’s list so you don’t miss 100 other amazing sites and blogs. I’ve broken this monster list down into 19 categories and limited myself to five links per category (except for the last category) to ensure I whittled away all but what I thought were the most deserving candidates of right here and right now in 2013. This post kicks off a whole new year of incredible top 100 lists (see a summary of the best curated content from last year in The Ultimate Lifehack for 2013: 200+ Incredible Sites and Services). This isn’t a wussy list like Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2012 which contains a bunch of web tools; nope, this is essentially a treasure trove of pure content.

When I make this list I consider 3 things: content, design and style (you know, that x-factor that really makes a site stand out). Throughout the year I save screenshots, bookmark, email myself links, star and favorite the best web content I run across. It’s a year-long process but I start getting pretty excited when I’m finally getting close to publishing it because I’m so excited to share with you my good finds. Actually, I took a few really good suggestions from readers (in the form of comments from last years post), and I had some valuable input from my wife, so I can’t take full credit for what you see here, technically.

Apparently, as of March 2012 there were 644,275,754 active websites (according to Business Insider) and you know the number has done nothing but rocket up since then. Someone has to go through and find the best, most interesting web content to make it easier on everyone else–but what does this have to do with technology? After all, DailyTekk IS a tech blog, right? Yes it is, and to me, great web content has everything to do with technology; as TechCrunch pointed out, the world is being eaten by technology to the point that all journalism is becoming tech journalism. Here’s another way to look at it: what good would your smartphone or tablet be if you had no good content to read, watch, interact with or play? You’re welcome.

COOL

1. Visual News - The cure for eyeball boredom.
2. moddea – Visual catalog of everyday modern objects.
3. Very Short List – Cultural gems from a different curator every day.
4. SoulPancake - Art, culture, science, philosophy, spirituality and humor.
5. The Curious Brain – A strategic planner from Greece who is curious about everything.

VIRAL

1. BuzzFeed - High quality original reporting, insight and viral content.
2. UPROXX – The culture of what’s buzzing.
3. PocketHits - The most popular stories, videos, images, recipes and more from Pocket.
4. What’s Trending - See it first.
5. Viral Viral Videos - Videos going viral right now.

CULTURE

1. Open Culture – The best free cultural and educational media on the web.
2. Trendland - Your daily dose of fashion, trends, art, design and photography.
3. Slacktory - A comedic blog about the pop culture of the internet.
4. Flavorwire - Culture curation. Highbrow, lowbrow and everything in between.
5. Internet for Beginners – About.com’s guide to participating in online culture.

NEWS

1. Quartz - Digitally native news outlet. Bracingly creative journalism.
2. The Daily Beast - Read this skip that.
3. Matter - Commissions, crafts and publishes unmissable journalism about science, tech and ideas.
4. PostDesk - Indepth news, analysis, discussion and debate.
5. WhoWhatWhy – Groundbreaking investigating journalism.

DESIGN

1. NOTCOT – A visual filtration of ideas + aesthetics + amusements.
2. The Exaltation - A collective of creatives sharing inspirational projects.
3. The Khooll - A digital design and lifestyle magazine.
4. dsgnWrld - Propagate design.
5. designboom - A large independent publication dedicated to design and architecture.

HUMOR

1. Twaggies – Funny tweets illustrated.
2. Team COCO – Conan O’Brien presents…
3. White Whine – A collection of first-world problems.
4. Improv Everywhere – They cause scenes (funny videos).
5. PassiveAggressiveNotes.com - Pictures of funny passive aggressive notes people have left.

MEN

1. Valet - Men’s style, grooming, living, shopping and how-to guides.
2. Por Homme - Men’s lifestyle, fashion, footwear and culture.
3. Bless This Stuff - Web magazine for guys. Categories include: wear, living, culture, sports, vehicles and more.
4. The Art of Manliness - Men’s interests and lifestyle.
5. Dappered - Affordable men’s style.

WOMEN

1. Goop – Limited edition collaborations, recipes, travel notes, shopping ideas curated by Gwyneth Paltrow.
2. The Hairpin - Ladies first.
3. HelloGiggles - Entertainment for creative women.
4. The Everygirl – The lifemap for everygirls everywhere.
5. Pick the Brain - Motivation and self-improvement.

PHOTO

1. In Focus – News photography from The Atlantic.
2. Amazing Things In The World - Photos of, you guessed it, amazing things in the world (Facebook).
3. NPR Picture Show – Photo stories from NPR.
4. Feature Shoot – Travel, fashion, documentary, editorial and portrait photography.
5. White House Photos – Photos from the White House.

VIDEO

1. Freddie Wong – Action shorts from Freddie Wong.
2. Vsauce – Amazing facts and the best of the Internet.
3. All Time 10s – The funniest, most relevant and informative top 10 list videos you’ll ever watch.
4. Household Hacker – Mods, life hacks, science, cheats, pranks and gaming.
5. WatchMojo – Profiles, videos, top 10s.

AUDIO

1. SoundCloud – Hear the world’s sounds.
2. Studio 360 – What’s happening in pop culture and the arts.
3. Blank on Blank – They find lost interviews, you listen.
4. Fresh Air – Contemporary arts and issues (from NPR).
5. Radiolab – A show about curiosity.

READ

1. Longform - Recommends new and classic nonfiction from around the web.
2. Byliner Spotlights - Read more from your favorite authors.
3. Longreads - The best long-form stories on the web.
4. The Feature - A hand-picked selection of the finest articles and essays saved with Instapaper.
5. The Paris Review – Introducing you to the important writers of the day.

TECH

1. Skillcrush - Learn about technology and how to put it to work for you.
2. Singularity Hub – The future is here today.
3. Gizmag - New and emerging technology news (lots of cool hardware).
4. Internet Today - The best internet and tech news from LinkedIn.
5. ExtremeTech - The only tech site I’ve ever seen with a category labeled “Extreme.”

SMART

1. TED - Ideas worth spreading.
2. Co.Exist - World-changing ideas and innovation.
3. Talks at Google - Speakers of all stripes giving talks at Google.
4. Conference Bites - Big ideas for short attention spans. The best quotes from the latest events.
5. Aspen Ideas - Multimedia from around the Aspen Ideas Institute.

GEEK

1. Geekosystem – Your guide to tech and internet culture.
2. Geek & Sundry – Eccentricities for your entertainment.
3. So Geek Chic – All things geek and/or chic.
4. Geekologie - Gadgets, gizmos and awesome.
5. DudeIWantThat.com - A gift guide of gadgets, gear and novelties.

GOOD

1. GOOD – A global community of people who care.
2. Stanford Social Innovation Review – Informing and inspiring leaders of social change.
3. Charity Navigator – America’s largest charity evaluator.
4. Dutiee – Stories that matter.
5. Socialbrite – Social solutions for nonprofits (blog).

ENVIRONMENT

1. TreeHugger – Dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.
2. Grist – Environmental news, commentary and advice.
3. GoodGuide – Green, healthy and safe product information and reviews.
4. Environmental Graffiti – An eclectic mix of bizarre, funny and interesting environmental news.
5. Food & Water Watch – Works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe and accessible.

POLITICS

1. POLITICO – Driving the conversation.
2. BagNews – Reading the pictures; visual politics and the analysis of news images.
3. Think Progress – Hard-hitting political news.
4. GovTrack.us – Easily track the activities of the United States Congress.
5. OpenSecrets.org – See who’s getting and who’s giving.

CAN’T MISS

1. Mental Floss - Random, interesting amazing facts plus fun quizzes and trivia.
2. Hypebeast - Fashion, arts, design, culture.
3. Brain Pickings - Human-powered discovery engine for interestingness.
4. DROOL’D - Stuff to drool over from gadgets to places.
5. Bored Panda – The only magazine for pandas.
6. ThreadBanger – For people who make their own style.
7. Unhistorical – Day by day reflections on history and culture.
8. Daily Grommet – Discover unique products with innovative design that make unique gifts.
9. I’m Remembering - Pop culture and nostalgery from the 80s and early 90s.
10. Richard Wiseman - Quirky mind stuff including videos, illusions, trivia and more.