For 17 years Mike Park has run Asian Man Records, one of the most successful (if not the most successful) DIY ska-punk record labels in the country, from a garage in Los Gatos.

Over the years, he’s discovered Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio, Andrew Jackson Jihad and numerous other bands. He’s also a prolific musician on his own, first with Skankin’ Pickle, who were early third-wave ska favorites, before moving on to ska bands the Bruce Lee Band, the Chinkees and a handful of solo records (he even released a children’s album, Smile, two years ago). Here are Park’s favorite albums for 2013 in no particular order.

Laura Stevenson – Wheel
Laura hails from Brooklyn and is one of the most underrated singer/songwriters of our time. She should be massively huge and successful. Her vocal and guitar chops are insane. I get chills every time I see her perform live. All her records rule, and this one is no different.

Mixtapes are one of a few bands (like Joyce Manor and Lemuria) that have had near instant overwhelming success in the punk community via interest from punknews.org and online resources.

Punk kids immediately went crazy for their first EP, Maps in 2010, despite it not offering anything particularly innovative to punk rock—it just had the right blend of bouncy, catchy songwriting and sweaty, fast-paced energy.

By the end of 2011, they had over 30 songs released and in 2012, they released their debut full length, Even on the Worst Nights, which continued with their formula of infectious hooks, hyper-punk rock instrumentation and dueling male/female vocals—only a little more refined.

In a lot of ways, Mixtapes’s music comes off like fellow pop-punker, Lemuria, but not nearly as dark, nor do they discuss relationships and their emotional landscape with as much nuance. Instead they focus on the everyday details of their lives and mix it up with plenty of humor.

It’s almost like listening to a friend ramble on about their day. It’s packed with so much random information and unrelated jokes. This isn’t to say it’s not without heavier topics. There’s just simply so much humor—or in some cases optimism—used to offset the feelings of doom and gloom. (“We get scared, so we stay. We’re so comfortable in the saddest way. What’s the point? It’s missing. So let’s cut the bullshit and get to living.”)

Some of the best lines, though, are those random bits of obscure humor. (“You keep listening to that Bon Iver record/I don’t get it, but maybe that’s the point.”) It’s the kind of material that cheers you up for no good reason, when you’re feeling down for no good reason.

Mixtapes play Musik, inc on Monday October 8th at 5pm. Tickets are $10.