Top 100 Android Apps 2013

Keeping up with all the latest and greatest Android apps is a full-time job (take my word for it). We consider vast numbers of them before we update this list periodically with additions, deletions, and replacements. This time around, we added 20 apps to the list and retired just as many. 

How We Chose
There are now more than 450,000 apps in Google Play, and the 0.02 percent of Google Play represented in this list showed outstanding performance and mainstream usability without killing our device's CPU. If an app had free and premium versions, I generally veered towards the free unless otherwise noted. I'm also a big fan of alternatives, so for every app on this list I also looked for a second choice that might appeal to readers who don't, for one reason or another, like the first choice.

Loyal readers who've watched this app list evolve since 2010 will be excited to learn that Angry Birds (the original) has finally been removed from this list! It's still an addictive and well-executed casual game, but one can only catapult birds for so many years…

Another item to note: I tested most of the apps below on a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0.2 or a Samsung Galaxy S II with Android 2.3., although most apps are compatible with Android 2.2 and above. Unfortunately, until every Android user is on the same device and OS version, Android apps will forever be dogged by fragmentation issues and you may experience different levels of performance on your device. 

And as always, tell us what your favorite Android apps are in the comments section below.

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