Even though the stuff I worked on this year, won't be released till later on in 2014, I still spent a lot of time learning about mixing, and working on my sample library and vocal editing skills. Youtube really seems to be turning into the modern classroom in a way.

The pro mixing series Pensado's Place is just so awesome in so many ways.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PensadosPlace/videos

I really dig the In The Studio series Future Music has up on their channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/FutureMusicMagazine/videos

Also, just for exploring new music I really dig The Needle Drop's reviews.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theneedledrop/videos

And for hearing how the original analog synth patches sound, like the original Emulator II patches, theres synthmania.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SynthManiaDotCom/videos

Also theres an interesting trick in the FLStudio manual on the Stereoiser plugin entry about how if you duplicate a mixer channel (parallel it), then invert the phase, and the L,R channels, you'll effectively zero out the center channel information but leave the stereo (side) information. So if you wanted to clear out the middle or widen up a sound that has some stereo information to begin with you can do that with this technique.

Another technique that I kind of have been using is doubling with a lead. This is primarily a vocal technique but could be used with anything. You basically get all your best takes edited together into one golden take then place your double take at about -6DB to the first (-6db is half volume). That way the timing and phasing problems of the double won't compete with your best take but you still get a fattening effect. Then you can take this one step further by adding like a tight vocal doubler effect plugin (19 to 25ms) and then mixing that at another -6db. This creates a full sound but still keeps it sounding like a natural lead vocal line.

Hi passing / lo cutting, leaving the bottom open for the kick and bass to live. Also backing off the vocal to let the synths and bass have more lo mid room. You can get around the kind of phasing problems by side chaining things, but whenever you run a buss through a compressor your going to color everything thats running through it. If you listen to Bruce Swediens mixes like Rufus & Chaka / Masterjam album there is a lot of HPF out the subsonics, but still all the power is still there, its still a huge sound.

Something else that just really struck me as amazing and a sign of the times, is that UAD is making a eq plugin based of Bruce Swediens own Harrison console, yes the same one used on Thriller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NieKMdsOOj4

Its just amazing to me to think that its possible for artists to make their own personal kind of Thriller level masterpiece at home. Its just really inspiring to me.