Daniel's 23 Best Albums of 2023
Every year that I've released a Top 10 Albums post, I've included the caveat that there is so, so much good music out there that it's almost unfair to ask me to try and listen to all of them. With that in mind, I hope you know this is not an exhaustive list of the best music of the year, but rather the top 2023 albums of those I actually listened to. I was even more proactive this year than I have been in some years past-- in fact, this is the most on top of new music I've been in quite some time, I think, topping my personal record from last year. That said, personal biases often win the day. So, as always, it's a strange mixture of artists/bands I already liked with some critically acclaimed albums I proactively sought out after reading about them. If you see an album you loved excluded from this list, it's more likely that I just didn't get around to them than it is that I didn't enjoy it.
One year on from what I deemed an "incredible year in music," I have to say the music of 2023 was.... aggressively mid. Not, mind you, without its highlights, all of which will be featured in this piece, of course! And to be fair, maybe a letdown should have been expected after a year that saw releases from the likes of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, The Black Keys, The Arctic Monkeys, Lizzo, Bad Bunny....etc., etc., etc. 2023 was never going to be 2022, but I do wish the number of albums that blew me away hadn't dropped so drastically. I say all this not as a way of downplaying my own list, nor especially the work of all artists this calendar year! Art is subjective, and there was something for everyone this year. I just mean I don't know how many albums listed in this article would have cracked my Top 10 last year, so if you're keeping up with this piece each year and are wondering "how (x) made my Top 10 this year when Rosalía got a freaking honorable mention last year?!?!?!", well, that might explain why.
Enough rambling; to the list! First, a rundown of 13 honorable mention albums to comprise 23 albums in '23. These range from albums that just narrowly missed out on the Top 10, to others that never really were in contention for top honors, but I still very much enjoyed (these are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked):
Chronicles Of A Diamond // Black Pumas
V // Unknown Mortal Orchestra
God Games // The Kills
GUTS // Olivia Rodrigo
In The End It Always Does // Japanese House
The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We // Mitski
Proof Of Life // Joy Oladokun
The Silver Cord // King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Special Occasion // Emily King
Unreal Unearth // Hozier
UTOPIA // Travis Scott
Weathervanes // Jason Isbell and the 500 Unit
Zach Bryan // Zach Bryan
Now, to the top 10:
10. The Age of Pleasure // Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe, the wildly talented multi-hyphenate, the alien superstar, has been in our collective conscience for what feels like my whole life, so it blew my mind to realize this was only her 4th studio album, and the first in 5 years. At any rate, it wasn't quite as universally adored as its predecessors, and that's fair- Age of Pleasure is 100% a 'vibes' album, whereas 2018's Dirty Computer, for example, was a cohesive thematic project that pushed musical boundaries. But still, what a vibe it is. This isn't an album you come back to in order to pull out a favorite song or two, it's one you play from start to finish when you're ready to dance, or dream of the summer months.
Best Track: "Float"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Phenomenal", "Paid In Pleasure"
9. Snow Angel // Reneé Rapp
I am reaching the age where I increasingly feel out of touch with the music of today, which as you can imagine, is a painful feeling for someone who writes for a pop culture blog. Being late to the Reneé Rapp hype was another unwelcome reminder of my aging, but boy am I glad it reached my 30-year old ears eventually. Upon hearing Snow Angel, I'm actually surprised Reneé isn't more of a sensation. She definitely brought the pop debut breakthrough energy that Olivia Rodrigo exemplified a couple years ago, and in fact, I much preferred this record to Rodrigo's more punk-focused follow-up. This played like an angsty young singer ready to announce herself to the music world, but with powerhouse vocals that reveal her musical theater training, rather than the vocal affecting and whisper-pop that have become increasingly popular.
Best Track: "I Hate Boston"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Poison Poison", "Pretty Girls"
8. Nite Swim // Lily & Madeleine
I've loved sister indie duo Lily & Madeleine for a while now-- and when I say loved, I don't just mean their music. Any of my friends that attended their concert with me recently can testify I have a very real crush on each Jurkiewicz sister. Anyways, Nite Swim marked a return from a 4+ year absence, after Canterbury Girls was released in early 2019, and while it didn't instantly grab me the way that record did, it has stuck with me the same way nearly all their music has. It's a simple enough formula, lyrics that read like Americana poetry and letters to ex-lovers, coupled with basic chords and soaring harmonies, but man, does it work on me every time.
Best Track: "Embers"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Rolling Rock", "Cologne"
7. Let's Start Here. // Lil Yachty
Despite my damning with faint praise above, one thing I will say about music in 2023: there have been multiple changes of direction from artists, whether in the form of albums or just singles, that have made me (and many like me) go "now, where did THAT come from??" Perhaps foremost among them was the latest record from Lil Yachty, the Atlanta-area rapper. Yachty released his first four albums in a three-year stretch from 2017 to 2020, and had seemingly carved out a niche as a goofy, albeit self-aware, "vibes" rapper with a loose appreciation of concept albums. After a three-year break, though, he came back with something completely unexpected: a psychedelic rock and funk-infused album, produced by a group that included New Zealand psych rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Patrick Wimberly, former bandmate of Caroline Polachek. Even more shocking? The album is actually good. Some songs don't fully work, but many do, and Yachty does the new genre proud with his earnestness, avoiding the trap of surface-level genre tourism.
Best Track: "the BLACK seminole."
Silver and Bronze Medals: "drive ME crazy!", "running out of time"
6. the record // boygenius
I'll confess, this one took me several listens to get into it. It's not that I didn't like the record upon first listen; it's just that, knowing how much I like each individual artist that comprises boygenius, I was surprised at how little the songs from the album were sticking with me. Until all of a sudden...they were. I suddenly felt myself on a sharp boygenius kick in the closing weeks of 2023, and am glad it compelled me to return to this album, which highlights Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus's individual strengths, as well as their undeniable synergy and chemistry as a musical and lyrical unit.
Best Track: "Cool About It"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Not Strong Enough", "True Blue"
5. Javelin // Sufjan Stevens
You'd be hard-pressed to find musicians today with as varied and impressive a discography as indie-alternative icon Sufjan Stevens. After forays into electropop and even ambient instrumentalism with his previous two albums, Javelin felt like a musical and thematic return to his brilliant and devastating Carrie and Lowell (2015). And perhaps that's to be expected, as both were borne out of tragedy and heartbreak; Javelin's release accompanied a statement from Sufjan that it was dedicated to his lover who had deceased (a note that also marked his coming out to the public, a not-insignificant announcement given his standing in Midwestern Christian lore). After admittedly just a couple listens through, I'm not sure Javelin holds as many individual songs that stand out to me as its spiritual predecessor did, but it's a gorgeous, emotional listen. It is a real gift to be able to convey such depth of emotion through music more so than through voice.
Best Track: "My Little Red Fox"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Talking Shit", "So You Are Tired"
4. That! Feels Good! // Jessie Ware
I somehow only became aware of Jessie Ware earlier this year, when more than one of her tracks began popping up on my Spotify mixes. Intrigued, I listened to her 2020 album What's Your Pleasure entirety, and it became my jam for a period of time. How lucky am I, then, that shortly after becoming acquainted with England's nu-disco queen, she dropped the follow-up to that brilliant album, That! Feels Good! If you want to dance, feel sexy, or find yourself in a lovesick stage of life, this is the album for you. From the opening title track to the very end, Jessie's vocals soar, her lyrics encourage expression and intimacy, and the beats thumpthumpthump, almost involuntarily forcing your feet to move.
Best Track: "Free Yourself"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Begin Again", "Hello Love"
3. Cracker Island // Gorillaz
Yes, Gorillaz! The cartoon guys you probably remember from, like, 2005! They're still making music! I have not kept up with their career, to be honest, and listened to this somewhat on a whim when I saw it recommended on Spotify. What a good decision that turned out to be: Cracker Island is funky, weird and groovy from the very beginning- with Tame Impala and Thundercat involved, how could it not be? And as always, Damon Albarn audaciously masks some serious global commentary amidst the bangers. The album loses a tiny bit of steam down the stretch, otherwise it might be in the conversation to be even higher on this list.
Best Track: "Silent Running"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Oil", "New Gold"
2. Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. // Lana del Rey
This album hasn't seemed to generate quite as much breathless word-of-mouth as 2019's Norman Fucking Rockwell! did, but was nearly as universally acclaimed, and considering how few believed she would be able to top her 'magnum opus' from four years ago, that's no small feat. Did you know... plays like NFR's spiritual successor, and in truth, I think I have my slow acceptance of that album's brilliance to thank for my rapid acceptance of this album's. This isn't going to be one you can just pop on at a party and expect everyone to get on board with; it's mood music to a T. But if you're in the mood for quiet, contemplative artistry, you won't find a better provider in general (and especially from this year) than Miss Lana, whose honeyed vocals pair so well with her words both barbed and introspective, in equal measure. The religious interludes (a gospel choir opens the album, snippets from a megachurch pastor's sermon make up an entire track on the album, church music samples run throughout the tracklist) add even more heft and nuance to the enigmatic del Rey, an underrated and underappreciated poet of our time.
Best Track: "Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he's deep-sea fishing"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "A&W", "Let The Light In"
1. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You // Caroline Polachek
As you might have surmised from my meandering intro, very few albums struck me as memorable this year, and arguably none have won me over on first listen. But for one exception: if it didn't immediately grip me on first listen, it surely wasn't later than the second listen that Caroline Polachek's fourth album (as a solo artist) floored me. The alt-pop star has been adored in indie and alternative circles for some time now, but with Desire, she makes a genuine play for the hyperpop throne. A wild, sweeping tracklist plays like a cosmic gumbo of the best instincts from the likes of Björk, Enya, Charli XCX and even Shakira. There are fast songs, there are slow songs, there are happy songs, there are sad songs, there are horny songs, there are heartache songs. But you know what songs don't appear? Bad songs.
Best Track: "Bunny Is A Rider"
Silver and Bronze Medals: "Blood and Butter", "Sunset"
If you're interested, please see my Best of 2023 playlist linked here! It features tracks from every album in the Top 10 of this article, as well as an assortment of some beloved individual singles.
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