Joshua's Best Albums of 2023
Hello Reader, thank you for giving me a chance, and thanks to The Couch for having me! I have enjoyed reading past years’ lists for music, movies, and TV, often finding new gems. A few things to know about me and preface this list: Note this is a list of my favorites and makes no claim of being the best - I love how diverse and subjective music is. Also, the rankings on this list could change based on my mood, life experiences, repeated listens, etc. I am a drummer and singer with a strong affinity for groove and harmony. I find music primarily from: Hanif Abdurraqib’s Instagram stories, friend recommendations, artists I’ve liked in the past, Spotify’s creepily good algorithm.
The narrative writing generally gets longer as we get farther down in order of my favorites, so read as much as you’re interested in. Each lists a few of my favorite tracks from the album, which are compiled in a playlist here. If you want to just listen to those, I won’t be offended, but remember my favorites might not be your favorites.
If you like any of these or the way I’m thinking about them, friend, do I have the playlist for you! "Beets (sic)” on Spotify, an eclectic mix I’ve been making monthly since 2018. If you don’t have Spotify, I share the tracklist each month on my Instagram where you can also find the last three years’ of my favorite album lists.
Now, let’s get to it! Here are 23 albums I loved in '23:
23. CLUSTERFUNK // Ric Wilson
Dance-inducing, and very fun, funk. Chromeo and A-Trak help Wilson center his sing-song hip-hop sound in an album that feels so natural that it could have come out in several different decades.
Favorite Songs: "Pay It No Mind", "Gimmi A Minnit", "Git Up Off My Neck"
22. Some Mississippi Sunday Morning // Parchman Prison Prayer
If you’re at all interested in an album of a capella worship songs recorded by incarcerated folks, I’ll just recommend this write-up in the New Yorker as it’s more thoughtful and knowledgeable than I am.
Favorite Songs: "Solve My Need", "Hosanna", "I Give Myself Away"
21. Enigmatic Society // Dinner Party
The jazz/r&b supergroup returns after their 2020 debut which I loved. Such a smooth and pleasant listen with complex and tasty chords and saxophone. “Love Love” is a 2023 R&B equivalent of the Mr. Rogers classic “It’s You I Like.”
Favorite Songs: "Love Love", "The Lower East Side", "Breathe"
20. Salvage Enterprise // The Polyphonic Spree
If you’re familiar with the Spree, you’ll find this album is much calmer in energy. I enjoyed it, though not as much as previous ones. If you aren’t familiar with them, I’d recommend one of their first three albums to introduce you to the 15-25 member band unless you want to jump straight to chill.
Favorite Songs: "Open The Shores", "Galloping Seas"
19. Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) // jamie branch
A highly inventive jazz album that takes risks and steps confidently into other genres and terrains. I don’t listen to much experimental new era jazz, but I really enjoyed this. I was really sad to learn that branch, a brilliant trumpet player and composer, recorded this shortly before her death.
Favorite Songs: "the mountain", "borealis dancing", "take over the world"
18. Water Made Us // Jamila Woods
A vulnerable and self-assured album about love and personal discovery. Woods is one of my favorite artists, and while, as a whole, I did not love this album as much as their first two, the songs that hit still really hit. “Tiny Garden” is a 2023 anthem.
Favorite Songs: "Tiny Garden", "Good News", "I Miss All My Exes"
17. Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? // Kara Jackson
Listening to this, I thought “this feels like it was written as a spoken word poem and then set to music”. Then I googled her name and found out Jackson was the third U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate in 2019. I’m really fascinated by her voice, the low milky tone and, especially, how she slips and slides between notes in ways I haven’t heard before. If you give it a listen, I must warn that she pulls no punches.
Favorite Songs: "no fun/party", "dickhead blues"
16. A Crisis of Faith at the Death of a Loved One // Clean Cut Kid
The lyrics are as arrestingly direct and vulnerable as the album title, and the music has an intricate indie-folk bounce. My goodness, did Michael Halls do some heavy internal and creative work to bring this tender and helpful project into the world. This album came out last month and I expect it will be higher on my list with more listens.
Favorite Songs: "Death Narrative", "You’ve Got This", "Black Suit"
15. Gold // Cleo Sol
I had heard Sol’s voice in SAULT and Little Simz projects, but never listened to her solo work. Gold, her second album in 2023, is so positive, emotionally forthright, and hopeful that some might find it off-putting. I found her sincere clarity refreshing.
Favorite Songs: "Things Will Get Better", "Gold"
14. Flowers At Your Feet // Rahill
Rahill’s voice feels reminiscent of folk in the forward storytelling lyrics and meandering melodies with relatively limited range. The surrounding instrumentation spans a wider array of genres. Altogether, a mix of Eastern and Western music traditions melded with an earnest yearning for childhood creates a unique and welcoming sonic world.
Favorite Songs: "Fables", "Tell Me", "Bended Light"
13. somebody in hell loves you // Sydney Sprague
Sprague’s debut album was my second favorite of 2021. This sophomore effort builds on her catchy and cutting version of indie pop punk. The songs are more polished, while still personal, honest, and relevant for those of us that find current times jading. I will say, none were home runs for me the way my favorite two from the last album were. I enjoyed seeing Sprague live in November and finding she is even more charming and personable than I imagined.
Favorite Songs: "smiley face", "sketching lessons", "data analysis"
12. Black Rainbows // Corinne Bailey Rae
This album is remarkably ambitious–10 songs spanning more than 5 distinct genres–yet somehow an impressively cohesive project. I happily laughed out loud my first listen because I couldn’t believe Bailey Rae put this together so well. If you’re expecting Put Your Records On, prepare to have your mind blown with everything from hard rock to experimental jazz and electronica. Her voice shines and adapts in each environment with lyrics boldly traversing from internal reflection to histories of racial oppression and beauty standards. This level of experimentation in music and subject matter was a result of her extended fellowship at Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank, a historical archive and hub for artistic innovation.
Favorite Songs: "Erasure", "He Will Follow You With His Eyes", "Peach Velvet Sky"
11. Got Him! // Ethan Tasch
I really enjoyed this Americana/country-tinged album. Tasch’s mix of rhythmic acoustic guitar and soaring lap-steel results in a balanced and varied sound. His voice, calm yet full, sounds like multiple overlaid vocal tracks in unison creating a warm and mysterious tone. Melodies feel as if they are pulsing in a circular motion while the personal and emotion-filled lyrics often use metaphor in funny and poignant ways.
Favorite Songs: "Holdup", "Shell", "Tetherball"
And now, for my Top 10:
10. THE ONE AFTER ME // Seinabo Sey
I played Sey’s 2021 EP Sweet Life on repeat and was bummed when it didn’t land in a full album. This album continues a steady trajectory since her 2015 debut of moving further away from direct pop radio sensibilities toward more soul/R&B experimentation. While the songs don’t hook me in the same way as the last project, I especially love what she does with dense melodic layering of vocal harmonies, winds, and strings. Her voice continues to fascinate me - rich yet cutting, always with a hint of rasp and breath. Hybridity is ever-apparent in her blending of Black-American, European, and African rhythms and melodies, which naturally reflects her Swedish-Gambian upbringing.
Favorite Songs: "NEED YOU", "YES", "HEAVY"
9. Solar Music // Butcher Brown
Here’s the first sentence of their Spotify bio since I’d just be poorly paraphrasing: “Butcher Brown makes ‘solar music’, forward-thinking, expansive hybrids of jazz and hip-hop infused with elements of funk, soul, rock, and every other sound under the sun”. Their unique blend is truly remarkable, innovative, and just so dang fun to groove to. The first time I heard “No Way Around It”, I was in the grocery aisle with headphones on and found myself publicly dancing involuntarily. If you give this a listen, I suggest you do so with amplification that has decent bass.
Favorite Songs: "No Way Around It", "I Can Say To You", "Around For A While"
8. Light, Dark, Light Again // Angie McMahon
These songs cover real internal reflection/work, mental health, and relationships with raw and generous authenticity. Her voice is big and deep, reminiscent of Florence + the Machine. I love that she doesn’t shy away from the low Alto notes. A sophomore album that is maybe less chart-friendly than the first, but deserves just as much recognition and shows real artistic growth and risk-taking.
Favorite Songs: "Letting Go", "Saturn Returning", "Staying Down Low", "Serotonin"
7. Sundial // Noname
After a 5 year hiatus and possible retirement, Noname’s third album finally arrived, and I for one was not disappointed. Her conversational laid-back rapping thrives atop excellent and diverse production moving seamlessly across gospel, lo-fi hip hop, latin, and jazz. “namesake” is probably my favorite rap song of the year - the drums, bass, and her voice layer for a stank-face inducing groove under incisive lyrics calling out militarism, capitalism, and the NFL. She openly implicates everyone, including herself, explicitly. All this while still running her book club supporting libraries and Black-owned bookstores and donating books to prisons. We’ve come to expect no less from the radically honest, musically and philosophically brilliant, community-focused, ahead-of-her-time artist who continues to live out her values better than most. I just hope we can continue to see how remarkable it is that she lives up to the unfair expectations instead of finding another less public-facing way to pay the rent.
Favorite Songs: "namesake", "hold me down", "potentially the interlude"
6. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You // Caroline Polachek
This album is unlike anything else I regularly listen to in more ways than one, and I’m grateful to two trusted friends, Daniel and Diane, for recommending it. I was immediately captivated by Polachek’s voice. The variance in sound and inflection, and the control with which she changes tone and pitch is remarkable. I honestly assumed a fair amount of electronic modification was contributing to her vocal runs until I watched her Tiny Desk Concert and saw her raw voice do just about everything I was enamored with. Her maximalism and embrace of elaborate and unconventional vocal flourishes remind me most of Björk and Imogen Heap, but I feel she is taking steps beyond them. The instrumentation and production is also beautiful and expansive. If nothing else, I recommend you listen to “Pretty In Possible” just to be surprised at what one set of human vocal chords can do.
Favorite Songs: "Bunny Is A Rider", "I Believe", "Sunset"
5. NO THANK YOU // Little Simz
This was released on 12/12/22, so I consider it a 2023 album. Announced 1 week before its release, and coming only 14 months after her expansive 2021 album (one of my favorites), I wasn’t expecting another project this soon and of this high quality. It turns out Simz had to cancel her 2022 US tour because it wasn’t financially viable, so she pivoted and did an entire new album. I’m grateful she did, both because we got this project, and because I got to see her live this year. It’s clear she’s better for those trials, with this album and her live show oozing confidence and purpose. While her Nigerian heritage and musical style often took center-stage in the last album, this one’s recurring backbone is a gospel choir and laid back snare-heavy drums. Her creative control seems to know no bounds; she’s also in the cast of a Netflix series, and her music video for “Gorilla” is impeccable. Also, a Black Brit of Yoruba descent intentionally pronouncing “No Merci” as “No Mercy” is as funny as it is bold.
Favorite Songs: "Silhouette", "No Merci", "Gorilla"
4. the record // boygenius
If you’re like me or have similar friend circles, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker teaming up as a supergroup in 2018 was incredible news. This year’s full-length debut outshines that initial EP and deserves its critical acclaim. What amazes me most is the level of synergy - in vocals, lyrics, and style. Potential supergroup pitfalls are many: members won’t take the backseat, songwriting is not collaborative, the sound isn’t distinct, songs feel like rejects from other projects, etc. None of these befall boygenius. Four songs feature vocalists equally, while each singer leads two or three of the remaining tunes. Those with each singer taking a verse feel like seamless group storytelling. I have yet to see a press picture where they aren’t carefully matching outfits. The harmonies are transcendent both in that they feel ethereal, and that they rise above the limits of any one of their voices. This album feels like the famed 15th century Trinity icon that’s composition centers around the outline of the three figures’ bodies forming a circle resisting the viewer stopping at any single figure, with each of their faces looking toward the other in conversation and submission. Given the album cover, I think it’s fair to say boygenius was reaching for something beyond the current music world, and I believe they achieved it.
P.S. a few weeks ago they released this otherworldly cover, seated in a circle looking at each other.
Favorite Songs: "True Blue", "Not Strong Enough", "Without You Without Them"
3. Messy // Olivia Dean
A delightful pop album with rhythmic and melodically complex hooks. Olivia’s voice is effortless, warm, and entrancing. The arrangements and instrumentation compliment her well, building up and adding interest while never distracting from her lead. The album has all the hallmarks of a classic full-length debut from someone that’s been releasing music for 4 years: polished, distinct, and cohesive sound with wall-to-wall hits. Here’s hoping she can strike gold again on the sophomore effort, preferably with a broader range of subject matter. “The Hardest Part” should be on every pop radio station. “No Man” could easily be an Adele record. “UFO” was one of my favorite opening tracks in a year of great opening tracks.
Favorite Songs: "The Hardest Part", "Dive", "UFO", "Ladies Room"
2. Oh Me Oh My // Lonnie Holley
I can’t remember if I first found this album because Bon Iver guests on a track or because Hanif Abdurraqib praised it on Instagram, but their collective endorsement led me to give it a listen and I am grateful I did. With no prior knowledge of Holley, by the end of the first song I understood him to be a Southern Black elder imparting wisdom to anyone who would listen. Three songs in, I felt like I was meditating with his guiding instructions: “I suggest you all go as deep as you can”. At track 5, Holley recounts his experience at Mount Meigs, a notoriously abusive Alabama state correctional facility for Black boys. His personal resilience is certainly apparent, but it’s his artistic, poetic, and hope-filled creative generosity that brought me back to this album throughout the year. Producer Jacknife Lee skillfully sculpts the surrounding musical environments for Holley’s words and voice; at times atmospheric and fleeting, others rhythmic and marching, and others appropriately chaotic. While the least musically accessible of my 10 favorite albums (no typical verse/chorus structures, as many words spoken as are sung), if André 3000's instrumental flute album can outsell Kodak Black and Lil Wayne this year, maybe there’s a bigger audience for Holley than I would have guessed - give it a try.
Favorite Songs: "Oh Me Oh My", "Kindness Will Follow Your Tears", "I Am A Part Of The Wonder"
1. Proof of Life // Joy Oladokun
Despite not having heard Oladokun until this year, her voice and this album feel so familiar to me at this point that it’s hard to know what to say here. So I’ll just tell you what this means to me instead of trying to sell it (but check the guest artist list if you need selling!). I heard this album and really loved it, so I saw her live in August with no other knowledge. She spoke about having depression and growing up as a queer Black person in a conservative Christian environment. 2023 was a year of re-addressing my own depression with more intention as well as healing from past church hurt and figuring out how to feel at home as a white straight masculine person in a new queer Black church. After this, I dove further in, enjoying and connecting with her previous work while finding that this album paired more complex melodies and arrangements with her emotionally transparent lyrics. I saw her live a second time and solidified the following: she is as earnest in her speaking as in her writing; she is a talented guitarist; her live cover of “Rocket Man” is one of my favorites.
Joy consistently manages something I long for in music that few are able to do–honestly conveying the depth of painful and difficult things with an unflinching hope and focus on interconnectedness. Thanks to this album and those concerts, my 2023 was indelibly stamped with Proof of Life.
Favorite Songs: "Changes", "Somehow", "Taking Things for Granted", "We’re All Gonna Die", "Wild Enough" (bonus track on the deluxe version)
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