Best Releases of 2023
60 seconds make a minute… 60 minutes make an hour… 60 songs make the year.
From the Doja Cat to JPEGMAFIA, rejecting commercial norms has seemingly never been more commercially acceptable in music. Seen unavoidably from Swift’s Eras Tour to Knowles’ Renaissance World Tour, music is echoing through the zeitgeist, but the Billboard Charts have struggled to reflect the niche subculturing of music consumption—most notably seen through the renaissances in house and shoegaze.
As a new dawn rises for afrobeats and reggaeton, 2023 shines as the first in seven years where rap isn’t the largest genre in the world. However, the underground sound proliferates as Griselda’s influence makes waves via Drake’s “8AM in Charlotte,” Tyler, the Creator’s “SORRY NOT SORRY” and the Alchemist’s collabs with rapper after rapper. Additionally, Yeat’s “IDGAF”’s contagious, newborn rage sound outshines the more orthodox team-up of two (perhaps now, old-gen) icons J. Cole and Drake on “First Person Shooter”—just as Ken Carson’s A Great Chaos outsells Migos’ Offset’s solo outing. With mysterious producers like EvilGiane allying with names as big as Kendrick Lamar, could it be said that mainstream rap is just having some growing pains?
Despite being a low point for blockbuster albums, many gems still dazzled through the rough. However, there’s only space for 60 songs on this list. Hopefully, there’s still a little something for everyone…
(As time goes on, the arbitrary lines stratifying genre have faded as sound is more classified by audience, mood, and setting than instrumentation nowadays. For spots 60-41, I’ve offered the more traditional genre but also a more niche descriptor alongside it.)
60. FAMJAM3000 by Jordan Ward
Genre: Alternative R&B // Suite Pop/AirB&B (as opposed to Bedroom Pop)
59. Rush by Troye Sivan
Genre: Euro House // Pride
58. 2024 by Playboi Carti
Genre: Southern Hip Hop // The Heart Part V but for Rick Owens Shoppers
57. Amapiano by Asake & Olamide
Genre: Afrobeats // Auntie Music
56. rose by jaydes
Genre: Shoegaze // Post-PluggnB
55. To be honest by Christine and the Queens
Genre: Art Pop // Androgynous Angelic Space Opera
54. Te Mata by Kali Uchis
Genre: Bolero // “Hola, soy yo. Soy el problema, soy yo.” Telenovela Theme
53. MY HOUSE by Beyonce
Genre: Southern House // Afro-Utopian House
52. Only Have Eyes 42 by Janelle Monae
Genre: Pop Reggae // Modern Oldie
51. DND (feat. Kenny Mason) by Paris Texas
Genre: Alternative Rap Rock // Multi-Hyphenate
50. Contact by Kelela
Genre: Breakbeat // Nocturnal House
49. Run, Run, Run by McKinley Dixon
Genre: Jazz Rap // Slam Poetry Rap
48. FANTASMA | AVC by Tainy & Jhayco
Genre: Reggaeton // Latino-Futurism
47. Jenn’s Terrific Vacation by Danny Brown
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop // Beats on Gentrified Streets
46. enknee1 by hemlocke springs
Genre: Synth Pop // Internet Fempop
45. Younger & Dumber by Indigo De Souza
Genre: Alt-Country // City Girl Country
44. The Gods Must Be Crazy by Armand Hammer & EL-P
Genre: Abstract Hip Hop // Anti-Colonial Rap
43. plz don't cut my wings (feat. Earl Sweatshirt) by MIKE
Genre: Abstract Hip Hop // Lyrical Mumble Rap
42. I Been Young by George Clanton
Genre: Psychedelic Breakbeat // American Britpop
41. How Much is Weed? by Dominic Fike
Genre: Pop Rap // A24 Coming of Age
(Spots 40-31 beg for a little rumination.)
40. KITCHEN LIGHTS by Westside Gunn & Stove God Cooks
Genre: East Coast Gangsta Rap // Dirty Designer Rap
How many different ways can they rap about cocaine?
39. Oral by Bjork & Rosalia
Genre: Downtempo Reggaeton // Pixie Dancehall
Two icons from different eras team up to save the fishies.
38. Seaforth by King Krule
Genre: Bedroom Rock // Nautical Byronic Hero Soundtrack
A song to listen to while trapped in a submersible.
37. The Blades by Squid
Genre: Post-Brexit Post-Punk // YA Novel Revolution Anthem
The kids are not alright.
36. Fighting My Demons by Ken Carson
Genre: Rage Rap // Vampire Trap
Belongs in an AMV of Yuji Itadori fighting Mahito in Jujutsu Kaisen’s Shibuya Arc.
35. The Caliphate (feat. Vince Staples) by Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist
Genre: Cloud Rap // Black FX Drama Soundtrack
Vince and Earl are hip hop’s most underrated noble duo.
34. Chosen by Navy Blue
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop // Black Superhero Music
"The way he strings words together and namedrops bell hooks as he takes control of the beat is just full of the exaggerated swagger of a Black teen."
33. Any Time of Day by the Lemon Twigs
Genre: Baroque Rock // Lost in Time
Talk about drama kings.
32. Star by Mitski
Genre: Art Pop // Touchy Memory Scene Score
Top 15 Songs to Die to.
31. Crushing by Eartheater
Genre: Indie // Stomach Butterflies
So jealous of whoever this song is about.
(Tracks 30-11 are so sweet they’ve inspired me to write these haikus summing up their themes/messages or reviewing the track.)
30. Heaven Surrounds Me Like a Hood by Yves Tumor
Genre: Art Rock // Dark Fantasy Protagonist Leitmotif
Rappers dub themselves
"Rockstars," but they are too scared.
Not Yves Tumor, though.
29. New Joy by Slauson Malone 1
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia // Whatever Genre The Inside of My Mind Is
Row my way through a stream of consciousness -- neurologic odyssey.
28. dazies by yeule
Genre: Shoegaze // Transhumanist Fempop
This moody cyberpunk earcandy is the music Grimes thinks she makes.
27. I Care by Fabiana Palladino & Jai Paul
Genre: Synthpop // Synth Motown
I care for this song.
Sincerity frightens most,
But, this time, not me.
26. Let Me Go by Daniel Caesar
Genre: Neo Soul // Comfort Music
Sometimes, you just need
Someone to hold your hand and
Say, “It will be fine.”
25. Jonathan L. Seagull by Sampha
Genre: Choral R&B // Soft Life
The grass is greener on the other side only if you water it.
24. Capable of love by PinkPantheress
Genre: Alternative Breakbeat // Y2K Earworm
Aughts: Military agitprop… Mean Girls…. Just missing Kelly Clarkson.
23. Locals (Girls like us) [with gabby start] by underscores
Genre: Hyperpop // 2010’s Recession Psyop Pop
A sonic horseshoe --
Went so far forward that it
Returned to the start.
22. drive ME crazy! by Lil Yachty & Diana Gordon
Genre: Psychedelic Neo-Soul // “Real Music”
His ego aside,
You can't ignore this is a
Bottle of sunshine.
21. Now and Then by The Beatles
Genre: Baroque Rock // “Born in the Wrong Generation”
New GTA, Beatles song, and layoffs from A.I.; the future is now.
20. Mother Nature by MGMT
Genre: Psychedelic Rock // Hobbit Music
A call to action
-- indie’s two odd golden boys --
they return once more.
19. Hollywood Baby by 100 Gecs
Genre: Hyperpop // Post-Ironic Pop Punk
An earworm between “It’s Raining Tacos” and Weezer’s “Beverly Hills”
18. Soft Landing by billy woods & Kenny Segal
Genre: Abstract Rap // Post-Apocalyptic Hip Hop
Late capitalism:
Birds flying high, bombs dropping.
Are you feeling good?
17. Suspended by Sampha
Genre: Art R&B // Auditory Vertigo
Sounds of the liminal silence between “I love you” and the response.
16. SCARING THE HOES by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
Genre: Experimental Rap // Haunted Strip Club Radio
Despite the porno,
I weirdly believe that ‘hoe’
Is a metaphor.
15. Telekinesis (feat. Future & SZA) by Travis Scott
Genre: Symphonic Rap // Gospel Rap Minus the Gospel
Heaven isn't a place.
More a unique state of mind,
Angels and sirens.
14. Bull Believer by Wednesday
Genre: Shoegaze Grunge // Female Rage/Despair ZoomerGaze
Chilling banshee wails.
Parasitic wrath swallowed.
Apathy greets you.
13. Not Strong Enough by boygenius
Genre: Jangle Pop // LGBT Live Church Performance
Womanhood? Mary. Taylor Swift. RBG. Hunter Schafer. And Barbie.
12. why does the earth give us people to love? by Kara Jackson
Genre: Singer-Songwriter // Hopeless Romantic Poetry
Between Blonde and Sumney’s Aromanticism, a black woman blossoms.
11. MY EYES by Travis Scott
Genre: Psychedelic Hip Hop // Batman’s Aux
A day in the life of a star; night with some Houston city baby.
(I could write essays about the Top 10 Songs and their respective albums, but it’d be better if you just listened to them yourself.)
10. Yum by slowthai
Genre: Industrial Hip Hop // AA Hip Hop
slowthai’s rugged opener serves as an unflattering, brutally honest self-portrait of him throughout his war with addiction. Despite the high-energy of the mechanical beat fueled by bottomless consumption, the onerous consequences of letting his lack of self-control control him catch up with him in a meteoric descent to rock bottom. Reminiscent of Danny Brown’s “Atrocity Exhibition,” slowthai shares some uncomfortably low lows, but his ugly picture of chronic sin makes his radical message of “U Gotta Love Yourself” resonate so much harder throughout the album.
9. Kingdom Hearts Key (ft. redveil) by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
Genre: Experimental Rap // Anime OST Remix
One of the biggest recent TikTok trends has been “anime rap” -- mostly stemming from rage rappers like Odetari and CORPSE. While “Kingdom Heart Key'' sets the scene in its own way, the overwhelming track clearly feels like seeing the protagonists hit 120% of their full potential as they blow through the villain’s defenses. Fledgling rapper redveil adds backup as the sole feature on the album before he even turns 19. This blinding song operates like a low-budget underground equivalent to Ye’s “Power.”
8. Turbines/Pigs - Live at Bush Hall by Black Country, New Road
Genre: Post-Brexit Post-Punk / Music Nerd Rock
Through its maudlin pianos, this track captures the scene of a jet plunging toward the nocturnal fiends of the deep sea like a discarded pearl before choosing life at the last moment like a reluctant kamikaze pilot warmed by a stranger’s uneconomical compassion. The travel-weary sunrays of love unbiasedly nurture daisies and roast roadkill. All Black Country, New Road songs sound not only live but lived in, and despite Isaac Wood’s departure, the band’s soul remains intact and airborne.
7. Vampire Empire by Big Thief
Genre: Folk // Car Commercial Indie
This record mirrors a lost era in pop music before the rise of TikTok (and Harry Styles’ commandeering of the indie sound) where each year only had a couple of token wistful One Hit Wonders like Sylvan Esso, the Lumineers, or Portugal. The Man that got popular from Apple product advertisements. This standalone single sets itself apart with a heart-grinding third verse proving the volatile power of Adrianne Lenker’s voice as an emotionally draining house of cards of a relationship caustically crumbles around her.
6. Found! by Portraits of Tracy
Genre: Indie Pop / Prog Bedroom Pop
In a legacy featuring controversial names like Quadeca and Aries, Tracy Bowman is the newest YouTube personality turned musician to prove their worth. This dramatic kaleidoscope of sound is beacon to all the artsy misfits questing for community. Floating somewhere between Childish Gambino’s “Pink Toes” and Kevin Abstract’s “Baby Boy,” “Found!” is an indie gem leading scavengers to Bowman’s goldmine of an album.
5. SORRY NOT SORRY by Tyler, the Creator
Genre: Alternative Hip Hop // Griselda/Wes Anderson Collab
From a disturbed cockroach-eating delinquent to a bomber hat-donning bisexual capitalist vagabond, Tyler Okonma has seen it all -- and self-admittedly made some mistakes along the way. After IGOR’s gay neo-soul love triangle, crossing paths with Westside Gunn rekindled his love for rap, inspiring him to pick up the microphone for this pulpy pastel anti-hero monologue with at-times tongue-in-cheek honesty.
4. Double Trio by By Storm (formerly Injury Reserve)
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz Rap // Post-Rap
Grief never ends; it just gets smaller with moments of periodic relapse. Following the death of member Jordan Groggs, Injury Reserve returns as By Storm with this heart-stopping debut further pushing the limits of rap. Members Parker Corey and Ritchie with a T accept the duty to pick up the pieces and respectfully carry the dead with them in their work. In the same vein as 2021’s Donda and their previous album By the Time I Get to Phoenix, they prove the chthonic power of music to keep the dead alive.
3. Shit Talk by Sufjan Stevens
Genre: Chamber Folk // Love Language Indie
Exercising the biblical power of the tongue, Sufjan Stevens wheezes with sincerity for all 8 minutes of Javelin’s four-part climax “Shit Talk.” The ethereal strings and fuzzy synthesizers lovingly swaddle the listener before lifting them into paradise to find whatever they have been yearning for from birth. In honor of the memory of his dead partner, Stevens decries the unnecessary diatribes spit during nasty arguments in favor of healing and intimacy.
2. A&W by Lana del Rey
Genre: Americana/Trip-Hop // Dark Fempop
Despite Time Magazine’s crowned Person of the Year’s inescapable success and unending relevance, Lana Del Rey’s “A&W” may be a more accurate depiction of womanhood for the average American in 2023. The track tragically recounts Grants’ sashay into adulthood and her exponential loss of innocence before seamlessly transitioning into the euphoric second half with one of the most tantalizing basslines and catchy choruses of the decade on her most impressive album since 2019.
1. Burfict! by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
Genre: Experimental Rap // Street Fighter Core
With fanfare and tribal thuds, Danny Brown teleports into the track, delivering his signature jittery vocals before JPEGMAFIA explosively swoops from overhead for support. The production evokes the rush of watching a monumental Mega-Zord fight on Saturday morning or staying up to catch new shōnen episodes on Toonami. Every ear-splitting 808 echoes the land of another critical attack (or Black Flash if you want to keep the anime metaphor). With anarchic triumphance, Barrington and Sewell tag-team to prove that hip hop still has some tricks under its sleeve and won’t be dead for a while.