Music: Best Albums Of 2023

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6. Robert Finley - Black Bayou

 

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5. The Arcs - Electrophonic Chronic

 

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4. Wilco - Cousin

 

[Roo Returns]

The Grammy Nominees for Album of the Year are:

World Music Radio - Jon Batiste

the record - boygenius

Endless Summer Vacation - Miley Cyrus

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey

The Age of Pleasure - Janelle Monáe

GUTS - Olivia Rodrigo

Midnights - Taylor Swift

SOS - SZA

Grammys are pretty useless. That's a meh list.

The SZA album technically came out the end of last year. The Grammys love to make exceptions and are more random than the situation room in Toronto (Esperanza Spalding had no business winning best new artists when she had at least two prior albums out). It's a great album though.

It would be easy to give it to Swift as a slam dunk because she's probably as big nowadays as peak 80s Michael Jackson and Madonna.

The Janelle Monae album was the longest short album I've heard in years. I miss her being funky and doing weird scifi stuff. Complete bore and the arrangements were underdeveloped.

Boygenius is a case of the individual artists being really talented and liked because the album has four great songs and the rest just meanders.

 

[plank]

3. The Nude Party - Rides On

 

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2. Eilen Jewell - Get Behind the Wheel

 

[mrgnwilliam]

I’ve enjoyed Zach Bryan , Mil-Spec, Spiritual Cramp, Beach Fossils, Home Front and Militaire Gun releases.

 

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1. Kassi Valazza - Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing

 

[Say Hey Kid]

5.

4.

3.

2.

1. ​

 

[WeThreeKings]

1. Melanie Martinez - Portals
2. Daughter - Stereo Mind Game
3. Beaches - Blame My Ex
4. The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein
5. Holly Humberstone - Paint My Bedroom Black

HM:
The National - Laugh Track
Lights - ded
Boygenius - The Record
Glaive - I Care So Much That I Really Don't Care At All
Gregory Alan Isakov - Appaloosa Bones
1989 Taylor's Version (since its a re-release, I won't rank it top 5)
Speak Now Taylor's Version

 

[Thucydides]

Was a great year for female artists

Hm: Caroline Polachek - Desire
Hm: tomb mould - the enduring spirit

5. Wednesday - rat saw dog
4. L’Rain - I killed your dog
3. Joanna Sternberg - I’ve got me
2. Sufjan Stevens - javelin
1. Julie Byrne - the greater wings

 

[plank]

Late addition that would have made my top 10.

The Third Mind - The Third Mind/2

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I still haven't listened to much, but I have Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz - Ex Machina in my top 2.

 

[Sleemans]

1. Julie Byrne - the greater wings

This is my #1 of 2023 as well.

 

[The Marquis]

I think I'm ready to narrow down a top 10 favorite albums for the year:

1. Zaho De Sagazan - La Symphonie Des Eclairs
2. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
3. Lies - Lies
4. Nation of Language - Strange Disciple
5. Christine and the Queens - Paranoia, Angels, True Love
6. Damien Jurado - Motorcycle Madness
7. Slow Pulp - Yard
8. boygenius - The Record
9. Julies - Always & Always
10. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

HM:
Damien Jurado - Sometimes You Hurt the Ones You Hate
Blondshell - Blondshell
Indigo de Souza - All of This Will End

 

[Saturated Fats]

I listened to a lot of music this year. It was a good year, but perhaps not a great one. A lot of 'comeback' albums, or unexpected gems from artists who I'd written off. Here are 32 albums I loved this year, in order. There were many more, but this is 32 of them.

1. Anjimile - The King
2. Meshell Ndegeocello - The Omnichord Real Book
3. Danny Brown - Quaranta
4. Corinne Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows
5. Ben Folds - What Matters Most
6. Fiddlehead - Death is Nothing to Us
7. Art School Girlfriend - Soft Landing
8. HMLTD - The Worm
9. MSPAINT - Post-American
10. James Blake - Playing Robots Into Heaven
11. Kara Jackson - Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
12. Margo Price - Strays
13. Mick Jenkins - The Patience
14. Mandy, Indiana - I've seen a way
15. Genesis Owusu - Struggler
16. billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps
17. Panchiko - Failed at Math(s)
18. B.C. Camplight - The Last Rotation of Earth
19. Kimbra - A Reckoning
20. Temple of Angels - Endless Pursuit
21. Oneohtrix Point Never - Again
22. Paul Simon - Seven Psalms
23. Lost Girls - Selvutsletter
24. Glen Hansard - All That Was East is West of Me Now
25. Teeth of the Sea - Hive
26. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - VOIR DIRE
27. Wilco - Cousin
28. Paris, Texas - MID AIR
29. Mitski - The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
30. Fatboi Sharif & Steel Tipped Dove - Decay
31. ANHONI - My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross
32. Grian Chatten - Chaos for the Fly

 

[The Marquis]

Adding an honorable mention for the album “La Notte” by Ariete. Good little intelligent Italian alt indie pop record.

 

[reckoning]

So 2023 was the year I fully embraced streaming with the intention of discovering lots of new artists. So naturally my top 10 of the year is primarily made up of artists I listened to back in the 20th century:

1. Natalie Merchant - Keep Your Courage
2. PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying
3. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
4. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings
5. Mitski - This Land Is Inhospitable...
6. Blondshell - Blondshell
7. Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us....
8. Cowboy Junkies - Such Ferocious Beauty
9. Peter Gabriel - I/O
10. Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

 

[mrgnwilliam]

Blondshell album is great

 

[The Marquis]

Another honorable mention for my list for this year is Spira by Daniela Pes. Hadn't heard it until today, but it's really pretty great. Experimental minimalist indie... uh... electronica? If I'd had more time to listen, it may have made my top 10.

 

[Cas]

My final top ten for 2023:

1. King Gizzard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse
2. Spirit Possession - Of the Sign...
3. Hellripper - Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags
4. Swords of Dis - Melancholia
5. Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance
6. Odz Manouk - Tzurr
7. One of Nine - Eternal Sorcery
8. Oros Kau - Thanatos
9. Panopticon - The Rime of Memory
10. Meurtrieres - Ronde de Nuit

 

[GKJ]

So 2023 was the year I fully embraced streaming with the intention of discovering lots of new artists. So naturally my top 10 of the year is primarily made up of artists I listened to back in the 20th century:

1. Natalie Merchant - Keep Your Courage
2. PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying
3. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
4. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings
5. Mitski - This Land Is Inhospitable...
6. Blondshell - Blondshell
7. Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us....
8. Cowboy Junkies - Such Ferocious Beauty
9. Peter Gabriel - I/O
10. Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

Natalie Merchant is a capital-Q Queen so I get it.

 

[Sentinel]

1. PRIMAL FEAR "Code Red" (****1/2)
2. POWERWOLF "Interludium" (****1/2)
3. KAMELOT "The Awakening" (****)
4. DORO "Conqueress -- Forever Strong And Proud" (****)
5. OVERKILL "Scorched" (****)

Not a great year overall. Only a handful of good releases.