The 40(ish) Best Records of 2023
This was the first year in many years that I did not listen to as much new music as I would have liked or as I usually would have, and yet, I was still hard-pressed to find only 40(ish) records from 2023 to put on this list.
The irony of publishing this list every year for the past decade is that I truly dislike “ranking” the quality of any artist’s work. Art creation is deeply personal, more so for some creators than physical acts of intimacy. The personal nature of art is subjective, yet we feel compelled to judge art objectively. So, in deference to the creative acts delivered this year, I will do them this year in grade school roll-call style, in alphabetical order.
?? You can find these records and many honorable mentions on either of my Best of 2023 playlists on Apple Music and Spotify.
As always, my year-end playlists are meant to be used as “maps,” with each song guiding you to each release.
May these pieces of work move you and yours as much as they did I and mine.
Actress - LXXXVIII
the most accessible album he’s ever released.
Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions
the best album with the best song about pigeons.
Anish Kumar - A Mixtape By Anish Kumar
the most likely to make both you and everyone in your family dance with abandon like tina from bob’s burgers.
Art School Girlfriend - Soft Landing
the most cinematically in your feelings album by a not-yet-but-soon-to-be-superstar.
Barry Can’t Swim - When Will We Land?
the album most likely to replace fred again as your little sister’s favorite electronic artist.
billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps
the best hip hop album by a producer who i smoked weed with a few times when he was my neighbor 10 years ago.
Bella Boo - DreamySpaceyBlue
the best album of breaks that don’t break down over the course of an entire record.
Blur - The Ballad of Darren
the best record of their career that you can’t believe is still going but are happy it is if you are over 35.
Brendan Angelides - Oxygen
the most emotionally inspired soundtrack to life that will make you cry without lyrics.
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
the most innovative vocal pop album that will make you question why more pop music isn’t like this.
The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling
the best electronic record by a uk duo who is aging like the finest of wines spiked with ecstasy that also features beck.
Craven Faults - Standers
the best modular synthesis that will make you cooler than most people you know just by listening to it.
DJ Shadow - Action Adventure
the best record by a true innovator making a fake soundtrack to pulpy serialized action movies that don’t exist.
Empty Country - Great American II
the most impressive album but one guy who somehow plays every single instrument on the record.
Everything But The Girl - Fuse
the most surprising album by yet another duo somehow still making music better than they did 20 years ago.
Explosions in the Sky - END
the best instrumental post-rock album by the guys who you thought only made soundtracks now.
Forest Swords - Bolted
the most burial album not written or produced by burial.
Grandbrothers - Late Reflections
the most beautiful fucking thing you will hear this year album that i played more than anything else.
HEALTH - RAT WARS
the best heavy meditation on post-industrial society and the depravity of the future and present album.
Isolée - Resort Island
the most mental vacation-inducing album with a title that matches it’s sound.
James Holden - Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities
the electronic album most resembling a v chill DMT trip with v high eq friends.
Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good!
the best modern disco album by a modern disco queen.
Josh Caffe - Poppa Zesque
领英推荐
the most uniquely dangerous take on house music album.
LP Giobbi - Light Places
the most eclectic but accessible electronic music album by a worthy artist finally receiving mainstream recognition.
M83
Fantasy
the best album by an artist who has never stopped making great music even though most people only know that one song that goes “woooo woo woooo woo”.
Mammal Hands
Gift from the Trees
the best modern jam jazz album for fans of badbadnotgood, not made by badbadnotgood.
Margo Price
Strays I and II
It is the best outlaw country album of the year by the best singer-songwriter in country music and one of the best singer-songwriters period.
Militarie Gun
Life Under The Gun
the best hardcore punk album by the best LA band leading a new wave of excellent hardcore punk bands.
Nation of Language
Strange Disciple
the most throw indie dance synth album of the year for people who grew up on mid-2000s indie dance synth music.
Nathan Micay
To The God Named Dream
the most engaging album by one of the best and most engaging producers working across dance and electronic music.
Oceanic
Choral Feeling
the best debut electronic album of the year by a talented artist with a very bright future.
Oneohtrix Point Never
again
the most important album by the most important artist working today who is on totally different plane of existence.
Overmono
Good Lies
the most long-awaited debut album from an electronic duo that was worth the long wait.
Petey
USA
the best album avatar for growing up in the southwest as a millennial.
Sinego
Alterego
the best spanish language electronic music debut album other than sofia kourtesis.
Sleep D
Electronic Arts
the best off-kilter electronic music that you will want to see played at a warehouse party at 3am.
Slowdive
Everything Is Alive
the most significant shoegaze comeback record since their last significant shoegaze comeback record.
Sofia Kourtesis
Madres
the best spanish language electronic music debut album other than sinego.
Spiritual Cramp
Spiritual Cramp
the most ripping album of the year. seriously this rocks so hard you will feel drunk.
Wata Igarashi
Agartha
the most transcendent record to do work to or contemplate the universe.
Yazmin Lacey
Voice Notes
the most subdued and sexy but soulfully and sonically impactful album.
Yussef Dayes
Black Classical Music
the best jazz record period that you can listen to for an entire day on repeat.