After listening to over 125 albums, I have collected 25 I consider to be the pinnacle of music released this year. I could have listed more, but for everyone’s sanity and convenience, I decided to limit myself to this list of 25.
I am handling this list in sections. I will list the bottom 15 briefly and then go in-depth with my top 10. Without further ado, here is my list.
25. “Unreal Unearth” by Hozier: Pop Rock, Pop Soul
24. “Space Heavy” by King Krule: Psychedelic Rock
23. “STONE” by Baroness: Sludge, Stoner Metal
22. “Quaranta” by Danny Brown: Experimental Hip-Hop
21. “Maps” by billy woods, Kenny Segal: Abstract Hip-Hop
20. “STRUGGLER” by Genesis Owusu: Synth Punk, Funk
19. “GUTS” by Olivia Rodrigo: Pop Punk
18. “the record” by boygenius: Indie Rock
17. “Lahai” by Sampha: Alternative R&B, Neo Soul
16. “That! Feels Good!” by Jessie Ware: Dance Pop, Disco
15. “The Fear of Fear” by Spiritbox: Metalcore
14. “Dogsbody” by Model/Actriz: Noise Rock
13. “Destiny 2: Lightfall (Original Soundtrack)” by Bungie: Orchestra
12. “Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua” by Ana Frango Elétrico: Funk
11. “We’re Still Here” by The HIRS Collective: Hardcore Punk
10. “Zach Bryan” by Zach Bryan: Country, Americana
Oklahoma singer-songwriter Zach Bryan comes in with the best country album of the year.
While the album goes on a bit long, what is here is an authentic, mature album that stands out among the crowd. Where other mainstream country albums have a pop-centric sound, Zach Bryan’s self-titled album is a country album with a Western vibe.
The song “Overtime” is the first standout song of the record, with a thick, Western vibe that sets the stage for the rest of the record. The brass, simple acoustic guitar and drums of this song are simple, but work well in creating a very engaging song.
Bryan’s vocals are also incredibly refreshing. Although not as refined as other country vocalists, Bryan brings a level of emotion to it that is lacking in mainstream country. Songs like “East Side of Sorrow” show off his writing chops, with multiple lyrics that feel like back-to-back gut punches.
Overall, Bryan’s self-titled album is a refreshing form of substance to a genre that has been lacking for years. On top of that, for an artist that sounds so different, to be this popular is a good thing to see.
9. “Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?” by McKinley Dixon: Jazz Rap
Virginia rapper McKinley Dizon brings a massively beautiful and thoughtful album, all in a small package.
The 28-minute record is the definition of all killer, no filler, with every song feeling fully realized. “Sun, I Rise” is an excellent tone setter with its thick bass, background vocals and vocal bars that hit so hard due to how distinct they are and how strong the lyrics are.
There is a level of penmanship here that gives Dixon a voice on this project. The way he translates his thoughts from the lyrics that go along well with the music, gives his short project so much depth.
It is impressive the amount of meaning, emotional depth and complexity this album has with its short runtime. There isn’t a lot of music here, but what is here is one of the most solid rap albums I have heard this year.
8. “Wet A** Plutonium” by Nuclear Power Trio: Instrumental, Technical Metal
For a band whose entire gimmick is making fun of political figures, they made one of the best instrumental albums of the year.
The band’s sound isn’t necessarily unique, as it falls into the same genres as other instrumental metal bands like Polyphia and Animals as Leaders, but Nuclear Power Trio is able to be technically impressive while still making music that sounds great.
The opening song, “W.A.P. (Wet A** Plutonium),” is the band flexing their technical skills as well as their songwriting. The drums are clear and quick, the guitar is nice and chunky and that bass, oh my. The bass playing in this album is some of the best I’ve heard in years. Not only is it technically strong, but it is as loud, if not louder, than the guitar, something rare in metal.
Even though this band presents itself as a joke, their music is anything but. It is some of the most technical metal music I’ve heard in quite some time that still sounds great.
7. “Blackbraid II” by Blackbraid: Indigenous Black Metal
From the depths of the Adirondack wilderness comes “Blackbraid II,” an American black metal record that may set a new standard for black metal in the United States.
Released 11 months after Blackbraid’s debut album, “Blackbraid I,” “Blackbraid II” is a large helping of calm, ethereal acoustic instrumentals and brutal, headbanging black metal. The opening track, “Autumnal Hearts Ablaze,” is a two-minute acoustic instrumental. It is pretty and thick with atmosphere, and this sound alone is enough to make this list.
Then the electric guitars come in, and the album quickly switches into one of the best black metal albums I have ever heard. The blast beats, the distorted guitars and the screams come together so well and make a coherent yet brutal experience. What I love about it is how clean it is. Black metal is known to have really, really bad production. Here, everything is clear, resulting in a much better listening experience.
What is impressive about it is this album, alongside the debut, was made by one person and independently published. Sgah’gahsowáh (Jon Krieger), the only band member, did everything here practically by himself. That would be impressive on its own, but the fact that the music itself is so good and engaging makes Blackbraid as a project that much more interesting and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
6. “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” by Lana Del Rey: Singer-Songwriter
“Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” is every bit as powerful as “Norman F*cking Rockwell,” and then some.
Clocking in at 77 minutes, her longest album to date, this album shows Lana Del Rey flexing her songwriting muscles as well as her choices in features, with this album having some big names attached to it including Jack Antonoff and Jon Batiste. All of this comes together to create what I believe to be her best album yet.
The opening song alone is enough to send shivers up my spine. “The Grants” is such a beautiful song that is reminiscent of her previous record, “Norman F*cking Rockwell,” but it sounds even more dense with deep piano drones and violin hums in the background. It is so pretty and an excellent opener to a nearly flawless album.
Lana Del Rey has always been a widely successful artist that I just didn’t get into until this year. “Norman F*cking Rockwell” was where the ground broke for me, allowing me to see Lana Del Rey in a much better light. With “Ocean Blvd,” she has cemented herself as an artist, continuing to evolve her sound as she sees fit, and it just continues to get better and better.
5. “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You” by Caroline Polachek: Art Pop
Caroline Polachek’s sophomore release brings the best pop album of the year.
The 12-song record brings back-to-back bops that never disappoint. Polachek’s energetic vocals bring so much punch that feels appreciated, given the current landscape of pop. It just makes you want to get up and move.
Alongside that are the bassy instrumentals that provide the backdrop to the setting Polachek brings on this record. It is infectious and weird, but awesome and weirdly nostalgic. I haven’t had this much fun with a pop record in quite some time and it is so refreshing to get an album of this genre album that has energy to it.
The mainstream pop scene has always been filled with a sea of mediocre hits, but it’s especially apparent nowadays, with a lot of the big pop hits not being as fun or punchy anymore. If every pop album was as energetic and fun as “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You,” the genre would be much more exciting.
4. “SAVED!” by Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter: Hymns, Appalachian Folk
“SAVED!” sees Hayter, formerly known as Lingua Ignota, separate herself from her trauma with eerie instrumentation and powerful songwriting.
As a concept album, “SAVED!” presents a troubled and challenging expression of healing. From the dense and inconsistent walls of sound to the haunting yet beautiful vocals presented by Hayter, the whole album presents itself like a church service, with this back-and-forth of Hayter preaching and singing.
Throughout the entire album, there are occasional loud bits of Hayter singing in tongues. They come out of nowhere, and jump me every time, but it’s this last bit of pain that she is reliving so she can move on and finally start healing. The final song on the album, “HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING,” is this contradiction of her singing while speaking in tongues. It leaves such an imprint on you when listening to it until, eventually, you begin to accept it.
Hayter released “SINNER GET READY” back in 2021, which was my favorite album of that year because of how bleak and sonically challenging of an experience it was. While “SAVED!” doesn’t present the same level of soul-crushing pain as her previous albums, it does show a different side of her. I will miss the sound of the albums under the Lingua Ignota name, but I am glad Hayter is in a place where she feels like she can hang up that name and still make authentic, sonically demanding music that sounds magnificent.
3. “Terrasite” by Cattle Decapitation: Technical Death Metal
Infamous death metal quintet Cattle Decapitation continues to paint a picture of the misdeeds of humankind with “Terrasite.”
Cattle Decapitation has made some of the most extreme and controversial music in metal, for nearly 25 years. With disturbing album art and walls of sound, they are pioneers of modern extreme metal. They have slowly but surely evolved their sound to match the hopelessness of their lyrics over the last decade, with “Terrasite” being their best to date.
The way the album goes from a moody, atmospheric drone into a wall of blast beats, screams, wailing guitars and fat bass on a dime sells this album for me. On top of that, it is clean. All of the instruments sound great and are very distinct, an issue I have with the band’s earlier work.
The music matches the lyrics, which continually compare humans to parasites and insects. It’s angry and hopeless, which matches the music perfectly. The messaging isn’t subtle at all, but it doesn’t need to be. If you are going to make art about how humans are continuously destroying the environment, it’s best to scare me as much as you can.
2. “SCARING THE HOES” by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown: Experimental Hip-Hop
“SCARING THE HOES” is some of the wildest hip-hop you will ever hear.
This collaboration project is something I didn’t know I needed. It is funny, it is all over the place and it is just back-to-back bangers that do exactly what the title suggests.
There is this level of unmatched energy throughout the album, with JPEGMAFIA’s unhinged production and instrumentation and Danny Brown’s lighthearted rapping. It is so absurd, but it works so, so well.
I’d also like to give the same amount of compliments to the EP, “SCARING THE HOES: DLC PACK,” which dropped shortly after the initial album release. It’s more of the off-the-wall shenanigans that made the original album so good. The beats go hard, the rapping is awesome, and the lyrics are funny. It’s just a grand old time.
My biggest mistake with my best music of 2021 list was not mentioning JPEGMAFIA’s record, “LP,” which released that year. With “SCARING THE HOES” releasing, not only does it give me more of that excellent, chaotic hip-hop I’ve been longing for, but it also gives me the chance to right a wrong.
1. “Exul” by Ne Obliviscaris: Progressive Death Metal
If the entire album were just the first single, “Equus,” it would still be my favorite album of 2023, but it also includes 40 minutes of some of the best metal music in years.
This group of five from Melbourne, Australia have come a long way from their debut record in 2012. Although the music hasn’t changed much, it has slowly become better and more focused as time went on, leading to this year with the release of “Exul.”
The drumming is spectacular, combining blast beats and double bass with slower, methodical segments. The guitar riffs and solos get my head banging, but also get me emotional with its slower, acoustic segments. The bass is like butter and it is wonderful to hear it so present in metal music.
To top it off, the two frontmen, Tim Charles and Marc “Xenoyr” Campbell, bring their A-game. Campbell’s growls and gutturals sound thick and heavy. It has never sounded better than it does on this album. Charles’ clean singing and violin are excellent and add so much depth to an already excellent album. When he hits those high notes, I always get chills.
A lot of new metal groups have entered the scene over the past decade. Polyphia, Lorna Shore, Spiritbox and so on, proving the narrative that “metal music is dying” is false. However, I rarely ever see Ne Obliviscaris’ name ever brought up, and that is a crime. These guys have been making some of the best metal music for over a decade and rarely get any credit for it. Well, that ends now.
“Exul” is my album of the year for its diverse songwriting, excellent performances and setting a new quality bar for progressive death metal and metal as a whole.
