2023: The Year In Music

2023 – The “Barbenheimer” trend dominates cinemas. LeBron James becomes the all-time highest scorer in NBA history. Donald Trump is indicted by a grand jury on 31 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first current or former president to be charged with a crime. Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour generates over a billion dollars. King Charles III is coronated. The Titan submersible implodes. Twitter is renamed “X” after Elon Musk’s acquisition. The Israel-Hamas war begins. I remember how crazy 2023 was for news … so let’s see if the music is memorable too!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

2022: The Year In Music

2021: The Year In Music

“Getting Killed” (Geese) – Every Song Ranked

2015: The Year In Music

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – I’m Good [Blue] (David Guetta & Bebe Rexha)

Good lord. This is exactly what music shouldn’t be.

“I’m Good (Blue)” is a remix of that “Blue ba boo dee ba boo da” song, and they add some cringey lyrics about partying whilst stealing the same melody. This is the epitome of laziness.

9 – Snooze (SZA)

A nice, chill song. “Snooze” doesn’t set a new standard but it does what it sets out to do.

8 – Fast Car (Luke Combs)

A cover of the Tracy Chapman original. It’s quite a faithful recreation … in other words, it adds nothing new to the table.

7 – Die for You (The Weeknd & Ariana Grande)

A remixed version of a song The Weeknd released in 2016 on “Starboy”. This time with Ariana Grande.

The Weeknd has some of the better production and songwriting of the era. “Die for You” is fine but nothing memorable.

6 – Calm Down (Rema & Selena Gomez)

“Calm Down” is one of those Spanish Pop songs that seem to have taken the world by storm.

I’m glad Selena Gomez is still getting work. This song is okay.

5 – Creepin’ (Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage)

ANOTHER cover / remix of a previous, better song – this time “Creepin'” remixes “I Don’t Wanna Know” but with The Weeknd singing the main hook. Why did everyone get so lazy in 2023?

I guess, if nothing else, I’m glad a version of this song exists without P. Diddy singing a verse.

4 – Anti-Hero (Taylor Swift)

The biggest song on “Midnights”, “Anti-Hero” is pretty much what I expected from Taylor Swift. A safe, widely-palatable Pop song.

3 – Kill Bill (SZA)

Ohhhh I know this song. I remember hearing this melody on radios.

“Kill Bill” is actually quite good and catchy. SZA is the MVP of the year so far for sure.

2 – Flowers (Miley Cyrus)

“Flowers”, on the other hand, is a song I heard too much on radios. They played it every goddamn day for months.

Overexposure aside, it’s fine. It’s produced well and the chorus is memorable, but it’s not the kind of song I gravitate towards.

1 – Last Night (Morgan Wallen)

Morgan Wallen is a very American artist – so much so that I don’t think his music has made it over to us in the UK yet.

Which is to say I can’t remember “Last Night” being on radios in 2023. It’s a Country song and, to be frank, the Americans can keep it.

FAVOURITE – “Kill Bill” (SZA)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “I’m Good (Blue)” (David Guetta & Bebe Rexha)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – A&W (Lana Del Rey)

“A&W” actually wasn’t in this top ten originally – “Like A Hurricane” by Neil Young was included for some reason, but I disqualified it as that’s an old song.

This is the longest song on Lana Del Rey’s album, and it’s probably the best. It’s a heart-wrenching song about trauma, and it even switches it up in the middle with a heavier beat.

9 – So You Are Tired (Sufjan Stevens)

“So You Are Tired” follows the same formula as other songs on Sufjan Stevens’ “Javelin” – it starts slow and builds to a luscious climax.

The overlapping vocals at the end are heavenly.

8 – Dancers (Black Country, New Road)

I considered disqualifying the two Black Country, New Road songs from this list as they’re both from a live album. I can’t find the songs anywhere else, however, so I think they’re still eligible for this top ten (i.e. they’re new songs which released in 2023).

Black Country, New Road are quickly becoming one of my favourite modern bands. “Dancers” is yet another grand, layered success – I’m still coming to terms with Isaac’s departure but the vocals here are still excellent.

If you think a live album’s song didn’t deserve a place, then the next ranked song was “The Narcissist” by Blur. So shout-out to them for still making high-rated music so late in their careers.

7 – Burfict! (JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown)

Dat sub-bass tho.

“Burfict!” is exactly what you’d expect from a JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown song – it’s rough around the edges and it hits like a truck.

6 – REACH THE SUNSHINE. (Lil Yachty)

The final track on Lil Yachty’s “Let’s Start Here” ends the album in style.

It’s a slower, haunting song, and the production sounds very crisp. It’s sadness encapsulated in music form.

5 – Shit Talk (Sufjan Stevens)

At eight and a half minutes, “Shit Talk” is the longest song on “Javelin” by far.

Sufjan does an excellent job of building up and down from peak moments … but I don’t know if the song needed to be this long. The last three minutes are basically just ambience – nice ambience, don’t get me wrong, but it feels like filler.

4 – God Loves You (JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown)

“God Loves You” is a step above the other songs on “SCARING THE HOES”.

It’s as chaotic as ever, but with a Gospel sample / angle which makes the song an otherworldly experience.

3 – Will Anybody Ever Love Me? (Sufjan Stevens)

Sufjan Stevens has never let me down in any of these retrospectives. “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” is yet another gorgeous song which I’ll no doubt play on repeat for days.

I love the way it plods along until that final chorus hits.

2 – Turbines / Pigs (Black Country, New Road)

“Turbines / Pigs” stands alongside Black Country, New Road’s best works. The live recording quality is phenomenal, and the songwriting is heartfelt and gorgeous. That crescendo at the end makes me a happy man.

Again, if you think a live album doesn’t deserve to have a song in this list, then the next highest-rated song was “Begin Again” by Jessie Ware. She’s one of the best artists of this decade and her songs should have made the list anyway.

1 – the BLACK seminole. (Lil Yachty)

I’m not a fan of obviously auto-tuned vocals, but otherwise “the BLACK seminole.” came as a surprise.

There’s an oldschool vibe to the track which I adore – there’s even a kind of “Maggot Brain” guitar solo in the middle.

BEST SONG OF 2023 – “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” (Sufjan Stevens)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – the record (boygenius)

boygenius is the collaboration between Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus – three successful songwriters in their own right. The result is one of the most entrancing albums of recent times.

Their overlapping vocals are always sublime, especially on songs like “Emily I’m Sorry”, “Cool About It” and “Not Strong Enough”. I love how easily they bounce between softer and harsher tracks.

4 – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You (Caroline Polachek)

With albums like “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You”, it feels like we’ve arrived at a new, fully-evolved era for Electro-Pop.

I was stunned by how different each song was. The production is incredible on each, and I found myself wishing that these were the kinds of songs which could make the Billboard Hits. Maybe in another universe …

3 – SCARING THE HOES (JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown)

It’s a year for major collaborations, apparently. First “boygenius” assembled the Avengers and now JPEGMAGIA and Danny Brown united to spit fire.

“SCARING THE HOES” is relentless, mind-blowing stuff. It has some of the most intense and claustrophobic rapping you’ll hear.

2 – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under ocean blvd (Lana Del Rey)

No force on heaven or earth can make me type out that album title again.

Lana Del Rey is back at it again with her sad, crushing approach to Pop music. It didn’t blow my mind as much as “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” – and that album had a title that was actually fun to type out.

1 – Javelin (Sufjan Stevens)

Sufjan Stevens needs to be protected at all costs. Whenever I listen to one of his albums I’m reminded of the power real music can have.

His sound has come a long way since I first heard him on “Illinois”. His style is a perfect marriage of oldschool, heartfelt songwriting and modern production. Favourites include “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” and “So You Are Tired”.

BEST ALBUM OF 2023 – “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” (Caroline Polachek)

Final Thoughts

Nothing too crazy in 2023, but the quality was fairly solid across the board. There were some gems here which I’m glad I discovered.

Overall Grade: C+

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!