The 2023 End of Year music lists thread

Can I just say I absolutely hate the album title 'That! Feels Good!'

It! Sucks Ass!

It's better than "Ooh Rap I Ya" at least

I hate that one too

Shindig is the first list to mention my album of the year, Large Plants - The Thorn, as well as my #18, Emile - Spirit. The Beatles-y psych pop of Vanity Mirror and third album from Dentists spinoff The Treasures of Mexico (psych/jangle/power pop) are nice discoveries for me.

Digging that Large Plants album!

In my review I said those who like Lankum's latest would like Large Plants, as long as they're open to majestic, progressive psychedelic riffs instead of somewhat tedious drones. RIYL Fairport Convention, Trees and Pentangle, and contemporary artists like Lisa O'Neill, Sam Burton, and the more haunting albums by Lucid Sins, David Eugene Edwards and The Keening.

If yer old enough to struggle with reading tiny type on some of the print magazines even with reading glasses, Shindig is also available on Readly which I read on my Kindle Fire. For just $10/mo I get access to that, Classic Rock, MOJO, Uncut, Metal Hammer, Prog. Rolling Stone, Record Collector, Blitzed, Billboard, Guitar World, Wired, Total Film, Guardian Weekly, The Week, New York, etc. Quite a bargain, so much so that I've renewed my print subscriptions for Decibel, Fistful of Metal and Vive Le Rock out of guilt.

Some brief descriptions I wrote for a friend last night of some of the new discoveries:

Upper Wilds – Jupiter | Noise pop with strong hooks from Brooklyn, solid vocals, if Floor were less bottom heavy, plus Parts & Labor. Really liked Mars (2018) and Venus (2021), and can't believe I just last weekend found they had their fourth album out since July.

Deeper – Careful! | Third album from Chicago post-punk band. They vary their sounds and approaches with some arty experiments on some tracks, but I'm a sucker for the Joy Division influenced droney approach too.

Volksempfänger – Attack of Sound | Netherlands shoegaze/noise pop with bits of Detroit pre-punk, Jesus and Mary Chain bubblegum pop and motorik chugs.

Death And Vanilla – Flicker | Swedish psych pop/dream pop/kosmische.

Catatonic Suns – Catatonic Suns | Third album from Allentown, PA band, satisfyingly heavy, noisy shoegaze like early Ride with some Swervedriver.

Shredded Sun – Each Dot and Each Line | Second from indie/garage punk/surf band from Chicago, formerly The Fake Fictions. May sound twee after listening to the likes of Upper Wilds and Catatonic Suns, but it's charms digs it's hooks in.

Star 99 – Bitch Unlimited | Pop punk with an endearingly scrappy sound you don't hear much in that subgenre these days.

Peter Gabriel getting shafted on these lists is wild to me

I made an album dump playlist of everything from the Shindig list I hadn’t heard before (which is probably about 20 of their 25). Put the whole thing on shuffle while I make dinner and having a grand time this evening. No duds so far.

ALBUMISM SELECTS: The 50 Best Albums of 2023
https://albumism.com/lists/best-albums-of-2023-index

#1 | Meshell Ndegeocello | The Omnichord Real Book

UK based poptimist blogger, Lee Bennett presents:

Teases & Dares’ Top 100 Albums of 2023
https://teasesanddares.wordpress.com/2023/12/09/teases-dares-top-100-albums-of-2023/

1. Ricky Wilde X Nina, Scala Hearts
2. Jack River, Endless Summer
3. Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard
4. Tina Arena, Love Saves
5. Slayyyter, Starfucker
6. Josh Caffe, Poppa Zesque
7. Bunny X, Love Minus 80
8. Tom Rasmussen, Body Building
9. Claire Richards, Euphoria
10. Louis La Roche, Admittedly
11. Cailin Russo, Influx
12. Romy, Mid Air
13. Alison Goldfrapp, The Love Invention
14. Kylie Minogue, Tension
15. PYN, Beat Drama
16. King IV, Psychopomp
17. Maraschino, Hollywood Piano
18. Jenny Lewis, Joy’All
19. Leela James, Thought U Knew
20. PRIZM, Rumours In The Night
21. Julie Byrne, The Greater Wings
22. Jessie Ware, That! Feels Good!
23. U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess
24. Tiga & Hudson Mohawke, L’Ecstasy
25. Jake Shears, Last Man Dancing
26. 79.5, 79.5
27. Samantha Urbani, Showing Up
28. Emm Gryner, Business & Pleasure
29. Molly Burch, Daydreamer
30. SG Lewis, AudioLust & HigherLove
31. Chappell Roan, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess
32. Tensnake, Stimulate
33. Michael Medrano, LoveSexDrugs
34. Beverley Knight, The Fifth Chapter
35. Nuovo Testamento, Love Lines
36. Olivia Dean, Messy
37. Debby Friday, Good Luck
38. Yota, Room 412
39. Alan Palomo, World Of Hassle
40. L’Avenue, Club Tropez
41. Abracadabra, Shapes & Colours
42. Lucinda Chua, Yian
43. Jayda G, Guy
44. Tennis, Pollen
45. Laura Groves, Radio Red
46. Cub Sport, Jesus At The Gay Bar
47. Nabihah Iqbal, Dreamer
48. Wolfclub, Desert Hearts
49. Dragon Inn 3, Trade Secrets
50. Idina Menzel, Drama Queen
51. Gretta Ray, Positive Spin
52. Jennifer Touch, Midnight Proposals
53. Cannons, Heartbeat Highway
54. Cherry Cinema, Crystal Clear
55. Corine, R
56. Katy Steele, Big Star
57. Moyka, Movies, Cars & Heartbreak
58. Reve, Saturn Return
59. YATTE & Duett, The Minute
60. Leony, Somewhere In Between
61. Drew Sycamore, Superfaith
62. Incognito, Into You
63. SUPER-Hi, Summer Vol. 1
64. AC Soul Symphony, Metamorphosis
65. Metric, Formentera II
66. Sue Clayton, Rookie
67. Jessy Lanza, Love Hallucination
68. Daddy Squad, All Day All Night Automatic
69. Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra, Racing The Storm
70. The Paper Kites, At The Roadhouse
71. Snow Strippers, April Mixtape 3
72. Jennifer Vanilla, Castle In The Sky
73. Tonique & Man, Opening Soon
74. Sofia Kourtesis, Madres
75. RAYE, My 21st Century Blues
76. Mayah Camara & SelloRekt/LA Dreams, Emotions
77. Rein, God Is A Woman
78. Bella Boo, DreamySpaceyBlue
79. Heartracer, The Feel
80. MUNYA, Jardin
81. Haiku Hands, Pleasure Beast
82. Moon Boots, Ride Away
83. Poolside, Blame It All On Love
84. Seb Wildblood, Separation Anxiety
85. Gunship, Unicorn
86. Yaeji, With A Hammer
87. Mandy, Indiana – I’ve Seen A Way
88. Foley, Crowd Pleaser
89. Girl Ray, Prestige
90. Strange Ranger, Pure Music
91. Free Love, Inside
92. Le Couleur, Comme dans un penthouse
93. Train To Spain, Nothing To Win
94. Poppy, Zig
95. Avalon Emerson, & The Charm
96. Ladytron, Time’s Arrow
97. Nothing But Thieves, Dead Club City
98. ARXX, Ride Or Die
99. GRETA, Portals
100. Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loveliest Time

also a link is provided to a Spotify playlist that includes 1 track from each album.

Maybe the PG album came out too late

Pitchfork 2023 Readers’ Poll
https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/2023-readers-poll-results/

Top 50 Albums

1.
CAROLINE POLACHEK
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Top 50 Singles

1.
LANA DEL REY
“A&W”

FEATURE
You can also see top album voted for each US State.

FEATURE
Filter the top albums to see how readers like you voted

AGE
GENDER
READERSHIP
LOCATION

DIY’S TRACKS OF THE YEAR 2023
https://diymag.com/feature/diy-songs-of-the-year-2023

1. THE LAST DINNER PARTY - NOTHING MATTERS

note

8. HEARTWORMS - RETRIBUTIONS OF AN AWFUL LIFE

great textured track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thC-C_Bk8H0

14. CREEPER - FURTHER THAN FOREVER

standout track on the album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8mtjGWJ1Ck

There's really no excuse for dropping the ball with the Peter Gabriel album. Every track was released to all platforms between January and November leading up to the official Dec 1 album release. On the other hand I know at least a couple longtime fans who are failing to feel anything when they hear it. I like it, it's in my top 50.

The Abysmal Hymns list is great, happy to see Spiritual Cramp get some love. I've been a fan since their early EPs, saw them live in 2018, and their first official full-length has been a long time coming. Good call on Final Gasp, it was just outside my top 100, but I'm digging it more than ever right now. 1476 is cool along similar deathrock-ish lines. The Dust EP, everything in that list is worth checking out.

Electronic Sound top 10. There’s a top 50 on their site, but it’s subscribers only.

10 Sleaford Mods - UK Grim
9 Vanishing Twin- Afternoon X
8 Free Love - Inside
7 Kosmischer Läufer - The Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Programme 1972-1983: Volume 5
6 John Cale - Mercy
5 Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
4 Holy Tongue - Deliverance snd Spiritual Warfare
3 Nabihah Iqbal - Dreamer
2 Vince Clarke - Songs of Silence
1 Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - The Nation’s Most Central Location

Edgar Wright’s top 50, actually 55, tracks of the year.

https://linktr.ee/edgarwright?utm_source=linktree_admin_share

People really excited about that boygenius album huh

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The tyranny of singer-songwriters continues! The appearance of boygenius on SNL a while back, including their cute cameo in one of the sketches, was a nice boost for their mainstream exposure. I wonder if Foo Fighters will be the last rock band to play the show in the foreseeable future? I wish they would change it up now and then. If not something like Truckfighters or Tomb Mold, how about at least Creeper? That would be fun.

Creeper is the kind of band that an SNL appearance could actually launch to stardom, but sadly only 6 people in the U.S. outside ILX have even heard of them.

Aquarium Drunkard's round-up:
https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2023/12/11/aquarium-drunkard-2023-year-in-review/

RA 2023 in Review: What's pop got to do with it?
https://ra.co/features/4027

"Love them or hate them, pop edits were present on the dance floor (and the timeline) this year. We round up some of the best."

― djmartian, Friday, December 8, 2023 2:23 AM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

This is a neat list. Their year-end features are always a highlight for me.

Kerrang - The 50 best albums of 2023

https://www.kerrang.com/the-50-best-albums-of-2023-foo-fighters-creeper-sleep-token-pupil-slicer-avenged-sevenfold-metallica-jesus-piece-hot-milk-green-lung
The Kerrang! verdict on the 50 albums that shaped 2023.

Kerrang! Reveal Their Choices For The ’50 Best Albums Of 2023′
https://www.theprp.com/2023/12/11/news/kerrang-reveal-their-choices-for-the-50-best-albums-of-2023/

Summary

50. Grove Street – “The Path To Righteousness“
49. Pierce The Veil – “The Jaws Of Life“
48. PVRIS – “Evergreen“
47. Waterparks – “Intellectual Property“
46. BABYMETAL – “The Other One“
45. Corey Taylor – “CMF2“
44. Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter – “Saved!“
43. Meet Me @ The Altar – “Past // Present // Future“
42. Within Temptation – “Bleed Out“
41. HEALTH – “RAT WARS“
40. Queens Of The Stone Age – “In Times New Roman…“
39. Poppy – “Zig“
38. URNE – “A Feast On Sorrow“
37. Dream Nails – “Doom Loop“
36. Fucked Up – “One Day“
35. You Me At Six – “Truth Decay“
34. The Armed – “Perfect Saviors“
33. Graphic Nature – “A Mind Waiting To Die“
32. Taking Back Sunday – “152“
31. Wargasm – “Venom“
30. Beartooth – “The Surface“
29. GEL – “Only Constant“
28. The Gaslight Anthem – “History Books“
27. Voice Of Baceprot – “Retas“
26. 100 gecs – “10,000 gecs“
25. Bury Tomorrow – “The Seventh Son“
24. Zulu – “A New Tomorrow“
23. Ville Valo – “Neon Noir“
22. Empire State Bastard – “Rivers Of Heresy“
21. Dying Wish – “Symptoms Of Survival“
20. Code Orange – “The Above“
19. Drain – “Living Proof“
18. Paramore – “This Is Why“
17. Fall Out Boy – “So Much (For) Stardust“
16. Blink-182 – “One More Time…“
15. Militarie Gun – “Live Under The Gun“
14. Skindred – “Smile“
13. Baroness – “Stone“
12. Svalbard – “The Weight Of The Mask“
11. Enter Shikari – “A Kiss For The Whole World“
10. Green Lung – “This Heathen Land“
09. Hot Milk – “A Call To The Void“
08. Jesus Piece – “…So Unknown“
07. Metallica – “72 Seasons“
06. Avenged Sevenfold – “Life Is But A Dream…“
05. Pupil Slicer – “Blossom“
04. Holding Absence – “The Noble Art Of Self Destruction“
03. Sleep Token – “Take Me Back To Eden“
02. Creeper – “Sanguivore“
01. Foo Fighters – “But Here We Are“

Lorraine James Top 40 Albums of 2023
https://x.com/LoJamMusic/status/1733912190871036113?s=20

Number 1: Tirzah - Trip9love...???

Nice

Music website based in Canada, Northern Transmissions

Northern Transmissions Best Albums of 2023
https://northerntransmissions.com/northern-transmissions-best-albums-of-2023/

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2175-northern-transmissions-best-albums-of-2023/

1. Beach Fossils — Bunny

UK based music website set up by ex NME editor Charlotte Gunn

The Forty-Five's Albums of the Year 2023
https://thefortyfive.com/opinion/best-albums-2023/

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2170-the-forty-fives-albums-of-the-year-2023/

Number 1

BOYGENIUS – ‘THE RECORD’

Words: Rhian Daly, Charlotte Gunn, Hannah Mylrea, Arusa Qureshi, Alex Rigotti, Jenessa Williams and Lisa Wright.

https://thefortyfive.com/about/
The Forty-Five is new music publication, created by a collective of female-led music journalists, creatives and photographers, founded by former NME Editor, Charlotte Gunn.
Why The Forty-Five?
With only 14% of music journalists identifying as women, music, for too long has been critiqued from a male perspective. The result? An industry that champions boys in bands and sexualises female artists. We’re here to change that by forging a supportive network of womxn, who tell stories about music.

UK based, Far Out Magazine

Far Out Magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2023
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-50-best-albums-of-2023/

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2174-far-out-magazines-50-best-albums-of-2023/

1. H Hawkline - Milk for Flowers

Stereogum - The 10 Best Hardcore Albums Of 2023
https://www.stereogum.com/2244850/best-hardcore-albums/lists/year-in-review/2023-in-review/
BY TOM BREIHAN

Number 1

Militarie Gun - Life Under The Gun (Loma Vista)

Heavy Music HQ
2023 Best Heavy Metal Albums
https://heavymusichq.com/2023-best-heavy-metal-albums/

1. Katatonia – Sky Full Of Stars (Napalm)

Pitchfork - The 42 Best Rap Songs of 2023
https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-rap-songs-2023/

part 2, from Cardiff based music website, GIITTV
GIITTV: Albums of the Year for 2023, 50-26
https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2023/12/11/giittv-albums-of-the-year-for-2023-50-26/

The Top 15 Heavy-Prog and Progressive-Metal Albums of 2023 - Something for the Weekend?
https://weekendprog.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-top-15-heavy-prog-and-progressive.html

1. CROWN LANDS - Fearless

Canada's Crown Lands who sound like a cross between Rush and Robert Plant

Treble - The 20 Best Electronic Albums of 2023
https://www.treblezine.com/best-electronic-albums-of-2023/

TAGS
ACTRESS APHEX TWIN AVALON EMERSON BORED LORD DANIEL BACHMAN DEBBY FRIDAY DJ MANNY FEVER RAY JAMES HOLDEN JLIN KATE NV KELELA LORAINE JAMES PANGAEA PURELINK SOFIA KOURTESIS TIM HECKER TZUSING WARRINGTON-RUNCORN NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT PLAN YAEJI

We have an ILX EOY nominations thread: ILM's 2023 End of Year Tracks & Albums Poll / NOMINATIONS THREAD

Have any Foo Fighters albums never been #1 in Kerrang's albums of the Year?

this is the 4th time, but the first this century

kerrang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerrang!

albums of the year

1982 Scorpions Blackout [70]
1983 Def Leppard Pyromania
1984 Van Halen 1984
1985 Bryan Adams Reckless
1986 David Lee Roth Eat 'Em and Smile
1987 Aerosmith Permanent Vacation
1988 King's X Out of the Silent Planet
1989 Faith No More The Real Thing
1990 Slayer Seasons in the Abyss
1991 Metallica Metallica
1992 Alice In Chains Dirt
1993 Pearl Jam Vs.
1994 Therapy? Troublegum
1995 Foo Fighters Foo Fighters
1996 Screaming Trees Dust
1997 Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape
1998 Monster Magnet Powertrip
1999 Foo Fighters There is Nothing Left to Lose
2000 Queens of the Stone Age Rated R
2001 Tool Lateralus
2002 Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf
2003 The Darkness Permission to Land
2004 Mastodon Leviathan
2005 Trivium Ascendancy
2006 Taking Back Sunday Louder Now
2007 Billy Clyro Puzzle
2008 Metallica Death Magnetic
2009 Gallows Grey Britain
2010 Deftones Diamond Eyes
2011 Mastodon The Hunter
2012 Enter Shikari A Flash Flood of Colour
2013 Bring Me the Horizon Sempiternal
2014 Architects Lost Forever // Lost Together
2015 Bring Me the Horizon That's the Spirit
2016 Green Day Revolution Radio
2017 Employed to Serve The Warmth of a Dying Sun
2018 Turnstile Time & Space
2019 Slipknot We Are Not Your Kind
2020 Code Orange Underneath
2021 Every Time I Die Radical [71]
2022 Nova Twins Supernova [72]

Classic Rock Magazine's 50 Best Rock Albums Of 2023
https://www.loudersound.com/news/classic-rock-magazine-best-albums-of-2023

Number 1
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

the rest of the list is like is this really 2023?

The Pretenders, Iggy Pop, The Damned, Extreme, Uriah Heep, Def Leppard, The Hives, Jethro Tull, Yes.

Bonus points for including Sparks and Peter Gabriel.

21st century artists of note

20. Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament

25. Creeper - Sanguivore

38. Starbenders - Take Back The Night

49. Green Lung - This Heathen Land

NME - 10 best debut albums of 2023
https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/best-debut-albums-2023-radar-3555060?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=best-debut-albums-2023-radar

a few of my favs on the small albums list

https://www.smallalbums.com/best-50-albums

DJ Mag’s top tracks of 2023
https://djmag.com/features/dj-mag-top-tracks-2023

unranked list

"2023 has been a bumper year for bangers. From chart-bothering drum & bass, fusionist club scorchers and playful rave barnstormers, through underground avenues of garage, dubstep and breaks, into amapiano, anthemic house, R&B and experimental electronics, DJ Mag's contributors write about their personal favourite tracks of the year, offering an unranked overview of the sounds that made the past 12 months so memorable for electronic music around the world"

Acid Test’s Best Albums of 2023
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2023/acid-tests-best-albums-of-2023

bandcamp best 2023 outer limits music

love that mark vernon album

apparently The Tubs are popular with some on ILM, so

The Tubs' Owen Williams tells us about his Top 10 albums of 2023
https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-tubs-owen-williams-tells-us-about-his-top-10-albums-of-2023/

The Last Mixed Tape Podcast | TLMT’s End of Year Playlist Extravaganza, Song of the Year
https://thelastmixedtape.com/2023/12/10/the-last-mixed-tape-podcast-tlmts-end-of-year-playlist-extravaganza-song-of-the-year-shane-macgowan-tribute/

includes a top 100 Irish tracks of 2023 Spotify playlist

Alternative Press - 50 best albums of 2023
https://www.altpress.com/best-albums-2023/

FILED UNDER:
100 GECS,
ANGEL DUST,
ARLO PARKS,
AVENGED SEVENFOLD,
BABYMETAL,
BAKAR,
BLINK 182,
BLONDE REDHEAD,
BLONDSHELL,
BOYGENIUS,
BULLY,
CARLIE HANSON,
CHAPPELL ROAN,
CITIZEN,
CODE ORANGE,
DOMINIC FIKE,
DRAIN,
FALL OUT BOY,
FEEBLE LITTLE HORSE,
FOO FIGHTERS,
GEL,
GENESIS OWUSU,
GRANDSON,
HEALTH,
JENNY LEWIS,
JESUS PIECE,
KEVIN ABSTRACT,
KOYO,
LANA DEL REY,
LRAIN,
MEET ME AT THE ALTAR,
MILITARIE GUN,
MSPAINT,
NARROW HEAD,
OBJECT OF AFFECTION,
OLIVIA RODRIGO,
PARAMORE,
PARIS TEXAS,
PIERCE THE VEIL,
POPPY,
SCOWL,
SLEEP TOKEN,
SPIRITUAL CRAMP,
THE ARMED,
WATER FROM YOUR EYES,
WATERPARKS,
WEDNESDAY,
YEEK,
YVES TUMOR
ZULU,

Fader - The 50 best albums of 2023
https://www.thefader.com/2023/12/12/best-albums-of-2023

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2180-the-faders-50-best-albums-of-2023/

1. a.s.o. - a.s.o.

Bandcamp - The Best Experimental Music of 2023
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2023/the-best-experimental-music-of-2023

By Marc Masters

Bandcamp - The Best Metal Albums of 2023
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2023/the-best-metal-albums-of-2023

Stereogum’s 50 Favorite Songs Of 2023
https://www.stereogum.com/2245293/best-songs-of-2023/lists/year-in-review/2023-in-review/

10 selections each by 5 writers