The Best Albums of 2023
There were so many great music releases this year and newcomers as well as long beloved artists putting out new projects that won over my heart. All the rankings and memories led to this list of my personal best albums of 2023. Let’s get started with my 10 favourite picks.
10) Snow Angel – Reneé Rapp
Such a confident debut album with amazing vocals. A mix of emotional ballads and upbeat tracks that are made to be performed on stage. Reneé is a popstar in the making and we are SO ready for whatever comes next!
Fave Song: Gemini Moon
9)Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Rey
Lovely collaborations and many surprises flow together on this project. After not really loving the last two Lana albums (sorry) I am now finally back on track with this record!
Fave Song: Taco Truck x VB
8) Stellaria – Chelsea Cutler
This is her absolute best work yet! Stellaria has a nostalgic vibe to it and shows a vulnerable side of Chelsea. The album just has a unique dreamy atmosphere to it, which is created by vivid imagery and amazing storytelling. Rarely an album hits this much at the first listen.
Fave Song: Men on the Moon
7) Paint my Bedroom Black – Holly Humberstone
As a day-one Holly fan I was so excited to finally hear her debut album. I love the theme of distance and longing, appreciation of friendships, and brutally honest self reflection. A very introspective record with beautiful melodies and experimental new sounds. Check out an album deep dive here.
Fave Song: Flatlining
6) GUTS – Olivia Rodrigo
GUTS absolutely lives up to the hype of her first record and exceeded all my expectations!! Lyrics that perfectly describe the coming of age experience are turned into amazing songs. It has everything from female rage to crying and overthinking life and falling in love.
Fave Song: Making The Bed
5)This Is Why – Paramore
I am living for this Paramore era. Notes on our complex world without holding back on the hopelessness and awful truths. As always, they delivered an amazing album with many facets and sounds that just won’t get boring. Paramore is back and stronger than ever.
Fave Song: Crave
4)The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan
This album has a great concept and theme from beginning to end. I rarely ever had this much fun listening to an album. Chappell has breath-taking vocals, fun lyrics and great production. What else can we ask for?
Fave Song: Femininomenon
3) Good Riddance – Gracie Abrams
I played this album so many times this year and I still love it every time. Her unique poetic melancholy blends in with beautiful acoustic sounds. Gracies song writing feels like a look into her diary: personal, heart-breaking and full of relatable ups and downs. A great take on a breakup album that tells an introspective story.
Fave Song: This Is What the Drugs Are For
2) the record – boygenius
This is it. This is my bible. The friendship of boygenius is so beautiful and perfectly captured in this project. I love how each member gets their little shining moment but it is still a perfect harmony of all three of them. Just amazing. Also, “Letter To An Old Poet” must be one of my favourite closing tracks ever. Full review here.
Fave Song: Not Strong Enough
1) My 21st Century Blues – RAYE
I can’t put into words how much I admire RAYE and her creativity and talent. This project should be listened to from beginning to end. It tells the story of a woman breaking free and shows RAYE fully experimenting with all her newly gained power as an independent artist. She poured her heart and soul into this record and you can hear her passion for music in each track.
Fave Song: Hard Out Here.
Honourable Mentions
Honestly there have been SO many good album releases! It was hard to pick the best albums of 2023, without missing some really good projects. Hozier, Caroline Polachek, The Beaches, Inhaler, Mahalia, and many more brought out LP’s that I had on repeat for weeks and months. This year, for the first time, I have been writing about my thoughts on music on this blog instead of just discussing it with my friends. It has been a wild journey and I am so grateful that this blog found a little community of people that appreciates music just as much as I do.
For more rankings and short reviews I will be more active on AOTY next year!