You want year-end best-of album lists?

December 6, 2023 10:32 AM

Following on the recent Rolling Stone best albums of 2023 posting and with a few media outlets yet to weigh in, a few more best-of lists from the media jungle, compiled for your reference and enjoyment.

The New Yorker "The Best Music of 2023" (Archive)

The Wire "Top 50 Albums of 2023"

The Guardian "The 50 best albums of 2023"

The Quietus "Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023"

Slate "The Best Jazz Albums of 2023"

Pitchfork "The 50 Best Albums of 2023"

NPR "Best Albums of 2023"

Vulture "The Best Albums of 2023"

Stereogum "The 50 Best Albums Of 2023"

Paste "The 50 Best Albums of 2023"

Time Out "The 30 best albums of 2023"

The Washington Post "The best albums of 2023" (Archive)

PopMatters "The 10 Best Global Music Albums of 2023"

The New York Times "Best Albums of 2023" (Archive), "Best Songs of 2023" (Archive)

Jazzwise "Jazzwise Albums of the Year 2023"

Drowned in Sound Album of the Year community polling thread

Los Angeles Times "The 20 best albums of 2023" (Archive)

Or just cut out the middleman and go to albumoftheyear.org for the deep dive.

posted by the sobsister (30 comments total)

could you list them from best to worst pls
posted by Klipspringer at 11:06 AM on December 6, 2023 [24 favorites]

Thanks for the reminder that Paste is still going. I've been fussing about the probable decline of the editorial pieces on Bandcamp that I've been relying on for new music and I'd forgotten I really used to enjoy Paste's recommendations. I'll have to see if that's still the case.
posted by EvaDestruction at 11:14 AM on December 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've been looking at various of these for a few days and this year I've been struck by how much of what's in these best ofs is completely new to me. I had been working on a theory that I've crossed some threshold of oldness / irrelevance, but I'm somewhat comforted by the albumoftheyear.org list, where I am deeply familiar with 4 of the top ten (and tend to agree that they're the best of something).

It does seem like there's more fragmentation this year than previous years.
posted by grubby at 11:16 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've only looked at the NPR one so far and already have heaps of new things to listen to, thanks for the post!
posted by Athanassiel at 11:19 AM on December 6, 2023

I'm excited to check these albums out (I've been pleasantly surprised how many are available through the library's subscription to Freegal streaming music service).
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:20 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also I got a chance to catch a bit of the Young Fathers opening set for Depeche Mode and definitely thumbs up!
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:26 AM on December 6, 2023

Gramophone: The Best Classical Music Albums Of 2023 (So Far)

Downbeat (jazz, blues) Readers' Poll results
posted by neuron at 11:32 AM on December 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

Can someone feed these lists through an algorithm and get the 10 best-best albums of 2023?
posted by gottabefunky at 11:32 AM on December 6, 2023

Aha!
posted by gottabefunky at 11:44 AM on December 6, 2023 [11 favorites]

was about to say what gottabefunky said.
I opened up Paste, Pitchfork and Stereogum side by side, skimmed all three in quick succession, and my guess is maybe six or seven albums appear on all three. IIRC, that's Caroline Polachek, Wednesday, yeule, boygenius, Kelela, Yves Tumor, Ratboys. Soufjan Stevens, Sexyy Red, Water From Your Eyes, Yo La Tengo on at least two of the three.
Ugh, on preview, Aha! does the trick. Thanks!
posted by martin q blank at 11:54 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I had to go digging to find my own personal contenders for album(s) of the year on Pitchfork's 37 best rock albums of the year since they don't appear on any of the linked lists, but was pleased to see them get the recognition there: Liturgy's 93696 (previously) and Marnie Stern's Comeback Kid.

Those two would be enough for me for a pretty good year for new music, but I've definitely missed a lot else, thanks for posting this
posted by okonomichiyaki at 12:12 PM on December 6, 2023

ok I thought it best not to even voice an opinion because a) it becomes tiresome year after year to participate in such rituals, and b) these lists tend to be most helpful for folks who don't have the interest or time to do their own digging (I get it, I rely on such lists for films and so I can completely relate / empathize)

but I have to wonder how/why it is that Steven Wilson's harmony codex album is omitted not just from the RS list, but apparently from every other top 25/50/100 list as well ....I just don't understand how this can be, I sampled quite a few of these albums to do a casual comparison and I've yet to find anything to rival what would've been considered a classic in prior generations. I guess there really is no accounting for taste ? either that or he has become somehow blacklisted for being too socio-politically conscious over recent years .....

I really hate to contribute to these threads most of the time now, I usually end up regretting it ... but I am compelled to make mention of this omission for Steven Wilson's sake, he really deserves more .. at least from *someone's* list (did I miss any? I only checked 3-4 before giving up)
posted by clandestiny's child at 12:57 PM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Every year The Quietus list points me to more interesting new music than any other list.
posted by HumanComplex at 1:00 PM on December 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

I find it oddly comforting that my favorite album of the year, Hannah Jadagu’s Aperture, only shows up on one of the linked lists, as an “also worthwhile” pick by Jon Pareles of the New York Times. As far as I can remember, it’s only happened once before (Emma the Great’s Virtue was my favorite of the year it came out, and I remain mystified why it hasn’t been widely acknowledged as a masterpiece). That’s also about the time I stop being a music critic.

I thought, back then, that it was a sign that my pop music tastes were developing towards idiosyncrasy, but that didn’t turn out to be the case, and I remained broadly within the critical mainstream. So I’m happy I can still zig when the world zags.
posted by Kattullus at 1:03 PM on December 6, 2023

Can someone feed these lists through an algorithm and get the 10 best-best albums of 2023?

Aha!

One fairly interesting bit on the meta-list list linked by gottabefunky here...Sza and Lankum rank 11th and 12th even though being the most (Sza: 4) or the second most (Lankum: 3) #1 ranked Album of the Year.

For example
Sza #1 on 4 lists, #3 on 2 lists, #4-10 on 1 list, #11-25 on zero lists.
So either one of the very best or not at all.

Compare that to Meta-toppers Boygenius:
#1 on 1 list, #2 on 2 lists, #3 on 2 lists, #4-10 on 5 lists, #11-25 on 12 lists.

I enjoy Boygenius a lot, but I think I need to give Sza and Lankum a listen.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:24 PM on December 6, 2023

An album is on way too many lists with an antisemitic verse by someone with a deep history of antisemitism. And the only acknowledgement of the verse I can find among the lists is in the Paste write up (which doesn’t even mention the antisemitism! It’s just controversial!) “The controversial inclusion of Jay Electronica on “balloons” is marred by some, shrugged off by others.”

If were ranking albums, I would simply not include one with antisemitic lyrics, and if I somehow did, I would at least mention it!
posted by General Malaise at 1:39 PM on December 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

How could you forget allmusic?

https://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/allmusics-best-of-2023
posted by mabaker at 1:40 PM on December 6, 2023

I enjoy Boygenius a lot, but I think I need to give Sza and Lankum a listen.

Listening now...Lankum is not at all what I expected. Contemporary Irish folk music?!? I mean, I like it, it's pretty nice, but rather surprising as a frequent best-of topper.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:45 PM on December 6, 2023

General Malaise: An album is on way too many lists with an antisemitic verse by someone with a deep history of antisemitism

Noname's album was my biggest musical disappointment of the year. I've loved all her work until now, and I was so excited when it dropped. I listened to it once, and never again.
posted by Kattullus at 2:51 PM on December 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

clandestiny's child: it should go without saying that EOTY lists have, almost as a rule, nothing to do with the actual quality of the music. They all play the same game of representing the most popular albums from the past year, in an order that more or less speaks to the editorial vibe of the publication. In five years if you asked someone to name the best albums from 2023, that list would look completely different. Furthermore, since most of these lists are created by tallying votes from contributors, it makes sense that a relatively less-known album like Steven Wilson's wouldn't get any shine on the final lists.

Most musicians know to not take these lists seriously, I advise you to onboard that attitude :)
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 2:57 PM on December 6, 2023

One fairly interesting bit on the meta-list list linked by gottabefunky here...Sza and Lankum rank 11th and 12th even though being the most (Sza: 4) or the second most (Lankum: 3) #1 ranked Album of the Year.

For example
Sza #1 on 4 lists, #3 on 2 lists, #4-10 on 1 list, #11-25 on zero lists.
So either one of the very best or not at all.

Sza released SOS December 9, 2022. So some publications are presumably taking 2023 to mean "the literal Year of Our Lord 2023" and some are taking it to mean "since we last did the list thing a year ago".
posted by Superilla at 3:50 PM on December 6, 2023

Thank you for the reminder, Cpt. the Mango !
You are entirely right, I should know better.... Like I said, I succeeded in at least holding back after the first (RS) post ... then all these others got the better of me for a min :)

+ yes, history has shown over + over + over again that history has a way of re-defining what was great in its time, I have countless memories / stories from my life to be reminded ....

Perhaps *next* year will be my important growth milestone - steering entirely clear of these lists altogether. I am nearly there but apparently not 'there' enough quite yet. (but I will 'peek' to at least see if ee's 'mountainhead' makes the list for 2024 :) )
posted by clandestiny's child at 4:15 PM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

gottabefunky, thank you for posting the meta-ranking tool - I was actually daydreaming about creating a spreadsheet to tally them all. Not for the first time today, I have re-remembered that every time I think I'm a nerd, someone on the internet reminds me that there are much bigger nerds out there who also have mad web design skills to make a much better interface than a clunky spreadsheet.
posted by Athanassiel at 4:36 PM on December 6, 2023

There are more best album lists than some part of me thought there were albums. That is all.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 5:29 PM on December 6, 2023

There's a theory that we—our entire reality—is part of a much larger "Top 100" list.

That theory comes in at #27
posted by not_on_display at 12:01 AM on December 7, 2023

Listening now...Lankum is not at all what I expected. Contemporary Irish folk music?!? I mean, I like it, it's pretty nice, but rather surprising as a frequent best-of topper.

It's an interesting moment for Irish folk, that album has had a heap of attention this year and I keep spotting it in the most sold section of Bandcamp's front page and other artists like Lisa O'Neill are making waves too.
posted by deadwax at 2:24 AM on December 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

It may be true that these lists are reflective of popularity within a given niche, but I nevertheless am excited for them every year because they offer a guide to genres that aren't in my heavy rotation. These MeFi round-ups have been instrumental (sorry) to broadening my tastes and I spend a considerable amount of time with them. Thank you, and please keep them coming!
posted by criticalyeast at 4:12 AM on December 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

The Pitchfork list introduced me to the lovely Blue Lake album, and I've listened to it for the last two days.

From Bandcamp:
Weaving between self-built zithers, drones, clarinets, slide guitars and drum machines, ‘Sun Arcs’ presents a unique sound space formed by an inventive approach to acoustic folk and jazz.

The starting point of ‘Sun Arcs’ saw Jason travel for a week alone to Andersabo, a cabin set in the Swedish woods just outside of Unnaryd, known also as the music project, festival and residency space which has been run by Dungan since 2016, hosting artists like Sofie Birch, Johan Carøe and Ellen Arkbro. Whilst writing 1-2 pieces per day, a conscious decision was made to leave behind everyday distractions and shut out the outside world to instead focus on the natural passage of time as Dungan recalls:

“My only sense of time came from these daily walks out in the woods with my dog, and an awareness of the sun’s path as it moved across the sky each day.”
posted by tofu_crouton at 4:49 AM on December 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've been using this and the RS thread for my annual stroll through albums of the year that I'd missed, and so far, so excellent: Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here, L'Rain's I Killed Your Dog, and Blondshell's eponymous album are all terrific. As a great man once sang, music is worth living for!
posted by rory at 8:53 AM on December 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

“ALBUMS OF THE YEAR with Spencer Strider and @nomorefielders”—Foolish Bailey, 09 December 2023

Strider's No. 1

Norm by Andy Shauf [Bandcamp]
Art's Big Board Score: Overall #11 8.95; Cover Art: 9; Music: 9.59; Cultural/Personal: 9.1; Lyrics: 9

Cf., Re: Art's Big Board
“Spencer Strider's music rating system ”—Foolish Bailey TikTok, 25 January 2023
“Music is Braves pitcher Spencer Strider’s big hobby,” Justin Toscano, The Atlanta Journal-Consititution, 24 February 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 4:43 PM on December 9, 2023