my top 10 2023 albums of the year

fav 10 albums that came out this year -- plus some extras

As 2023 begins to wrap up and December crawls on, everyone is looking back together on what happened this year. There’s been tons of great music that came out this year, album of the year lists are popping up left and right. I obviously had to add to the discourse with my blog, so the following is a list of my favorite albums that came out this year. It is loosely in order, but ranking is hard when the albums are so good for different reasons! Looking back, there’s a lot of melancholy or more subdued albums, but they usually made the list for how beautiful or calming they are. I have a few obvious albums on my list (like 1 grammy nominated album), but since some of these albums are less well known I hope my list can put you on to something new! I put more time into this than I should’ve, but I wanted to make sure my opinions were solid before I put the out there. I decided to put my top 10 and then list some honorable mentions. Now, the list, with some little blurbs of my thoughts/experiences/etc:

1. I Don’t Want You Anymore by Cherry Glazerr

Cherry Glazerr cannot miss, so I knew this album would make the list before I even listened to it. After a few singles that were a bit more pop, I was worried that this album would lose a lot of her more alternative style, but fortunately that was not the case. There’s a mix of slow guitar-led songs, some fun songs with a kind of electronic beat, and some characteristic heavier alternative songs. She’ll be touring next year, and this will be at the top of my must go concert list. I’ve been obsessed with her for quite a few years now, so getting another great album was a treat. I thought she deserved the no.1 spot because not only was the album amazing, but I think she did a great job with experimenting with a slightly newer style. I think when artists get close to the decade mark on making music and have a few albums out already, sometimes they start to get noticeably worse. Not that the album is bad, but not as good as their earlier stuff. However, I thought this wasn’t the case with Cherry Glazerr, and I was excited that her quality was staying really high as she adapted to newer style. It can be hard for me to accept change with artists, but she does it effortlessly.

2. Hello Mary self-titled

I’ve loved them since I heard their album Ginger, so I was so excited that they released music again this year. This all girl alternative rock group has an addicting style that makes you want to put certain songs on repeat. I love the 90s influence, and I think they’re one of the groups right now having a good balance of doing something new and drawing upon their influences. Guitar is my favorite instrument to hear in music most of the time, and I absolutely adore their rifts. Hello Mary was an obvious top 5 choice for me, and I’ve been having a hard time picking the order for these very numbers. I was debating whether to put her or Mitski or Lana first, but I went by mood and how many skips I had on each album (sorry for the premature spoiler on the list, but Lana and Mitski were obviously going to make the list, so I think it’s okay). I even contemplated going no.1 with this one, but I’ve been a fan of Cherry Glazerr longer so I gave her the spot.

3. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? by Lana del Rey

This was my favorite album that got a Grammy nomination, and I think it’s well deserved. I love the variety throughout this album, which works really well for me but rubbed some people the wrong way. I think she pulls on her different musical strengths in this, and it’s another charming and vulnerable album. I immediately ordered the pink vinyl once A&W was released because of how beautiful the beginning is and how surprised I was to hear the switch up. There are some skips on this album for me, but the songs that do hit, HIT. As my top artist of the year for the third? fourth? year in a row, obviously her new album was going to make this list. Quite a few songs from this album made by top 100 songs (A&W, Candy Necklace, Paris, Texas, Taco Truck x VB [this one surprised me], Peppers, and Fishtail — in order of appearance) as I’ve been streaming since March.

4. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski

It actually took me a bit to get into this album, but I think it was so well done. I really like the specific aura that this album has. I haven’t been into the new western trend that I feel like I’ve been noticing in music, but I think Mitski has it figured out. The internet probably ruined my love is mine all mine for me just from the explosive presence it’s had, but the rest of the songs are so beautiful. Mitski was my third most streamed artist this year, and this album definitely contributed to that statistic. It’s definitely not one of my favorites, but all of her albums are good; it’s a tough line up to compete against.

5. Blondshell by Blondshell

I saw Blondshell live when she opened up for Suki Waterhouse last winter, and since then I’ve been following her various releases. This album had all my favorites that I’ve been listening to since her performance, so right off the bat I already loved a few songs. The other songs on this album did not disappoint either. This one is a bit slower, so maybe if you liked the Mitski album (which I anticipate many more people will have listened to already) you might also like this one. Yet another vulnerable feminine album — am I getting too repetitive yet?

6. Gizmo by Tanukichan

Tanukichan is another favorite of mine, and I was really looking forward to this after obsessing over her first album Sundays for a few years. As she toured for this album, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see her perform this year, and she’s also awesome to listen to live. I do still prefer her first album, but I think this one is still a great follow up.

7. Inner Smile by Annie Taylor

I found this album over the summer on the new music shelves while looking for music to play for my radio show. Usually when I’m picking my weekly new music I just find a song from our list and add it to my show, but this album was so good that I ended up listening to the whole thing. This one brings a higher energy back into the list as the sophomore album of a newer English alt rock/post-punk/indie rock/pop influenced band with a female lead singer.

8. Media by Cor de Lux

This is another album I found from our new music shelves, and I loved it right away. The band noticed that I played them on my show, and they reached out to me on Instagram say thanks, which is always super exciting as a DJ to be able to connect with the bands I play. They went on tour recently, so I was able to get them into WKDU to do a live in-studio set, interview, and then see them the next night with PILE. Because of this, it makes the album even more special for me because I now have a personal experience with it. As for the music itself, it’s a sort of dreampop, spacey, post-punk album.

9. Get Real by CVC

Another rock album, unlikely to anyone’s surprise. This is definitely more of a feel-good pick, with a 60’s/70’s classic rock vibe to these songs. Again, without sounding like a carbon copy of their influences, they have a groovey rock vibe with a variety of different instruments in the band that add so well to the texture of the music. Over some of the earlier weeks of this year I was obsessed with the song Sophie, which is definitely my favorite on the album. For the people that aren’t into music that’s not super alternative, which I often gravitate to, this might be one of the better picks for you to listen to.

10. Rajan by Night Beats

This is a cool psychedelic rock type of album. Their Spotify bio describes Night Beats as “R&B inspired Western Psychedelic,” which I think is a pretty apt description for this album as well. Some of these songs remind me of Ty Segall or The Jesus and Mary Chain. They’re all fun rock songs that play around with elements of different genres/eras of rock.

Honorable Mentions (no longer in order):

1. Lucky for You - Bully

2. Creatures of Culture - The Minks

3. If We Stayed Alive - 12 Rods

4. Space Heavy by King Krule

5. Girl With Fish - Feeble Little Horse

6. Between Dreams - FRANKIIE

7. Fairy Rust & Selected Demos - Wombo

8. Islands in the Sky - Death Valley Girls

9. It’s Dread - Pearl Earl

10. Born Yesterday - Gladie

Thanks for reading my list! Hopefully you found out about a new great album or saw one of your favs on this list. Let me know what was your AOTY in the comments!