365 – New Music Daily

My favorite albums of just this calendar year.

Top 5 of 2023:

Of the 366 albums I listened to this year, 31 were from 2023. Probably the most of any year? Has to be… anyways, it was a bit of a disappointing year for my favorite artists. Not a ton to rave about, and some of my favorites (Daniel Caesar, Mac Ayers, Arin Ray, Arlo Parks, King Gizzard, Psych Crumpets, Kaytramine, Mac Demarco, 6lack ) all put out very disappointing projects, along with some (Kali Uchis, Masego, Larry June, Beach House) forgettable projects. Honorable Mentions:

• Leon Thomas – Electric Dusk: I underrated this one on it’s initial review, but it has some pretty fucking amazing R&B ballads.
• Sampha – Lahai: Lahai is a gorgeous album from one of the more talented British R&B artists out. This album was a lot higher on most year end lists than it was on this one.
• Genesis Owusu – Struggler: Another one that I underrated a bit, the creativity instrumentally and thematically on this album is pretty great, and some of these songs are groovy as fuck.

5. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are

Perhaps no album moved me then But Here We Are, Dave Grohl’s impassioned tribute to one of his best friends, Taylor Hawkins, as well as his mother. The imagery is vivid, the lyrics are powerful, and the emotions are raw and palpable. I certainly didn’t go back to a lot of these songs as much as some of the other albums on this list, but this one was too good to leave off.

One song to listen to: Under You

4. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

A late entry to this list, but one that grabbed me immediately – a very strange, art pop album with some serious bops. You might listen to this album and think it is very fucking weird. I get it. But I’m going to jam to Pretty In Possible for the next few months and be happy about it.

One song to listen to: Pretty In Possible

3. Key Glock – Glockoma 2

My workout soundtrack for at least 6 months, Glockoma 2 may have become underrated to me because of my strong association with the sadistic activity of biking hills for fun! This album has catchy hooks, good lyrics, and such strong deliveries throughout. Good ol Southern Rap – though not the best rap album of the year for me!

One song to listen to: From Nothing

2. JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown – SCARING THE HOES

My favorite rap album of the year is an absolutely absurd, hilarious, but incredibly hard record from two of the best experimental hip-hp artists of all time. JPEGMAFIA’s production on this album is insane. The unique sample flips – there is a fucking Powerpuff Girls sample in this! He is on another level, and SCARING THE HOES serves as a reminder that this type of rap still does, and always will exist, even amidst people listening to shit like yeat.

One song to listen to: Burfict

1. Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here.

Can you believe this is really the case? I can’t, but it’s true. The amount of time I spent with this album is almost embarrassing. If someone told me this really wasn’t their cup of tea, I totally get it. But to me, it incorporates so many aspects of psych rock beautifully, comes with some of the best album transitions that you’ll get from anyone in the streaming era that we live in, and Yachty holds his own in many ways. Lyrically most of all – the vocals could still use a little work, though the wobble is amazing – but from someone who got big on a song that was just him saying “cold like Minnesota” – this is an incredibly impressive feat, and one that I deeply enjoyed over and over again.

One song to listen to: Running out of Time. That bass!