2023 Best Albums Lists

My last podcast episode discussed the top 10 albums of 2023, and this is a corresponding post.  I included the top 100 albums of the year, the best in several genres or conditions, and the worst of the year.

All images are from Wikipedia.  All images are also going to be attributed to the author for copyright reasons.  Even though I typically selected the top album in each category I hadn't already chosen a picture for, album covers involving nudity were not included (sorry, Christine and the Queens).

Warning:  This article contains references to an album performed by an artist (Slowthai) who has since been charged with two counts of rape.  His album was released 2.5 months prior to the charges being filed, and I reviewed it the week it was released, praising the album.  While I wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, I decided that I would still include the album in the rankings for honesty sake (my rankings are created throughout the year and not solely done at the end of the year), but I am omitting any pictures of the album cover.  My sincerest apologies to anyone impacted by this, especially in a negative way.

 

Top-100 Albums

Owner:  Peter Gabriel

1. I/O, Peter Gabriel
2. Atta, Sigur Ros
3. Fantasy, M83
4. Paranoia, Angels, True Love, Christine and the Queens
5. Michael, Killer Mike
6. The Record, Boygenius
7. Try Not to Laugh, Graham Hunt
8. Standing Room Only, Tim McGraw
9. Hellmode, Jeff Rosenstock
10. Endex, 3Teeth
11. Neon Noir, VV
12. Chronicles of a Diamond, Black Pumas
13. Utopia, Travis Scott
14. Good Riddance, Gracie Abrams
15. Say I Won’t, Bass Drum of Death
16. But Here We Are, Foo Fighters
17. Since I Have a Lover, 6lack
18. Kaytramine, Kaytramine (Kaytranada & Amine)
19. V, Unknown Mortal Orchestra
20. Lover’s Game, The War and Treaty
21. Ugly, Slowthai
22. When No Birds Sang, Full of Hell & Nothing
23. Something to Give Each Other, Troye Sivan
24. History Books, The Gaslight Anthem
25. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross, Anohni and the Johnsons
26. Austin, Post Malone
27. Volcano, Jungle
28. Intellectual Property, Waterparks
29. Lahai, Sampha, Alternative R&B/Soul
30. Toxic Positive, The Used
31. Laugh Track, The National
32. Memento Mori, Depeche Mode
33. Stereo Mind Game, Daughter
34. Life is but a Dream…, Avenged Sevenfold
35. Bauhaus Staircase, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
36. The Greater Wings, Julie Byrne
37. Bells Collection, M.I.A.
38. Magic 3, Nas & Hit-Boy
39. City of Gold, Molly Tuttle
40. Integrated Tech Solutions, Aesop Rock
41. Scarlet, Doja Cat
42. Seven Psalms, Paul Simon
43. Zig, Poppy
44. Trillstatik 3, Bun B & Statik Selektah
45. Angels & Queens – Part II, Gabriels
46. Javelin, Sufjan Stevens
47. Late Developers, Belle and Sebastian
48. Cracker Island, Gorillaz
49. Higher Lonely Power, Fireworks
50. Still Love, Teenage Wrist
51. Free Rein to Passions, The Dirty Nil
52. Purge, Godflesh
53. Higher, Chris Stapleton
54. Maps. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
55. The Ballad of Darren, Blur
56. After the Magic, Parannoul
57. Rat Wars, Health
58. Everything Is Alive, Slowdive
59. Glorious Game, Black Thought & El Michels Affair
60. Unreal Unearth, Hozier
61. Mercy, John Cale
62. Chris Black Changed My Life, Portugal. The Man
63. Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
64. Never Enough, Daniel Caesar
65. Raven, Kelela
66. Los Angeles, Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, & Jacknife Lee
67. In Pieces, Chlöe
68. In the End It Always Does, The Japanese House
69. Optical Delusion, Orbital
70. Sundial, Noname
71. Scaring the Hoes, Danny Brown & JPEGMafia
72. Hadsel, Beirut
73. Atum:  Act Two, The Smashing Pumpkins
74. For That Beautiful Feeling, The Chemical Brothers
75. Should’ve Learned by Now, Lucero
76. My Soft Machine, Arlo Parks
77. Periphery V:  Djent Is Not a Genre, Periphery
78. Obsidian Refractions, Cruciamentum
79. I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, Willie Nelson
80. Blowout, John Carroll Kirby
81. Quaranta, Danny Brown
82. Bleed Out, Within Temptation
83. Driving Just to Drive, Matt Maltese
84. Wide Open Light, Ben Harper
85. God Save the Teen, Mod Sun
86. The Waeve, The Waeve
87. Red Moon in Venus, Kali Uchis
88. Banjolero, Jody Carroll
89. Past // Present // Future, Meet Me at the Altar
90. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski
91. Arrived Anxious, Left Bored, Flume
92. Assorted Shrudd Sounds, Shrudd
93. Kx5, Kx5
94. Tomorrow Never Comes, Rancid
95. Playing Robots into Heaven, James Blake
96. The Sound, Stray Kids
97. Gloria, Sam Smith
98. Crux, Glasser
99. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey
100. The First Time, The Kid Laroi

 

Rock

Artist of album cover is Sigur Ros, copyright owner is likely either Ruri (designer of the cover) or Von Dur/BMG (record labels for the album)

1. I/O, Peter Gabriel
2. Atta, Sigur Ros
3. The Record, Boygenius
4. Try Not to Laugh, Graham Hunt
5. Hellmode, Jeff Rosenstock
6. Endex, 3Teeth
7. Neon Noir, VV
8. Say I Won’t, Bass Drum of Death
9. But Here We Are, Foo Fighters
10. V, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

 

Pop

Artist is Gracie Abrams, owner is either Interscope (record label for the album) of the graphic designer of the cover

1. Paranoia, Angels, True Love, Christine and the Queens
2. Good Riddance, Gracie Abrams
3. Since I Have a Lover, 6lack
4. Something to Give Each Other, Troye Sivan
5. Austin, Post Malone
6. Bauhaus Staircase, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
7. Cracker Island, Gorillaz
8. Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
9. In Pieces, Chlöe
10. The Sound, Stray Kids

 

Rap/Hip-Hop

Artist of album is Killer Mike, owner is likely either VLNS/Loma Vista (record labels for the albums) or the graphic designer

1. Michael, Killer Mike
2. Utopia, Travis Scott
3. Kaytramine, Kaytramine (Kaytranada & Amine)
4. Ugly, Slowthai
5. Magic 3, Nas & Hit-Boy
6. Integrated Tech Solutions, Aesop Rock
7. Scarlet, Doja Cat
8. Trillstatik 3, Bun B & Statik Selektah
9. Maps. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
10. Glorious Game, Black Thought & El Michels Affair

 

R&B/Soul

Artist of album is Black Pumas, owner is likely either ATO (record label for the album) or the graphic designer

1. Chronicles of a Diamond, Black Pumas
2. Since I Have a Lover, 6lack
3. Lover’s Game, The War and Treaty
4. Something to Give Each Other, Troye Sivan
5. Volcano, Jungle
6. Lahai, Sampha
7. Scarlet, Doja Cat
8. Angels & Queens – Part II, Gabriels
9. Never Enough, Daniel Caesar
10. Raven, Kelela

 

Country

This includes country, country pop, bluegrass, Americana, etc.

Artist of album is Tim McGraw, owner is likely Big Machine (record label for album) or the graphic designer

1. Standing Room Only, Tim McGraw
2. Lover’s Game, The War and Treaty
3. City of Gold, Molly Tuttle
4. Higher, Chris Stapleton
5. Should’ve Learned by Now, Lucero
6. I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, Willie Nelson
7. Banjolero, Jody Carroll
8. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski
9. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey
10. Brothers Osborne, Brothers Osborne

 

Electronic

Artist of album is M83, owner is likely M83 Recordings/Virgin (record labels for album) or the graphic designer

1. Fantasy, M83
2. Something to Give Each Other, Troye Sivan
3. Memento Mori, Depeche Mode
4. Bauhaus Staircase, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
5. Bells Collection, M.I.A.
6. Raven, Kelela
7. Los Angeles, Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, & Jacknife Lee
8. Optical Delusion, Orbital
9. For That Beautiful Feeling, The Chemical Brothers
10. Arrived Anxious, Left Bored, Flume

 

Heavy

This includes metal, hard rock, hardcore punk, etc.

Artist of album is 3Teeth, owner is likely Century Media (record label for album) or the graphic designer

1. Endex, 3Teeth
2. Neon Noir, VV
3. But Here We Are, Foo Fighters
4. When No Birds Sang, Full of Hell & Nothing
5. Life is but a Dream…, Avenged Sevenfold
6. Still Love, Teenage Wrist
7. Purge, Godflesh
8. Periphery V:  Djent Is Not a Genre, Periphery
9. Obsidian Refractions, Cruciamentum
10. Bleed Out, Within Temptation

 

Warped Tour Style

This includes artists who perform a style of music similar to that found at a Warped Tour, including emo, punk, pop punk, and metalcore.

Artist of album is Jeff Rosenstock, owner is likely either Polyvinyl (record label of album) or the graphic designer

1. Hellmode, Jeff Rosenstock
2. Say I Won’t, Bass Drum of Death
3. Ugly, Slowthai
4. History Books, The Gaslight Anthem
5. Intellectual Property, Waterparks
6. Toxic Positive, The Used
7. Higher Lonely Power, Fireworks
8. Free Rein to Passions, The Dirty Nil
9. Periphery V:  Djent Is Not a Genre, Periphery
10. God Save the Teen, Mod Sun

 

Albums by “Foreign Language” Artists

This one is loosely defined, and I don’t love the fact that I have this as one category.  There are two ways an album could be included here:  if it is in a foreign language or if it is in a style that is often in a different language (i.e. Latin, K-Pop/J-Pop/C-Pop/P-Pop, Afro-Pop).  I did this because I wanted to include some genres that didn’t have enough albums to break into a separate category.

Artist of album is Kali Uchis, owner is likely Geffen/EMI/Interscope (labels of album or owner of label) or the graphic designer

1. Paranoia, Angels, True Love, Christine and the Queens
2. After the Magic, Parannoul
3. Red Moon in Venus, Kali Uchis
4. The Sound, Stray Kids
5. Manana Sera Bonito, Karol G
6. Escandalo Intimo, Luisa Sonza
7. Timeless, Davido
8. Lali, Lali
9. I Told Them…, Burna Boy
10. 20&2, TVXQ

 

Eclectic

These albums are those which are either weird musically or are genres that are considered by many (not necessarily me) to be unusual or strange.

Artist of album is Unknown Mortal Orchestra, owner is likely either Ruben Nielson (designer of cover) or Jagjaguwar (record label of album)

1. I/O, Peter Gabriel
2. Atta, Sigur Ros
3. Paranoia, Angels, True Love, Christine and the Queens
4. Endex, 3Teeth
5. V, Unknown Mortal Orchestra
6. When No Birds Sang, Full of Hell & Nothing
7. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross, Anohni and the Johnsons
8. Life is but a Dream…, Avenged Sevenfold
9. Bells Collection, M.I.A.
10. Zig, Poppy

 

Debut

These are the best debut studio albums.  I considered any artist who released their first studio album, even if they released prior mixtapes or EPs.  I also included debuts for artists involved in other projects previously.

Note:  This year, there were a bunch of artists who were technically eligible for this award that were either solo artists previously involved in other projects or are super groups.  I have allowed it in the past, and it backfired this year, where 6 of the albums fell under these categories.  My apologies about this, especially since this category was intended to highlight newer artists.

Owner:  Meet Me at the Altar

1. The Record, Boygenius
2. Neon Noir, VV
3. Good Riddance, Gracie Abrams
4. Kaytramine, Kaytramine (Kaytranada & Amine)
5. In Pieces, Chlöe
6. The Waeve, The Waeve
7. Past // Present // Future, Meet Me at the Altar
8. Kx5, Kx5
9. The Sound, Stray Kids
10. The First Time, The Kid Laroi

 

Number 1 Albums

These are the top albums that hit number one on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

Note:  There were only 11 eligible albums for this category (sorry Morgan Wallen, you actually ended up in the worst albums of the year).  I felt like it was a sizeable drop off after number 7 and a monumental one after 9.

Owner:  Travis Scott

1. Utopia, Travis Scott
2. Manana Sera Bonito, Karol G
3. One More Time…, Blink-182
4. Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Manana, Bad Bunny
5. Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan
6. Nostalgia, Rod Wave
7. 5-Star, Stray Kids
8. Guts, Olivia Rodrigo
9. Pink Friday 2, Nicki Miinaj
10. For All the Dogs, Drake

 

Albums that Didn’t Chart

None of these albums charted on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

Artist of album is Graham Hunt, owner is likely Smoking Room (record label of album) or the graphic designer

1. Atta, Sigur Ros
2. Fantasy, M83
3. Paranoia, Angels, True Love, Christine and the Queens
4. Try Not to Laugh, Graham Hunt
5. Hellmode, Jeff Rosenstock
6. Endex, 3Teeth
7. Neon Noir, VV
8. Say I Won’t, Bass Drum of Death
9. V, Unknown Mortal Orchestra
10. Lover’s Game, The War and Treaty

 

Grammy Nominated

Due to the cutoff, only albums released prior to September 15^th were considered.  Only albums that were nominated were considered; albums that weren’t nominated but contain nominated songs were not.

Artist of album is Boygenius, owner is likely Matt Grubb (cover designer) or Interscope (record label of the album)

1. Michael, Killer Mike
2. The Record, Boygenius
3. Utopia, Travis Scott
4. But Here We Are, Foo Fighters
5. Since I Have a Lover, 6lack
6. Seven Psalms, Paul Simon
7. Cracker Island, Gorillaz
8. Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
9. For That Beautiful Feeling, The Chemical Brothers
10. Playing Robots into Heaven, James Blake

 

Most Surprising

These were albums I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did.  In some cases, it was an artist who doesn’t usually release good music, artists who I don’t like, or artists who I didn’t enjoy some of their recent albums, though in some cases the album just blew me away.

Note:  There weren’t a ton of albums that totally shocked me this year.  Normally, the top albums are ones I didn’t expect to be bad going into it.  There were very few that I had low enough expectations to top them easily.  That said, I was very impressed with these 10 albums.

Artist of album is Mod Sun, owner is likely either Big Noise (record label of the album) or the graphic designer

1. God Save the Teen, Mod Sun
2. The First Time, The Kid Laroi
3. This Mixtape is Fire Too, Dillon Francis
4. Mammoth II, Mammoth WVH
5. Let Her Burn, Rebecca Black
6. The Sound, Stray Kids
7. Black Butta, RuPaul
8. Existential Dance Music, San Holo
9. Gloria, Sam Smith
10. Thrones of Blood, Sullivan King

 

Most Disappointing

These were albums that I thought would be better and was surprised by how let down I felt.

Artist of album is Public Image Ltd., owner is likely either PiL Official (record label of the album) or the graphic designer

1. End of World, Public Image Ltd.
2. Tension, Kylie Minogue
3. Road, Alice Cooper
4. Queen of Me, Shania Twain
5. The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light, The Streets
6. The Feminine Divine, Dexys
7. A Kiss for the Whole World, Enter Shikari
8. World Music Radio, Jon Batiste
9. Larger than Life, Brent Faiyaz
10. New Blue Sun, Andre 3000

 

Worst Albums

These are ranked where number 1 is the worst and number 10 is…I guess least bad.

Owners:  AJR/Mercury Records

1. The Maybe Man, AJR
2. Feed the Beast, Kim Petras
3. One Thing at a Time, Morgan Wallen
4. Unhealthy, Anne-Marie
5. How Do You Sleep at Night?, Teezo Touchdown
6. Grand Salami Time!, The Baseball Project
7. End of World, Public Image Ltd.
8. Diamonds & Dancefloors, Ava Max
9. The Feminine Divine, Dexys
10. Bridges, Steve Lukather

 

 

What were some of your favorite albums of the year?  Any you disagree with my grade on?  Let me know in the comments!