The 2023 End of Year music lists thread

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It’s ok if you don’t enjoy it anymore but don’t pull the adult card

Hahaha. Fair. I wasn't meant to be quite so grumpy! Just bemoaning the days when I could actually pay proper close attention and manage a list of 30/40 albums.

i'm old enough to admit that i didn't even know that yo la tengo had a new album until i saw some of these lists last week. the only time i ever hear about them now is when they do endless VU covers with other old people in december every year. mazel tov! i did my gen x duty by watching youtubes of my neighbor lou barlow do neil young songs live with other old people in brooklyn. i liked the guy from the roots!

but mostly i don't care what year it is listening-wise. i'll get to it all eventually. i do try to keep up with metal. there is so much of it. i made a YT playlist of Decibel's top 40 this year and i just ended up listening to that Horrendous album over and over.

honestly don't know what people get out of yo la tengo at this late date. my eyes glaze over when i see stuff like that on a list. i guess its comfort food for people. like the Stones

But isn’t Boomkat programmed beats music also comfort food at this point in time [ ducks head]

There's no way I could come up with a list of 100 albums that I was really excited about that came out in one year, unless maybe I spent all my time listening to new music. To be honest, I usually struggle to come up with 10, unless it's a really strong year, which so far, this one doesn't seem to be. Because I'm lazy, I usually wait until the crush of EOY lists to come out to start looking for new releases. I think as of about a month ago, there were maybe 5 albums from this year I was excited about. As of now, maybe it's up to 10.

imo it is the sacred duty of ilm posters to listen to like, at least 50 new albums every year at a bare minimum

Probably the only list to feature Sam Smith and Donald Trump.

https://variety.com/lists/worst-songs-2023/mind-your-business-will-i-am-and-britney-spears/

“ but mostly i don't care what year it is listening-wise. i'll get to it all eventually.”

This is me with books and movies and TV (and eventually, music)

"But isn’t Boomkat programmed beats music also comfort food at this point in time [ ducks head]"

their year-end list is super-eclectic. its all over the place and has plenty of challenging stuff on it. my version of comfort food tends to be metal but if i had to pick a yo la tengo-adjacent album off of their top 100 that i would consider comfort food it would be the arnold dreyblatt album on drag city. it pushes all my old nyc nowave/minimal buttons in a way that they like to be pushed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st29rgG0i7E

Maura Johnson’s Top 10 albums (in Time) were posted above, but I think we missed her Top 10 songs (#1: “bad idea, right?”)

https://www.time.com/6548823/best-latin-songs-albums-2023/

Another critic in Time lists fave Latin pop, dance, and rock

Norman Records - Best Albums of 2023
https://www.normanrecords.com/features/best-albums/best-albums-2023/

Crack Magazine - Staff Lists 2023
https://crackmagazine.net/article/list-article/staff-lists-crack-magazine-2023/

The Crack Magazine team rewind and reflect on the year gone by. Unravelling a tapestry of moments and memories from 2023, we delve into the releases that struck a chord, the memes that made us smile, and everything in between.

long time music blogger, Dan Paton presents:

2023 In Music: New Music Top 100
https://inleaguewithpaton.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023-in-music-new-music-top-100.html?m=1

Dan is active on twitter/x, particularly each Friday with his threads on new releases

Dan Paton
https://twitter.com/DanPatonMusic

Passion of the Weiss - Best Albums of 2023

https://www.passionweiss.com/2023/12/28/pow-best-albums-2023/
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2242-passion-of-the-weisss-best-albums-of-2023/

Under the Radar’s Top 100 Albums of 2023
https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/under_the_radars_top_100_albums_of_2023

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/2232-under-the-radars-top-100-albums-of-2023/

Barack Obama’s Top Songs of 2023: Beyoncé, Big Thief, Mitski, and More
https://pitchfork.com/news/barack-obamas-top-songs-of-2023-beyonce-big-thief-mitski-and-more/

Karol G & Shakira: “TQG”
Zach Bryan: “I Remember Everything” [ft. Kacey Musgraves]
Dave & Central Cee: “Sprinter”
6lack: “Since I Have a Lover”
Megan Thee Stallion: “Cobra”
Blondshell - “Joiner”
Alé Araya: “Midnight Gospel” [ft. Joseph Chilliams]
Beyoncé: “America Has a Problem” [ft. Kendrick Lamar]
Tyla: “Water”
Allison Russell: “The Returner”
Davido: “Unavailable” [ft. Musa Keys]
Mitski - “My Love Mine All Mine”
Burna Boy: “Sittin’ on Top of the World” [ft. 21 Savage]
Big Thief - “Vampire Empire”
Indigo De Souza - Younger & Dumber”
Stormzy: “Toxic Trait” [ft. Fredo]
John Summit & Hayla: “Where You Are”
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma - “La Bebe (Remix)”
Victoria Monét - “On My Mama”
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - “Cast Iron Skillet”
Brent Faiyaz - “WY@”
Asake & Olamide - “Amapiano”
Teddy Swims - “Lose Control”
Rita Wilson & Keith Urban - “Crazy Love”
Gabe Lee - “Drink The River”
Lenny Kravitz: “Road to Freedom (From the Netflix Film ‘Rustin’)”
Jon Batiste - “It Never Went Away”
Tems - “Me & U”

post-punk.com - Best of 2023
https://post-punk.com/post-punk-com-the-best-of-2023/

post- punk, darkwave / synth pop etc

various individual lists

plus a Collective Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6llUjwhzmk026ZnodSpYtv?si=mjd8_1ApSv2IARtTSCKbpg&pi=e-GzVND1SWQUqZ

Obama shoulda put “Vampire Empire (Colbert version),” just to troll the band

Rolling Stone - The 40 Best Afropop Songs of 2023
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-40-best-afropop-songs-of-2023-1234929225/wurld-shake-1234933054/

Spotify playlist link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DNU9WHzRl4SgABfAhyBC5?si=Pu7_Jj3fTm-VRNw64XoENQ&pi=e-WHDV2wsTTTKx

do publicists pitch the Obama list? they must, right?

Obama shoulda put “Vampire Empire (Colbert version),” just to troll the band

― In my Ram’s Horn era (morrisp)

Or “Dang (Colbert version)”

I know AOTY exists now but I have always looked forward to and considered Rob Mitchum's aggregation to be the better of the two because he only includes multi-voter lists. I am also just fond of the data table view.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mlSJ5DU0RKccuNBfAgsiw-_xUApis7zC3ZjJofXyZB4/edit#gid=1927558368

It is remarkable that not one of the 44 lists ranked Javelin #1. I doubt that's ever happened before to an overall #1.

Also always enjoy perusing his "Sleepers" tab, which basically has albums that were very highly ranked on only a small number of lists. Has two of my favorites in the top ten: ML Buch & Durand Jones. Not familiar with a lot of the others.

Wilco recommends:

https://twitter.com/Wilco/status/1742251939931254830

Hmmm, they just deleted it. Not my fault.

now that the year is actually over, it's time to vote in the ILM EOY poll: ILM's 2023 End of Year Tracks & Albums Poll / VOTING THREAD

The Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll also has breakout categories including a Latin Jazz one

https://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/23/?fbclid=IwAR2WelVCzdqenojITWPqaDagJuEFt15y7ZhEJYOp9Bgxj2AMu7ZBJLNb0DY

https://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/23/totals-latin.php

forgot to add this terrible list that I add every year and it annoys us all.

https://tomvictorwords.medium.com/what-your-favourite-album-of-2023-says-about-you-6481acac9054

these are so low effort and I don't even get most of the references so why do they still piss me off

I know. It just seems like a collection of really lame local jokes.

i respect that they're now at the point where most of those are just totally inscrutable

"boygenius is for fake indie girls who like kelly clarkson" is the most comprehensible one and I still don't really get it - which part is the punchline?

still I clicked and read the whole thing despite knowing how shit it would be so they win

Feel like it's trying to be too clever, or maybe it hits much more for gen z readers and I'm just not exactly hip enough to fully get most of it.

https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2024/01/05/150-best-albums-of-2023/

Chuck Eddy 150 fave albums of 2023 plus a long essay . His list has a fair amount of jazz and his self described most ever albums from African based artists. Eddy is into artists from the Nyege Nyege label much more than popular afropop/ afrobeats btw

Noz's list of his fave rap went up a day or two ago, for the goons/high BPM people (and lurkers)

https://noz.agency/rap23.html

The Finest Kiss

https://finestkiss.wordpress.com/2024/01/02/2023-albums/