By Seb Zabarte
2023 has been great for music, here is our top 40 albums of the year.
No order for 40-21.
A Great Chaos – Ken Carson (Hip hop/Rage)
Never Enough – Daniel Caesar (R&B)
Back2datrap – Lancey Foux (Uk Hip Hop/Rage)
Blanket – Kevin Abstract (Indie/Pop)
Quest For Fire – Skrillex (Electronic/House/Dubstep)
Everything Harmony – The Lemon Twigs (Folk/Indie)
This is Why – Paramore (Indie/Rock)
No Thank You – Little Simz (Uk Hip Hop/Jazz Hip Hop)
Wallsocket – underscores (Pop/Rock)
Glockoma 2 – Key Glock (Southern Hip hop/Trap)
PetroDragonic Apocalypse – King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard (Metal/Thrash)
Maps – Billy Woods and Kenny Segal (Abstract Hip Hop)
Osama season – Osamason (Underground Hip Hop/Trap/Plugg)
Fountain Baby – Amaarae (R&B/Afrobeat)
Golden Child, Part 3 – Autumn! (Underground Hip Hop/PluggnB)
How Do You Sleep At Night? – Teezo Touchdown (Alt Hip Hop/R&B)
I Was Mature For My Age, But I Was Still A Child – grouptherapy. (Alt Hip Hop)
My Soft Machine – Arlo Parks (Indie/Pop)
Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? – Mckinley Dixon (Jazz Hip hop/Conscious)
Red Moon in Venus – Kali Uchis (R&B/Pop)
20. And Then You Pray For Me – Westside Gunn (favourite song – KITCHEN LIGHTS, House of GLORY)
After the most successful run of his career from 2020-2023, releasing massive projects such a Pray for Paris and featuring on some of the most celebrated albums of the current decade in Utopia and Donda, Westside Gunn chooses to trade out his usual style of grimy sampling for the trap sound. Westside Gunn acts as the conductor to his stacked cohort of features which include the likes of JID, Rick Ross, Giggs, Denzel Curry and even more. This is a must-listen for fans of the grimy New York Sound and Trap fans.
19. Heaven Knows – PinkPantheress (favourite songs – Mosquito, capable of love)
Pinkpantheress after years of fame, finally releases her ‘first’ full-length album (‘to hell with it’ was far too short and plays more like an ep). PinkPantheress music has always been on the skint side, with her new project not being any different running at 34 minutes. However, what she gets done in those 34 minutes is nothing short of spectacular, pulling from a wide range of influences that she has been experimenting with ever since she burst onto the scene such as D&B and R&B. The upside of such a short run time is there is nearly no excuse to not at least listen to it once, so I implore all readers to try this one out as well.
18. Afterlyfe – Yeat (favourite songs – Split, how it go)
Yeat has had a meteoric rise in popularity, largely thanks to tiktok and general hip hop discourse around his validity in the genre. However in my opinion, Yeat with Afterlyfe has released the best album in the rage subgenre since Whole Lotta Red. Unlike most rage albums, Afterlyfe is a surprisingly dynamic listen, largely thanks to BNYX who has managed to perfectly match Yeat’s energy and delivery in most of the songs. Yeat is no slouch either, his delivery is nothing short of insane and has shown to be a man of countless voices, so much so he did not even see the need for many features, a trap many aspiring hip hop artists fall into.
17. Lets start here. – Lil Yachty (favourite songs – drive ME crazy!, running out of time)
After years of mediocre projects with occasional moments of brilliance, Lil Yachty chooses to completely switch into a lane previously thought out of his creative wheelhouse. ‘lets start here.’ is a progressive rock album, a far cry from the soundcloud sound yachty his fans are familiar with. The sudden change in style had everything going against it, but in my opinion it definitely beat the ‘mid’ allegations. The list of features and producers made it clear that yachty wasn’t getting into something he at least wasn’t familiar with, teaming up with the likes of Mac Demarco, Daniel Caesar, Alex G to deliver his strongest project in years.
16. Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good! (favourite songs – Pearls, Shake The Bottle)
After releasing her ‘last’ studio album What’s Your Pleasure, it seems that Jessie has found a complete resurgence in her craft with her new disco sound, so much so she has postponed her retirement. The album is full of life and energy, packed full of nostalgia without sounding dated at all. Jessie Ware has seemingly mastered catchiness, almost every song on the album sounds like it could top the charts. Overall, although the album runs a bit short for my taste, it is still well worth the listen and deserves any self-respecting pop and disco fan’s attention.
15. Live at Bush Hall – Black Country, New Road (favourite songs – Up Song, Turbine/Pigs)
After the departure of their frontman Isaac Wood in 2022 due to mental health reasons, It seemed that all the speed BCNR maintained had halted completely. Despite losing their key voice, BCNR is still very much capable of beautifully crafted instrumentals and even some of the members stepping up to provide their own vocals. The songwriting has dwindled since Wood’s departure, but this album is a step in the right direction. I have no doubt BCNR can make up the difference on their next album.
14. Utopia – Travis Scott (favourite songs – FE!N, MY EYES, GODS COUNTRY, I KNOW)
The highly anticipated 4th studio album of Travis Scott, ‘Utopia’, reaches the standard set by Astroworld and then some. At this point, a dynamic and unique listen is a quality that all albums in Travis’ discography have, which is why the number of sounds and musical palettes on this album even for Travis is impressive. The relaxed and introspective moments like I KNOW are not without the respective bangers, like the track FEIN which sees Travis dipping his toes into the rage subgenre. All things considered; it lives up to the hype.
13. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You – Caroline Polacheck (favourite songs – Blood and Butter, Sunset, Bunny Is A Rider)
One of the most underappreciated musical geniuses of the 21st century Caroline Polacheck releases her second album as a solo artist. Her sophomore album is an absolutely phenomenal art pop release, all about escapism. This is reflected perfectly in the soundscape of the album, which seems to jump from genre to genre whilst still being very high quality. That’s not to say her vocals are not on point either, as Polacheck seems to be at the top of her game with the range she exhibits on this album, even trumping her previous effort Pang in 2019. A must-listen for fans of art pop (artists like Charli XCX, Bjork, FKA Twigs, Fiona Apple etc).
12. SOS – SZA (favourite songs – Snooze, Seek And Destroy, Nobody Gets Me, Shirt)
After 6 years of radio silence on a new project, it feels like the talent she exhibited with her studio debut ‘Ctrl’ has stayed with her even after over half a decade. SOS perfectly encapsulates mainstream R&B, but only the most positive qualities of it. SZA’s vocal chops have only seen improvement over the years and although I prefer the more homegrown and ethereal production of Ctrl, SOS is by no means a slouch. SZA goes the distance with SOS, spanning over an hour long. Despite this, the album for me nearly never gets boring, and is nothing short of impressive to create such a captivating listen within the genre of R&B which in my opinion, has gotten very complacent over the years.
11. Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) – Yves Tumor (favourite songs – Heaven Surrounds Us Like A Hood, Echolalia)
Yves Tumor has always been quite the dark horse in the music sphere, his new album with a title too long to write again is no exception. Despite the short run time yves tumor seems to explore almost every facet of his new sound. Pulling together elements of music from all over the place, from metal to gospel. Tumor in the middle of all of it manages to fit them all together to make one of my favourite albums of the year.
10. Guts – Olivia Rodrigo (favourite songs – vampire, making the bed)
It is easy to group Guts into the generic pop slog of the 2020’s but Olivia Rodrigo is nothing like them. Guts is both nostalgic and extremely modern in its approach to pop music, employing various aesthetics like Y2K and even elements of rock into a new pop sound. The pop genre, which is usually oversaturated with industry plant after industry plant, is sounding fresher than it has been in years.
9. Everything is Alive – slowdive (favourite songs – shanty, skin in the game)
Shoegaze giants slowdive have returned with their 5th studio album, Everything is Alive. After the mixed reception of their self-titled in 2017, it seems slowdive have somewhat returned to their roots with this new album, seemingly falling back to shoegaze aestethics. The album sits at just over 41 minutes with 8 tracks, with although at times lacklustre vocals, it is still filled with stunning instrumentation that gives off vibes of their old albums. The instrumentals are quite complex whilst still being enjoyable and palatable even to those only just discovering the genre. It is safe to say slowdive is back.
8. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens (favourite songs – Will Anybody Ever Love Me?, Javelin, So You Are Tired)
Singer-Songwriter Sufjan Stevens is back in top form, delivering some of the most thoughtful and heartbreaking lyricism of the decade so far. Stevens has never been one for strong vocal performances, however, he makes up for it in his unique way of portraying emotion through his voice. Combined with the masterful songwriting, Javelin is a beautiful listen, but harrowing in its content and subject matter. For an artist like Sufjan Stevens, quality like this is simply the standard for him, which is why Javelin is one of the best albums of the year.
7. The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We – Mitski (favourite songs – Heaven, My Love Mine All Mine, Star)
Mitski has been one of the leading voices within the indie scene for years now, and this album has solidified her in that position as a titan in her genre. The subject matter of the album is nothing boundary-pushing, tackling issues of love and romance. However, in my opinion the instrumentals of the album feel much more unique and grand than her other albums, wearing the country influence on her sleeve. Even though her writing has always been strong, what I believe held her back was her production. The latter is not an issue on her latest, hence why I would rate it so highly.
6. Voir Dire – Earl Sweatshirt x The Alchemist (favourite songs – Vin Skully, Mancala, Mac Deuce)
2 of some of the most important artists of their respective generations team up once again to bring is Voir Dire. The album is nothing out of the ordinary for Earl and Alc, however the duo are sounding impeccable this year in particular. Earl’s rhyme schemes have always been ahead of the curve, but on Voir Dire he seems to be putting his best forward in years. The Alchemist also provided beautiful sampled beats as usual. The features, although used sparingly, were similarly impressive and definitely deserved to be on the album alongside Earl and Alc at top form. (the full album is somewhere on youtube, the one on streaming has a few songs cut from it).
5. Dogsbody – Model/Actriz (favourite songs – Crossing Guard, Maria, Slate)
Model/Actriz come out with the most electrifying debuts of the decade so far with Dogsbody. The group breathes new life into the noise rock genre and although the length is on the skint side setting at 38 minutes, the content of the album is nothing short of pure energy. The production may sound like a mess on first listen, but I can assure you when listening closer you can tell there was a method in the madness.
4. Did you know there was a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard – Lana Del Rey (favourite songs – Candy Necklace, Fishtail, Margaret, A&W)
Lana truly reached a completely new part of her potential with her most recent release. In my opinion, Ocean Boulevard trumps all of her previous work by quite a large difference, even with such strong entries in her catalogue like NFR. Lana has always had very personal writing, but specifically on Ocean Boulevard she has taken her penmanship to a whole new level. The moody and thoughtful production to back it up creates the strongest mainstream album of the year and possibly of the decade.
3. Scaring the H*es – Danny Brown x JPEGMAFIA (favourite songs – God Loves You, Kingdom Hearts Key, Burfict!)
One of if not the most hyped underground release of the year hits all the targets on their first collaboration, Scaring The H*es. The album title perfectly encapsulates the entire vibe and aesthetic of Peggy and Danny’s production and lyrics, which is simultaneously unbelievably inaccessible to anyone not in the know, but also arguably both of their most critically acclaimed album ever. The production is all things insane and niche, even going as far to sample a completely unknown Japanese ad from the 80’s, all the way to buying a Michael Jackson sample. The result of pulling from so many influences? One of the best rap albums of the decade so far.
2. Lahai – Sampha (favourite songs – Suspended, Only, Evidence)
Lahai is nothing short of a modern masterpiece. After 6 years of waiting for this album, it’s safe to say it was worth it. Sampha for the most part has kept music and any news about it very close to his chest, only showing up in features very sporadically. Of course, the artists he has collaborated with have only been the biggest in the world, the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott, and an absolutely ludicrous amount of writers’ credit all across music at large. The talent and hype has been realised in spades, from the dreamy and airy production to the pinpoint accuracy of Sampha’s vocals. It isn’t hard to tell the amount of work he put in on Lahai.
1. Space Heavy – King Krule (favourite songs – Seagirl, Flimsy, If Only It Was Warmth)
For me, it could not be anything else. King Krule, although admittedly a very much acquired taste due to his baritone vocals, once again delivers a beautiful experience with Space Heavy. At the core of his work is his mysterious and intriguing lyrics, which are in themselves art. The soundscape of Space Heavy is full of sombre instrumentals that perfectly match the content of the lyrics, usually centred around relationship dependency, loneliness and things of that nature. Running just under 45 minutes, King Krule delivers one of the most emotionally potent albums ever, and also the RGS Album Of The Year.
The 1509 