Albums of the year 2023
I love music, I love albums; I love getting to know them and getting my imagination invested in an artist's little 30-60 minute vision. If that is old-fashioned in 2024, then I am old-fashioned. This is my 36th annual list. Every list from 1987 can be seen here (view source for entries below number 20).
Here's a playlist with one song from each of my 40 favourite albums of the year, and the list is below. I wasn't sure I'd be able to put a list together this year with the house move and various works making deep listening and discovery difficult, in a musical environment where there seems to be more music than ever with so little critical filter. But when things calmed down in October and I could listen properly to the things I'd earmarked and set aside after a couple of plays, I found that I'd done quite a good job, even in my distraction. That's right: I love me.
There is no prize for saying "I haven't heard of any of these acts". I compile these lists so that you don't have to.
1 ALBION - Harp
2 DEAD MEAT - The Tubs
3 HOLY RED WAGON - Bruiser and Bicycle
4 FURLING - Meg Baird
5 THE LAST ROTATION OF EARTH - BC Camplight
6 WESTERN CUM - Cory Hanson
7 WALK AROUND THE MOON - Dave Matthews Band
8 ROMANTIC PIANO - Gia Margaret
9 A LITTLE TOUCH OF SCHLEICHER IN THE NIGHT - Katie Schleicher
10 3D COUNTRY - Geese
11 NORM - Andy Shauf
12 POINT CLEAR - Candidate
13 TROPER SINGS BRION - Mo Troper
14 DREAM IN DREAM - Cornelius
15 TRIPLE FANTASY/TAKING IT EASY - Joey Joesph
16 THE WINDOW - Ratboys
17 A LITTLE BIT OF SUN - Semisonic
18 HOT FRUIT - Adeline Hotel
19 WOW - Kave NV
20 SUNDOWN - Eddie Chacon
21 EVERYTHING HARMONY - Lemon Twigs
22 SONG & DANCE EP - Dylan Moon
23 THERAPY - Brendan Eder Ensemble
24 NOTHING LASTS FOREVER - Teenage Fanclub
25 GLASS PASTURES - Dusk
26 WALLSEND WEEKEND TELEVISION - Novelty Island
27 TAKEN BY FORCE - Civic
28 NEXT DOOR - Leo Takami
29 SUBLIMINAL CLAVE - Joey Joesph & Jake Borgemenke
30 UGLY BEAUTY - DENIMS
31 THIS STUPID WORLD - Yo La Tengo
32 FALSE LANKUM - Lankum
33 MOVE - The Westerlies
34 JAVELIN - Sufjan Stevens
35 INFINITE SPRING - Superviolet
36 BB/ANG3L - Tinashe
37 JOAN OF ALL - Sarabeth Tucek
38 RADIO DAZE/GLAMPING - Roger Joseph Manning Jr
39 OTHERBODY - Dazy
40 I/O - Peter Gabriel
--
Apologies to poor Peter Gabriel whose record came out just as I compiled this list. I love the old prog wizard and I'm sure he would have placed higher given the reflection a record that took this long to emerge deserves.
Comments (18)
And that's worth the subscription right there, keep on rockin' on
I love albums. And False Lankum is amazing.
Thanks so much for the Spotify playlist, John! I spent a pleasurable afternoon listening to it start to finish, and now I have a bunch of new "liked" songs. Thanks for still choosing guitar rock, Beatles harmonies, weird-ass country in the Gram Parsons tradition, and every once in a while a song that could have come from the Ramones.
I looooove It's Alive by the Ratboys! They're such a great band.
Thanks for continuing to do this! It's always a fun time since many are new to me.
Maryjo! Great to hear from you, 100 well wishes to you
Oh wow, I didn't realize that Roger Manning had put out a new album
It's two EPs on one disc, one from this year, one from slightly further back. Did you get the Threesome record he made?
I had a similar experience--there was *so much* good new music that it was hard to really drill down, beyond a small handful that really resonated with me. The Tubs record is an absolute rager.
I'm so glad you have Tinashe on here. She was my #1!
Thanks! Do you have a collection of previous years' lists?
https://scarygoround.com/charts.htm
For a list of 40 albums of the year, not having heard of most of the acts seems like a feature, not a bug to me. Looking forward to digging in to this a bit.
peter gabriel is as amazing as ever. i got to see him live this year and it was incredible. he still sounds great.
As much as I tool and poke around the music streaming services, I end up in completely different places than you every year! Good stuff. Will poke around this list like I always do.
I can't say I haven't heard of any of these acts, I've heard of about four of them, but armed with this list I'm curious to discover more about the others. Thanks John.
Always my pleasure!
Thank you! Every year I find one or two that I missed completely on your lists, really do appreciate it.