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2023 has been a big year for the music industry; most artists have returned to touring, new artists have taken the industry by storm, concert movies became a norm, vinyl records oustold CDs for the first time in decades, dozens of incredible albums flooded the Billboard 200 charts. While I don't consider myself to have the credibility to "rank" the best albums of the year, I can rave about my top 5 albums released in 2023. Here is my ranking of my favorite albums of the year; the ones that caught my attention and kept me repeatedly hitting play throughout 2023.
5. Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Taylor Swift
My Stats:
Released: July 7, 2023
First listened: July 6, 2023
Minutes listened: 1,163
Most streamed song: "I Can See You (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)
Top 3 Favorite songs: "Sparks Fly (Taylor's Version)", "Haunted (Taylor's Version)", "Long Live (Taylor's Version)"
This updated Taylor classic is one that I gushed about back when I reviewed it following it's release in July (read the review here). Speak Now (Taylor's Version) gave me a good dose of nostalgia and gratitude to have grown up in the same era as Taylor Swift (looking at you "Long Live (Taylor's Version)"). This one may be considered underrated in her discography, but I fell back in love with it all over again the way I did back in 2010 with the original.
4. Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Kelsea Ballerini
My Stats:
Released: February 14, 2023
First listened: February 14, 2023
Minutes listened: 507
Most streamed song: "Penthouse"
Top 3 Favorite songs: "Penthouse," "Blindsided," "Mountain With a View"
I've been a longtime admirer of Kelsea and her girlishly clever pop-country songwriting, but telling the emotional tale of the unraveling of her marriage through this expertly produced six-song EP really is the highest peak her career has taken thus far. I might be overdramatic, but I think I audibly gasped over lyrics like "it was love/then it was just married" and "were you blindsided?/or were you just blind?." The short film that accompanies the EP is one of my very favorite music videos of the year and the later-released version of the album Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) made this work of art a staple in my listening this year.
3. GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo
My Stats:
Released: September 7, 2023
First listened: September 7, 2023 Minutes listened: 1,255
Most streamed song: "vampire"
Top 3 Favorite songs: "making the bed," "pretty isn't pretty," "love is embarrassing"
2023 was the year that Olivia Rodrigo came back with a bang, leaving behind the butterflies and heartbreak of her debut and crashing onto the scene with black nail polish, untouchable power vocals, and a badass attitude that made GUTS an addictive teenage escape of an album. I'll be honest, at first I was skeptical of GUTS and its distinctive departure from SOUR, but I've grown to love the cheek, messiness, and raw, overdramatic emotion across this compilation of stunning piano ballads and edgy pop-rock bangers that make Olivia a star in her own right.
2. 1989 (Taylor's Version), Taylor Swift
My Stats:
Released: October 27, 2023
First listened: October 26, 2023
Minutes listened: 1,663
Most streamed song: "Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)"
Top 3 Favorite songs: "Style (Taylor's Version)," "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)," "Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)"
1989 (Taylor's Version) is undoubtedly the best re-recording Taylor has released yet. I have the original album engrained so deep in my mind that I can pick out every little difference between the original and the re-recording. I was floored by the realization that the only changes I noticed were those that made this pop perfection even better. Honestly, calling it "pop perfection" seems like an understatement; "Style (Taylor's Version)" shook the bass in my car, "Welcome to New York (Taylor's Version)" sounds twinklier, "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" sounds effervescent, and the duo of "Slut! (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)" into "Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)" had me texting friends back to back messages saying "I love you Harry Styles!" and "I hate you Harry Styles!" 1989 (Taylor's Version) only lost the top spot on my album ranking this year due to the lack of novelty of most of the album-- in my mind, 1989 (Taylor's Version) is about as close as you can get to a perfect album from start to finish.
1. Good Riddance, Gracie Abrams
My Stats:
Released: February 24, 2023
First listened: February 24, 2023
Minutes listened: 2,144
Most streamed song: "I know it won't work"
Top 3 Favorite songs: "The blue," "Right Now," "Best"
My favorite album of the year? Good Riddance. Without a doubt. I don't quite have the words for how deeply I cherish this album. It's delicate, it's powerful, it's emotional, it's beautiful, it's creative, it's reflective-- from the first listen, I knew that Gracie had created something that resonated with me so profoundly. Production-wise, Good Riddance is classically instrumental, yet unique in how it's immersively layered. Lyrically, Good Riddance is nothing short of phenomenal. With it's brutal self-deprecating honesty on songs like "Best" and "Will you cry?," palpable hopeful romanticism on songs like "The blue" and "Full machine," and fragile yearning ambition on songs like "Right Now" and deluxe track "Unsteady," Good Riddance makes those of us who feel everything deeply feel seen. How I feel about the release of Good Riddance this year is summed up perfectly by the lyrics of one of my favorites on the album: "You came out of the blue like that, I never could've seen you coming, I think you're everything I've wanted."
Here's to more great music & great albums in 2024. Thanks for reading. ~A
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