The year 2023 was a glorious mess for music, with hits, flops, and obscurities across various genres. There were pop kicks, rap poets, soul divas, guitar monsters, disco jams, punk rockers, shoegaze lovers, and karaoke room-clearers. It was a year filled with brilliant tunes from artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, and others. Here are 25 favorite songs from 2023, showcasing the diverse and vibrant musical landscape of the year:
1. Depeche Mode, ‘My Favorite Stranger’ – A darkwave Eighties psycho-sexual time warp
2. Bully, ‘Change Your Mind’ – Alicia Bognanno proves herself a grunge mastermind
3. Mexican OT f. Paul Wall & DRODi, ‘Johnny Dang’ – A Tejano rap headbanger
4. Helena Deland, ‘Bright Green Vibrant Gray’ – A hushed acoustic ballad about grief
5. Pink Pantheress featuring Ice Spice, ‘Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2’ – A mega-smash club confessional
6. The Rolling Stones, ‘Whole Wide World’ – Their best album since their last one
7. Flo Milli, ‘Fruit Loop’ – A self-esteem seminar from Flo Milli
8. Slow Pulp, ‘Gone 2’ – The most summer-of-’93-sounding rocker of 2023
9. Robert Forster, ‘It’s Only Poison’ – A love song about chemo
10. Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice, ‘Barbie World’ – A surreal Barbie soundtrack
11. Yo La Tengo, ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown’ – A seven-minute psych-drone feedback rush
12. Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma, ‘Ella Baila Sola’ – A historic música Mexicana anthem
13. Feeble Little Horse, ‘Steamroller’ – A shoegaze make-out slow jam of the year
14. Gunna, ‘Fukumean’ – An effervescent Top Ten summer smash
15. Gina Birch, ‘I Play My Bass Loud’ – A rebellious anthem urging you to make noise
16. MJ Lenderman, ‘Knockin’’ – A dirtbag rock & roll jester for our times
These songs are just a taste of the vibrant, chaotic, and brilliant musical year that was 2023.