My 20 Favorite Albums of 2023

 
2023, huh?  What a year.  I don't know that there were any releases this year that had an instant classic cultural status, nor were there any ones that personally blew me away completely, but that was made up for by the fact that there were so many albums that were very strong even if they weren't era-defining.  According to my Last.fm, I've racked up 12,627 song plays this year at the time of writing this, so I was listening to quite a bit of music in 2023.  Here's a rundown of some of my favorites that took up much of that listening time.

The rules: Everything is the same as usual.  The window of eligibility for this list is anything released from January 1, 2023 to now.  This list can include albums, mixtapes, EPs, and anything in between.

My 20 Favorite Albums of 2021

In 2021, I listened to more music than ever, both because I had more time to and out of pure necessity.  Though the pandemic rages on, that hasn't stopped musicians from putting out material, and this year brought on a deluge caused by so many artists hitting the pause button last year.  I consumed way more EPs this year as a result, since some bands still hedged their bets and are waiting until touring is fully back to release an album.  Others tided over fans by releasing rarities or re-recordings of old work.

But no matter what shape or size it came in, music was great in 2021.  Rap produced a wealth of gems after a slow start, emo music continued its rise in respectability, and even the supposedly dying genre of indie rock had some works that revitalized the form.  Let's take a look at the best of what this year had to offer.

The rules: Everything is the same as usual.  The window of eligibility for this list is anything released between January 1, 2021 and now.  This list can include albums, mixtapes, EPs, and anything in between.  As always, I'm praying that nothing substantial comes out in the twilight hours of the year.

My 20 Favorite Albums of 2019

These music lists are always the hardest to write an intro for, because there are so many genres and narratives, it's hard to sum it all up into one cohesive statement.  2019, at least for me, was a continuation of trends already known to be true, particularly in the rise of poptimism and the diminishing of traditional indie rock.  This year, rap and pop music take up a whole 50% of my top 20 list, which is higher than it's been since I've started making lists.  Unfortunately, that still doesn't mean there is any Billie Eilish on here.  I apologize to the zero teens reading this.

The rules: Everything is the same as usual.  The window of eligibility for this list is anything released between January 1, 2019 and now.  This list can include albums, mixtapes, EPs, and anything in between.  I'm praying that nothing substantial comes out in the twilight hours of the year.  You never know with surprise releases these days...