Year-End Lists

Amanda Petrusich: The Best Music of 2023, as published by The New Yorker

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
   Anohni and the Johnsons
2. Javelin
   Sufjan Stevens
3. Again
   Oneohtrix Point Never
4. Pharoah (1977)
   Pharoah Sanders
5. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
   Lana Del Rey
6. Sundial
   Noname
7. The Basketweave Elegies
   Peter Garland
8. Oh Me Oh My
   Lonnie Holley
9. Fountain Baby
   Amaarae
10. I Inside the Old Year Dying
    PJ Harvey
11. Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You
    Bonnie “Prince” Billy
12. First Two Pages of Frankenstein
    The National

Maria Sherman: Top Albums of 2023, as published by Associated Press

• Génesis
  Peso Pluma
• Guts
  Olivia Rodrigo
• Lucky
  Megan Moroney
• Hackney Diamonds
  The Rolling Stones
• Raven
  Kelela
• Mañana Será Bonito
  Karol G
• New Blue Sun
  André 3000
• Sundial
  Noname
• Rat Saw God
  Wednesday
• My Soft Machine
  Arlo Parks

The Line of Best Fit: The Best Albums of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020]

1. Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
   Kara Jackson
2. Rat Saw God
   Wednesday
3. Heavy Heavy
   Young Fathers
4. Javelin
   Sufjan Stevens
5. Fountain Baby
   Amaarae
6. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
   Mitski
7. Sundial
   Noname
8. Maps
   Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
9. Blondshell
   Blondshell
10. Scaring the Hoes
    JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
11. Famous Last Words
    CASISDEAD
12. Am I British Yet?
    V V Brown
13. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
    McKinley Dixon
14. I Don't Know
    bdrmm
15. The Greater Wings
    Julie Byrne
16. The Patience
    Mick Jenkins
17. Raven
    Kelela
18. Radical Romantics
    Fever Ray
19. With A Hammer
    yaeji
20. I Killed Your Dog
    L'Rain
21. Life Under the Gun
    Militarie Gun
22. Lahai
    Sampha
23. I've Seen a Way
    Mandy, Indiana
24. The Window
    Ratboys
25. I Inside the Old Year Dying
    PJ Harvey
26. Honey
    Samia
27. Softscars
    yeule
28. Time Ain't Accidental
    Jess Williamson
29. Black Rainbows
    Corinne Bailey Rae
30. Quaranta
    Danny Brown
31. The Whaler
    Home Is Where
32. Beautiful and Brutal Yard
    J Hus
33. False Lankum
    Lankum
34. In the End It Always Does
    The Japanese House
35. everything is alive
    Slowdive
36. Messy
    Olivia Dean
37. Mid Air
    Paris Texas
38. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
    Caroline Polachek
39. The Worm
    HMLTD
40. I've Got Me
    Joanna Sternberg
41. Kaytraminé
    Kaytraminé
42. Nails
    Benefits
43. Quest for Fire
    Skrillex
44. trip9love...???
    Tirzah
45. Stillness, Softness...
    hinako omori
46. Perfect Picture
    Hannah Diamond
47. Chaos For The Fly
    Grian Chatten
48. Sorry I Haven't Called
    Vagabon
49. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
    Anohni and the Johnsons
50. Guts
    Olivia Rodrigo

Consequence: 50 Best Albums of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
   Yves Tumor
2. Rat Saw God
   Wednesday
3. Javelin
   Sufjan Stevens
4. Maps
   Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
5. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
   Caroline Polachek
6. Weathervanes
   Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
7. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
   McKinley Dixon
8. Zach Bryan
   Zach Bryan
9. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
   Mitski
10. Härvest
    Poison Ruïn
11. The Window
    Ratboys
12. Mid Air
    Paris Texas
13. Raven
    Kelela
14. After the Magic
    Parannoul
15. Proof of Life
    Joy Oladokun
16. Softscars
    yeule
17. Water Made Us
    Jamila Woods
18. everything is alive
    Slowdive
19. That! Feels Good!
    Jessie Ware
20. 72 Seasons
    Metallica
21. Sundial
    Noname
22. My 21st Century Blues
    Raye
23. Girl with Fish
    Feeble Little Horse
24. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
    Anohni and the Johnsons
25. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
    Lana Del Rey
26. Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
    Kara Jackson
27. D-DAY
    Agust D
28. Guts
    Olivia Rodrigo
29. All of This Will End
    Indigo De Souza
30. Voir Dire
    Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist
31. The Age of Pleasure
    Janelle Monáe
32. Blondshell
    Blondshell
33. Heavy Heavy
    Young Fathers
34. Love in Exile
    Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily
35. Everyone's Crushed
    Water From Your Eyes
36. Michael
    Killer Mike
37. Struggler
    Genesis Owusu
38. Cartwheel
    Hotline TNT
39. But Here We Are
    Foo Fighters
40. Scaring the Hoes
    JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
41. I Killed Your Dog
    L'Rain
42. Echo the Diamond
    Margaret Glaspy
43. The Lamb as Effigy
    Sprain
44. the record
    boygenius
45. Work of Art
    Asake
46. Something to Give Each Other
    Troye Sivan
47. New Blue Sun
    André 3000
48. Stone
    Baroness
49. Careful!
    Deeper
50. I Inside the Old Year Dying
    PJ Harvey

The Quietus: Albums of the Year 2023. In his opening essay, Luke Turner writes:

Indeed, intelligence reaches us that end-of-year album charts in other publications have been far less predictable than usual, with no consensus and a bewildering array of records in contention. We are happy to see our comrades joining us in chaos and disorder.

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. False Lankum
   Lankum
2. I Inside the Old Year Dying
   PJ Harvey
3. Hive
   Teeth of the Sea
4. La Baracande
   La Nòvia
5. Look Over the Wall, See the Sky
   John Francis Flynn
6. Valosaasteen sekaan
   Musta Huone
7. To Be Cruel
   Khanate
8. Abstract Concrete
   Abstract Concrete
9. Quaranta
   Danny Brown
10. BOWN
    Mariam Rezaei
11. 2222 AND AIRPORT
    Shit and Shine
12. Before We Lie Down in Darknesse
    The Inward Circles
13. Carry Them With Us
    Brighde Chaimbeul
14. Excelsior
    Slauson Malone 1
15. *1
    Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective
16. PoiL Ueda
    PoiL Ueda
17. The Anxiety of Symmetry
    Bill Orcutt
18. Ecorcha/Taillée
    La Tène
19. Crash Recoil
    Surgeon
20. Food Near Me, Weather Tomorrow
    babybaby_explores
21. Oxmardyke
    Philip Jeck & Chris Watson
22. I Killed Your Dog
    L'Rain
23. Archangel Hill
    Shirley Collins
24. Selvutsletter
    Lost Girls
25. Mares
    Annelies Monseré
26. Black Dog
    Gazelle Twin
27. An Cnoc Mór
    Moundabout
28. Prisoners Of Love And Hate
    Apostille
29. Yallah Beibe
    MC Yallah
30. The Hum
    James Ellis Ford
31. The God Phone
    Lunch Money Life
32. Dreamer
    Nabihah Iqbal
33. All Of This Is Chance
    Lisa O'Neill
34. Birds Catching Fire in the Sky
    UKAEA
35. In Blood
    Hey Colossus
36. Fifth Continent
    Alexander Tucker & Keith Collins
37. With A Hammer
    yaeji
38. Rhizomes
    Aho Ssan
39. Nails
    Benefits
40. Love Lines
    Nuovo Testamento
41. Raven
    Kelela
42. Flatland Explorations Vol.2
    Babau
43. EP/64-63
    EP/64
44. CYRM
    Oxn
45. UK Grim
    Sleaford Mods
46. Supercluster
    JAAW
47. Negative Stars
    Skull Practitioners
48. Talàn
    Raphael Rogiński
49. Abri Cyclonique
    Polobi & the Gwo Ka Masters
50. Casement
    Enola Gay
51. Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden…
    Matana Roberts
52. Future's Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate
    Bell Witch
53. Shook
    Algiers
54. Galo
    oyamao
55. Tête-à-tête
    Ruth Anderson & Annea Lockwood
56. Dissolution Grip
    KMRU
57. Echolocation
    Mendoza Hoff Revels
58. Radical Romantics
    Fever Ray
59. Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities
    James Holden
60. Maps
    Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
61. Sundial
    Noname
62. We
    a.P.A.t.T.
63. Mermaids
    Natalia Beylis
64. Traveller Song / Thanksong
    Cassandra Miller
65. Land of Sleeper
    Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
66. L'Herbe de Détourne
    Sourdurent
67. Choose Mortality
    Flesh & The Dream
68. Abscission
    Torpor
69. Of Darkness and Light
    Årabrot
70. The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
    Sparks
71. Yfory
    Yfory
72. Pop-Up! Ker-Ching! and the Possibilities of Modern Shopping
    Mozart Estate
73. Vol. 1
    Synthfreq
74. Source of Denial
    Nihiloxica
75. House of All
    House of All
76. Modern Music
    One More Grain
77. When we were that what wept for the sea
    Colin Stetson
78. Intimism
    Nicky Wire
79. In Brine
    jellyskin
80. Saved!
    Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
81. Black
    Kevin Richard Martin
82. Inferiority Complex
    Yossari Baby
83. 55355
    Zhao Cong
84. Sept Duos Pour Guitar Acoustique Et Piano Préparé
    Stephen O'Malley & Anthony Pateras
85. Of The Sign...
    Spirit Possession
86. J/P/N
    Kasai
87. Purge
    Godflesh
88. The King
    Anjimile
89. Tamiditine
    Moussa Tchingou
90. We Sick
    deVon Russell Gray / Nathan Hanson / Davu Seru
91. Saint
    MXLX
92. Even God Has A Sense Of Humor
    Maxo
93. A Treatise on Ceremonial Magic
    Dodo Resurrection II
94. Fire Worshipper
    The Stargazer’s Assistant
95. Meant Like This
    Rezzett
96. Homenaje a Remedios Varo
    John Zorn
97. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
    Anohni and the Johnsons
98. We Cater To Cowards
    Oozing Wound
99. Exit Simulation
    Niecy Blues
100. Eulo Cramps
     Call Super

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Quietus: Jennifer Lucy Allan: The Best Of 2023

Esquire: 20 Best Albums of 2023

[see also 2010s]

1. Volcano
   Jungle
2. Guts
   Olivia Rodrigo
3. Unreal Unearth
   Hozier
4. Hackney Diamonds
   The Rolling Stones
5. Kaytraminé
   Kaytraminé
6. My 21st Century Blues
   Raye
7. Michael
   Killer Mike
8. Higher
   Chris Stapleton
9. AudioLust & HigherLove
   SG Lewis
10. Heroes & Villains
    Metro Boomin
11. Ends & Begins
    Labrinth
12. Endless Summer Vacation
    Miley Cyrus
13. Let's Start Here
    Lil Yachty
14. Zach Bryan
    Zach Bryan
15. Good Riddance
    Gracie Abrams
16. New Blue Sun
    André 3000
17. the record
    boygenius
18. My Soft Machine
    Arlo Parks
19. This Is Why
    Paramore
20. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
    Lana Del Rey

Gorilla vs. Bear: Albums of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Erotic Probiotic 2
   Nourished By Time
2. Suntub
   ML Buch
3. Maps
   Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
4. Radio Red
   Laura Groves
5. Goodnight Summerland
   Helena Deland
6. New Blue Sun
   André 3000
7. Gut Punch
   Meagre Martin
8. Jam City Presents EFM
   Jam City
9. Madres
   Sofia Kourtesis
10. When Horses Would Run
    Being Dead
11. Scaring the Hoes
    JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
12. Guts
    Olivia Rodrigo
13. trip9love...???
    Tirzah
14. Love Hallucination
    Jessy Lanza
15. Get Up
    NewJeans
16. Exit Simulation
    Niecy Blues
17. Tracey Denim
    Bar Italia
18. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
    Lana Del Rey
19. & the Charm
    Avalon Emerson
20. Crépuscule I & II
    Tujiko Noriko
21. Life And Death: The Five Chandeliers Of The Funereal Exorcisms
    Marina Zispin
22. A Grisaille Wedding
    Rainy Miller x Space Afrika
23. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
    Armand Hammer
24. Atlas
    Laurel Halo
25. homeless n***a pop music
    Jim Legxacy
26. For Emotional Use Only
    Mandaworld
27. Fake Sleep
    Voice Actor
28. The Greater Wings
    Julie Byrne
29. Space Heavy
    King Krule
30. Time Ain't Accidental
    Jess Williamson
31. Looking Out My Window
    Carlene
32. Aftersun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
    Oliver Coates
33. Suddenly My Mind is Blank
    Jouska
34. Again
    Oneohtrix Point Never
35. Maritz
    Jonnine
36. Patterns For Auto-Tuned Voices And Delay
    Lisel
37. Mirage FM
    patten
38. Blue Car
    Joanne Robertson
39. Radical Romantics
    Fever Ray
40. Lp1
    Isola
41. Bad Dream Jaguar
    Sun June
42. JGSG
    John Glacier & SURF GANG
43. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
    Caroline Polachek
44. Internal Affairs
    Buzzy Lee
45. Due in Color
    Andrea
46. a.s.o.
    a.s.o
47. ❤️ /Lamb
    Soccer Committee
48. Robed in Rareness
    Shabazz Palaces
49. Mondo Tempo
    Freak Heat Waves
50. I've Got Me
    Joanna Sternberg
51. Gisela
    NOIA
52. My Maze
    Abbey Blackwell
53. Javelin
    Sufjan Stevens
54. DJ E
    Chuquimamani-Condori
55. SPF INFINI 3
    TDJ

Rolling Stone: The 100 Best Albums of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. SOS
   SZA
2. the record
   boygenius
3. Data
   Tainy
4. Let's Start Here
   Lil Yachty
5. Guts
   Olivia Rodrigo
6. This Is Why
   Paramore
7. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
   Mitski
8. Maps
   Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
9. Jaguar II
   Victoria Monét
10. Zach Bryan
    Zach Bryan
11. Blondshell
    Blondshell
12. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
    Chappell Roan
13. Sundial
    Noname
14. Mañana Será Bonito
    Karol G
15. Javelin
    Sufjan Stevens
16. Esquinas
    Becky G
17. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
    Anohni and the Johnsons
18. That! Feels Good!
    Jessie Ware
19. Scaring the Hoes
    JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
20. The Age of Pleasure
    Janelle Monáe
21. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
    Lana Del Rey
22. Gumbo
    Young Nudy
23. Paranoia, Angels, True Love
    Christine and the Queens
24. Gag Order
    Kesha
25. Weathervanes
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
26. Fountain Baby
    Amaarae
27. Rat Saw God
    Wednesday
28. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
    Caroline Polachek
29. Red Moon in Venus
    Kali Uchis
30. Endless Summer Vacation
    Miley Cyrus
31. Dogsbody
    Model/Actriz
32. Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana
    Bad Bunny
33. Get Up
    NewJeans
34. Something to Give Each Other
    Troye Sivan
35. For All the Dogs
    Drake
36. Everyone's Crushed
    Water From Your Eyes
37. Work of Art
    Asake
38. Kaytraminé
    Kaytraminé
39. Ganger
    Veeze
40. Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
    Kara Jackson
41. Bless This Mess
    U.S. Girls
42. Strength
    Samory I
43. Lucky
    Megan Moroney
44. Joy'All
    Jenny Lewis
45. Tension
    Kylie Minogue
46. Fuse
    Everything but the Girl
47. I Killed Your Dog
    L'Rain
48. A Gift & a Curse
    Gunna
49. This Stupid World
    Yo La Tengo
50. Sunburn
    Dominic Fike
51. Life Under the Gun
    Militarie Gun
52. Like..?
    Ice Spice
53. Forward
    Jordan Ward
54. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
    McKinley Dixon
55. Snow Angel
    Reneé Rapp
56. Portals
    Melanie Martinez
57. Génesis
    Peso Pluma
58. Let There Be Music
    Bonny Doon
59. Voir Dire
    Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist
60. Unreal Unearth
    Hozier
61. Proof of Life
    Joy Oladokun
62. Good Riddance
    Gracie Abrams
63. The Evil Genius
    Mr Eazi
64. Heaven Knows
    PinkPantheress
65. Hackney Diamonds
    The Rolling Stones
66. El Comienzo
    Grupo Frontera
67. Barbie The Album
    various artists
68. Quest for Fire
    Skrillex
69. D-DAY
    Agust D
70. The Ballad of Darren
    Blur
71. I Told Them...
    Burna Boy
72. Paint My Bedroom Black
    Holly Humberstone
73. Cousin
    Wilco
74. 10,000 gecs
    100 gecs
75. Eye On The Bat
    Palehound
76. Lahai
    Sampha
77. Bebe
    Bebe Rexha
78. Lo Que No Te Dije
    Gale
79. Art Dealers
    Low Cut Connie
80. Yo No Era Así, Pero de Ahora en Adelante, Sí
    Diego Raposo
81. I've Got Me
    Joanna Sternberg
82. Volcano
    Jungle
83. Raven
    Kelela
84. First Two Pages of Frankenstein
    The National
85. Tequila Ever After
    Adekunle Gold
86. Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart
    Lucinda Williams
87. Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
    Yves Tumor
88. Water Made Us
    Jamila Woods
89. Lucky for You
    Bully
90. DLUX
    DannyLux
91. The Great Escape
    Larry June and the Alchemist
92. Alma
    Nicki Nicole
93. 72 Seasons
    Metallica
94. Falling or Flying
    Jorja Smith
95. Sremm 4 Life
    Rae Sremmurd
96. Another Blue
    Crosslegged
97. Purge
    Godflesh
98. Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)
    Kelsea Ballerini
99. Memento Mori
    Depeche Mode
100. My Soft Machine
     Arlo Parks

Lindsay Zoladz: Best Albums of 2023, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020]

1. 10,000 gecs
   100 gecs
2. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
   Caroline Polachek
3. Guts
   Olivia Rodrigo
4. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
   Lana Del Rey
5. Good Luck
   Debby Friday
6. Radical Romantics
   Fever Ray
7. Everyone's Crushed
   Water From Your Eyes
8. Water Made Us
   Jamila Woods
9. That! Feels Good!
   Jessie Ware
10. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
    Anohni and the Johnsons

And 5 more

• I Killed Your Dog
  L'Rain
• Javelin
  Sufjan Stevens
• The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
  Mitski
• Statues I
  Spencer Zahn
• Statues II
  Spencer Zahn
• The Window Is The Dream
  Jana Horn

Jon Caramanica: Best Albums of 2023, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2011]

1. Work of Art
   Asake
2. Like..?
   Ice Spice
3. SOS
   SZA
4. Get Up
   NewJeans
5. 10,000 gecs
   100 gecs
6. Lucky
   Megan Moroney
7. Génesis
   Peso Pluma
8. Zach Bryan
   Zach Bryan
9. Hood Hottest Princess
   Sexyy Red
10. Religiously. The Album.
    Bailey Zimmerman
11. Guts
    Olivia Rodrigo
12. For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition
    Drake
13. Buckle Bunny
    Tanner Adell
14. Something to Give Each Other
    Troye Sivan

And 10 more

• Nata Montana
  Natanael Cano
• Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
  Lana Del Rey
• Golden
  Jungkook
• Unforgiven
  Le Sserafim
• I've Seen a Way
  Mandy, Indiana
• From Gaza, With Love
  Saint Levant
• Quest for Fire
  Skrillex
• Asylum
  Uncle Waffles
• Psychopath
  Morgan Wade
• One Thing at a Time
  Morgan Wallen