What an absolutely stellar year for new music! Seriously, there hasn't been such an exciting year for new music in recent memory. It finally feels as if the music industry is adapting to modern times and becoming more progressive and inclusive and respectful of art and artists.
I've enjoyed spending time with these "best of" contenders this week and gave up on limiting my list to just 10 spots. Sure, there's a surprising bounty of new music worthy of being included among the best of 2023, but listen after listen there's only one that consistently rises above the crowd -- SZA's S.O.S. The album has been out for about a year now and every time I listen to it, I'm still blown away. When the S.O.S. tracks come up in my shuffled playlist, my response is always, "oh yeah, this is good stuff."
Just a reminder: It's SZA pronounced just like RZA.
What's on your "best of" new music list for 2023?
Happy Saturday!
My favorite new albums of 2023
1. SZA, SOS
2. Blondshell, Blondshell
3. Boygenius, The Record
4. Jason Isbell, Weathervanes
5. Lana Del Rey, Do You Know That There's a Tunnel ...
6. Louise Post, Sleepwalker
7. Bully, Lucky For You
8. Noel Gallagher, Council Skies
9. Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana
10. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts
**The Beatles, Now & Then -- not an album, I know, but quite possibly the greatest musical gift of my lifetime.
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Honorable mentions
11. Metallica, 72 Seasons
12. Speedy Ortiz, Rabbit Rabbit
13. Grupo Frontera, El Comienzo
14. The National, First Two Pages of Frankenstein
15. Slowdive, Everything is Alive
16. Mitski, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
17. Jorja Smith, Falling or Flying
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0CKyvUeGveYlZ4WNyUnGtN?si=dDVElJlOR8Gtkhjcl5e3GQ&pi=u-9vlc0w6YRLa8
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