The Best Albums of 2023 (So Far)

This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

We have reached the halfway mark of 2023. Time keeps on moving, doesn’t it? How about spending some time on this Fourth of July holiday recapping the year in music? Below, you will find both our combined staff top 30, as well as individual lists from our contributors and moderators. Hopefully, you will find something new to love.

Note: You can share your own list in our music forum.

The Top Albums of 2023 (So Far)

1. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
2. Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance (Revisited)
3. Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust
4. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
5. Paramore – This Is Why
6. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days
7. 100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs
8. Boygenius – The Record
9. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
10. Andrew McMahon – Tilt at the Wind No More
11. Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children
12. Ruston Kelly – The Weakness
13. Story of the Year – Tear Me To Pieces
14. Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling up the Welcome Mat
15. Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision
16. City & Colour – The Love Still Held Me Near
17. Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch
18. Metallica – 72 Seasons
19. Sigur Ros – ATTA
20. Dave Hause – Drive it Like It’s Stolen
21. FRND CRCL – Suburban Dictionary
22. Arrows In Action – Built To Last
23. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
24. The Used – Toxic Positivity
25. Nothing, Nowhere – Void Eternal
26. Pierce the Veil – The Jaws of Life
27. Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman
28. White Reaper – Asking For A Ride
29. The Aces – I’ve Loved You For So Long
30. The Bouncing Souls – Ten Stories High

The Playlist

Looking for an easy way to check out all of the albums in our top thirty? We’ve got a playlist for that. You’ll find one on Apple Music and one on Spotify with one great song from each great album.

The Nerd Stat Stuff

Our final compiled list was put together using our ranking algorithm. There were 6 contributors and 95 unique albums across all of the lists. In total, 34 albums out of the 95 were on more than one list with the number one album appearing on 6 of the 6 lists.

Contributor Lists

Jason Tate

1. Fall Out Boy – So Much (for) Stardust
2. Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance (Revisited)
3. City and Colour – The Love Still Held Me Near
4. Dave Hause – Drive it Like It’s Stolen
5. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days
6. The Japanese House – In the End it Always Does
7. Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch
8. Ruston Kelly – The Weakness
9. Andrew McMahon – Tilt at the Wind No More
10. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
11. Heavenward – Pyrophonics
12. Arrows in Action – Built to Last
13. FRND CRCL – Suburban Dictionary
14. Blink-182 – Live from Coachella (April 14th, 2023)
15. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
16. Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children
17. Paramore – This is Why
18. Cub Sport – Jesus at a Gay Bar
19. White Reaper – Asking for a Ride
20. Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision
21. Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic)
22. Raye – My 21st Century Blues
23. Metallica – 72 Seasons
24. Ava Max – Diamonds & Dancefloors
25. Boygenius – The Record
26. Lies – Lies
27. Story of the Year – Tear Me to Pieces
28. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
29. Babymetal – The Other One
30. Meet Me @ the Altar – Past // Present // Future

I had a little fun with my mid-year list this year because there were some albums that have dominated my listening over the first half of the year that don’t fit into the tradional new release mold. There’s a re-recording of a classic, a bootleg, and an acoustic album of one of my favorite relases of last year. But, this is a snapshot of the music I’ve spent the most time with this year and have enjoyed the most.

The Stats: For the first half of the year, I’ve listened to 1,402 albums, 692 artists, and 10,064 songs (16,329 scrobbles). My most played album of the year so far is Fall Out Boy’s So Much (For) Startdust. My most played artist so far this year is MxPx. If you’d like to follow my weekly listening habits, please subscribe to my newsletter.

Aaron Mook

1. Youth Lagoon – Heaven is.a Junkyard
2. 100 gecs – 10,000 gecs
3. waveform* – Antarctica
4. Daighter – Stereo Mind Game
5. Sigur Ros – ATTA
6. Mac DeMarco – Five Easy Hot Dogs
7. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
8. M83 – Fantasy
9. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
10. PACKS – Crispy Crunchy Nothing
11. King Krule – Space Heavy
12. boygenius – the record
13. The Dirty Nil – Free Rein to Passions
14. Superviolet – Infinite Spring
15. Fall Out Boy – So Much (for) Stardust
16. Beach Fossils – Bunny
17. Paramore – This is Why
18. Black Country, New Roads – Live at Bush Hall
19. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown – Scaring The Hoes
20. Caroline Rose – The Art of Forgetting
21. Conway the Machine – WON’T HE DO IT
22. Larry June & The Alchemist – The Great Escape
23. Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here.
24. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein

Craig Manning

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling up the Welcome Mat
2. Matchbox Twenty – Where the Light Goes
3. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
4. FRND CRCL – Suburban Dictionary
5. Ruston Kelly – The Weakness
6. Gracie Abrams – Good Riddance
7. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Tilt at the Wind No More
8. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
9. Maisie Peters – The Good Witch
10. Meghan Moroney – Lucky
11. Caitlyn Smith – High & Low
12. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
13. Brandy Clark – Brandy Clark
14. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days
15. The Aces – I’ve Loved You for So Long
16. Joan – Superglue
17. The Jonas Brothers – The Album
18. Dean Johnson – Nothing for Me, Please
19. Margo Price – Strays
20. Paramore – This Is Why

Garrett Lemons

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (EP)
2. Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
3. Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision (EP)
4. 100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs
5. Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance (Revisited)
6. Skrillex – Don’t Get Too Close
7. The War and Treaty – Lover’s Game
8. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
9. Militarie Gun – Life Under The Gun
10. Sigur Ros – ATTA
11. nothing,nowhere. – VOID ETERNAL
12. Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust
13. Skrillex – Quest for Fire
14. NF – Hope
15. Ellie Goulding – Higher Than Heaven
16. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
17. City & Colour – The Love Still Held Me Near
18. Ruston Kelly – The Weakness
19. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days
20. Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch
21. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
22. Former Ruins – No Creature Is Hidden
23. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Tilt at the Wind No More
24. August Burns Red – Death Below
25. The Used – Toxic Positivity
26. Story of the Year – Tear Me To Pieces
27. Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children
28. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
29. Janelle Monae – The Age of Pleasure
30. Matchbox 20 – Where The Light Goes

Adam Grundy

1. Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust
2. Gorillaz – Cracker Island
3. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
4. Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance (Revisited)
5. Sarah and the Safe Word – The Book Of Broken Glass
6. Boygenius – The Record
7. Chase Tremaine – Accidental Days
8. Story of the Year – Tear Me To Pieces
9. Arrows In Action – Built To Last
10. PONY – Velveteen
11. Anti-Flag – The Lies They Tell Our Children
12. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Tilt at the Wind No More
13. Paramore – This Is Why
14. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
15. Pierce the Veil – The Jaws of Life
16. New Found Glory – Make the Most of It
17. White Reaper – Asking For A Ride
18. Metallica – 72 Seasons
19. Adam Lambert – High Drama
20. Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman
21. The Aces – I’ve Loved You For So Long
22. Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
23. The Bouncing Souls – Ten Stories High
24. Tyler Posey – UNRAVEL
25. The Used – Toxic Positivity
26. Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is But A Dream
27. Little Hurt – Lovely Hours
28. Harsh Lights – Watch the World Divide
29. Christine and the Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love
30. Another One Down – A Bitter Descent

Brett Bonner

1. Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
2. Boygenius – The Record
3. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days
4. Fall Out Boy – So Much (for) Stardust
5. Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children
6. Thrice – The Artist and the Ambulance (Revisited)
7. 100 Gecs – 10,000 gecs
8. Screaming Females – Desire Pathway
9. Wednesday – Rat Saw God
10. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
11. Dave Hause – Drive Like You Stole It
12. Paramore – This is Why
13. The Bouncing Souls – Ten Stories High
14. Metallica – 72 Seasons
15. Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
16. Killer Mike – Michael
17. Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision
18. Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch
19. Avenged Sevenfold – Life is But A Dream
20. Nothing, Nowhere – Void Eternal
21. Palette Knife – New Game+
22. City & Colour – The Love Still Held Me Near
23. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
24. Story of the Year – Tear Me to Pieces
25. Sleep Token – Take Me Back to Eden
26. August Burns Red – Death Below
27. Invent Animate – Heavener
28. Meet Me @ the Altar – Past // Present // Future
29. The Used – Toxic Positivity
30. Pierce the Veil – The Jaws of Life

Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you articles like this one.

more

Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos, tweets, etc.