Favorite Albums of 2023
Hey everyone and welcome today we will be talking about some of my favorite albums of 2023. Music is an important part of my life and hearing artist full length projects is always great to take in all the work they put in so today I’m going to tell you what some of my favorites are from 2023. So without further ado lets get right into it.
Before we get to the juicy stuff I want to mention some of the albums I loved but didn’t make my list. My honorable mentions are 4th wall by Ruel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack, Unreal UnEarth by Hozier, Guts by Olivia Rodrigo, This is Why by Paramore, Jaguar II by Victoria Monet, and Barbie The Album.
Starting things off is the rerelease of a pop classic and one of my favorite albums ever 1989(Taylors Version) by Taylor Swift. I think this is such a fun album that addresses the medias obsession with her dating life, bad blood with an ex friend, and rushing into a relationship that is exhilarating but with a rollercoaster of emotions and watching it all fall apart. I love that she adds vault tracks into her rereleases to elevate the album even more. This is a great album filled with lots of good songs and my favorite is out of the woods but Now That We Don’t Talk and Is It Over Now were standouts from her vault tracks.
Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus came out in the beginning of the year and it was great. I feel like with this album Miley gave us insight into her relationship with her ex husband and this really is a breakup album. She has really grown into her voice and I feel like the way she sings about topics and addresses situations on this album just feels very adult and mature. The album is very pop but also seems like Miley hasn’t forgotten about her country and rock roots. Flowers is my favorite but after the digital release she released Used to Be Young which I found an appreciation for and is also heartbreaking and vulnerable.
Troye Sivan dropped the short but sweet Something to Give Each Other and honestly it made my year better. As i’ve watched Troye grow as an artist I feel like he’s become more confident in his music making abilities and how he expresses himself and you can definitely notice that growth when looking at all his albums and how this one differs from those. This album lets us take a look into his life and I felt that each song was telling a different story. The album feels like a mixture of experiences from partying to one night flings to being angry at someone and learning to love yourself. The album has a mixture of club bangers and some chill kickback songs but every song feels like they fit perfectly. Rush and Got Me Started have a special place in my heart and I just love those songs but What’s The Time Where You Are lately has been stuck on repeat.
Ama Lou is an artist that I just discovered this year and I saw someone talking about how her album I Came Home Late was good and I listened and I was like wow how have I never heard of her and yea they were right. Her voice is just so smooth and the album just really gave off R&B vibes but she mixed other genres as well. I sat down and listened to all the songs when I found out about it and felt like there was truly no skips and closing the album with the title track was chefs kiss. The album is full of great songs but Range ’95 and Caught Me running just stood out to me.
I know Renee Rapp from The Sex Lives of College Girls and love her in that and I knew she started off on broadway and that she could sing but after hearing Snow Angel I realized that girl can sang. She has some great storytelling on this album and some of the songs are super catchy and fun talking about relationships and friendships ending but some are also super vulnerable and you feel like you’re hearing something sad that your friend is telling you. Im glad I got to see and hear more of her songwriting skills and how she takes these big emotional moments and she may tell it in a way that may not seem serious or a way that will make you want to lay down and stare at the ceiling but whichever you will still feel emotionally connected to them. My favorite song off this album is The Wedding Song, I could play it over and over again and is a good example of a song that you think will be this happy song but you listen to the lyrics and you realize its about a relationship that ended before she could show them this amazing song.
Last but certainly not least is not a full album but the Ep Tori by Tori Kelly. This album has this sound that is heavily influenced by early 2000’s R&B and she even got Timberland on the opening song which is peak y2k. I feel like most of the songs are singing about love and being happy but one or two songs shes singing about an ex. I think Tori has one of the best voices of this generation and she showcases her range on this EP. My favorite off this album is Missing You.
When I listen to an album I always hope for the best especially if the lead single is good and these are some that stood out for me. I love listening to a full body of work and seeing what some of the themes of the album are and what’s the artist brings that might bring that’s draws me in and if they are an artist with multiple projects I want to see how this one will differ from what they’ve done in the past. There are just so many cool projects and I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store.
