20 Albums of 2023
Once again, our year has come to a close and I have compiled and ranked some of my favourite albums that were released in 2023. In order to get this out before the actual end of the year, I’ve reduced my writing on each album to a couple of sentences, or a short paragraph for my top 10. Hopefully I’ve said enough to help you find something you could fall in love with as I have. Wishing all a happy new year and liberation for all oppressed people.
20. Gloria - Sam Smith
So many fantastic collaborations on this album that is the physical and audio representation of Sam Smith reaching their queer joy era. Plus I love that their most frequent collaborator on Gloria is Colombian-Canadian badass, Jessie Reyez. Feel free to give us a whole collaboration album, queens. In case you’re curious, yes I do skip the last track. ;)
Track Highlights: “Love Me More”; “I’m Not Here To Make Friends”; “Perfect”.
19. Something To Give Each Other - Troye Sivan
I want just a little more from Troye, but I can’t deny that I return to this poppy gay collection on the regular, and the track highlights below have made it on to so many of my playlists. I’m particularly a fan whenever Troye decides to add a synthesizer.
Track Highlights: “One of Your Girls”; “Got Me Started”; “Rush”.
Something to Give Each Other on TIDAL
Something to Give Each Other on SPOTIFY
18. My 21st Century Blues - RAYE
RAYE’s story is so cool - she escaped her label in order to give us the kind of music she wanted to write instead of churning out top 40 dance hits for others. This album is full of big feelings and sounds. If you dig it, I recommend checking out the live version of My 21st Century Blues that she recorded at Royal Albert Hall with The Heritage Orchestra as well.
Track Highlights: “Escapism”; “Worth It”; “Black Mascara”.
My 21st Century Blues on TIDAL
My 21st Century Blues on SPOTIFY
17. I Left My Heart in Ladera - Terrace Martin and Alex Isley
Not the only Terrace Martin album on this list! When he works with Alex Isley, it’s the perfect marriage of jazz and R&B. Isley’s voice infuses so much heart and soul into any song, so this album is a treat from start to finish.
Track Highlights: “Paradise”; “I Left My Heart in Ladera”; “2 Step in the Living Room”.
I Left My Heart in Ladera on TIDAL
I Left My Heart in Ladera on SPOTIFY
16. Raven - Kelela
I fell in love with Kelela in 2017 through her debut album, Take Me Apart, and her follow-up 6 years later has not disappointed. This is dance music that ebbs and flows into healing waters, and at a full hour of music, it’s easy to get lost and float along with her.
Track Highlights: “Contact”; “On the Run”; “Washed Away”.
15. Masego - Masego
Masego’s self-titled record is a 14-track vibe and has become a go-to play for nearly any occasion. This is a true introduction to this talented multi-instrumentalist, as he invites no other friends to feature here.
Track Highlights: “Say You Want Me”; “Bye Bye My Love”; “Black Anime”.
14. Scarlet - Doja Cat
Doja Cat is not for everyone and I understand that. But personally, I cannot get enough of her unique mix of ridiculous, outlandish, and clever. Scarlet is a much more rap-centered album than her last project, and she’s making it clear that this is not for anyone but herself.
Track Highlights: “Attention”; “Can’t Wait”; “Paint the Town Red”.
13. Falling or Flying - Jorja Smith
I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this album on here, since “Little Things” is a clear highlight for me, but every time I do decide to play Falling or Flying, I’m surprised by a new moment that hits me.
Track Highlights: “Little Things”; “Backwards”; “GO GO GO”.
12. My Soft Machine - Arlo Parks
When I need a reminder to be gentle with myself, I think of myself as a soft machine and I listen to Arlo Parks. Without sugarcoating what’s hard and painful, Arlo manages to pull in a thread of beauty to remind us what we do it all for.
Track Highlights: “Weightless”; “Impurities”; “Blades”.
11. Sundial - Noname
Two things made it hard for me to bump this album up into the top 10: Jay Electronica’s anti-semitism on the controversial “balloons”, and this ugly af cover. I’m mostly joking about the cover - no matter what Noname does, she is one of the most outspoken and underrated rappers in the game. “namesake” not only calls out of the hypocrisy in the music industry, but also shows that Noname doesn’t even give herself a free pass, pointing out that she performed Coachella even in the midst of criticizing the festival.
Track Highlights: “namesake”'; “hold me down”; “boomboom”.
10. Better Luck in the Next Life - Chiiild
Better Luck in the Next Life is a fantastic follow up to one of my favourite 2021 albums; Hope for Sale. Montreal-based Chiiild said that he wanted to make an album that he would have enjoyed during his school commute back in the early 2000s, and drew inspiration from the production styles of the alt-rock and hip hop from that era. The result is a surprisingly consistent vibe of an album that can be played anywhere, anytime.
Track Highlights: “Good for Now”; “Bon Voyage”; “I Hope I Packed a Parachute”.
Better Luck in the Next Life on TIDAL
Better Luck in the Next Life on SPOTIFY
9. Jaguar II - Victoria Monét
Having already established a solid career writing music for other artists from Ariana Grande to Beyoncé, Victoria Monet has since been steadily making a name for herself as a performer and recording artist. And while I’ve enjoyed her smooth, breathy vocals in earlier collaborations and singles, Jaguar II is a perfectly conceived and ordered record that includes a range of Monet’s strength as a songwriter, from the ballad, “How Does It Make You Feel” to the funky sample of Chalie Boy’s “I Look Good” in “On My Mama”.
Track Highlights: “How Does It Make You Feel”; “On My Mama”; Stop (Askin’ Me 4Shyt)”.
8. Lahai - Sampha
My first listen of this Sampha album didn’t catch me right away, but once I saw some of these songs performed on his most recent Tiny Desk, I knew I had to give it another chance. It was inevitable, because I am a sucker for Sampha’s creative songwriting, but often find that it takes a bit of time and attention before I’m fully obsessed, which is exactly what I’ve become with Lahai.
Track Highlights: “Spirit 2.0”; “Only”; “Jonathan L. Seagull”.
7. Javelin - Sufjan Stevens
Apparently I like Sufjan best when he’s processing complicated feelings of grief, since my other highlight from his career so far is his 2015 album, Carrie & Lowell. Javelin is the most similar in both theme and style, combining his simple raw lyrics with sweeping productions. Nearly every song begins softly and almost fragile, then builds in volume, instrumentation, and emotion. One ironic exception is the closing track, a cover of Neil Young’s deep cut from Harvest, “There’s A World,“ which remains gentle and quiet throughout, even though the original has a full orchestra that builds much like the rest of Javelin. I doubt that it’s shade, but it makes me wonder what he’s saying through the stripped down arrangement. Sufjan dedicated Javelin to his late partner, Evans Richardson, a tragic way to come out publicly to his fanbase.
Track Highlights: “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”; “Shit Talk”; “A Running Start”.
6. Heaven - Cleo Sol
Like Terrace Martin, Cleo Sol has been prolific in 2023, with Heaven being the first of two full length albums released this past summer, on top of her regular collaborations with Sault, Little Simz, and plenty of other London-based artists. I found the second, Gold, a bit overly religious, but ironically Heaven is more down to earth, with warm and honest reflections on grief, faith, and self-love.
Track Highlights: “Self”; “Old Friends”; “Miss Romantic”.
5. Enigmatic Society - Dinner Party
I’m not sure whether to call Enigmatic Society the second or third album from this jazzy R&B supergroup, since they followed up their 2020 debut with Dessert Party. Either way, this is the second album of new material and it was a no-brainer for me to pre-order this on vinyl. Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper and Terrace Washington are easily three of the most prominent names in jazz music right now, but this album should not be restricted to jazz fans, as the tracks are packed with funk, R&B and hip hop references. If you end up enjoying Enigmatic Society, I highly recommend checking out another Terrace Martin project with Alex Isley that just barely missed my top 20 list: I Left My Heart in Ladera.
Track Highlights: “Breathe”; “Can’t Go”; “For Granted”.
4. Water Made Us - Jamila Woods
Water Made Us is the perfect blend of grounded, spiritual, and playful that we’ve come to expect from Jamila. “Tiny Garden” was one of the few tracks from an album featured on this list that is also without a doubt on my list of top songs. Jamila Woods’ songwriting is pure poetry and at this point her voice is a reliable self-soothing tool.
Track Highlights: “Tiny Garden”; “Boomerang”; “Send a Dove”
3. The One After Me - Seinabo Sey
Seinabo Sey might be one of the most underrated artists I love, and I’ve been so excited to have another excuse to tell everyone to listen to her. I have loved nearly everything this Gambian-Swedish artist has released to date, but The One After Me is her most complete full-length album yet. You can experience a bit of a preview by viewing her short film collaboration with COLOURSxStudio of the same name, The One After Me, which includes some monologue and lyrics spoken over clips of music from the album. The images there are beautiful, and it feels a bit more like a long trailer for the album, rather than an extension of the narrative.
Track Highlights: “Yes”; “Everything”; “Need You”
2. The Age of Pleasure - Janelle Monáe
My only complaint about Monáe’s fourth studio album is that it’s way too short at just over 30 minutes. Every song is brilliant, and the album is mixed to perfection with each song flowing into the next like a well executed DJ set. What I love most about The Age of Pleasure is how unapologetically queer the record is, even as she borrows from Caribbean traditions that have historically not been the most accepting of queer people.
I realize that some of the biggest fandroids are used to highly conceptual albums from Monáe, and as much as I was initially disappointed in the more straightforwardness of The Age of Pleasure, it has grown on me as an important extension of Janelle’s more explicitly sci-fi, afro-futurist work. I’ve come to see this collection as equally crucial in helping us all imagine not only alternative futures, but futures that include pleasure - especially pleasure for those who haven’t always been allowed it: black and brown and queer bodies.
Track Highlights: “Float”; “Lipstick Lover”; “Know Better”.
1. The Record - Boygenius
The second album from this supergroup of singer-songwriters, Phoebe Bridgers, Julian Baker, and Lucy Dacus, is an emotionally packed collaboration that brings the best of all three artists together to create a project that reflects more than the sum of its individual artists. These three voices blend seamlessly, even while remaining distinct as they take turns taking the lead.
There is an amazing short film they released along with the first three songs of The Record (directed by Kirsten Stewart, in case you were wondering just how gay it is), that does a great job at highlighting each member as a songwriter while showcasing their overall sound as a group. The film is also a great framing of the rest of the album, as it shows each of the three women healing their past traumas in queer and radical community with one another. This is possibly the overall arch of not only The Record, but of the entire Boygenius project.
Track Highlights: “True Blue”; “Leonard Cohen”; “Cool About It'“.