The Top Songs of 2023
Like last year, I have compiled all the new songs that have been most dear to me in 2023, in addition to compiling my favorite albums. I hope this list kindles love for some artists who are new to you, or that it reminds you to dive further into relationship with artists you already know and love.
Also like last year, I’ve split the list into ranked sections, and each of the six sections is named after one of my favorite lyrics from a song in that section.
For more reflections on my past year of music listening, check out the intro to my Top Albums of 2023.
A couple more notes on the songs list specifically:
i) You can listen to all of the songs below in one convenient playlist on Spotify, presented as part of my “What’s Good” playlist series.
ii) While Spotify is extremely convenient, it is also a huge corporation that continues to fail to pay artists anything close to a living wage. Obviously, this sucks a lot and has become one of the hills I live on and will be happy to die on, surrounded by loved ones and comforted in the knowledge that I have spent my life yelling upon whenever possible. Because Spotify is the worst, I’ve also included a link to each song on Bandcamp, when possible. I hope that will make it easier for you to financially support the artists of your favorite songs on the list.
iii) You can obviously still support the artists whose songs aren’t listed on Bandcamp, as well — and the best way to do that is to purchase concert tickets and merch directly from the artist’s official site, from a local independently owned record store, or — best of all — from their friend or relative at the merch table at a live show.
iv) If a song was featured in last year’s list as a single, it was not included in this year’s list (even if the album was released this year). This year, that mostly means “Strong” by Romy is not on the list. Oops, I guess it kind of is now because I typed that. Oh well ;-)
“There’s nothing stopping me now / from saying all the painful parts out loud,” or #1–12
Jamila Woods & Duendita — Tiny Garden (on Bandcamp)
SZA — Nobody Gets Me
Christine and the Queens — Tears Can Be So Soft (on Bandcamp)
Fenne Lily — Lights Light Up (on Bandcamp)
Little Simz — Gorilla
Black Belt Eagle Scout — My Blood Runs Through This Land (on Bandcamp)
Mustafa — Name of God
Squirrel Flower — Alley Light (on Bandcamp)
The National — Tropic Morning News (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — Shit Talk (on Bandcamp)
MUNA — One That Got Away (on Bandcamp)
Christine and the Queens — To Be Honest (on Bandcamp)
“Let’s break it up and build it from what’s grounding us,” or #13–35
The National — Eucalyptus (on Bandcamp)
Romy — Loveher (on Bandcamp)
Vagabon — Carpenter (on Bandcamp)
Westerman — CSI: Petralona (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — Will Anybody Ever Love Me? (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — My Love Mine All Mine (on Bandcamp)
Tinashe — Needs (on Bandcamp)
Jamila Woods & Saba — Practice (on Bandcamp)
Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, and Vince Staples — Mancala (on Bandcamp)
Yaeji — Done (Let’s Get It) (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía & Rauw Alejandro — Beso
Boygenius — True Blue (on Bandcamp)
Wednesday — Chosen to Deserve (on Bandcamp)
Samia — Honey (on Bandcamp)
Tierra Whack — Chanel Pit
Squirrel Flower — When a Plant Is Dying (on Bandcamp)
Tei Shi — Grip (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — Buffalo Replaced (on Bandcamp)
SZA — I Hate U
Amaarae — Co-Star (on Bandcamp)
Madison McFerrin — (Please Don’t) Leave Me Now (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — Heaven (on Bandcamp)
Saba & No ID — Back in Office
“My jealousy is teaching me the empty cups that need filling,” or #36–66
Sampha — Only (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía — Tuya
Black Belt Eagle Scout — Nobody (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — So You Are Tired (on Bandcamp)
Little Simz — No Merci
Jamila Woods — Backburner (on Bandcamp)
Vagabon — Lexicon (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — My Red Little Fox (on Bandcamp)
Janelle Monáe — Champagne Shit
Yaeji — For Granted (on Bandcamp)
SZA — Snooze
ANOHNI — It Must Change (on Bandcamp)
Carly Rae Jepsen — Psychedelic Switch
Ratboys — The Window (on Bandcamp)
Bully — Days Move Slow (on Bandcamp)
Squirrel Flower — Your Love (on Bandcamp)
Snoh Aalegra — Be My Summer
SZA — Conceited
The National — New Order T-Shirt (on Bandcamp)
Samia — To Me It Was (on Bandcamp)
Doja Cat — Paint the Town Red
Boygenius — Not Strong Enough (on Bandcamp)
Sigur Rós — Klettur (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — The Frost (on Bandcamp)
Wednesday — Quarry (on Bandcamp)
ANOHNI — Sliver of Ice (on Bandcamp)
Miya Folick — Nothing to See (on Bandcamp)
Fenne Lily — Dawncolored Horse (on Bandcamp)
Noname, $ilkMoney, Billy Woods, and Stout — Gospel?
Mitski — Bug Like an Angel (on Bandcamp)
Janelle Monáe, Seun Kuti, and Egypt 80 — Float
“If this is what it means to be alive, I won’t grow up, grow up, grow up,” or #67–90
Squirrel Flower — Finally Rain (on Bandcamp)
ANOHNI — Rest (on Bandcamp)
Kelela — Contact (on Bandcamp)
The Beths — Watching the Credits (on Bandcamp)
Troye Sivan — Got Me Started
SZA — Special
Soccer Mommy — Soak Up the Sun (on Bandcamp)
Troye Sivan — Rush
Empress Of & Rina Sawayama — Kiss Me
Ratboys — Morning Zoo (on Bandcamp)
Bad Bunny — Un Preview
Wiki & Tony Seltzer — That Aint Pat (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — Everything That Rises (on Bandcamp)
Kurt Vile — Cool Water (Single Mix)
Squirrel Flower — Full Time Job (on Bandcamp)
Yaeji — Easy Breezy (on Bandcamp)
SZA — Seek & Destroy
Black Belt Eagle Scout — Salmon Stinta (on Bandcamp)
Indigo De Souza — Smog (on Bandcamp)
Open Mike Eagle, Eshu Tune, Video Dave, and Still Rift — WFLD 32 (on Bandcamp)
J Hus & Burna Boy — Masculine (on Bandcamp)
Caroline Polachek — Blood and Butter (on Bandcamp)
Janelle Monáe — Haute
Ice Spice — In Ha Mood
“Windows down, you sing along / I don’t think I’ve hеard this song before,” or #91–117
Jayda G — Circle Back Around (on Bandcamp)
Pearla — Ming the Clam (on Bandcamp)
Open Mike Eagle — A New Rap Festival Called Falling Loud (on Bandcamp)
Helena Deland — Spring Bug (on Bandcamp)
The National — Space Invader (on Bandcamp)
Jorja Smith — Try Me
Meernaa — As Many Birds Flying (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — Goodbye Evergreen (on Bandcamp)
Avalon Emerson — Astrology Poisoning (on Bandcamp)
Kevin Morby — Like a Flower (on Bandcamp)
The National — Ice Machines (on Bandcamp)
Blondshell — Olympus (on Bandcamp)
Sampha — Spirit 2.0 (on Bandcamp)
Helena Deland — Bright Green Vibrant Gray (on Bandcamp)
Wye Oak — Every Day Like the Last (on Bandcamp)
Real Estate — Water Underground (on Bandcamp)
Romy — The Sea (on Bandcamp)
Arlo Parks — Weightless (on Bandcamp)
Vagabon — Can I Talk My Shit? (on Bandcamp)
Deem Spencer, Eliza Moon, and Mavi — How Far We’ve Come (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — I Don’t Like My Mind (on Bandcamp)
Reyna Tropical — Ya Va Pasar (on Bandcamp)
Cherry Glazerr — Soft Like a Flower (on Bandcamp)
Hurri Haran — Beyonce
Carly Rae Jepsen — Kamikaze
Waldemar — Ruthless (on Bandcamp)
Slowdive — Kisses (on Bandcamp)
“She shake it like jelly,” or #118–153
Claud — Every Fucking Time (on Bandcamp)
Feeble Little Horse — Freak (on Bandcamp)
Noname — Namesake
James Blake — Tell Me
Kllo — Affection (on Bandcamp)
Becca Mancari — Over and Over (on Bandcamp)
Youth Lagoon — Mercury (on Bandcamp)
Cherry Glazerr — Bad Habit (on Bandcamp)
Hannah Diamond — Staring at the Ceiling (on Bandcamp)
Tei Shi — Familiar
Killer Mike, El-P, and thankugoodsir — Don’t Let the Devil (on Bandcamp)
Buck Meek — Haunted Mountain (on Bandcamp)
Sufjan Stevens — Genuflecting Ghost (on Bandcamp)
Caroline Polacheck — Billions (on Bandcamp)
Kevin Morby — A Song for Katie (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — When Memories Snow (on Bandcamp)
Andy Shauf — Wasted on You (on Bandcamp)
SZA — Love Language
Minor Moon — Miriam Underwater (on Bandcamp)
Ian Sweet — Your Spit (on Bandcamp)
Navy Blue — Chosen
Tennis — Forbidden Doors
Bully — All I Do (on Bandcamp)
Aesop Rock — Pigeonometry (on Bandcamp)
BigXthaPlug — Levels
Hannah Diamond — Poster Girl (on Bandcamp)
Samia — Amelia (on Bandcamp)
Andy Shauf — Halloween Store (on Bandcamp)
Ice Spice — Deli
Toro y Moi — The View (on Bandcamp)
NOIA & Ela Minus — Didn’t Know (on Bandcamp)
Lauren Auder — we2assume2many2roles (on Bandcamp)
Caroline Polachek — Butterfly Net (on Bandcamp)
Belle and Sebastian — When We Were Very Young (on Bandcamp)
Amaarae — Reckless & Sweet (on Bandcamp)
The Hold Steady — Grand Junction (on Bandcamp)
