Ok I won’t be beating around the bush as much with this one, this is a much briefer list of just around 15 songs I think were some of the best to come out this year. Oh and all of these are essentially 10/10 songs for me so keep that in mind. With that being said, let’s kick things of with…
15.) Tyler, The Creator – SORRY NOT SORRY
Really good introspective and emotional song from Tyler, one of his best actually. Really recommend the music video for this one too, it helps to contextualize this one even more. Great lush instrumentation and all of Tyler’s different sides and egos showing through, great in concept even better in execution.
14.) Poppy – Spit
It’s kinda nuts how she can come out with one of her middest albums ever and one of her best songs ever both in the same year, this being of course the latter of the two. This is probably one of the most insane female vocalist metal songs I’ve heard in a hot minute, this song is the ultimate musical beat-down and a perfect example of what I’d like more from Poppy in the future. Amazing tune, with really great lyrics too.
13.) Lil Yachty – the BLACK seminole.
Yeah this one is a whole experience, probably my favorite from this album if I had to say. Very multi-layered, super psychedelic and for Lil Yachty the song sounds AMAZING. Enough said about this one, it’s a Lil Yachty song with a guitar solo and a psychedelic final crescendo at the end, what else do you want.
12.) Ludwing Göransson – Can You Hear The Music
I get chills everytime I hear this one, it’s truly special, as is the film. With a runtime in only under two minutes this song manages to completely encapsulate me in this beautiful, mystical and ambitious orchestral sound that just feels larger than life. Definitely worthy of a spot.
11.) slowthai – Yum
This is the album opener for slowthai’s fantastic new album and wow, does it not hold back right from the get go. The industrial abrasive instrumental, demented erotic lyrics and a last minute freakout during a psychiatric session, this song really sets the mood for the rest of the album and by itself perfectly captures Tyron’s state of mind. Insane song.
10.) underscores – Cops and robbers
This song just has no right of being so darn catchy and fun. The pop-punkish instrumental kicks ass, the story is really intresting and very well portrayed and goes with the instrumental really well, everything blends together beautifully and I just can’t get enogh of this one, right from the opening few notes.
9.) Travis Scott – MY EYES
Yeah yeah yeah, say whatever you want about this man and his actions but I’m telling he hasn’t got a song like this in him again for a while. Nevermind the verse that is absolutely fire, nevermind the really beautiful two minute intro… But the moment the switch-up of this song starts to fade in is just something else. The last two minutes alone are easily one of the best experiences with music I had this year. Beautiful tune.
8.) DYL – Gimlé
Speaking of really gorgeous tunes, this one is definitely a one alright. I’ve learned about this song and by extension about this artist through Brad Taste In Music’s stream and I gotta say, this is one of the best finds of 2023 for me. Beautiful and mezmerizing from start to finnish, really recommend checking it out, it’s not a song with a huge crescendo or anything but it doesn’t need to have that. Really spectacular.
7.) Sprain – Man Proposes, God Disposes
This song is like if every trope that I enjoy in music came into one gigantic euphoric experience. It has like 5 different layers to it and all of them are amazing and it goes through all that in only around 7 and a half minutes, really just an insanely impressive song that also happens to be super right up my alley and really catchy too.
6.) Black Country, New Road – Turbines/Pigs
It’s really intresting how this song went from one of my biggest dissapointments to one of my favorite songs of the year – you could say that I finally got it. It also helped that I saw them perform this live and let me tell you live on 3 hours of sleep this song is an entirely different experience. It’s really flawless from front to back and insanely gorgeous too, May Kershaw kills it on the vocals.
5.) Jeff Rosenstock – 3 SUMMERS
The king of modern pop-punk is back with a solid good album without a doubt, but this song just takes the cake for me. In just around 7 minutes this song provides one of the most energetic, heartfelt, cathartic and catchy music experiences of the year for me, the last two minutes of just the same repeated chant over and over of „you can’t help me anymore“ in this really shiny bright pop-punk sound is just top notch.
4.) Liturgy – 93696 (the song)
This whole song was actually released as an EP earlier this year too I think, which just goes to show how much of an absolute insanity this song is. The last 4 minutes are the best in all of metal this year hands down no contest whatsoever. Perfect song for an almost flawless album, I’ll just leave it with that.
3.) Sufjan Stevens – So You Are Tired and Shit Talk
Yeah I know it’s a bit of a cheat to put two songs in one place but here I really couldn’t decide. The atmospheric long-winded outro of Shit Talk could probably put it on here for just that alone, but So You Are Tired is, at least for me, like on of the most just physically down to the bone sad songs I’ve heard in forever. Both are great though and are part of an amazing project that will no doubt go down as one of Sufjan’s best.
2.) Foo Fighters – Rest
Part of their latest project honoring their late drummer Taylor Hawkins and this song was directly written to him… Yeah, it’s a rough listen. And probably the best Foo Fighters songs since Everlong. Just absolutely gutt-wrenching and one of the best tributes Hawkins could have recieved from the band. Love this one to death and R.I.P. Taylor Hawkins, God knows you are very much missed.
1.) Parannoul – Into the Endless Night (Live)
I mean what did you expect… If you’ve read my review of this album or my top 10 albums list, you know this song is for me one of the best things I’ve ever heard at this point. It’s 46 MINUTES LONG. It alone is longer than a lot of the albums I review on here. And it manages to feel like probably half of that. It’s literally the perfect song for me but it is kinda unfair to the other tracks on here due to it’s length… Still, that won’t stop me from putting it here.
So that is my list of my favorite songs of the year – which songs grabbed your ear this year? Let me know in the comments belllow and I’ll see you in the next one :).