20 Favorite Records Of 2023

20 Favorite Records Of 2023

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I enjoy trying (emphasis on trying) to keep up with new music thanks to recommendations & other blogs. Here are records I enjoyed from 2023 along with a playlist of favorite songs!

It’s that time of year. Let’s celebrate that the 5 Years Substack will be one year old in a month. That means in 2028, this will be all over (but never say never and don’t use the word retire). Of course, my writing revolves around music and movies so I try to keep up with both each year. That being said, not a lot of writing here - I let the music speak for itself. Hence, the two playlists included (one w/records, one w/songs).

For the record (haha), I don’t really rank these like I do with movies nor do I write extensive reviews/reasons why I chose them. I pick a favorite and then I simply hope you’ll seek them out on your favorite streaming platform (preferably Bandcamp to support the ones you enjoy but I get it, Spotify exists). Included at the end is a link to my Spotify playlist of favorite songs most of which come from the records I’ve listened to. Think of it as a sampler. Here are my picks with Mitski being #1 (which often happens any year she puts out a record). If you want to give these a listen or add them to your collection, click on the album title. Stay tuned in January for my list of favorite films of 2023 (on a podcast & on Substack). And a guest contributor post.


1) Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable & So Are We

Ratboys - The Window

Joanna Sternberg - I’ve Got Me

Wednesday - Rat Saw God

The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein

The Mountain Goats - Jenny From Thebes

Lydia Loveless - Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again

Squirrel Flower - Tomorrow’s Fire

Indigo De Souza - All Of This Will End

Kurt Vile - Back To Moon Beach

Bully - Lucky For You

Tirzah - trip9love...???

Kesha - Gag Order

Gia Margaret - Romantic Piano

Raye - My 21st Century Blues

boygenius - the record

Slowdive - Everything Is Alive

Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

Blondshell - Blondshell

Jim Legxacy - HNPM

Honorable Mentions

The Pretenders - Relentless

Wilco - Cousin

Janelle Monáe - The Age of Pleasure

Peter Gabriel - I/O

Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World

Sparklehorse - Bird Machine

Feist - Multitudes

Olivia Rodrigo - Guts

Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever

Sufjan Stevens - Javelin


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