The Top 25 Albums of 2023: Honorable Mentions

2023 was a bizarre year, especially when it came to albums. Perhaps that came down to me exploring new musical avenues, and the lack of any music from some of my favorites, but 2023's album list is a mix of some 2022 discoveries and some new favorites. I also appreciated the album as a united art form quite a lot this year. Thus, let us look into the rules for this list.

• The albums must have been released between January 1 to December 31, 2023.
• It must contain at least four new or unique songs or at least twenty minutes.
• It can be from anywhere in the world.

Well, with that said, let the list begin!

Honorable Mentions to the Honorable Mentions (Listed Alphabetically)

Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time

King Gizzard on the Lizard Wizard - Petrodragonic Apocalypse

ONF - Love Effect

Pritam - Tu Jhooti Main Makkar

Ryujugo - 2 Much

Aditya "Dot" Saigal, Ankur Tewari, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, The Islanders - The Archies

30 (Tie). Ninety One - Gap

As their last album before their indefinite hiatus, Gap had to deal with comparisons to Qazaq boy band Ninety One's incredible past and recent move away from their old agency to self-producing, and its legacy as the last Ninety One record for a while. While some of the best songs from Ninety One's sessions this year were bizarrely left off, the actual record of Gap features some of the best trip-hop of the year over its all-too-short runtime.

30 (Tie). One Love One Heart - Love1

Despite being relatively short at eleven songs, J-Pop co-ed group One Love One Heart's debut record is sprawling in its ambition, jumping between J-Rock, classic, almost Baroque pop, and whatever the frick The Witch is. Ironically, the record thrives best when veering closest to collapse, pushing the boundaries of what pop can do.

29. NewJeans - Get Up

At just twelve minutes, rookie powerhouse group NewJeans' second EP doesn't get too much time to experiment with its early noughts drums & bass sound. What we get instead is some of the best-produced pop of the year, short on fluff and heavy on hooks that will get stuck in your head, whether you like it or not.

28. LE SSERAFIM - Unforgiven

Sometimes, K-Pop sensation LE SSERAFIM's debut album sounds closer to a compilation rather than a singular release. And for good reason too, the album combines the most loved songs from the group's first two EPs with seven new songs for this release. The end result is an album that sounds unbalanced but promises to knock you over with a shockingly high number of A-tier releases.

27. Magdalena Bay - Mini Mix Vol. 3

A short little mixtape for one of the most promising western indie music duos, Mini Mix Vol. 3 may serve little more purpose than to show off Mica Tenenbaum's soothing vocals and the duo's synth-pop writing strengths, but it accomplishes both of these with ease, even finding room for some A-Tier hooks.

26. Tinashe - BB/Angel

Once on the precipice of mainstream success, Tinashe has since retreated to becoming an indie act garnering critical acclaim. BB/Angel is arguably her best album yet, and it doesn't have to do with much more than her soothing vocals and cruising melodies on R&B crooners such as Needs.