The Top 50 Songs of 2023: 20 - 11

2023 was a strange year for me to rank my top songs. Additionally into being out of practice (I swear I'll eventually get to the 2022 ranking!), almost all my favorite songs this year were either from the second half or were discovered by me in the second half. Predicting how these songs would age was the biggest challenge, but the other half was combing through all the sounds. How does one compare Beabadoobee and Ninety One? It was difficult, but I think my ranking does provide a look at some of my favorite songs this year, with a top song that stands heads and shoulders over the rest. With that said, let us look at the rules.

• This ranking is my opinion.
• I will only rank my top 50 due to time constraints.
• Any song released between January 1 and December 31, 2023 is qualified.
• Instrumentals also count for this list.
• Full-fledged remakes are qualified, but remixes are excluded.
• Finally, I will not split the top 10 this year due to time constraints.

20. Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Main Theme

If there is one thing every listener can expect from Nintendo's in-house composers, it is a killer main theme. Tears of the Kingdom might be one of their best in a while, capturing the beauty of Breath of the Wild's natural-sounding theme with the chaotic electronics for the new game's world.

19. George Clanton - Everything I Want

Everything I Want is the thesis statement of George Clanton's Ooh Rap I Ya. a song on regret and disappointment for the past, with an ever-so optimistic look to the future, paired with a killer chillwave beat that will get stuck in your head for weeks on end.

18. Ali Sethi & Nicolás Jaar - Muddat

Taking a classic Mirza Ghalib poem and giving it a new spark as an electronic dance track, Ali Sethi and Nicolas Jaar reignited their creative partnership with this fantastic single. Sethi's tired vocals over the guitar-and-bass build of the refrain is what Muddat is all about, especially as the song grows on.

17. PinkPantheress - Another Life Ft. Rema

Ignoring Rema's feature verse, Another Life is one of the most consistently fantastic songs in PinkPantheress' burgeoning discography. From the lyrics that capture both beauty and fear in love and death. Additionally, that chorus hook is immaculate.

16. NINE.i - Hurt

Despite being a favorite concept for the regional genre, K-Pop has long struggled to capture genuine emotional angst. NINE.i have a solution, and it is Hurt's wonderfully layered refrain. The switch from moody trap to upbeat synthpop should ruin the angsty look of Hurt, but instead it enhances all the little productional choices.

15. George Clanton - For You, I Will Ft. Hatchie

This is how to close an album, not with a whimper, but with a cathartic bang. George Clanton's meditative reflections of Ooh Rap I Ya had to lead somewhere, and that somewhere is the towering refrain of For You, I Will. While it starts great, it snowballs into something closer to perfection.

14. So!YoON! - Smoke Sprite Ft. RM

While many may have checked out Smoke Sprite because of RM of BTS, Soyoon of the legendary indie rock outfit Soyoon shows why she is so beloved. The psychedelic merger of shoegaze, R&B, and rock feels shockingly obvious. If the chorus doesn't give you chills, very little this year would.

13. Beabadoobee - Glue Song

A fan favorite for years before its official release, Beabadoobee enhanced Glue Song even further by giving it a folksy, almost country-edged tinge. Beabadoobee is a songwriter whose true skill lies in capturing the beauty of smaller, more intimate moments, and her descriptions of love in Glue Song are golden.

12. TVXQ - Rebel

As the most recent song in this list, it is somewhat difficult to predict if Rebel will rise or fall a few spots, but it has already impressed. TVXQ are the masters of larger-than-life drama, and this Carol of the Bells meets industrial electro-pop has proven to be closest to classic TVXQ we have got in years.

11. Conan Gray - Never Ending Song

Conan Gray is an artist who loves synth-based nostalgia almost as much as he loves heartbreak and angst. Never Ending Song might be the best merger of these two not only by him, but through the '20s in general. The song feels like it could soundtrack an '80s Hollywood blockbuster, while still leaving more than enough room for Gray to showcase his deepened voice's ability to capture anguish.