For the last couple years, I’ve posted my favorite songs of the year, plus an Artist of the Year and and Album of the Year. I dropped the ball last year, and I’ve had a busy few months since last December. But I did make the list, I just didn’t post the list. So here it is, several months belated.
With the top 20 songs, the rules are the same as always. One song per artist; the songs need not be new that year; the more genre diversity the merrier. Enjoy!
- Something Better – Softengine
- Secondhand Church – Lantern by Sea
- Sweetness – Jimmy Eat World
- T2: Kalavar’s Revenge – Joey and the Knives
- All the Children – The Airborne Toxic Event
- Wait for Me – Reeve Carney, Hadestown Ensemble
- People Live Here – Rise Against
- When You Were Young – The Killers
- you’d never know – BLÜ EYES
- Nevermind – Deaf Havana
- カワキヲアメク [Kawaki wo Ameku] – 美波 [Minami]
- Am I Dreaming – Metro Boomin, A$AP ROCKY, Roisee
- 10 Jahre – EMMA6
- Between Us There Is Music – Glen Hansard
- The ’59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem
- Take the Dive (Stripped Acoustic Version) – Andreas Moe
- Say Don’t Go (TV) (FTV) – Taylor Swift
- See The Light – Steven Sanchez
- Daylight – Matt and Kim
- Comeback – Carly Rae Jepsen, Bleachers
Here’s my actual Top Songs 2023 playlist on Spotify, which has most of these songs and a bunch of others: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1FamlgDVRse9cC?si=3QXaJe4VSbaoLXcuaGg8iA&pi=u-Upg7roP0Qhmf
Artist of the year was Jimmy Eat World—this was the year I discovered they have albums other than Bleed American, lol.
Album of the year was “Rim of the World” by Lantern By Sea. I got the chance to see them live in Provo a couple times, and it’s always a pleasure to rock out with a group that’s local enough you can chat with them after the show and whose music speaks to the anxieties and delights of your own home. ∎