Top 10 Albums I Listened to in 2023

This month I’m doing my monthly recap a little differently. If you know me then you know that New Years is one of my favorite times of year. I love to reflect on what I have done throughout the year, the goals I met, the goals I want to leave behind and my visions for the next year. One of my goals this year was to listen to a new album every day. As of December 29th I have listened to at least 200 albums that I had never listened to in full before*. While I am still 165 away from my goal I am really proud of the scope of new music I sought out this year and I learned a lot in the process.

In these newsletters I typically highlight music that came out in the month but I thought for the end of the year it would be fun to look back at music I listened to throughout the year, new and old. So here are my top 10 albums I listened to in 2023, I hope you enjoy and find something new to check out. 

10. BLACKsummers’night by Maxwell

I found this album by going through the Rolling Stone ‘Top 500 Albums of All Time’ list and picking a random one to listen to. From the first few seconds of the first track ‘Bad Habits’ I knew I had stumbled upon something I had been missing in my repertoire. Maxwell’s soulful R&B sound is so infectious and songs like ‘Bad Habits’, ‘Pretty Wings’, and ‘Fistful of Tears’ never fail to lift me up. If you’re looking for a new way to discover music I highly recommend picking a random album from the Rolling Stone list, you never know what you might find. 

9. Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty

This album came to me in the form of an album review request from one of you. I had never listened to Matchbox Twenty prior to this (although I quickly realized I was familiar with the song Push from hearing it on the radio). I immediately fell in love with this album with the first track ‘Real World’. Something about the vocal delivery of Rob Thomas and the pop rock instrumentals spoke to me in a way that I had never felt before. I had ‘Real World’, ‘3AM’, ‘Push’, ‘Kody’, ‘Shame’, and ‘Hang’, on repeat for at least a month after my first listen and my partner can definitely vouch for that. If you consider yourself a fan of pop rock and haven’t checked out this album it is definitely a necessary listen. 

8. Calico by Ryan Beatty

Calico is an album that came out this year. I began to hear about it on TikTok a couple months after it was released. I decided to check it out because I had heard of Ryan Beatty before as I used to watch him on YouTube as a kid. To be honest I was going into the album expecting mediocre pop and when I was met with the sounds of subtle R&B infused indie pop I could not have been more surprised. I ate this album up like no other this year. It is easily the album I have listened to the most from start to finish. Partially because it is short and peaceful making it perfect to throw on in the background but also because it envelops you in emotions and feelings of late summer, heartbreak and bliss and every song feels intentional and perfectly curated. I could talk about this album for far longer but in summary, do yourself a favor and give it a chance. 

7. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

Now we have an album that you are probably stunned to see on this list. Yes I had never listened to ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ from cover to cover until this year. Let’s just say it is never too late to dive into this piece of essential listening. Lauryn Hill created one of the greatest, most influential, and most sampled R&B albums and everyone should take the time to try it out. Particular emphasis on the tracks ‘Ex-Factor’, ‘I Used To Love Him (feat. Mary J. Blidge)’, ‘Forgive Them Father’, and ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’. 

6. Born To Die by Lana Del Rey

This album came to me when I challenged myself to listen to every Lana Del Rey album in the span of a couple days. In that process her pop and R&B infused album ‘Born To Die’ cemented itself as one of my favorite albums of all time. It is an album where almost every song can stand alone. In some ways it feels like a collection of singles but in this case that just speaks to Lana’s ability to write hit after hit because the album still very much feels like a cohesive piece of art. I can hardly begin to pick my favorite tracks from this one but a couple of my current favorites are ‘Diet Mountain Dew’, ‘Radio’, ‘Carmen’, and ‘Gods & Monsters’.

5. Genius Loves Company by Ray Charles

A core music memory for me was watching the White House tribute to Ray Charles in 2016 when various artists came together to sing a variety of his hits. This album brings a similar vibe as Ray Charles partners with other legendary artists to sing new collaborative versions of his songs. As we all know Ray Charles is one of the greatest musicians of all time and this album certainly emphasizes that. I particularly love the renditions of ‘Here We Go Again’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’, ‘Heaven Help Us All’, and ‘Crazy Love’. 

4. Tapestry by Carole King

This is an album that I was sure I had listened to already but as I put it on in order I realized there were tracks I had previously missed. This is one of the greatest singer songwriter albums of all time. The story telling and lyrical abilities of Carole King are some of the best ever. ‘Tapestry’ is home to many of her greatest hits and absolute classics. This is an album that everyone should be exposed to at some point in their life. 

3. Hozier by Hozier

This year I listened to every Hozier album and his first album, ‘Hozier’ stood out to me as his best and as one of the best albums I have ever heard. In my opinion every song fits together and displays some of his most well written lyrics to date. Hozier doesn’t shy away from intense topics and this album is no exception. His honesty on this album is something that draws me to it as well as his fusion of rock, blues, folk and pop rhythms and sounds. Some of my favorite tracks are ‘Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene’, ‘From Eden’, and ‘Cherry Wine’.

2. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek

In my opinion, ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ is easily the best album to come out in 2023 and one of the best pop albums of all time. Caroline effortlessly fuses catchy pop song structures with unique vocal stylings and instrumental decisions that make her work stand out within the oversaturated pop music world. Her voice is a total stand out but that isn’t always enough to make high quality music. On this album she also writes unexpected and well thought out lyrics that draw the listener in. She also dips her toes into other genres while still maintaining a cohesive sound. Some of my favorite tracks are ‘Welcome To My Island’, ‘Sunset’, and ‘Billions’. 

1. Innervisions by Stevie Wonder

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder is an easy 10/10 album and an absolute must listen for everyone. Once again I know it’s shocking to see it on this list but I had missed some tracks in previous listens. This was the first time that I really sat down and paid attention to every decision he made on this project and let me just say it was a worthwhile use of time. The social commentary, lyricism and musical prowess on this album transcend time. One of my favorite elements of Stevie Wonder’s musicianship is his artistic choice to echo the sounds of instruments with his voice and you can hear this in a variety of songs on this album. 

What a year for music it has been! I can’t believe the journey I have been on this year with TikTok and music discovery. I have had many new experiences and learned more than I could have imagined thanks to you all and I can’t wait to share more music with you in the coming year. See you then!

<3 Zara’s Mixtapes 

* If you’re curious to see the list of every album I listened to this year you can find it on my Spotify playlist titled ‘an album a day’.