One thing that fascinates me about year-end lists is how little true consensus there tends to be between them. It makes the moments when everyone actually IS in agreement so much more powerful, and a testament to the quality of something. Call it the Paddington 2 effect, or I suppose the Dolly Parton effect, because nobody actually dislikes either of those two things. My favorite song of 2023 falls into that “broad consensus” category. So many people and publications ranked it as their top track of the year that seeing another list fall in line like this one might induce another eye roll and a “here we go again”. But I can’t deny something that’s objectively true, as much as I’d like to be a contrarian. You’re of course more than welcome to disagree with me, along with the hundreds of other music writers who listed this as the #1 song of 2023. What’s wilder, in my mind, is how this 7+ minute track received no commercial or terrestrial radio placement, as far as I’m aware. Instead it just got a lot of organic, fully chosen plays across a variety of formats. If you know your music and have been paying close attention to year-end lists, hopefully my favorite song of 2023 won’t come as a surprise.
But for those who still aren’t sure what I’m talking about, there’s a list of 100 great songs here just waiting for your ears, stretched across a wide variety of genres and styles. A little something for everyone. The rules are relatively simple – so long as the song was released at some point in 2023, it was eligible for inclusion on this list. But also, to spread the love as much as possible, every artist and album only gets to be represented by a single track on this list. Featured guest spots do not count towards this total, which is how JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown, and Lil Yachty all managed to show up more than once. Alternatively, even a Various Artists record like the Barbie soundtrack only gets one song to represent it. If you’ve got a problem with that, take it up with management. Otherwise, kick back and soak in the 6.5 hours of music that represent the finest tracks of 2023. The list is below, along with clickable links to hear every song on YouTube. There’s also an embedded Spotify playlist near the bottom if that’s your preference. Listen, explore, and enjoy! Cheers to the end of the year, and wishing you a great 2024 ahead!
100. Jane Remover – Census Designated
99. Central Cee & Dave – Sprinter
98. Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For?
97. Yo La Tengo – Sinatra Drive Breakdown
96. The Clientele – Garden Eye Mantra
94. Margaret Glaspy – Get Back
93. Joy Oladokun – We’re All Gonna Die (ft. Noah Kahan)
92. MSPAINT – Delete It (ft. Militarie Gun)
91. Renee Rapp – Talk Too Much
89. Jam City – Wild n Sweet (ft. Empress Of)
88. Feist – Love Who We Are Meant To
87. Faye Webster – But Not Kiss
86. Helena Deland – Spring Bug
85. Zach Bryan – Fear and Friday’s
83. Thundercat – No More Lies (ft. Tame Impala)
82. Miguel – Number 9 (ft. Lil Yachty)
81. redveil – black enuff (ft. JPEGMAFIA)
80. Susanne Sundfør – leikara Ijóð
78. Joanna Sternberg – I’ve Got Me
77. Dijon – coogie
76. Avalon Emerson – Sandrail Silhouette
75. Peggy Gou – (It Goes Like) Nanana
74. DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – Honey
72. Bully – Lose You (ft. Soccer Mommy)
70. Janelle Monae – Float (ft. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80)
69. Overmono – Is U
67. Samia – Honey
66. McKinley Dixon – Tyler, Forever
65. a.s.o. – My Baby’s Got It Out for Me
64. ML Buch – High speed calm air tonight
62. Doja Cat – Paint the Town Red
60. The Rolling Stones – Sweet Sounds of Heaven (ft. Lady Gaga & Stevie Wonder)
59. Chappell Roan – Red Wine Supernova
58. Carly Rae Jepsen – Psychedelic Switch
55. Tinashe – Needs
53. Indigo De Souza – Younger & Dumber
51. Debby Friday – SO HARD TO TELL
49. Armand Hammer – The Gods Must Be Crazy (ft. El-P)
48. ANOHNI and the Johnsons – It Must Change
45. The Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matters
44. Feeble Little Horse – Pocket
43. Jungle – Us Against the World
42. Jamila Woods – Tiny Garden (ft. duendita)
40. Kelela – Contact
38. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown – Garbage Pale Kids
36. Victoria Monet – On My Mama
34. Model/Actriz – Crossing Guard
31. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – The Hillbillies
29. Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam
26. Mandy, Indiana – Pinking Shears
25. billy woods & Kenny Segal – Year Zero (ft. Danny Brown)
21. Lil Yachty – running out of time
19. Black Country, New Road – Turbines/Pigs (Live at Bush Hall)
16. Kara Jackson – dickhead blues
15. The Smile – Bending Hectic
14. Caroline Polachek – I Believe
13. Big Thief – Vampire Empire
12. Mitski – My Love Mine All Mine
11. Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
10. Olivia Rodrigo – bad idea right?
7. Sufjan Stevens – Will Anybody Ever Love Me?
4. PinkPantheress & Ice Spice – Boy’s a liar Pt. 2
3. Wednesday – Chosen to Deserve
