As has become a yuletide custom, I give you a list of the ten albums that I have enjoyed the most in 2023, albums which I have kept coming back to throughout the year. The value of music, as the value of any art, lies in the eye of the beholder, so my list may not necessarily be equal to your list. Still, I hope it inspires many of you to listen to albums you might otherwise have missed.

80% of of all the listening on Spotify is supposedly to no more than 20% of the tracks available. Which means you are probably missing a lot of good stuff. The whole purpose of my blog is to bring to the forefront new music that wouldn’t normally get the attention it deserves. As my logline says: I hunt the best music so you don’t have to. (I have added Metacritic’s total rating out of 100 and Pitchfork’s out of 10, when available. The fact that only a fraction of the albums are universally reviewed, tells a story of how difficult it is to break through for an artist or an album that doesn’t break the surface. And hopefully proves the point that a blog like mine serves a purpose)

Below you will find a number of great runners-up albums (in alphabetical order) , followed by my final 10. Click on the album cover, and you will be taken directly to the whole album on Spotify. I have also put together a separate playlist with the top 10 albums, found HERE

Then on to my special favourites. Albums that stood out and that I enjoyed more than anything else I have listened to this year.

So, these are my top ten choices of 2023. (Some of the albums were released in 2022, but reviewed by me in 2023. )

To see how others review the album, I have added quotes from other blogs and publications.

You’ll find a link to the individual albums by clicking on the cover.

«Featuring artistic collaborations with legends like Burt Bacharach and Johnny Mandel, Bill Cantos’ latest album ‘Sensibility’ takes you on a journey into the beautiful realm of Brazilian-infused pop and jazz symphonies. This phenomenal album is a tapestry of Cantos’ original pieces as well as soulful renditions of tracks like “No Halfway” and “This Can’t Be Love”, and a stirring cover of Cole’s song “That Sunday That Summer”. Rooming the mastery of various talents, this magical house, crafted over the past few years, boasts an exceptional team of musicians that bring a diverse range of elements to the table. Bill Cantos has breathed new life into the album.»

Muse Chronicle, August 3, 2023

For many vocalists around the globe, it has been a natural exercise to pay The Great American Songbook a visit at one time or another during their career. Slettahjell has also done it – in her own way. It can be heard, among other things, on «Live at Victoria». Now she has made a totally great twist on this concept and created a songbook album that is totally unique both in terms of repertoire and way of interpreting it. Slettahjell, with a voice that is very much her own… has covered several of her favourite Norwegian and Swedish songs and spiced them up with two of her own. 

Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen, February 2023

«First Two Pages of Frankenstein is yet another dose to remind you why – and how – the band have managed to carve their own special place out in the cultural landscape»

Apr 27, 2023 The Line of Best Fit

Voice Notes is conceptually and musically accomplished, flourishing with inspired narratives and sensuality at every turn. It seamlessly blends jazz, soul and electronica without overpowering the singer-songwriter’s supple vocals. There’s so much to love and savour.

The Observer 18 April 2023

I Don’t Know What Love Is is a strong and unique debut from Stacey. It melds elements of jazz, pop, and R&B together flawlessly. Creating her own distinct sound and niche in the pop scene, the six tracks feel and sound similar to a few of the tracks on Ariana Grande’s debut album, Yours Truly (2013). Something back in 2013 was rarely heard and seen as unique. It still hasn’t been replicated at all since that particular album -until now. Unquestionably, this debut from Stacey Ryan is not a copy of anything in the past but an ode to her upbringing of influences. Stacey Ryan is rising in popularity as the days go by.

Samuel Stephens, Crucial Rhythm, April 2023

«Salvador Sobral, the Portuguese winner of Eurovision 2017, has made a comeback with his latest album, TIMBRE. This album features 11 songs that blend a unique mixture of genres: jazz, soul, and alternative music. Compared to his previous releases, TIMBRE exudes a more joyful and experimental vibe. Salvador provided a glimpse of this new direction with his heart-warming previous release, «pedra quente» (hot stone)… Notable collaborations are also featured on the album. Salvador collaborates with Mexican star Silvana Estrada on «de la mano de tu voz» (from the hand of your voice), he joins forces with the globally recognized Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler on “al llegar” (arriving), reunites with his sister and composer of his Eurovision entry, Louisa Sobral, on “a distância não é lugar” (distance is no place), and teams up with the French artist Barbara Pravi, who represented France in ESC. «

Ruxandra Tudor, Wiwibloggs

In the decades after his mid-’70s commercial peak, Irish singer/songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan maintained a prodigious output of well-written, quirky piano pop records, somehow sticking it out long enough to enjoy a career renaissance with his self-titled 2018 album…. His 2022 follow-up Driven is, if anything, an even better record. At age 75, O’Sullivan sounds half his age, delivering sharp-witted rockers like «Love Casualty» and «You Can’t Say I Didn’t Try» with infectious energy and zeal. Produced this time by Andy Wright (Simply Red, Simple Minds), Driven retains some of the fuzzy, laid-back ’70s charm that characterized his 2018 set while also harking back to the tasteful soft rock orchestrations of his heyday, especially on standouts like the marvelous «Blue Anchor Bay» and the piano-and-strings ballad «If Only Love Had Ears.» Driven also benefits from an inviting group energy with lively backing vocal interactions, a nimble rhythm section, and scintillating guitar leads«. 

Timothy Monger, AllMusic July 2023

Opening an album with the title track is a bold move, a statement that you’ll start strong and only get better. For his fourth studio album, Theo Katzman takes the menagerie of ballads and rock classics he’s known for, and refines them into a masterclass of storytelling through song.

Jonah Lefkoff, WRBB March 2023

«The songwriting never dips below classic. The teen stars of the late 50s would have coveted the midtempo ballad Any Time of Day, with its ripe key change; What Happens to a Heart’s period-detail harpsichord builds to an orchestral chorus that puts it among the most gloriously histrionic breakup songs ever written; In My Head reminds us that in an age of copyright lawsuits, there are still so many new and perfect songs waiting to be written. In love with the past but making the present so bright, the Lemon Twigs are, in the end, timeless.»

Marina Hyde, The Guardian

«Her new album, The Reset, is her best and rangiest work in years, with a renewed sense of purpose and a mix of styles that gives plenty of scope for her outsized personality to shine.»

Alan Pedder, Best of All Fit

«The Reset reveals 360 degrees of Macy Gray at her lyrically introspective and vocally exuberant best. The trio of Tamir Barzilay, Billy Wes and Alex Kyhn wraps around Macy like a glove. And she, in turn, provides them full license to shine as bright as front of stage spotlights… The album is titled The Reset because Macy, like so many of us, feels like that’s what this awkward, often painful period is like to live through. “God is telling us to rethink the things that we are doing… How we’re livin’. Like Pandora’s Box, a lot of things have sprung out that people had stopped paying attention to. The world is having a reset. Whether it’s a good one or a bad one, we’ll find out. I use to believe everything happens for a reason. Now…I just don’t know.»

Ronnie Scotts review

Earworms 2023

As an added feature this year, I would like to introduce you to the songs that more than any others have stuck in my ears this year. Earworms are considered a nuicance by some, but I am not implying that these songs are annoying, rather that they are brilliant and will outlast the year. The five songs have a common theme: love. Perhaps the best theme to bring with us into 2024, together with a sense of community, security and freedom.

See you in 2024.