Top Album Picks For 2023

No matter How Far down you fall in life, there will always be a song that can help lift you back up, sometimes you just need to dig a little to find it. During one of the most turbulent years in my life, filled with extreme highs and desperate lows, joyous occasions, and personal tribulations, the one constant for me throughout this year in it's entirety has been music. While there are albums that I hold close that I've returned to for the majority of my life, there have been a plethora of new projects that have made an impact on me this year. Some by relatively new artists, and some by artists I have been following for a while now. Now here we are at the end of 2023, looking forward with eager anticipation for what life has in store for me in the year to come; I wanted to take this time to acknowledge some of the albums that have truly imprinted themselves on me, the music industry, and their respective scenes as a whole.

Halloween Mixtape II (Magnolia Park)

I am definitely a little biased with this first album, but seeing as they are not only one of my favorite bands, but easily one of the most fun groups in the current new wave of pop-punk bands, I had to start off with Orlando's Magnolia Park. They released the follow up to their debut 2021 mixtape, Halloween Mixtape, and the hot off the heels of their 2022 major label debut Baku's Revenge. With it they came back swinging harder than ever. This album has a little bit of everything, from proving that punk rock isn't dead on the socially and politically charged song Life In The USA, to Joshua Roberts and the crew showing their sensitive side on songs that were, honestly, emotionally gut wrenching to listen to like Antidote and Loved By You, to even channeling their inner Linkin Park on hard hitting Nu-Metal influenced bangers Do Or Die and Animal. Feeling like a spiritual successor to the pop punk/ metal-core fusion bands in the vain of A Day To Remember and Four Year Strong, the five piece released their boldest and arguably best release to date, flexing their musical chops across every track, and showing that they have so much in store for their fans yet to come.

For fans of 408, Hot Milk, Meet Me @ The Altar

Take Me Back To Eden (Sleep Token)

What is there to say about Sleep Token's 2023 LP Take Me Back To Eden that hasn't already been said? My first exposure to them was in 2019, they were touring with Polyphia and Issues on the Beautiful Oblivion Tour. At the time I thought their mix of blackgaze and pop elements was an interesting idea, with some standout tracks like The Offering and Blood Sport, but nothing much more than a novelty. In the following years, with every track they released, they got better and better. With the release of Take Me Back To Eden, all of the pieces of the puzzle finally came together, in a forward thinking project that can only be defined as a masterclass in progressive metal. This album somehow manages to be as heavy as modern black metal and deathcore projects, while having pop sensibilities, and R&B hooks and choruses that could fit in on the billboard top 40, and who can forget the funk and jazz influenced breakdown from The Summoning that completely took over TikTok? While this album might not pull the deepest characteristics from each genre it takes influence from, the way they melds together these characteristics flows seamlessly and effortlessly together. Only Sleep Token can make the 8 minute title track with poppy hooks and a brutal metal breakdown feel like a 3 minute song. Sleep Token have cemented themselves as one of modern metal's most innovative and important bands of the current era with this release.

For fans of Spiritbox, The Plot In You, Make Them Suffer

Almost Healed (Lil Durk)

I will be completely honest, this is an album that I slept on for most of the year, and as someone who has not only considered themselves a fan of Durk Banks' previous work, but also a huge fan of labelmate and close friend and collaborator King Von, I'm almost ashamed to admit that it took me till the back end of this year to listen to this project all the way through, but ultimately, thanks to content creator and fellow music nerd Anthony Fantano speaking so positively about this album, I finally gave it a listen, and I am so glad I did. Following the death of both Von, and Durk's brother in the past few years, this album is just so emotional and hard hitting. While still carrying the aggression from the underground drill scene on tracks like War Bout It, Lil Durk also shows a more introspective and mature songwriting ability on tracks like Pelle Coat and Sad Songs. The lyricism and production value on this album not only exceeds that of all of his previous work, but that of most of his contemporaries. On top of that, he released, arguably, one of the single best collaborations of the year on All My Life feat. J. Cole. This song specifically is an extremely heartfelt and socially conscious song that flexes the lyrical capabilities of both artists, which literally had me in tears on my first experience listening to it. This LP has easily catapulted Durk to the heights of rappers currently at the top of the genre such as Big Sean, Playboi Carti, and 21 savage.

For fans of King Von, 42 Dugg, Gunna

10,000 gecs (100 gecs)

First and foremost, this album is weird, but it's in the absolute best way possible. It perfectly embodies the sentiment 'never let them know your next move'. 100 gecs have really pushed the boundaries of what hyperpop was capable of. Until relatively recently, my experience with hyperpop included Brakence and Ericdoa, and that's about it. I did listen to the duo's first album, 1,000 gecs, but between the high pitch, and in my opinion, overly pitch shifted vocals, not to mention the idea of their fans referring to themselves as piss babies, it just wasn't for me. Since branching out further to a few other hyperpop artists like Glaive, Slayyyter, and a few others, I revisited 100 gecs with this years' release, and I am very glad to have done so. They have upped the production quality on their songs, and have leaned into their niche even further, and it worked out for them completely, they have released an album that exceeds their previous in every way. They still stand out as being one of the most unique groups of any current hyperpop artists, from traditional hyperpop and electropop songs like 757, to pop punk tracks like Hollywood Baby, Ska Punk tracks like I got My Tooth Removed, and even metal influenced breakdowns like the one featured on the song Billy Knows Jamie, there really isn't a genre that members Laura Les and Dylan Brady are afraid of incorporating into their music.

For fans of Brakence, Dorian Electra, Slayyyter

Ferality (UnityTX)

One of the breakthrough underground bands from the heavy music scene of the past few years, equal parts Body Count, Suicidal Tendencies, Korn, and Pressure Cracks, UnityTX are here, and they are pissed off! Produced by Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember and Wage War), UnityTX have released one of the hardest hitting albums in the heavy music scene of 2023 with their debut LP Ferality. They have released an album that perfectly blends the aggressive and raw energy of modern hardcore punk and metalcore, with elements of Hip-Hop and Nu-Metal. From ambient electronic tracks with darker synth tones and hip hop beats like PICTURE THIS and DIAMOND DIEZ, to the unfiltered rage of tracks like ROC SH!T and WORLD OF MADNESS, along with vocalist Jay Webster absolutely tearing it up with his brutal and unfiltered screams and growls, and completely unforgiving hardcore breakdowns, this album hits you with the same amount of violent energy as a horror film from start to finish, and is easy one of the best heavy albums to come out in this past year.

For fans of Hatebreed, Knocked Loose, Body Count

Make Them Beg For Death (Dying Fetus)

Easily the heaviest and least accessible album on this list, I will preface this with one point, and that is that I do not listen to death metal really at all, but this album is freaking awesome. If the last album I mentioned hits you like a horror film, this one has the same manic and unrelenting energy as a gory grindhouse slasher flick. While I have listened to some extreme metal bands previously here and there like Napalm Death, and a few songs by Cannibal Corpse, I usually prefer the more melodic and groovy instrumentals of hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore to more extreme music genres; but one thing I will say about this album that I haven't said about any extreme metal band before, is that this album is catchy as hell! The guitar tones from lead guitarist and vocalist John Gallagher on this album are so cool, while not only being more melodic, but still retaining the speed and technicality that death metal is known for, especially during the solos like that on the song Feast Of Ashes, drummer Trey Williams plays with the speed and technicality of a machine, and John's vocals are absolutely animalistic, adding to the unrelenting energy of this LP. Definitely the heaviest album I've had in rotation this year, if you're a fan of heavy music, and you have been hesitant to step into more extreme genres of music, I would heavily recommend this album as your introductory lesson in death metal 101.

For fans of Cattle Decapitation, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation

POST HUMAN: NeX GEn (Bring Me The Horizon) . . . Kind of

So, considering that Bring Me is my favorite band, Oli Sykes is probably one of my favorite musicians up there with Kendrick Lamar and maybe a few others, and the EP hasn't even released yet . . . I am definitely cheating with this last release on the list, but considering that we already have five of the eight tracks released, I decided to include it for the heck of it, and honestly, I am not only most excited for this project in 2024, but these were the tracks I had in rotation above everything else in 2023. From the high energy hyperpop anthem LosT, to the arena rock track DArkSide (which has one of the single best chorus' of the year), and the monster Metalcore track AmEN!, featuring rapper Lil Uzi Vert of all people, these songs, along with emotional and heartfelt pop rock tracks sTraNgeRs and DiE4u that were released in the previous two years, Bring Me The Horizon have proved that they truly exist in a post-genre state. They have arguably been the biggest trend setters in modern metal since their inception in 2004, and nothing has changed. I honestly believe this will be one of the most important projects in rock music from the coming year, but for now, this currently resides as my absolute top pick, and personal favorite tracks of 2023.

For fans of Architects, Poppy, Nova Twins

Honorable Mentions

Guts (Olivia Rodrigo)

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Lana Del Rey)

Scaring The Hoes (JPEGmafia and Danny Brown)