The Top 100 Singles Of 2023
Welcome to the singles list, the first of the three big year-end lists. Here we talk about the best singles of the year. The key to this list is context and a focus on consuming these songs within the overall context of their place within an artist's greater discography and its reception by fans. It's the only list on Music Corner that gets editorialized, so let's put on our pop culture scholar hats and talk about some of the best AND most important music of 2023.
100. Tinashe - Talk To Me Nice
2023 saw Tinashe leaning into her role as a confident R&B auteur for whom commercial success isn't important. She continued to deliver a forward-looking approach to the genre and tagged her new album with this irresistible burst of sensual confidence.
Last Appearance: 2021 - I Can See The Future
99. Death's Dynamic Shroud - Let Them Live
If you heard any percentage of the tons of material DDS released this year, hopefully, this song was included in it. The expansive but distinctly eerie piece of electronica bliss won me over quickly and while a deep dive on the mysterious trio seems impossible at this point, don't be surprised if the song gives you some inspiration.
Last Appearance: n/a
98. The Haxan Cloak - N/Y
After a full decade of relative silence in terms of new Haxan Cloak material the dark ambient project made a surprise return this year. What they came back with conjured past collaborations with The Body in its wall of harsh textured sound but also comes with an emphasis on layering and slow developing compositional shifts that are a hallmark of ambient.
Last Appearance: n/a
97. Tkay Maidza & Flume - Silent Assassin
For her new era, Tkay shifted back into a relatively more predictable sound than she had been dabbling with in recent years. But you wouldn't know it from this futuristic banger that grabs production from Flume. The short and to-the-point banger sees Tkay leaning into her most pummeling instincts perfectly.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Nights In December / 2022 - Palaces
96. Ashley McBryde - Made For This
After a memorable Grammys moment, Ashley made herself an artist I was looking out for this year. What she delivers in this particular number is a public service announcement against the glamorous rock and roll lifestyle. It's material that feels familiar but she is more than equipped to deliver it and her confidence as both a songwriter and singer is infectious.
Last Appearance: n/a
95. Say Now - Netflix (Better Now Without You)
This is pretty impressive for a group on just their third single. Say Now are so early into their careers that they didn't even have an actual name when this song was released and settled on one after. But the track is so well crafted that nobody seemed to care. From the slick flows packed full of ultra-contemporary dating slang to the even further cutting disses that they invent all on their own, this track is overflowing with potential.
Last Appearance: n/a
94. Floating Points - Birth4000
What a little curiosity this song is. Just two years removed from releasing one of the greatest ambient jazz albums of a generation. Floating Point's return to dance music has been solid though not exactly made waves. That was until this song emerged, finally officially released in all its glory. Unsurprisingly, fans and critics alike ate the track up as the veteran producer returns to his house and dance instincts with great results.
Last Appearance: n/a
93. Vyva Melinkolya & Midwife - Doomer GF Song
Vyva Melinkolya and Midwife made a pretty compelling crossover this year on a full studio album and yet somehow their best work was saved for this single from Vyva's album. The song leans even further into isolating slowcore and shoegaze but there's a surprising airiness to the cracks in between. Despite how dense it can be during some moments there's a surprising amount of room to breathe on the track that added quite a bit to its replayability.
Last Appearance: n/a / n/a
92. Wild Nothing - Suburban Solutions
During a few of the recent 10-year retrospectives I did on YouTube, I was reacquainted with an appreciation I had lost for Wild Nothing. So when they came back with a highly-anticipated return this year I was on board, especially after they dropped their catchiest song in more than a decade. Suburban Solutions feels like a blend of 80s grandeur with 90s indie pop bliss that sunk its hooks into me from the very first listen.
Last Appearance: n/a
91. A. Savage - Thanksgiving Prayer
I can't say I've ever loved Andrew Savage's solo outings quite as much as the best material Parquet Courts has had to offer and I'm not sure his new album even changes that. But with this impressive single he turns his wordy talk-singing into an emotionally reflective lens to break down exactly how it feels to HAVE to sing. When so many sing the raw praises of getting to sing in the first place, it's great hearing one of music's trademark cynics taking aim at the real expectations he faces.
Last Appearance: n/a
90. JT - No Bars
I get the instinct that some people will have to say the only reason this song is on the list is because JT shouts out trans girls in one of her best bars to date. I won't lie, that helped. But also I'm just impressed at the weight she's capable of carrying all on her own. Even within the song itself, she jokes about the expectations on a surprise second verse, and yet both verses are packed full of compelling bars delivered in her typical high-energy flows.
Last Appearance: n/a
89. Font - It
Calling your band Font and then calling your second-ever single It means you probably don't want people to be able to google information about you easily. But if you were lucky enough to cross paths with Font or this track you got treated to their layered and compelling take on indie and underground rock styles. The difficult-to-define tailspin is just one of numerous hallmarks of bands about to have a major breakthrough and Font has it written all over them.
Last Appearance: n/a
88. Slayyyter - Out Of Time
Though this new era of Slayyyter's career occasionally saw her shifting into a surprisingly anonymous pop haze, it led off with one of its best moments. The album-defining pop number is this nocturnal piece of sugary electropop with an absolutely irresistible hook that makes use of Slayyyter's impressive vocals.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Cowboys
87. Wilco - Evicted
Wilco are legends of indie folk and while their albums might feel like coasting sometimes, there's almost always a good single in the works. After Evicted circulated among fans through live performances the group shared it as the lead single to even further acclaim. It hits at some of the gentle sentimentalism and breezy magnetism that the group have always been methodical at pulling off. On top of it all the song has one of the best hooks Wilco has put out in years.
Last Appearance: n/a
86. Earl Sweatshirt - Making The Band (Danity Kane)
Earl Sweatshirt's shift to a darker more reserved sound seemed to mirror a deterioration in his personal well-being. Thankfully then, he's shifted back to something brighter and much more alive on Danity Kane. Featuring some of his most confident bars and tightest unfolding flows in years the song feels like the hunger of Earl's early days but with the veteran poise, he's developed in years since.
Last Appearance: 2021 - 2010
85. Metagirl - City Girl (Feat. Laptop Funeral)
The combination of Metagirl's lo-fi style of folk music and her narrative intense songwriting makes for a great contrast. The sound of City Girl can come off as impressionistic in that wonderfully breezy way at first but the earnest lyrical approach gives it an impressive depth of thought. That combined with the catchy refrains weaved into every single element of the song made it an irresistible treat to revisit all year.
Last Appearance: n/a - n/a
84. Rauw Alejandro & Bizzarap - Baby Hello
Even though Rauw Alejandro's album didn't live up to the expectations I had for it, this single is a big part of the reasons those expectations existed in the first place. Though his year was also filled by his proposal and eventual separation from Rosalia, this absolute banger he cooked up alongside Bizzarap was a pure home run. Rauw's crowing voice is a perfect fit for soaring over this thumping Latin-flavored instrumental.
Last Appearance: n/a - n/a
83. The Tallest Man On Earth - Every Little Heart
In the 4 years since his last proper studio album, I and many others began to miss The Tallest Man On Earth's eloquently raw folk stylings. And in the first single following the announcement of his new album, he assured everybody that his signature style wasn't going anywhere. With gentle plucked guitars on a subtle verse that erupts into a soaring chorus, this is arguably a formula, but it's one that isn't even close to being cliche.
Last Appearance: 2019 - The Running Styles Of New York
82. Father2006 - black box
I can't exactly say I expected the mysterious online music project synonymous with the niche genre of deathdream to return and end up on the singles list this year, but here we are. The short new outing from Father presents a similarly chilling eeriness that fans are used to supplemented with the kind of subtle textures and impressive restraint that makes a song like this great.
Last Appearance: n/a
81. Frost Children - Lethal
For their second new album of 2023, Frost Children leaned into a style that was more angsty and inspired by indie and emo. That's when something finally clicked with me and the single Lethal perfectly encapsulates everything the transition does so right for the versatile pop duo. It's a glittery emotional eruption of nerves that is adorable at its most vulnerable moments but still dynamic and perfectly assembled throughout.
Last Appearance: n/a
80. Pupil Slicer - Blossom
The promise of Pupil Slicer is that they will fuse various metal subgenres with the sound and style of other, equally varying genres like pop and electronica. While the title track from their sophomore album may not be the snappiest song they delivered this year it is the absolute best at fulfilling that promise. The band continues to sound entirely unique within their distinctive sonic palette and the unfolding compositional twists and turns the song presents keep it enticing throughout.
Last Appearance: n/a
79. Flo Milli - Anything Flows (feat. Maiya The Don, 2Rare & Kari Faux)
To say this one caught me off guard would be an understatement and yet I feel so bad for anybody who had to experience 2023 without this song. Flo Milli teams up with a trio of artists that I'm only loosely familiar with and yet somehow what they deliver is a posse cut with an infinite amount of hooky refrains, hilarious double entendres, and vibrant personalities. What results is a bursting parade of fun that has never once failed to improve my mood in dozens of listens.
Last Appearance: 2019 - Beef FloMix
78. Narrow Head - Caroline
After a Narrow Head single first clicked with me last year, I was looking forward to their new album. Caroline kicked that hype into overdrive as they leaned into a dreamy haze of heavy shoegaze that I found irresistible. The band manages to approach the sound with a significant muscle despite its wooziness and what they land on is instantaneous and incredibly memorable.
Last Appearance: n/a
77. Spirit Of The Beehive - tapeworm
On a brief EP released this year that follows a turbulent era for the band, Spirit Of The Beehive finally live up to the promise of their purely chaotic tailspin of indie rock sounds. The group hit their peak of intensity on tapeworm which erupts out of their already completely un-grounded EP into an even more blistering and pummeling sound than I thought they were capable of.
Last Appearance: n/a
76. Chelsea Wolfe - Dusk
Chelsea Wolfe delivers great dark chamber rock with machine-like consistency. Despite her nearly perfect streak though, her music has life breathed into every single element of it. Her dark demeanor is perfectly in time with the spacious mixing and distant booming instrumentation. She released a number of great singles this year any of which belong on the list. I'm taking my personal pick with the brooding but surprisingly still so catchy Dusk.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Blood Moon
75. Angel Olsen - Nothing's Free
Angel Olsen is a cheat code. She's so good that even within the densely packed world of indie folk singer-songwriter girls she can still drop the leftovers from her new album this year and essentially blow everyone else out of the water. This heart-breaking gentle ballad supplemented with a woozy perfect saxophone solo sounds like something anybody could try, but only Angel can pull off anywhere near this well.
Last Appearance: 2022 - All Of The Good Times
74. Feist - In Lightning
Welcome back, Feist. The always dazzling Canadian singer-songwriter is sounding even more boundary-pushing on her new album. All of that is encapsulated by In Lightning a rousing and occasionally quite shrill indie ballad that hits on some challenging and rewarding notes with its confrontational style. Once again she's dabbling in a busy sound and style, but managing to come out of it sounding far more unique than almost all of her contemporaries.
Last Appearance: n/a
73. Miley Cyrus - Flowers
While the resulting album may not have been as enjoyable as I hoped, Miley gave pop music its biggest jolt of the year with Flowers. The bouncy and groovy cut inspired enough intrigue within the lines of its sleek edges that it managed to be both a huge hit and also a magnet for critical praise. Despite its simple fundamentals Miley is allowed to shine within the veneer of this radio-ready dance cut.
Last Appearance: 2018 - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
72. Be Your Own Pet - Goodtime!
One of the most surprising comebacks of the year was Be Your Own Pet. The 2000s punk-rock outfit brought back their sexually charged garage sounds on Third Man Records and set the record up with a series of solid singles. The best of the bunch is Goodtime which sounds exactly like what a down-to-earth punk band reimagining their future as fully grown adults should be.
Last Appearance: n/a
71. Wednesday - TV In The Gas Pump
Ashville indie rock outfit Wednesday had a full-blown breakout this year on the back of their new album Rat Saw God. While many justifiably honed in on the loud and expansive cut Bull Believer, my favorite single from the record is one of its simplest. TV In The Gas Pump is a breezy and short indie ballad but it's chilling and isolated in a way that invited me in immediately. The band's versatility is ultimately a major strength, but this song does its one move remarkably well.
Last Appearance: n/a
70. Carly Rae Jepsen - Shy Boy
While Carly has always had a bit of a formula, she's avoided it becoming stale by dropping one brilliant rendition after another. That shifted under her new album when she wandered into all kinds of new sonic directions. But it's a song that could have been picked right out of her back catalog that soared above the rest. Shy Boy is an utterly irresistible dance-pop song in the discography of an artist who has as many as anyone.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Western Wind
69. Chris Stapleton - White Horse
Christ Stapleton's new album Higher finds a lot of its best moments through nuance. That isn't the case for its lead single White Horse. The song is an absolute vintage southern rock anthem the likes of which he's occasionally dabbled in previously. But he pulls it off here better than ever before with righteous guitar leads and a soaring dramatic chorus that sells every bit of the intensity the track seeks to convey.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Starting Over
Rosalia is one of the only artists to appear on the singles list twice this year, which is mainly through a feature technicality. But she's a world-class talent who is arguably more worthy of it than anybody else. Later on the list, we will see her at her most swelling and dramatic delivering a harrowing slice of vocal bliss. But on LLYLM she's putting her swagger and earnest sentimentality to the test with a much catchier and more immediate outing that clicked with me
Last Appearance: 2022 - SAOKO
While we may not ever get another new album from The Knife, Karin and Olaf teamed up for their new Fever Ray album this year. All across the record pinpoint production is paired expertly with a strikingly unique eroticism that nobody else is capable of. On Kandy Fever Ray paints the image of what all the girls want with strange details that only they're capable of extracting such authentic desire from.
Last Appearance: n/a
66. Julia Holter - Sun Girl
Julia Holter is another artist on this list who feels like a cheat code, she's automatic. She doesn't drop music very often but when she does it always manages to be an entirely new manifestation of her lush rich sound palettes and spacious abstraction. Even on Sun Girl, fittingly one of her brighter songs in recent years, her thirst for fascinating experiments in new sonic direction is unquenchable.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Heloise
65. Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f
Almost any other artist trying to make this song would come nowhere near the singles list. But Aphex Twin's attempt to breathe a living heartbeat into the rigid electronics of his previous EP succeeds magnificently on this EP. The IDM legend continues to be in a league of his own racking up massive critical acclaim and an ever-increasing fanbase of diehards despite his persistent artistic abstraction and personal anonymity.
Last Appearance: 2018 - T69 Collapse
64. billy woods & Kenny Segal - FaceTime (feat. Sam Herring)
Future Islands' frontman Sam Herring's continued dips into the world of underground hip-hop are getting more fascinating by the year. This time he contributes an incredibly memorable hook to the best single of the entire billy woods canon this year after his universe expanded by two new albums. Not only does this feature a great beat and hook but billy serves up some of his best lyrics in recent memory throughout the song.
Last Appearance: n/a
63. Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven
The ability of Mannequin Pussy to shift between dreamy indie rock and pummeling hardcore has always been one of their best features. Across a series of new singles the band hones in their focus and chooses to bring the two worlds together with great results. The best of the bunch is I Got Heaven which led off the era with the exact combination of bulk, intensity, and rage you could hope for.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Perfect
62. Eartheater - Pure Smile Snake Venom
The critical praise for Eartheater's new album this year felt like a deserved redemption for the project's best work yet. When the single Pure Smile Snake Venom dropped it received disappointingly little buzz even though I think I could make the case that it's the best Eartheater song to date. But the mysterious and off-kilter tracks certainly may have required some extra time with certain fans and I don't blame them for that. Come year's end the track is getting all the props it deserves.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Below The Clavicle
61. Hannah Diamond - Affirmations
This year we got the announcement that PC Music was closing its doors in regards to publishing new music, which leaves the future of all its groundbreaking artists in question. Though Hannah's final record on the innovative label didn't turn out to be all that I hoped for, Affirmations will always exist as a wonderful glimpse of what could have been. With the bubbly songwriting and authentically boundary-pushing production that has always guided the label perfectly on display, the song was a fitting affirmation in its own right for mourning fans.
Last Appearance: n/a
60. Kaytramine - 4EVA (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Transport your mind back to a time before the eventual release of the Kaytramine album. Remember a time when just the announcement of the forthcoming project had fans predicting an absolute slam-dunk collaboration. Those predictions were crystalized by this excellent lead single which blends the irresistible dance beats of Kantranada with and summery infectious refrains of Amine flawlessly.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Look Easy / 2020 - Shimmy
59. yeule - Dazies
While I've admittedly been a skeptic of yeule albums in the past and I wasn't as excited for the new album as others, this is definitely the best song from the project to date. The introduction of a woozy and electronically-tinged shoegaze style for yuele's sound fits absolutely perfectly. This expansive but coy and girlish undertaking absolutely rips without ever losing a bit of the charm of its artistry as a result.
Last Appearance: n/a
58. Earthgang - Die Today
After releasing an album that thoroughly impressed me last year Earthgang continued into 2023 being one of the most underrated projects in all of hip-hop. They dropped numerous singles I could choose to include on this list but the best of the bunch is Die Today. The song once again sees the pair executing topical focus far beyond many of their contemporaries and asking of the people in their lives, "what would really happen if I died today?"
Last Appearance: 2022 - AMEN
57. Dua Lipa - Dance The Night
In case you somehow didn't know, this movie called Barbie came out this year that was a pretty big deal. It isn't even primarily a musical venture and this is the first of two, maybe even three times it will appear on this list. While I wasn't blown away by Dance The Night at first once summer began to hit its stride and Barbie fever infected the entire universe the song just began to sound like the exact plastic pop anthem I wanted.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Break My Heart
56. Xiu Xiu - Maebae Baeby
Despite their being a pretty popular album this year that was literally called Scaring The Hoes, I think Xiu Xiu once again proved why they're the definitive hoe-scaring music on their new album Ignore Grief. That project was led off by this lead single which predicted exactly how pitch-black, enveloping, and horrifyingly unpredictable this new era of music would be for the veteran experimentalists.
Last Appearance: 2021 - A Bottle Of Rum
55. Blake Mills - Skeleton Is Walking
Blake Mills has been doing absolutely masterful production work for quite a while but even with all the praise I've dished out in his direction, I didn't expect this. The lead single to his new album this year is a rough around the edges indie folk wander. It has some of the lackadaisical musings you'd expect from a Kurt Vile song but closes off with the kind of wiry ripping guitar solo that I would have just never expected from a song like this. Mills surprised me not just by knocking my socks off, but with how he did it.
Last Appearance: n/a
54. FLO - Fly Girl (feat. Missy Elliott)
It feels like a cop-out for a professional music critic to say that a song "hits" but this song just hits. Fly Girl leaned further into their 2000s R&B throwback sound than ever before and emerged with their best song to date in a short but already quite impressive career. The best barometer for the track is that they picked up a legend of the era in Missy Elliott for a feature and not only does she fit in, it's the best she's sounded in years. Once again, FLO is clearly going places.
Last Appearance: n/a
53. Jeff Rosenstock - Doubt
Unsurprisingly, the album I went back and forth on the most this year had a collection of singles that I could never quite settle my mind on. But the one single that I knew from the very first moment was good and it never wavered on me was Doubt. The song features Jeff at his most intimate both as a songwriter and performer but just can't resist that urge to erupt at just the right moment. 2023 was yet another year where absolutely nobody could do Jeff's DIY sound better than he can.
Last Appearance: 2018 - 9/10
52. Forest Swords - Butterfly Effect
As if the return of innovative ambient and experimental electronic music project Forest Swords wasn't enticing enough, this track was the lead single. It arguably featured an even more impressive fusion of sounds managing to weave a genuinely catchy sample into its grating blend of natural and synthetic. The song is deeply unsettling in the way that only something with a noticeably human touch can be and it never stopped impressing me.
Last Appearance: n/a
51. Bloc Party - High Life
It's hard to communicate the excitement I felt when this song dropped, even in retrospect after the resulting EP ended in disappointment. The UK punk outfit who dropped one of the greatest debuts of all time long before I was old enough to take notice have flirted with that caliber of greatness in very brief flashes in the years since I've become a conscious music listener. This may be the closest they've come in years and the song had fans like me holding onto newfound hope in the way of its splash drop.
Last Appearance: 2022 - If We Get Caught
50. Tim Hecker - Lotus Light
It's not easy to place a pure ambient song on the singles list but Tim Hecker manages to appear like clockwork. That's because he's grabbed the attention and respect of the modern ambient landscape in a way almost nobody else has. His cloudy, dynamic, and extremely compelling compositions continue to act like a siren to the passing ships of ambient music fans. This year he set up yet another massively acclaimed album with a beloved lead single.
Last Appearance: 2019 - that world
49. Torres - Collect
With her last album, Torres found herself reaching a climax or romance and an event horizon of lust at the same time. That's why it was so surprising to hear her new single sound so chilling and confrontational. Even though she's clearly shifted her space quite a bit in a short time, it didn't take me long to fall in love with this song in similar fashion. Her new album is already one of my most anticipated releases of next year.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Thirstier
48. Glass Beach - the CIA
Glass Beach are gearing up to return next year and potentially bring with them another great advancement and reimagining of emo music. They're off to an absolutely killer start with the brash and undeniably catchy the CIA. In fact, the song even kind of caught me off guard with just how much it drilled into my brain immediately. If J and company have any more hooks like these in their bag the next big emo trend may be sheer earworms.
Last Appearance: n/a
47. Timber Timbre - Ask The Community
Despite all the times I've recommended this band both online and in person they still feel like some kind of closely kept secret. Maybe they like it better that way because this creepy and incredibly eerie sonic aesthetic is certainly not for everyone. Timber Timbre continues their creeping compositions to an absolutely shuddering conclusion, once again paying it off on a chorus that gives me goosebumps even as I'm singing along.
Last Appearance: n/a
46. Drake - Slime You Out (feat. SZA)
Going into Drake's For All The Dogs I was more excited than I had been for his past few outings and one of the major reasons is the lead single Slime You Out. On the track Drake and SZA make their long-awaited first team-up for this compositionally expansive meditation on, you guessed it, toxic relationships. Drake is pretty solid on the song but unsurprisingly SZA absolutely steals the show and together they serve up one of the better Drake singles in recent years.
Last Appearance: 2018 - Nice For What
45. The Kills - New York
The Kills returned this year and as I find myself often saying on this list, the resulting album was a bit of a letdown relative to my expectations. But those expectations existed in the first place because of this absolutely ripping lead single. The song soars with thick flashy guitar riffs and punchy instrumentation strewn throughout. It's a triumphant return that feels less like the actual 7 years the band has been gone and more like the 12 years since they've been GREAT.
Last Appearance: n/a
44. George Clanton - Justify Your Life
My mild reaction to George Clanton's 2018 album Slide is STILL what some people online know me for to this day, 5 full years later, Though I was probably also lighter on this album than his die-hard fans, this single in particular finally felt like the promise of Clanton's music fully realized. The soaring melodies and shoegaze guitars bursting out of the vintage synth layers was a match made in heaven and one that won me over the very first time I heard it.
Last Appearance: n/a
43. M83 - Oceans Niagara
God did it feel good for M83 to be back. It's been more than a decade since the band sounded like they were truly at their best and even though the resulting album harbored even more compelling secrets, the lead single felt like M83 returning to form. The dense cinematic layers of synth bliss crashing in and out of the song and the cascading vocals that fly over its most dramatic moments instantly reminded me of everything that has always made them a wonderful and strikingly unique project.
Last Appearance: n/a
42. Animal Collective - Defeat
Last year Animal Collective had their best year in decades popping up all over my best-of-the-year lists with both their own material and individual members thriving independently. So when they stepped up to the plate for their first big swing of 2023 it's no surprise that they hit it out of the park. What is a surprise is that they delivered a massive, multi-faceted, 22-minute sweeping epic indie folk, progy folk, and ambient odyssey. This song isn't for the impatient listener, but god is it satisfying if you give yourself to it.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Strung With Everything
41. PinkPantheress - boys a liar pt. 2 (feat. Ice Spice)
PinkPantheress has a pretty big 2023 translating her TikTok prowess into genuine hitmaking power and one of my favorite debut albums of the year. But at the end of the day, 2023 was the year of Ice Spice. This track may have been her full-on breakthrough into the mainstream but it also remains one of her brightest moments. Despite how short her appearance on the song is she packs it full of memorable bars and her unforgettable charm.
Last Appearance: n/a n/a
40. Beach Fossils - Dare Me
This list is absolutely packed FULL of long-awaited returns and Beach Fossils are yet another one. The dreamy indie rockers returned with an even more streamlined sound that pops out of the thick malaise of their mixes with some of the catchiest hooks you'll hear anywhere this year. Dare Me is the best of all of them fusing the band's dynamic sonic palette with utterly irresistible songwriting in a way that's so deeply magnetic.
Last Appearance: 2017 - May 1st
39. El Michels Affair & Black Thought - I'm Still Somehow
Last year Black Thought released an album called Cheat Codes with Dangermouse. That was an appropriate title for the project but I think you could argue it fits Glorious Game even more. Any of the album's singles could have been on this list given its remarkable consistency but I'm Still Somehow highlights Black Thought at his absolute best. From the reserved delivery to the utterly poetic and earnest writing everything about this song is perfectly assembled and wrapped around the talents of everyone involved.
Last Appearance: n/a - 2022 - No Gold Teeth
38. Jess Williamson - Hunter
Last year, Jess Williamson made herself an artist to watch when she teamed up with Waxahatchee for the excellent album Plains. One thing I didn't expect was for her to follow it up with something even better so quickly. Hunter served as the standout single from the album towing the line between singer-songwriter folk and narrative-driven country in pinpoint fashion. Despite that tightrope walk the song feels loose, honest, and thoroughly enjoyable throughout.
Last Appearance: n/a
37. Caroline Polachek - Blood And Butter
It's easy to forget that Caroline Polachek dropped an exciting and innovative art pop album earlier this year that delighted everyone at the time but already feels like it hasn't stuck around the same way her solo debut did despite being leagues better. It's even easier to forget that she's been dropping standout singles like clockwork almost every year since first going solo. Blood And Butter was the newest edition to that extremely impressive pantheon and it's a track I'll still champion as the album's finest moment.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Bunny Is A Rider
36. Parannoul - We Shine At Night
It was always going to be difficult for Parannoul to follow up their breakthrough album. The explosion of synthetic shoegaze angst and self-hatred is so distinct that anything too similar would feel like a retread. That's what makes Shine such a brilliant step forward bringing that sound into a newfound light both sonically and thematically. That brighter demeanor allows Parannoul to shift to a sound that is just as deep and detailed as ever, but in an entirely new way.
Last Appearance: n/a
35. Thundercat/Tame Impala - No More Lies
If you haven't heard No More Lies yet, let's do a thought experiment. First, imagine an exact intersection between the bubbly style of Thundercat and pinpoint sonic persistence of Tame Impala. Second, imagine it's great. Now you don't even need to hear No More Lies, because it's already the exact song you're picturing.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Cracker Island / 2020 - It Might Be Time
34. Oneohtrix Point Never - A Barely Lit Path
Leave it to Oneohtrix Point Never to do something you'd never expect him to. The moments throughout his new album that wade into genuine prog-rock territory feel like an impossible-to-predict shift. But the project was led off by a lead single that feels like a bridge between old and new. This shimmering and compositionally epic song fully embodies the journey at its narrative core. OPN continues to be a masterful arranger of sounds with an uncompromised vision for ambient and electronic music.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Long Road Home
33. Slowdive - Skin In The Game
Age has affected Slowdive in a way I didn't anticipate but felt entirely appropriate once I heard it. Their new album is their most stripped-down to date and in that intimacy, they do manage to find some genuine beauty. The best result of that transition came on the single Skin In The Game which is fully capable of conjuring as much emotional buy-in as the group's best work but with FAR fewer layers required.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Star Roving
32. Ellie Goulding - Cure For Love
So, I didn't see this coming. The love that I have for Ellie's breakout hit Lights is something far softer than your average soft spot. That's why I've followed her career pretty closely even as she hasn't exactly made it worthwhile over the years, But every bit of that pursuit paid off this year when she dropped the absolutely excellent single Cure For Love. Not only is this song great, but it set up her best album in years in its extremely catchy and danceable wake.
Last Appearance: n/a
31. MGMT - Mother Nature
MGMT are astonishing. They released two new singles this year and they're both absolutely spectacular. Their new album is easily my current most highly anticipated new release of 2023 and this song is a big reason why. The duo are at their most Beatles-inspired to date across the extravagant and undeniably catchy jam. With the pair also leaning into their psychedelic instincts the sound is fully whimsical and vibrant in the exact way that I just adore.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Little Dark Age
30. Slaughter Beach, Dog - Engine
Did I anticipate Slaughter Beach, Dog fully embracing their Kurt Vile side this year? Nope. But the continued post-Modern Baseball (sorry) era has been full of surprises. This may be my single favorite Slaughter song yet cutting through hazy psychedelic malaise with authentically catchy refrains throughout. The way the song develops is incredibly effective despite the slacker vibes the song puts out sonically and the results are delightful.
Last Appearance: n/a
29. Olivia Rodrigo - Vampire
The only song that can make the blast of Olivia Rodrigo's second lead single look small by comparison is her first lead single. In the wake of the smash that was Driver's License, the even more theatrical, grand, and dramatic Vampire feels like a natural progression. Though the impact didn't turn out to be quite as stunning, it achieved a similar effect and when Olivia followed it up with a massively improved sophomore album, it felt earned.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Drivers License
28. 100 Gecs - Hollywood Baby
Though it felt like a VERY long time between 1000 Gecs and 10,000 Gecs the duo also never felt like they ever went away. Whether that was through new material of their own or the leagues of acts imitating their style, Gecs have been a consistent installation in music. That's what makes the absolute banger Hollywood Baby feel like such a victory lap for the duo. With an irresistible chorus, booming instrumentation, and vibrant dizzying production everything about the song exudes the bombast that Gecs have down to an absolute science.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Doritos & Fritos
27. Susanne Sundfor - Alyosha
Believe it or not, there are even more "long-awaited comebacks" to pour through on this list. And in a year when so many artists I love returned, Susanne did it as elegantly as anyone. She continues to sound like the absolute jewel of singer-songwriters with this majestic, swaying ballad. Alyosha sounds both like Susanne is maturing immensely as a creative force while also stripping down her essence to its most core elements. The results are gentle, but stunning in their beauty.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Undercover
26. James Blake - Loading
If there's a bigger James Blake fan than me in the world, I've never met her. On his new album, he returned at points to an experimental electronic vision pulled from his early days but again he's at his best when he's being gentle. Loading is a beautiful ballad full of emotional layers and rich sonic textures. The result is a patient but highly emotional piece of electronica, the kind of which James has been sharing repeatedly for well over a decade now.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Say What You Will
25. Liturgy - Before I Knew The Truth
It's not often a blistering Albini-tinged black metal song lands this high on the list but Liturgy tapped into something even more transcendental than before this year. The arc of their career feels like it hit an undeniable peak on the epic 93696. While it's difficult to encapsulate all of that in a single song the short but utterly furious and relentlessly intense Before I Knew The Truth does a pretty good job. The brash intensity of a song that still manages to fit into such a brilliantly conceptual greater puzzle is extremely impressive.
Last Appearance: 2022 - 93696
24. Doja Cat - Paint The Town Red
One of the biggest hit songs of the year was thankfully one of the best. Doja Cat had a strange year in pretty much every element of her life and stardom outside of music. But it's hard to even care about that when she dropped one of her most solid albums yet and numerous great singles. The best of the bunch is the confident and absolutely swagger-packed Paint The Town Red whose refrains have never left my head since I first heard it.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Kiss Me More
23. Tennis - Forbidden Doors
I didn't expect to wake up one day earlier this year and have a new favorite Tennis song. While some of the duo's material just glosses me over, this song is bouncy, colorful, and impressively vibrant. The refrains are some of the best earworms I've heard all year and the gentle lo-fi plucky instrumentation is an irresistible counterpart. If this song somehow passed you by, you'd be doing yourself a HUGE favor by giving it an honest shot.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Need Your Love
22. Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter - I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS
Harrowing, that has always been the story of Kristin Hayter's music. After transitioning away from her heavier and darker Lingua Ignota project, she changed course on a new record. But that darkness is fully intact on this masterpiece single which spins her new vintage religious style through the lend of her past works. It's a brilliantly uncompromising and utterly pummeling experience that won't be for everyone, but listeners looking for a rewarding challenge will find one here.
Last Appearance: 2021 - PENNSYLVANIA FURNACE
21. NewJeans - Super Shy
Whether or not K-Pop's newest moment has already passed or it's due for an even bigger moment soon is yet to be seen. All I can say is that after hearing Blackpink, BTS, TXT, aespa, and many other groups across the last 5 years I have NEVER heard a breath of fresh air like NewJeans. Their bubbly girlish demeanor as a group and the tight punchy songwriting they pair it with are a combination too simple to resist. Going forward in the world of K-pop, as far as I'm concerned there's NewJeans and then there's everyone else.
Last Appearance: n/a
20. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For?
This is the best Billie Eilish song to date. Better than Happier Than Ever, Your Power, TV, Everything I Wanted, and god knows its better than anything from her debut. Somehow in removing herself from the equation entirely, at least in a literal sense, Billie Eilish has unlocked the strikingly poetic songwriter her gentle vocals demeanor has always called for. And the combination is actually a match made in heaven on this song which truly does give the impression of being very much about a doll, yet it's emotionally devastating regardless.
Last Appearance: n/a
19. Kelela - Contact
What a year for Kelela. She returned with her first new album in 6 years and was absolutely lauded by critics at every step of the way. After dropping a stellar fusion of R&B with drums and bass that landed on my singles list last year, she returned to more familiar R&B styles this year and arguably found even more success. Contact is on the reserved side of the genre but it isn't dark, if anything it's warm. That comes from the intimacy of both the performance and the recording making Kelela's voice an irresistible pull throughout the wonderfully assembled track.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Happy Ending
18. The Smile - Bending Hectic
Okay, I'm all in on The Smile. I liked the Radiohead side project's debut album last year but when it started turning up at the very top of some year-end lists I was a bit skeptical. but Bending Hectic is their best song yet. The track's creeping but magnetizing eeriness throughout the first half is reminiscent of Radiohead at their darkest and most intimate. But what it becomes in its explosive finale is arguably even more impressive. The song feels like the brash and unkempt sonic direction of a younger Thom and Johnny while maintaining the veteran poise they've developed since.
Last Appearance: 2022 - You'll Never Work In TV Again
17. Bjork & Rosalia - Oral
This song sees the best voices of two musical generations coming together for a legendary team-up. Unsurprisingly it had pretty big shoes to fill, especially after a tease and delay leading up to its release. Oral fills those shoes, and then some. The two come together magnificently on the song spinning majestic swaying instrumentation around both of their powerhouse voices. But what's even more impressive about the track is that both are able to maintain their dynamic idiosyncrasies that made them among the best artists of all time in the first place. Rarely does a song like Oral live up to the hype, much less surpass it.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Ancestress / 2023 - LLYLM
16. Zach Bryan - I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)
This year Zach Bryan established himself as the newest in a line of critical darling country singers who can also manage huge hits. To celebrate, he teamed up with Kacey Musgraves who made that exact same jump a decade ago. They were rewarded with a number-one hit following one of the most earnest country duets I've heard in a long time. The track is indebted to many country classics but it doesn't let itself be held down by history. Zach and Kacey feeling free to write the way only they can on this song was the most refreshing moment in country music this year.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Something In The Orange
15. Sampha - Only
The newest in this list of highly-anticipated comebacks is from Sampha who took 6 years to follow up his debut and sounds like he spent every single second of his time away working on it. Only was the second and more conventional of the album's two singles but god was it the one that clicked with me. The cloudy synths are a flawless accompaniment alongside Sampha's masterful vocals and it all comes together on a very simple but utterly immaculate chorus. Fittingly, the song brings only what it needs and it all fits together magnificently.
Last Appearance: 2017 - (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano
14. Jane Remover - Census Designated
This is probably my favorite song of 2023. I don't know if it's the most impactful or will go on to be the most influential and it certainly isn't at its best when heard as a single. In fact, I've seen the argument made online that the album's lead single Lips functions better as a standalone track and I completely see where people who say that are coming from. Then I listen to Census Designated and it's a masterpiece. I haven't written my full Songs Of The Year List yet, but bookmark this for a spot in the top 3.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Royal Blue Waves
13. Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem - The Hillbillies
I was the exact opposite of early on Baby Keem. Even once he broke through alongside Kendrick on Family Ties I took too long to acknowledge just how good the two sound together. I won't make that mistake again. Largely thanks to Keem's strange and surreal brevity Kendrick just dropped the most fun and carefree song he's released in over a decade. While some conscious artists make the shift and sound incapable of having fun, Kendrick and Keem craft a song that is the purest of good vibes. It's impossible not to love this.
Last Appearance: 2022 - N95 / n/a
12. Kali Uchis - Moonlight
I'll be the one to stand up for Kali's new album Red Moon In Venus. Though the project may not have had the stellar guest contributions of Isolation, it did have the high points. The highest of those highs and maybe Kali's best song to date is the woozy and appropriately nocturnal Moonlight. The song is an ode to getting high with your love that delivers the exact slick and irresistible vibes that meet the moment. This is Kali at the peak of her craft and it's an irresistible piece of pop-flavored R&B that never once left my rotation this year.
Last Appearance: 2020 - aqui yo mando
11. Model/Actriz - Amaranth
Even I'm surprised this is so high. I wrote the list, rewrote it again, and rewrote it about four more times and this track persisted. Amaranth launched the best debut album of the year which placed Model/Acrtiz among the best experimental rock bands around right now. The song is a perfect encapsulation of what makes the band such a phenomenon. It starts with the sharp-edged industrial crashes which come in pummeling waves. With the lethal pseudo spoken word vocals delivered in a cutthroat demeanor and packed full of viscerally physical imagery. Amaranth is so good it transcends the micro-genres of rock and industrial it supposedly lives within.
Last Appearance: n/a
10. Julie Byrne - Summer Glass
This may be the gentlest and most subtle song to hit me like an atom bomb. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Julie Byrne is an artist I love who came back from a long time away this year. Julie's first single marking her return is utterly gorgeous and perfectly content in everything it delivers. The song replaces the simplicity of some of her previous work with subtlety on the instrumental front and her most vivid songwriting to date. It's no surprise to me that Julie dropped her best album to date following one great single after another. Through that lens, Summer Glass was an absolute must-include cut on the singles list.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Natural Blue
9. Yaeji - For Granted
This isn't even fair. Alongside songs like Forbidden Doors, Moonlight, and a track we haven't even gotten to yet this absolutely irresistible single hit my ears early in the year and just never left. Yaeji's song might be the catchiest of the entire year and it does it with an extremely impressive variety of refrains. But the song is also a sharply penned reflection on her highly unconventional career up to this point. It's incredibly impressive that she manages to muse on how things got so good and try not to take her blessings for granted on a song that sounds THIS fun from start to finish. Yaeji's unique artistry seems to get more and more impressive every year.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Raingurl
8. Jessie Ware - Pearls
For those that thought Jessie's shift into the dynamic image of a pop star post-maturity on 2020's What's Your Pleasure?, even when you're right you're wrong. On the second single from her similarly excellent new album That! Feels! Good! Jessie leaned further into her mature image than ever before, crafting the song entirely around the distinctly restitute image of a pearl necklace. But through that lens, she once again manages to make her meditations sound refined and fully alive at the same time. The fun and bombastic energy of the song really does make it feel impossible not to dance. I don't own any pearls but if I did, I certainly wouldn't mind shaking them off to this absolute bop any day.
Last Appearance: 2022 - Free Yourself
7. Sufjan Stevens - Will Anybody Ever Love Me?
Sufjan Stevens released one of the best albums of 2023, I haven't seen anyone make any attempt to debate that. But he also made a major public revelation that served as both a coming out and a mourning for his lost lover. That blend of tragedy mixed with freedom and the sheer force of love is present all over the record and it's the core of this astonishing lead single. Sufjan's decades of writing artfully crafted expansive indie-folk epics have honed his abilities to the finest edge. All of that pays off on this song which is prepared to meet such a grand moment in the way so few writers across any medium are capable of achieving.
Last Appearance: 2021 - Reach Out
6. The Drums - Obvious
This song is joining a long tradition of tracks rocketing to the top of the singles list because they are simply the most catchy thing I've ever heard. It joins Kim Petras' Malibu, Japanese Breakfast's Be Sweet, and SZA's Shirt as songs whose impact and reception may feel out-paced by their spots on the singles list. But honestly, Obvious is the best of all of them. Johnny Pierce already has a reputation for being perfect at crafting summery indie pop jams and he was in an entirely new bag this year. Any single he released could go toe to toe with whatever indie fans were claiming was their summer anthem this year. And yet somehow still, Obvious stands head and shoulders above even its best contemporaries delivering something that put a truly irresistible spell on me from the first moment I heard it.
Last Appearance: 2019 - Body Chemistry
5. Lana Del Rey - A&W
Much like Jane Remover's Census Designated, Lana Del Rey's multi-faceted masterpiece A&W won't even hit its stride until the Singles Of The Year List dropping after this one. That makes its placement within the top 5 honestly fucking ridiculous. Lana is over a decade into her career where she's had one surprise after another for fans as she continues to improve the scope and vision of her artistry. Even then, knowing how capable she is of challenging listeners while maintaining her fundamental appeal, this blindsided me. For some reason, I just never expected a song that sounded like A&W and was THIS good to ever truly exist. Lana's earnest and softly sung reflections on the trappings of fame across the first half of the song transitioning perfectly into the slick, confident poise of the second half is some kind of miracle. This is the best single she's released since Venice Bitch, and among her best ever.
Last Appearance: 2022 - did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
4. Blur - The Narcissist
At last, we've reached the end of the "long-awaited comeback" theme of this entire list. In case you didn't know, Blur is my favorite band of all time. Their most recent album The Magic Whip came out in 2015, a year before I started this blog and two years before I started reviewing music regularly. So with their comeback came my first opportunity to ever process new Blur material as it dropped on this Blog. And hearing the somber sonic style and lyrics reflecting on decades of success just hit me in a way I can't put into words. The song's patient swaying sets up for a beautiful soaring hook that feels magnificently nostalgic but also never gets mired in that retrospective. Hearing Blur at this point in their career not only continuing to look for new directions to take their always inviting indie rock sounds but also finding new ways to express their thoughts on the band itself was a masterful experience.
Last Appearance: n/a
3. ANOHNI - It Must Change
Speaking as somebody who doesn't reflect on the modern political landscape nearly as much as most young queer and trans people, even I could tell that nobody was more prepared to meet the moment this year the ANOHNI. The last time we heard from her in studio album format was HOPELESSNESS an artistically challenging scream of angst that frankly also felt warranted to me at the time. But now, It Must Change was a rallying cry I couldn't have possibly imagined I needed before hearing it. The song channels classic soul and drew comparisons to Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On. If that seems like high praise, yeah, the song is THAT good. Not only does it sound utterly, stunningly beautiful in both its instrumentation and ANOHNI's unmistakable vocals but it brings that same brilliant equalizing balance to its sentiments as well. Despite acknowledging the dire state of the world, ANOHNI isn't paralyzed by the daunting road ahead. Her confidence, poise, and assurance that she and everyone else deserves to be treated right is one of the best examples I've ever heard of someone facing up political strife and the only right answer you can have.
Last Appearance: 2017 - Paradise
2. Troye Sivan - Rush
In the long and storied history of outwardly, openly, and obviously gay anthems, there are so few true critical darlings. The overwrought camp that normally makes it valid for the former categorization, makes it divisive and impossible to achieve the other. But in 2023 Troye Sivan emerged from a long period of time off to hype up his new poppers-themed twink anthem Rush. Like many, I was expecting a sheer bop and that's exactly what Troye delivered. But what I never expected was how ubiquitous respect and praise for the song became. From the obvious touchpoints of gay culture to the just as obvious queer sentimentalities expressed throughout the song, this isn't normally the type of song to drop without controversy. Not that the song was completely uncontroversial, but in an impressive measure of progress the track's sensuality seemed to wash over massive waves of fans in real-time. Like many others on this list when it came album time I think Troye fell short, but I wouldn't trade Rush for the best possible Troye Sivan album without it. What this song did for summer beach days, fall club nights, and various critics Songs Of The Year lists is completely irreplaceable.
Last Appearance: 2020 - Take Yourself Home
1. underscores - Locals (Girls like us) (Feat. gabby start)
Was it ever going to be anything else? COULD it have ever been anything else? You're telling me that the most bombastic, catchy, exciting, and hilarious song of the year was a thumping hyperpop banger made by a trans woman. Forget about it. In years past, I've come through with gaudy, conceptual, and political reasons for why a certain song felt right to top the Singles List. But this one doesn't need over-explaining. Locals is the best single of the year, it just is. From the eerie and methodical layers of spoken vocals, it kicks off with to the irresistible and hilarious verses the song is a whirlwind of personality from its very first moments. But everything about its sound, style, and presentation is crystalized on the best and hardest-hitting hook of 2023. April and Gabby pay a full-hearted tribute to all the girls who are rotten to their very core. Every moment of booming sonic intensity and kooky lyrical imagery is for them, for us. Frankly, I've already done too much thinking about this track. Rarely is a song so resistant to over-analysis while simultaneously holding up to it so magnificently. Stop me if you've heard this one before, there was no better single this year.
Last Appearance: n/a
Thanks for reading!!!
Stay tuned in the next few days for the best Songs and Albums of the year lists!
Listen to all 100 of these songs on a Spotify playlist here <3
