Year-end list season continues today with UK publication NME‘s list of the 50 best albums of 2023. It follows their list of the 50 best songs of the year (which, spoiler, was topped by Lana Del Rey’s “A&W”), and it ranges from usual suspects like Boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek, Mitski, Sufjan Stevens, Yves Tumor, Lana Del Rey, Wednesday, and Yaeji to a few rap albums (Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist, JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown, Killer Mike) to one punk band (Militarie Gun) to one (pop-leaning) Radio City-headlining British metal band (Sleep Token) to classic rock bands The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and Depeche Mode.
What do you think of their list? Scroll down for the full top 50 and read commentary on each pick at NME.
NME’s Top 50 Albums of 2023
50. Lil Yachty – ‘Let’s Start Here’
49. Depeche Mode – ‘Memento Mori’
48. Grrrl Gang – ‘Spunky!’
47. Ive – ‘I’ve Ive’
46. Karol G – ‘Mañana Será Bonito’
45. Olivia Dean – ‘Messy’
44. CMAT – ‘Crazymad, For Me’
43. The Rolling Stones – ‘Hackney Diamonds’
42. Geese – ‘3D Country’
41. Benefits – ‘Nails’
40. James Blake – ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’
39. Holly Humberstone – ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’
38. Agust D – ‘D Day’
37. Paris Texas – ‘Mid Air’
36. Corinne Bailey Rae – ‘Black Rainbows’
35. Hak Baker – World’s End FM’
34. Wednesday – ‘Rat Saw God’
33. Laufey – ‘Bewitched’
32. The National – ‘Laugh Track’
31. Kaytraminé – ‘Kaytraminé’
30. Le Sserafim – ‘Unforgiven’
29. PinkPantheress – ‘Heaven Knows’
28. Water From Your Eyes – ‘Everyone’s Crushed’
27. Killer Mike – ‘Michael’
26. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist – ‘Voir Dire’
25. Loraine James – ‘Gentle Confrontation’
24. Yaeji – ‘With A Hammer’
23. Lana Del Rey – ‘Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’
22. Blondshell – ‘Blondshell’
21. Sleep Token – ‘Take Me Back To Eden’
20. Jessie Ware – ‘That! Feels Good’
19. Militarie Gun – ‘Life Under The Gun’
18. Genesis Owusu – ‘Struggler’
17. Yves Tumor – ‘Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)’
16. Foo Fighters – ‘But Here We Are’
15. JPEGMafia and Danny Brown – ‘Scaring The Hoes’
14. 100 Gecs – ‘10,000 Gecs’
13. Romy – ‘Mid Air’
12. Queens of The Stone Age – ‘In Times New Roman…’
11. Sufjan Stevens – ‘Javelin’
10. Blur – ‘The Ballad of Darren’
9. Mitski – ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’
8. Amaarae – ‘Fountain Baby’
7. Sofia Kourtesis – ‘Madres’
6. Caroline Polachek – ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’
5. Paramore – ‘This Is Why’
4. Troye Sivan – ‘Something To Give Each Other’
3. Young Fathers – ‘Heavy Heavy’
2. Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Guts’
1. Boygenius – ‘The Record’