2023 Honorable Mentions
Those who just missed it
We’ve made it! It’s time to start breaking down and ranking the top albums of 2023!
Honestly, this is my favorite part. It’s a lot of work to get here, and even more to actually wrangle my metaphorical ducks into line, but I love having the final list to refer back to.
Of course, I have to acknowledge that I listened to over 160 albums in 2023. My Top 40 list will address just less than a quarter of the best ones, and there are other releases that really deserve at least a brief mention So, today, that’s where we’re starting: the Honorable Mentions.
Below, there are eight spotlights for the albums which rated an 8+, but didn’t make the top 40, then 22 more albums bulleted which rated at least a 7.5, totalling 30 honorable mentions. These are not properly ranked (all below are in alphabetical order), but these would likely be the list fillers if I hated myself and ranked all the way to 70.
Before we get to that, however, I have to note that there is still a ton of good music that I missed. There are albums ranking consistently high on multiple other outlets that I missed entirely. So if you’re trying to figure out what 2023 albums you need to catch up on, I shouldn’t be the only outlet you’re looking at.1 That said, I do think that many outlets limit themselves quite a lot. Most mainstream outlets don’t give Metal acts the time of day, and most outlets that cover Metal don’t cover anything else.2
And, of course, I need to stress that the list below, along with the list which will trickle out over the course of this week, is entirely subjective. I mean, I shouldn’t need to, but this is the internet.
That said, I do welcome comments and discussion. Please let me know what albums I missed or what I maybe should have scored higher or lower.
Eight 8/10 Albums Which Also Deserve Love
Each of the eight albums which follow here are very solid, and it hurt to leave them off of the Top 40 list — they just missed it.
Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony
(Symphonic Metal | Gothic Metal)
This sophomore album from Blackbriar is filled with vivid and breathtaking moments of symphonic bliss. The instrumentation and composition on this album are deep and complex, with strong melodies to drive it all to satisfying payouts on each track, though a few tracks stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. Metal is all about intensity, and that doesn’t change when the band’s purpose is crafting hauntingly beautiful tracks.
Iron Savior - Firestar
(Power Metal | Speed Metal)
I’m a bit upset that I never really took note of Iron Savior before now. This is very classic Power Metal. This album took me right back to my introduction to the genre through Blind Guardian. I mean, as close ad you can get without the Tolkien influence, anyhow. Firestar is pure headbanging bliss.
Isaiah True Weaver - Good Men Die Like Dogs
(Indie Folk)
I work very hard to try and include albums from all over the industry — across all genres and success levels. So when I saw a post on Tumblr with ITW’s friend saying he’d just released this album and she would love it if somebody would pick it up for feedback, I figured it was the thing to do.
And I’m so very glad that I did. Weaver has a serious knack for melodicism and composition. And he showcases it here on a very raw, under-produced album which really only speaks to his potential. Potential which, by the way, he underscored with his second release of 2023, Jim Jars Marti, which rated a Green due to a handful of missteps in experimentation, but otherwise might have also made this list. There isn’t much being written about Weaver currently, but he has the talent to become a cult folk star, à la Sufjan Stevens. He just needs some recognition and a bit of luck. I’m hoping that this helps.
If you’re looking for raw folk with strong emotionality and solid writing by an up-and-comer, check out ITW.
Lombolo - Här och Där
(Swedish Folk Metal | Melodic Death Metal)
Honestly, this album’s cover art is one of the best of 2023. It really shows off the band’s personality and relationship, and also accurately portrays the raw whimsy of the music you find within. This album is an incredibly fun ride and I’m disappointed that I ultimately couldn’t fit it in the Top 40. You’ll laugh, you’ll rage, you’ll headbang and jam and also go “WTF, guys?”. This album contains one of the best political anthems of the year in “Slap Thyne Enemy (Nazis Must Die)” as well as the absolutely bonkers “Bluegrass Metal” track “Raccoon Platoon” — because Raccoons are a serious problem in Sweden due to their status as an invasive species.
But I’ve chosen the video for “Ofärd” to link below because it’s incredibly fun and matches the cover art and is great propaganda for tabletop games with friends.
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex
(Progressive Rock)
Last year, Porcupine Tree’s Closure/Continuation was just barely bested by Taylor Swift’s Midnights for AOTY honors. So, naturally, I was excited to learn Wilson’s newest solo album would be releasing the day before my birthday. And it really didn’t disappoint. Honestly, The Harmony Codex is the best solo work we’ve gotten from Wilson to date. It’s very strong with a lot of incredible moments (and the bizarre claymation video below), including a new duet with Ninet Tayeb.
Wilson is as creative as he is adventurous, and it all pays off on The Harmony Codex, with only the title track failing to pull its weight (and at almost ten minutes in length, that’s a fair chunk of dead weight, which is why this failed to make the list). If you’re unfamiliar with Steven Wilson or Porcupine Tree and you enjoy Rock or solid guitar work, consider this your invitation. You don’t know what you’re missing.
Tanya Tucker - Sweet Western Sound
(Country & Western)
Tanya Tucker is Country music royalty and really shouldn’t need an introduction. And her career has seen some recent reinvigoration, largely thanks to support from Brandi Carlisle and Shooter Jennings, who have led the production efforts for her last few albums. This is a creative dream team, effectively highlighting Tucker’s strengths perfectly at every turn. And at 65 years old, Tucker’s voiced has that aged charm that made Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” so fucking good; to be totally fair, nothing on this album quite hits that level, but it’s in the same vein.
Everything on this album just works. It’s so far removed from the modern Nashville sound, and it makes me happy.
The Ocean - Holocene
(Prog Metal)
Frankly, if my process involved sound alone, this would be a Top 20 album. There are so many divine moments contained on this record. I still think that the first half of “Unconformities” is, without a doubt, among the five best tracks of the year; unfortunately, the last half just doesn’t work (not for four-and-a-half minutes, anyhow). In spite of that, and the repetition in the lyrics throughout, The Ocean remains solidly one of my favorite new finds of the year. I can’t wait to go digging through the rest of their discography.
The Paper Kites - At the Roadhouse
(Indie Rock | Folk Rock | Americana)
Trying to classify this band using the genric labels I’m accustomed to really just doesn’t work. Like, yes, there’s strong rock influence, but they’re also pulling on instruments and sounds usually reserved for a specific section of Americana — eg Country. But they’re not Country…it’s more generic. But they’re not really Americana because they’re Australian!
It’s frustrating, but also highly amusing.
At the Roadhouse is full of light and easy barroom atmosphere. Like, specifically the kind of dive where everybody is clearly drinking away their problems while breathing air that is more smoke than oxygen. It’s a very specific vibe, and it was captured because the band bought a bar to turn into their own private recording studio/practice space/performance venue. If you read enough of the label to understand that, then you will find that At the Roadhouse provides exactly what it says it will, and it does so for 80 minutes.
22 More Albums You May Want To Check Out
Now, to round out to an even thirty additional albums on this list, here are 22 of my favorites which were ultimately, as a full album, not quite up to snuff for Blue.
Arch Echo - Final Pitch (Prog Metal)
Baroness - Stone (Sludge/Prog Metal)
Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond (Psychedelic Soul/R&B)
Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (Dark Pop)
Dark Sarah - Attack of Orym (Symphonic/Gothic Metal)
Delain - Dark Waters (Symphonic Metal)
Ellie Goulding - Higher Than Heaven (Pop/Dance)
Elvenking - Reader of the Runes - Rapture (Symphonic Power Metal)
Gorillaz - Cracker Island | (Synth-Pop/Pop Rock)
Greta Van Fleet - Starcatcher | (Prog Rock)
Kelly Clarkson - Chemistry | (Pop)
Mitski - The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We | (Art Pop)
Mystic Prophecy - Hellriot | (Power Metal)
Scorched Moon - Obsidia | (Prog Metal)
Sigur Ros - Atta | (Post-Rock)
Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance | (Epic Heavy/Doom Metal)
Starbenders - Take Back the Night | (Glam Rock)
The Japanese House - In The End It Always Does | (Dream Pop)
The Wytches - Our Guest Can’t Be Named | (Indie/Surf Rock)
Tyler Childers - Rustin’ in the Rain | (Alt/Classic Country)
Thanks for following along! The real Countdown begins tomorrow!
The links below will work once each article has gone live.
AOTY | #2-10 | #11-20 | #21-30 | #31-40 | Honorable Mentions
Though, let’s be honest, if you’re reading this, you are one of very few. Also, this is likely one of the last “Top Albums of 2023” lists to be published. I mean, this is coming out on the last full week of January. You’ve probably already checked the rest.
My list also has weaknesses. I don’t cover much Hip Hop. And this year’s list feels especially lacking on the diversity front.