2024 is right around the corner and as we look forward to new albums by artists as diverse as Blackberry Smoke, Judas Priest or Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds, let's take a look back at some of the releases that made 2023 such a great year for music. From pop and rock to metal, folk, country, and soul, we've seen stellar releases from both established artists and newcomers. Of course, any year with a new studio record from The Rolling Stones is bound to be noteworthy. Who could've predicted that Hackney Diamonds would turn out as good as it did?
Other legendary artists like Bob Dylan and The Who also contributed some great material, though it leaned more towards archival or revisited versions of classics. Unfortunately, not everything reached the same level of excellence. Despite initial excitement, recent efforts from Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop turned out to be rather disappointing. And contrary to The Who, Def Leppard's attempt at reinterpreting their repertoire with a symphonic orchestra fell flat. Still, even these somewhat mediocre releases from legendary acts contain some great tracks that are well worth checking out.
On the metal front, reliable purveyors of musical mayhem like Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, and Overkill delivered commendable LPs, but they were somewhat overshadowed in the media by the genre giants: Metallica. 72 Seasons is a decent album, and while it doesn't quite capture the magic of their heyday, it's always a treat to hear Metallica be Metallica.
The genre that truly shone this year is Americana. Whether it's folk, Southern rock, or straight-up country, this is where you'll find the best LPs of the year. Chris Stapleton, Dylan LeBlanc, Israel Nash, Gov't Mule, Jason Isbell and Rhiannon Giddens have all released albums that will undoubtedly become future classics.
Jazz and its many branches has also had a great year, with stellar releases like Yussef Days' Black Classical Music and Tyshawn Sorey's Continuing. For an idiom that has been declared dead several times over in the past sixty years, it is defiantly vibrant and essential.
This playlist picks some of the best songs from the albums we've been spinning this year. It's extremely long, and takes many twists and turns but ultimately flows quite well. You'll probably need several sittings to listen and digest it all. Not all of it will be your cup of tea, but it's a pretty good compendium of what's been going on musically this year in our preferred genres.
Head over to our forums or socials to dive into the discussion. Share your thoughts, agreements, disagreements, and give us your own list and rankings!
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