Let’s be honest: 2023 felt like the best year in a long time. Sure, life was not perfect at times, but the music was stellar. Hip-hop’s biggest song came out as a remix between PinkPantheress and Ice Spice. Mexican music grew in popularity. Boygenius came back. Miley Cyrus is still the same superstar she’s been for nearly two decades. Bully kept the post-grunge sound alive. Lana Del Rey and Chappell Roan brought queerness and straightforward thinking into light in completely separate fashions. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown horrified normies. Nobody has figured out how old Yves Tumor actually is. Samia held everything together with a guitar held together by sugary nectar. With so many remarkable moments from those artists, there were equally exceptional songs. Here is a list of the 23 best released in 2023.
Best Songs of 2023:
23. Boygenius – “$20”
Boygenius returned in January with the single “$20” and announced the record’s release. Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker broke the internet in the process. Fans had waited years for the supergroup’s return. They got a growing song that triumphantly ends with Baker reaching deep into her voice and Dacus charmingly singing next to her.
22. Alice Phoebe Lou – “Shelter”
Alice Phoebe Lou dropped “Shelter” in March. The title track to her fifth studio album put her trademark gurgling and charming vocals at the forefront. It’s a song about unconditional love for others and, eventually, herself.
21. Wednesday – “Quarry”
Wednesday is the project of singer and guitarist Karly Hartzman. “Quarry” was not a single released leading up to Wednesday’s smash-hit album Rat Saw God. It ended up being the song that received the most radio play. The lyrics are about the small-town incidents and life-spoiling moments the average person encounters earlier in life. Hartzman’s boyfriend and fellow musician MJ Lenderman shreds away on guitar on this tune too.
20. Pierce The Veil – “Even When I’m Not With You”
Pierce The Veil returned to the music landscape with an early 2023 release. “Even When I’m Not With You” came out in January as the final single before the group released their LP The Jaws of Life. It sharpens the tone between the band’s upbeat tracks and its tunes with a fuller sound. “Even When I’m Not With You” has become a charming song when played in packed venues.
19. Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado – “Ella Baila Sola”
Peso Pluma extended his music to a wider audience in 2023 and “Ella Baila Sola” has become one of the most attractive songs to worldwide listeners. He performed the song with Eslabon Armado live for the first time in November at the Latin Grammy’s. Anyone can lose themselves to dance in the track’s enchanting trumpet playing, which also serves as the song’s beat.
18. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown – “Lean Beef Patty”
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown decided to spend 2023 SCARING THE HOES by releasing an album plus going on a subsequent tour together. Their year of running amok commenced with SCARING THE HOES’ first single, accompanied by a music video among other big announcements that stirred up fans and probably horrified some nice women.
16. Men I Trust – “Ring of Past”
Men I Trust didn’t release a full-length record in 2023 but still found a way to have a broad impact. Synths and bass accompany Emmanuelle Proulx’s soft singing on “Ring of Past.” The single was dropped as a stand-alone release in February.
15. Indigo De Souza – “Younger & Dumber”
Indigo De Souza continued her reign of putting chokeholds on the most emotional music fans in 2023. She hits her outpouring best on her third studio album. “Younger & Dumber” is a slow burner about reflecting on the past and deciding how prior experiences will impact decisions in the present. De Souza hits amplifying tones with her voice. It’s so deep she hardly has to project on the choruses and bridge.
14. Bully – “Days Move Slow”
Bully came back with her first LP since 2020 this year and “Days Move Slow” proves there’s plenty of power in the contemporary alt-rock sound. It’s a quick and catchy song that capitalizes on elongated guitars at some points and simply high-tempo drums and vocals at others.
13. Yves Tumor – “Echolalia”
Yves Tumor released what many saw as an early album of the year contender with Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) in March 2023. That hype was propelled by the sexy “ah-ah-ah’s” sang on the record’s most popular single “Echolalia.” It attracted pop fans and indie kids across the world.
12. Big Thief – “Vampire Empire”
Big Thief has made “Vampire Empire” a live show staple and finally released it as a single in July. It was dubbed as one of their most anticipated releases yet. They’re also making a statement about gender identity here. Lenker’s screechy vocals match over loud guitars, making sure they hit their goal of breaking destructive internal cycles and the same-old-same-old. It’s a poetic nod to life’s complexities and even has takes on gender identity.
11. Maysie Peters – “Lost The Breakup”
Maysie Peters speaks of love a lot on her new album The Good Witch. She portrays herself as being the better person coming out of tough situations throughout the record. No song exemplifies that theme like “Lost The Breakup.” Peters has a poppy beat and chimey guitars where she speaks about getting the upper hand at the end of a relationship. Not because of who got what, but because the partner lost Peters. It’s empowering.
10. Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
Lana Del Rey did the most Lana Del Rey thing possible in 2023. She shared a song about intimacy on Valentine’s Day. It’s not positive. Del Rey addresses the “experience of being an American whore”. The singer tells the story of a woman who has been relegated to a “sidepiece” after meeting a man at a hotel for sex. But she also touches on themes of loss of innocence, rape culture, drug use, personal lows and some sense of blaming oneself for other’s actions. The song’s breakdown near its conclusion was one of the most emotional turns fans felt this year.
9. Samia – “Honey”
Samia transformed into one of the biggest live acts in 2023 and the title track to her third LP shows why. She can make a full room sing together about having a great weekend. “Honey” has a whimsical and sing-songy chorus. Is it about how sweet life is? No. Samia herself said the song and album as a whole strive to find a drunken “honey feeling” without painful relationships and alcohol.
8. Nation of Language – “Too Much Enough”
Nation of Language showed that if 2023 was the year of the synthesizer, nobody was going to take advantage of it better than a three-piece act from New Jersey. “Too Much Enough” is an independent music fan’s dream. The song has enchanting new wave vocals with modern musical sound. It’s catchy, clicky and clacky. It has enough “gang vocals” to make it intelligent yet can be played around friends.
7. Caroline Polachek – “Pretty in Possible”
Caroline Polacheck spent two years releasing singles building up to her newest album Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. “Pretty in Possible” is the record’s second track and the first unreleased single listeners hear. Between the swishy beat and her unmatched vocal performance, there’s a chance to relax in the rhythm.
6. L’Rain – “Pet Rock”
Taja Cheek’s experimental music as L’Rain is free-moving, unmoored from typical song structures and genre restrictions. “Pet Rock” has groovy bass, horns and synths with one large dreamy voice. Not one aspect of the song takes the forefront. It’s one of the most dynamic singles released in 2023.
5. Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Miley Cyrus managed to release a song that kicked off 2023 as a number one hit and kept that title for two straight months. “Flowers” found its way into fans hearts and playlists early with a guarantee it would never leave the shuffle. It is one of the most played songs globally this year and puts the superstar on another career-high pedestal. It’s a pop song with a touch of disco. Combine those terms with an artist as admired as Cyrus and it’s hard to argue that it’s not worthy of all the award nominations it’s received.
4. Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
Olivia Rodrigo rang everyone’s alarm with a banging single in June. “Vampire” shows her growth in the years since her first record was released. It proves Rodrigo is just as unfiltered as ever. She finds a way to extend her vocal range and keep a beat better than her contemporaries in the pop game. Rodrigo manages to fit so many elements of a great song in just over three and a half minutes. It’s been streamed over half a billion times on Spotify since.
3. Sufjan Stevens – “So You Are Tired”
Sufjan Stevens gets folky and tugs at heartstrings on his newest album Javelin. No song fits the bill better than “So You Are Tired.” Stevens evaluates himself and life before putting pen to paper to write lyrics. It’s something every artist tries to do. Knowing Stevens’ hardships and life experiences add to the guilt and gruff emotions listeners can share with him. Every artist writes about their life experiences. The way Stevens does it, though, might be better than any musician alive.
2. PinkPantheress featuring Ice Spice – “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2”
PinkPantheress released a triumphant hip-hop album in November. It’s great as a whole but is driven by the remix of her own single “Boy’s a liar” featuring a middle verse from popular rapper Ice Spice. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” could not be avoided. The club, the gym, the bar, the party, TikTok, anyplace people were found. The song could not be escaped. Who wanted to escape it? No one really. It broke airwaves for its video and found its way onto playlists worldwide. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” put two young stars on top of the world. PinkPantheress and Ice Spice have their whole careers ahead of them. There’s no doubt that there are more hits to be shared but this one will be remembered forever.
1. Chappell Roan – “Red Wine Supernova”
Chappell Roan has hammered out singles that find a home for her debut full-length album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess since 2020. It’s top hit “Red Wine Supernova” came out in May 2023 and immediately propelled the 25-year-old into a new category. Pop fans found out she’s a worthy hitmaker and her longtime fans are excited to see her get the recognition she’s worked to deserve. Roan’s superstardom was never in question but was arguably solidified more than ever before when “Red Wine Supernova” dropped. She doesn’t care that a perspective partner is a stoner. She still wants them to come over. She still wants the person in question to show off their cool outfits, talk about life for a while and get romantic. It’s also one of the most queer pop songs to achieve mainstream success this decade. Roan has inspired fans across the world by writing an album of loves that she wanted and a romantic life she dreamed of as a queer singer and songwriter. She’ll take her tracks on an arena tour with Olivia Rodrigo in 2024, drawing her own fans to join her in the world of dreamy success and show her proud life off to new crowds. Knowing those terms, there may not have been a more powerful moment in music in 2023 than the triumphant release of “Red Wine Supernova.”
What was your favorite song released in 2023? Did we miss any of the best songs of 2023? Let us know in the comments or on Instagram and Facebook! Stay tuned as we release our “Best of 2023” lists each Friday in December.
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