100 Best Albums from NYC 2023
The world seems to be on fire and we all needed a break from all the chaos happening all over the world.
For many of us, 2023 was a pretty good year but on a global scale it has been hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Between global conflicts, protests, inflation, migrants, natural disasters, AI technology, mass shootings, antisemitism and climate change, it was a pretty lousy year.
But it wasn’t all bad. Rage Against the Machine reunited, Taylor Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year and the Pope authorized blessings of same-sex couples.
While it’s always busy in the “City that Never Sleeps,” it’s also nice to pause for a second and reflect on some of the most memorable music NYC had to offer us this year.
For previous year’s listicles: 2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016
Honorable Mentions:
Meechy Darko — Doses
Spoda — Writin My Wrongs
Madison McFerrin — I Hope You Can Forgive Me
Bulletins — The Path is a Little Sleep
Lauren Henderson — Conjuring
Pain of Truth — Not Through Blood
Docents — Figure Study
James Brandon Lewis — Eye of I / For Mahalia, with Love
Top 100 albums from NYC
100. Popoutboyz — Conspiracy
99. Miss Grit — Follow the Cyborg
98. Hand Habits — Sugar the Bruise
97. Afterbirth — In, But Not Of
96. B-Lovee — Sorry 4 The Wait
95. Wallice — Mr Big Shot
94. Sweet Dreams Nadine — Sweet Dreams Nadine
93. Gold Dime — No More Blue Skies
92. Say She She — Silver
91. Tauk — Equalizer
90. Marnie Stern — The Comeback Kid
89. Adi Oasis — Lotus Glow
88. Gabby’s World — Gabby Sword
87. Capella Grey — Here, damn.
86. JI the Prince of New York — One Way or Another
85. Blondshell — Blondshell
84. Sophie B. Hawkins — Free Myself
83. Activity — Spirit in the Room
82. Jay Critch — Jugg Season
81. Kate Davis — Fish Bowl
80. Helmet — Left
79. Crosslegged — Another Blue
78. We Are Scientists — Lobes
77. H31R — HeadSpace
76. Denrock — Milestones
75. Buck Meek — Haunted Mountain
74. Ellis Mellilo — Cry Wolf
73. Aja Monet — When the Poems Do What They Do
72. Yaeji — With A Hammer
71. Eddie Kaine — House of Kaine
70. Lola Brooke — Dennis Daughter
69. Sunwatchers — Music Is Victory Over Time
68. Mac Ayres — Comfortable Enough
67. Vagabon — Sorry I Haven’t Called
66. MIKE — Burning Desire
65. Hannah Jadagu — Aperture
64. Upstate — You Only Get A Few
63. Mary Jane Dunphe — Stage of Love
62. Annie Hart — The Weight of a Wave
61. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal — Maps
60. The Lemon Twigs — Everything Harmony
59. Bunny X — Love Minus 80
58. Eartheater — Powder
57. Bush Tetras — They Live in my Head
56. Melanie Martinez — Portals
55. Rome Streetz — Noise Kandy 5
54. Strange Neighbors — Party of None
53. Beirut — Hadsel
52. Taking Back Sunday — 152
51. Julie Byrne — The Greater Wings
50. El Michels Affair + Black Thought — Glorious Game
49. Aesop Rock — Integrated Tech Solutions
48. Emily King — Special Occasion
47. Mitski — This Is Land Inhospitable and So Are We
46. Koyo — Would You Miss It?
45. Cut Worms — Cut Worms
44. Nappy Nina — Mourning Due
43. Caroline Rose — The Art of Forgetting
42. Danger Mouse + Gemini — Born Again
41. Jeff Rosenstock — HELLMODE
40. Quelle Chris — Black Cottonwood
39. Hotline TNT — Cartwheel
38. Rim — M!nd State
37. Samia — Honey
36. Madison Beer — Silence Between Songs
35. Lil Tecca — TEC
34. Lana Del Rey — Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard?
33. The Hold Steady — The Price of Progress
32. AZ — Truth Be Told
31. US Girls — Bless This Mess
30. Rowdy Rebel — Back Outside
29. ANOHNI and the Johnsons — My Back was a Bridge For You to Cross
28. Yo La Tengo — This Stupid World
27. The Front Bottoms — You Are Who You Hang Out With
26. Carrtoons — Saturday Night
25. Margaret Glaspy — Echo the Diamond
24. Frost Children — Hearth Room
23. Swans — The Beggar
22. Blockhead — The Aux
21. Geese — 3D Country
20. Cash Cobain — Pretty Girls Love Slizzy
19. Beach Fossils — Bunny
18. Model/Actriz — Dogsbody
17. MisterWives — Nosebleeds
16. Karina Rykman — Joyride
15. Paul Simon — Seven Psalms
14. Busta Rhymes — Blockbusta
13. Blonde Redhead — Sit Down For Dinner
12. Lil Tjay — 222
11. Frida Kill — Kill! Kill!
10. Joanna Sternberg — I’ve Got Me
The second studio album from multi-instrumentalist/indie folk musician Joanna Sternberg takes an introspective look on the artist’s struggles with substance abuse, mental health, the savagery of the music industry and the isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The key to its popularity can be attributed to producer Matt Sweeney, whose work as a producer and guitarist helped make the record much more diverse. His catalog includes session work with Cat Power, Johnny Cash, Andrew W.K., El-P, Cage, Adele, Eagles of Death Metal, Zach De La Rocha of Rage Against the Machines, Stephen Malkmus, Neil Diamond and more.
9. Armand Hammer — We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
The hip-hop duo’s first record with the Fat Possum label was an underground hit. Rapper Billy Woods said he and Elucid took a “pretty different,” approach with the album, enlisting a range of guest producers across a range of different genres. The production includes tracks from JPEGMafia, pop duo Child Actor, El-P, Kenny Segal, Jeff Markey, Preservation of the group Sonic Sum, frequent collaborator DJ Haram and more.
8. Nicki Minaj — Pink Friday 2
Thirteen years after her smash hit Pink Friday (2010), the release of her highly anticipated sequel album debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 charts. Labeled “ambitious” by some critics, the record set out to achieve the same acclaim as the first and based on its popularity was a major success for the Young Money-signed rap star.
7. Caroline Polachek — Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Speaking of fantastic fourths. Art pop artist Caroline Polachek has been around for some time but her latest work is easily her best yet. The album mixes a litany of things together that you would never in a million years think would work, like bagpipes and trip-hop and a children’s choir. It sounds like it would be weird or uncomfortable but she really assembles the pieces to create something unique in the avant-pop spectrum.
6. Palehound — Eye on the Bat
Elle Kempner hails from Boston but she has been living in New York for some time now which makes perfect sense for her “bedroom pop” sound. Eye on the Bat is her fourth record, but it has a lot of tenacity and angst that make it a cut above.
5. Nas — Magic 2 + Magic 3
Nas and Hit-Boy seem to be a dynamic duo. It’s nice to see how at 50, Nas is putting out some of his best work in decades. That’s not to say he hasn’t been putting out solid albums, but keep in mind Stillmatic was already 23 years ago.
4. Amaarae — Fountain Baby
Fountain Baby is making several year-end lists for its beautiful combination of afropop, R&B, and electronic sounds. The sophomore album from the Ghanaian-American lyricist is rather unconventional but it’s not what you might consider obscure either. Her words are gripping, earnest, and oftentimes seductive. Looking forward to seeing more of Amaarae in the coming year.
3. Water From Your Eyes — Everyone’s Crushed
The indie pop duo’s major label debut is as eclectic as it is palatable. That’s why this genre-jumping record is so easy to sink your teeth into. Receiving widespread acclaim, Everyone’s Crushed is the rare type of record you can listen to front-to-back or skip around. There are no bad tracks.
2. The National — First Two Pages of Frankenstein/Laugh Track
The features alone make both albums a must listen. It includes guest appearances by Taylor Swift, one of the top-selling artists of today and Time Magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year; Phoebe Bridgers of indie supergroup boygenius, whose debut album has been nominated for seven Grammy awards this year; and acclaimed indie folk singer Sufjan Steven ; Rosanne Cash, the eldest daughter of the late Johnny Cash; Justin Vernon of Bon Iver; and the London Contemporary Orchestra.
1. Ice Spice — Like..?
The 24-year-old viral sensation went from making drill videos in the Bronx to making headline news. Her debut album was a smash hit. With five singles already in pocket, it’s easy to see why it took no time at all for her to breakthrough. Along with her collab with Nicki Minaj, which appeared in the top box office hit, the Barbie Movie, the record has moved the equivalent of 500,000 copies, easily making it a contender for album of the year.
