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Wednesday, November 22, 2023

2023 The Albums: Top 10

via GIPHY

Click Here for 2023 Honorable Album Mentions

It is that time of the year again, our favorite time actually, as we look back on the year in music and select the 10 best albums of the year. 

Click Here for 2023 League of Their Own 

 

10) Nas - "Magic 3" 


9) Philip Selway - "Strange Dance"


8) Danny Brown and JPEG Mafia - "Scaring the Hoes" 

 

7) The Rolling Stones - "Hackney Diamonds"


6) Romy - "Mid Air"

5) Killer Mike - "Michael"


4) The National - "First Two Pages of Frankenstein"

3) The Hold Steady - "The Price of Progress" 


2) Model / Actriz - "Dogsbody"


1) Nas - "Magic 2"




 

2023 The Albums: League of Their Own

via GIPHY



As said in previous years, this award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.

 

In the past winners have included:

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A

2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?

2002 - NERD - In Search of...

2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant

2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss

2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute

2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

2007 - Kanye West - Graduation

2008 - Santigold

2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

2011 - Bjork - Biophilia

2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor

2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic

2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar

2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded

2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest

2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

2022 - Black Midi - Hellfire 



...and now to add to this ever growing list is a band who have taken 

rock n roll and mixed it with soul and dipped it into gospel but also 

using electronic arrangements to make their voices and

message heard loud and clear. With a slew of guests that include 

the reclusive Zach de la Rocha, Sam

Herring of Future Islands, Big Rube, Lee Bains, among others. 

The fourth record from this Georgia-based 

band isn't Southern Rock it is a mirror to America itself. 

 

The 2023 League of Their Own winner is...

 

Algiers - "Shook"

 


 

2023 The Albums: Honorable Mentions

via GIPHY



In keeping with our Thanksgiving weekend tradition, we are coming out of hiatus to post our year-end music lists for the year. Here is the first of three lists dedicated to our favorites of the calendar. 

Instead of presenting everything over the course of three weeks as we did last year, we are going to just get them all out now over the course of this weekend. 

Here is our first list -- Honorable Mentions -- records, in no particular order, that were good but not strong enough to crack our top 10. 


James Blake - "Playing Robots Into Heaven"

Nems - "Rise of the Silverback"
Maxo - "Even God Has a Sense of Humor"
Crosswires - "Yesterday in Mourning"
Nuovo Testimento - "Love Lines"

The Chemical Brothers - "For that Beautiful Feeling"