Last year, I decided to tackle the task of ranking my 50 favorite albums of all time. At the time, I said it was “something I’d like to do every 5 years, as I think it would be interesting to see how my tastes change…” Well, either I’m masochistic or just have a compulsion to rank things in lists, but here I am just one year later to do it again.
Why I’m doing it again so soon really boils down to a few reasons:
- My favorite albums are still fairly volatile as I discover new music, especially at the lower rankings, so there is enough change to make an annual list interesting.
- The data over time is more interesting if it is more granular, seeing how albums move year-over-year instead of between larger intervals.
- I actually enjoy doing it! I have found that spending the start of the year really actively listening to my favorite albums, while I take a bit of a break from new music discovery, is an enjoyable process.
So below you will find my results for this year. I intentionally did not reference last year’s list, as I wanted to reduce my bias and really go based on my experiences listening. There is definitely a strong recency bias in play, but rather than artificially combat it, I just tried to be honest to how I feel right now and let the data year after year speak to whether albums really had staying power.
All of this is really for myself more than anything, but hopefully you find it interesting and maybe find some new music to check out!
Dropped Off the List
These are albums that made the Top 50 last year, but fell off (and outside my honorable mentions) this year. Most of these are still albums I enjoy and are in my rotation, but have fallen due to a combination of cooling on them and new albums rising up the list.
- Father of the Bride - Vampire Weekend (#50 in 2023)
- OK Human - Weezer (#49 in 2023)
- A Beginner’s Mind - Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine (#48 in 2023)
- ZABA - Glass Animals (#47 in 2023)
- The Queen is Dead - The Smiths (#46 in 2023)
- This is All Yours - alt-J (#43 in 2023)
- Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles (#41 in 2023)
- Contra - Vampire Weekend (#40 in 2023)
- Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (#39 in 2023)
- Continuum - John Mayer (#28 in 2023)
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (#17 in 2023)
Honorable Mentions
Before I jump into the top 50, here are the albums that just missed the list. These would have been #51-60, but they are unranked here — simply listed alphabetically:
- America, Location 12 - Dispatch (#36 in 2023)
- Either / Or - Elliott Smith (NEW)
- Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple (#35 in 2023)
- Music for People in Trouble - Susanne Sundfør (NEW)
- Peter Gabriel 3: (Melt) - Peter Gabriel (NEW)
- Revolver - The Beatles (#31 in 2023)
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (#32 in 2023)
- Smiling With No Teeth - Genesis Owusu (#23 in 2023)
- Talking Book - Stevie Wonder (#42 in 2023)
- Year of the Newt - Bobbing (NEW)
Onward to the list, which, as of right now, represents the top ~7% of all albums I have rated!
#50 - (I Am) Origami Pt. 2: Every Power Wide Awake (NEW) John Van Deusen
Release Year: 2017 Genres: Christian Rock, Indie Folk
There tends to be a bit of a chasm between worshipful Christian music and music that hits my general listening preferences in a way that I want to keep coming back to it. (I Am) Origami Pt. 2: Every Power Wide Awake manages to be an exception to the rule and, for my tastes, really balances spiritual lyricism with compelling musical arrangements.
#49 - Live at Bush Hall (NEW) Black Country, New Road
Release Year: 2023 Genres: Progressive Pop, Art Rock
Black Country, New Road found itself in the strange position of releasing an album to very high praise, and having their lead singer leave the band at the same moment. Their follow-up album goes in a different direction with various band members taking up the singing role and recording it as a live album — but count me surprised as this collection just continued to grow on me with repeated listens.
#48 - A Boat on the Sea (NEW) Moron Police
Release Year: 2019 Genres: Progressive Rock, Pop Rock
My first reaction to A Boat on the Sea was, “this is cool, but just a little too over-the-top cheesy for me to want to come back to.” And I still do think it is over-the-top, but it has slowly become more of a feature than a bug. As I’ve embraced it as just a fun album with impressive musicianship funneled through a bit of a goofy lens, I’ve found myself coming back again and again.
#47 - Another Green World (NEW) Brian Eno
Release Year: 1975 Genres: Art Rock, Ambient
Another Green World was a big surprise for me, because usually an album with lots of ambient instrumentals does not capture my attention. But something just works here, especially when listening to it as a complete album, where the interesting soundscapes transition into the “singles,” combining into a satisfying listening experience.
#46 - Hail to the Thief (-8) Radiohead
Release Year: 2003 Genres: Art Rock, Alternative Rock
I seem to be in the minority of Radiohead fans that actually prefers Hail to the Thief to their more popular Kid A (which doesn’t make my list, though I enjoy a handful of tracks off of it). It has slid some for me, but still brings a lot of what I like about Radiohead to the table.