Best Albums 2023 (25-21)

Here are 20 albums I listned to at least 50 times according to Stats.fm, so I feel ive got a good enough understanding to talk about every track as Ive listened enough. With the rise lf streaming services meaning time is unimportant in terms of when albums are released and how much they are listned to, these aren't the best twenty albums Ive listened to in 2023 and I may uncover more gems from the year over time, but they are the twenty released in the year that Ive had time to get to grips with and speak about.

20) Autumn Variations- Ed Sheeran

Whenever an artist has a “flop” album, it is always interesting to see what they do next- especially when you are an artist like Ed Sheeran that a couple years ago had radios in a chokehold. Unlike Taylor Swifts acoustic left turn Folklore, Ed Sheeran’s return to “real” music felt like a marketing ploy that never really worked. Removing the pop hooks and gooey choruses, Ed Sheeran is what we always knew he was, a mediocre white guy with a guitar. Maybe if the lyrics were stronger, but opening track Magical that’s literally the cliche when we touch it feels like magic could this be love troupe that is the kind of lyrical calibre i expect from Katy Perry but without the goofy fun to cover the paper thin cliche. Then, Sheeran’s love letter to England feels disingenuous as his tediously stretched out vocal delivery makes it sound like there isn’t enough he loves about England so he has to fill the time, and his “everyman” spiel doesn’t work when he is a millionaire maverick. And Plastic Bag seems to take all the drama, nuance and interesting lyrical potential out of the concept of using alcohol and nights out to improve your mood- the tepid nature is disjointed from the narrative and feels cold and disconnected from emotion. Don’t even get me started on Blue because I couldn’t finish it; Sheeran’s higher register is just unbearable. Im not the biggest hater of Sheeran’s whiteboy rapping, Don’t is a fun bite back at Ellie Goulding, but That’s on me has no rhythm or bite that feels cringe like an insufferable incel “when I open up they all laugh”. With a title like Autumn Variations it was clear Sheeran aimed to dawdle in the melancholy of things going wrong which always has the risk of things feeling a bit pathetic and self indulgent, and that is kind of exemplified in the worst songs like Page that don’t add anything to this simple thesis statement. The Taylor Swift comparisons are just too easy i the second half with songs like Midnight and Spring, but whereas Swift’s moody love songs have Antonoff production to sink you into the brooding escapism or to whisk you through the forest of wonder, here it is just too simple and leaves the lyrics too bare with little to stand on. By punchline, even the promise of some attempts at euphoric guitar feel too little too late and though it does put the song top three it shows how weak the rest of the album has been that this leap frogs it all. With an album that never really started, the sputter and drag with the final three to the finish line feels painfully dry and unnotable.

To end positively, Amazing is a pretty fun reminder to ride through the rough patches and get to the best parts of life, it is severely helped by its jaunty beat in this mostly timid album. In a similar vein, American Town is an attempt at a melody and chorus and comes across more favourably than most because of it. Hopefully, Sheeran realises for future projects, it’s his knack of catchy hooks that made him radios darling and his storytelling has never been rich enough to stand without them. This back to basics was not Sheeran’s Folklore so lets hope the next album is finds his voice rather than blindly shooting for evermore.

Best songs: Amazing, American Town

19) Everlasting summer vacation- Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has such an interesting and varied career. My biggest flaw of a personality is that Plastic Hearts never clicked for me when it really should have as Cyrus voice is so made for pop rock but somehow it didn’t gel. Younger Now had no substance out of Malibu and though Dead Pets had the gems, the amount of digging in the bloated run time meant it was tricky to love. All this means the last Cyrus album I truly enjoyed was Bangerz ten years ago and even then the cringe hip hop moments detracted from the godly pop hooks that made it so successful. So when Cyrus was back in full force with Endless Summer Vacation, I wanted to love it and give it the devotion I knew I could give to a Cyrus album.

However, flowers never clicked with me the way the zeitgeist did. It always was just fine, vague and no comparison to any of her previous lead singles. Jaded actively grated on me, the chorus is just too harsh and is just one of those terms that makes me cringe. Rose Coloured lenses, feels like it goes on forever as it is too repetitive with no substance- the last 45seconds are redundant and infuriating. Used to be young, a late edition to the album, is meant to be laced in nostalgia and drama but for me the only drama is that Cyrus hasn’t realised it is uncool and unfair on fans to hate on her old work- like keep those opinions to yourself, if a fan loves Dead petz or Bangerz then let them, denouncing them as mistakes feels like a big F U to fans who genuinely enjoy them. So yeah lyrically it not a track I support, and production wise it gives nothing of note worth returning to.

Thousand Miles is sweet, feeling like a reject from Younger Now it doesn’t give us anything different than a sweet Brandi Carlile feature, but as a nod to her country roots while being inoffensive and having a mildly beautiful instrumental outro makes it good enough. Following with a broody ballad, You continues the pleasant to decent pipeline of Thousand Miles and makes the middle of the album genuinely enjoyable if not mesmerising sounding like a Plastic Hearts reject it is good enough. However, Handstands with her drunk talk opening sounding like her high self in Dead Petz makes another good enough throwback to earlier work but the glitchy production makes the track memorable and fun. Though at this point it could be argued listening to her earlier albums gives a more exciting experience than the last three tracks, it is testimony to Cyruss diverse history and the album’s production for making the callbacks yet sounding cohesive. Cyrus finishes this decent to good midsection with the best track on the album, River. With some catchy and creative lyrics and delivery from Cyrus, the track is the first where her infectious charisma oozes through her radiant performance. It is unusual for an artist with such a large personality and style to have sounded so tame up onto this point. The album doesn’t achieve another strong moment until the ending Wonder Woman which is a nice ballad.

Violet chemistry ends the good streak with a slice of dull filler. Even a vocal flip up on the bridge can’t save the monotony of this track that sounds like the lost child of songs that have come before it. Muddy feet tries its best to bring the rebellious faux hip hop of bangerz into a modern and less cringe package, but Cyrus sounds noncommittal and bored, even with a half assed almost none existent Sia feature, the track sounds dated and like Cyrus is throwing a bone to fans of her early career without remembering what endeared people to her in the first place: her relentless ambition for fun. So when Cyrus says she is a Wildcard on the next track you just don’t believe her when she is delivering an album this tame and safe. The joyous energy found on all her earlier albums no matter the genre seems to be sucked out for by the numbers filler pop, if this is maturing then I hope time stands still. Islands attempt at a more Caribbean fun production is actually laughable, it seems to drain all the fun and impulsivity out of a sexy genre for a pale attempt at swaying side to side beat.

This album is not Cyruss best, and even though all her albums are usually all over the place and messy with quality, this one doesn’t have the high highs to make it worth a relisten beyond album release week. She was aiming for maturity but achieved blandity.

Best songs: River, Thousand miles, You

18) Diamonds and Dancefloors- Ava Max

After so many chances to be a new supreme, Ava Max has proved time and time again her inconsistency is preventing her from properly making it big. With songs ranging from major cringe to forgettably passable to certified bops, you never know what you are going to get. And Diamonds and Dancefloors leans mostly into forgettably passable but with the occasional ray of light and bomb to spice things up. Some would call the album diamonds in the rough, but that might be too complimentary as no track reaches her previous highs.

The glitzy disco charade has started to feel dated after three years of every pop girlie from Dua Lipa to Kylie dipping their toe in, so on immediate listen Million dollar baby sounds dated on arrival especially with a very on trend cant fight the moonlight sample. But to be fair to max, the sample is less graduious than  other radio hits and even other tracks by max herself. It leans on passable pop with a self empowerment message. Sleepwalker continues this sleepy forgettable pop streak that is passable with only a faux sax instrumental to differentiate it from the previous empowerment pop. Whereas, Maybe you’re the problem turns up the pace to make a pulsating empowerment passable pop that is catchy enough to be fun and distinct from the rest. With the glitzy clean disco pop adding a fun contrast to the snide tone of the lyrics that makes it a fun f u track your mum could boo to. Ghost returns to the indistinct passable pop that resembles kim petras and other pop girlies that struggle to break the mainstream for their lack of individual voice in the lyrics. Yes, max may be haunted by your ghost, but who is he, how does that make you feel and why should i care. The lyrics are too vague and the beat so basic that it tiring.

Hold up just wait a minute is fun and listening to it in isolation it’s a good danceable pop track but it comes a third of the way in and this point just glitchy danceable fun aint moving far enough out of passable pop to make it worth a relisten. One can positively critique weapons for being less cringe than And So am I while still being a carbon copy lyrically; empowerment pop is hard to do without sounding vague and silly. Though many said max would be the new Lady Gaga, this level of empowerment pop that occasionally works and occasionally leans on cringe make her more of a new generation Katy Perry as she hasn’t got the edgy side of Gaga even when singing about blood and bullet proof vests she sounds kiddie and silly. It just doesn’t have the buckets load of Perry charisma as Max seems to play it so straight without Perrys comedic wink. Again, just passable pop though i can see why they chose weapons as a single as it is one of the more catchy tracks on the album.

Diamonds and Dancefloors, the title track, makes you wonder what max found so endearing about the track to give it such a prominent position. Yes, it resembles the disco glitzy passable pop of the rest of the album so therefore encapsulates it well, but it is the most indistinguishable track so far that it the first to properly lean into bad territory for not having any unique features. In the dark would have been a good place to show some vulnerability, perspective or personality as this sanitised watered down palatable pop leaves things to be desired when it talking about a lover that wants to keep max secret; it feels so disconnected that you don’t believe max has actually ever gone through this. Compared to Lady Gagas Dance in the dark which takes the dark vulnerability of feeling not enough, this track seems to only touch the surface. Like nine tracks in of mediocrity im now bored, and though the glitchy delivery of Turn off the lights chorus is a fun and necessary change of pace, it’s not big enough to want to come back to for a future listen. This gay can’t help compare Get out of my heart to semantically similar gay disco bop Get outta my way by qween Kylie that has so much more of a commanding presence that you believe she is actually over the relationship, yet maxs tepid tracks feels like the bloke in question could be back in her heart in a heartbeat. The video game intro of the last night on earth has promise but max immediately returns to her passable forgettable pop and sadly the final track cements this not so celebrated title too.

The first thirty seconds of One of us is a boost of energy that the album needed and it’s relieving to hear it return as the chorus. You start to get a real sense that Max and team knew what the singles would be and put enough effort into making them distinct and left filler scraps for the rest of the album as this is actually fun and boppy. Cold as ice is the albums magnum opus and the track most deserving of a relisten: the pulsating beats, the tension build up during the prechorus and the pull away of the chorus resembles the coldness of the lyrics and how Max will keep you on your toes. Only here does her delivery make you believe what she is saying. Not to mention it’s catchy as hell.

Simply, nothing here is majorly bad and you could put the album on from start to finish and not suffer greatly. But the lack of personality and edge leaves very few actual diamonds on this dance floor.

Best songs: Maybe you’re the problem, One of us

17) Austin- Post Malone

As the first Postmalone album Ive ever listened to, it is ironic it the one everyone seems to dislike. Ive aways been endeared by Postie even though he a genre that isn’t for me, so when I heard he was slowing things down and changing things up, I was hopeful that this would be a decent jumping on point.

Don’t understand is a gorgeous existential opening where Postie grapples with the juxtaposition of fame and mental health. He sounds raw and beautiful and the minimal vocal effects really work to develop the emotional vulnerability as his fame and mind seem to distort each other as he struggles to keep himself through all the noise. For an album named after himself it starts the retrospective and vulnerable tone off well as well as endearing us to who he is under it all. Something real continues this dissection of fame from someone who never seemed to want it and struggles with it. This gospel leaning track adds a grandiose to the tone making it feel like a desperate plea to god, it is melodramatic while still having crude rap brag moments that shows the dichotomy of living such a beautiful lifestyle yet not enjoying it. At parts it is very the Weeknd yet remaining personally Postie. Both tracks are arresting in their ballad esque nature and it clear why someone who loved Posties darker edgier tracks would turn away from this, but as an opening it’s the best and most vulnerable he’s ever sounded. The lead single, Chemical, kicks up the energy in a breezy pop song about addiction to people and drugs. It fun and very radio friendly. Again it not the edgy track Postie is known for but for a showing a more fun side to his angst it stands tall against the usual drivel on the radio. You  could very easily have this on repeat and bop around for hours after hours as the joyous energy is infectious even if the lyrics are less than joyous. It is catchy and fun and the only downside is it is such a divergence from the two tracks before it that it its placement on the tracklist is a bit break neck. To cool to die is another bright and breezy pop track similar to chemicals with darker lyrics but still oh so catchy and radio ready. Here his sarcastic and charismatic humour really sells the nonchalant vibe of not caring what happens. It’s existential and nihilistic in all the best ways.

On Novacandy, Postie just doesn’t sound like himself, he sounds really young vocally, and as the song seems to be the innocent joy of celebrity culture it adds a positive in look at all the things he was hating on earlier. It nuanced to recognise the two sides and the eerie last thirty seconds suggests that this joyous buzz doesn’t last long so thematically fits, though narratively this young love of fame would fit before the everlasting dread of the earlier tracks. Sonically it decent but doesn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with the top tier tracks before it. And this love of being intoxicated but fame continues with Mourning but the cringe lyric of “thats why they call it mourning” just stands out like a swore thumb of weak lyricism. The track is a decent slice of addiction narrative, but the clunker lyrics continue with “got a lot to say couldn’t fit it the chorus” but when the track is barely two minutes with few details it leaves little of a statement that maybe Postie could have fit it in a chorus. And Sign me up seems to be another alice of filler that lyrically is covered better in other songs and the production offers nothing distinct or interesting. Socialite is a mixed bag, feeling a tad woe is me as he lists the dichotomy of all his nihilistic addiction problems with all the beautiful things he owns, and then for some reason including a little tangent of a date with a women; it’s retrodden ground from earlier songs that still sound good but if not a little too pathetic than sympathetic.

Overdrive rephrases the To cool to die nihilism as he desperately begs to be cool to a woman or maybe his fans, is he desperate to be famous or in love and how similar they are, it’s either creative lyricism or so vague and bland that it could be either. Im not sure and as it is over too quick good will suggests the first. Whereas in contrast, Speedometer is obviously weak lyricism that there are so many questions on how it made the album. The chorus of push my speedometer is just cringe and no matter how much nonchalant highman swag Postie tries to give it is doesn’t forgive the vague cringe.

Half way into the album, you realise how short these tracks are, at 18 songs and less than an hour they seem to fly by without leaving much of an impression. Other than the first three tracks, the album has been a non event of passable, occasionally funny but majority decent tracks that don’t offer anything deep or majorly likeable to return to other than to put the album on from start to finish as background filler of a quiet maudlin vibe. This though is in contrast to Hold my Breath which is a sweet 3minute ballad that is redeemed from the final 30seconds beautiful orchestral moments that marks the deeper themes and gives the time to add personal reflection- if more tracks took the time to add layers and moments of grey then they’d be better for it. Continuing the albums trend of tonal whiplash, Enough is enough seems to want to be a stadium ready chant that will get everyone singing, but again finishes too soon to leave a lasting impression.

Texas tea, though is much shorter than many off the tracks which sadly ruins my argument of wanting longer track to give them time to breath, is a tight pulsating brag fest where Postie takes the time to unpick and laugh at the way his brand on paper shouldn’t work but he has mass appeal while still being the most unconventional pop star. He is rough round the edges and that is what makes him and his brand endearing- you couldn’t easily copy this. Which in like with the message of the album makes it more isolating for Postie as there is no touch stone or instruction manual to turn to to help him move forward. Texas tea is half ego tickling joy bragging about how good he is, but twisted with a darker twinge of loneliness and desperation. Which packing all that in 2m13s shows that when he is on top form his tight story telling doesn’t need more time to leave an impression (even though id still argue other tracks would benefit from breathing room). Buyer beware continues the autopsy of the peculiarities of his career breaking down how he is not the oracle or perfect Jesus figure with answers some fans want him to be. Its a sombre breakdown of the pedastal celebrity culture puts artists on and Posties rejection yet joy found in it. It is however very on trend, with so many pop artists from Billie Eilish to Doja Cat to Lorde coming to the same conclusions which makes it feel less personal and more like a deliberate movement from the untouchable pop goddess formula of the 2010s. Maybe im just cynical in my old age, but these new artists would not survive 2000s media and paparazzi culture (not saying anyone should, but the amount of rich millionaires moaning about their life in every album these past few years is just tiresome).

Landmine is filler with tired metaphors. Same as Green Thumb. Laugh it all however is a good summation of the albums themes in a big send off so it a shame that we ended on Joy another slice of filler.

With some decent highs near the start and end, Austin is a well rounded enjoyable listen even if the maudlin middle could have done with some life or more existentialism. For my first Postie album, It’s enjoyable enough that ill look forward to hearing another in the future but other than the best songs on the album I wont come back often for a relisten.

Best songs: Don’t understand, Something real, Chemical, Texas Tea

16) This Life- Take That

After becoming a three 2014, Take that have been on a two album streak of fun empowerment bops that unite middle aged women and gay men in stadium chanting fun. With a rerelease of older tracks and fun but if not amazing solo affairs over the past few years, the trio were in time for a well deserved release. Though their pop remix of greatest day and amazon released musical movie didn’t hit the way boy band nostalgia fairs really should have (though i enjoyed them) the hype for this release was not as high as it should have been. Coming out late November it quickly got passed by by Christmas song hype.

Lead single Windows did not do as much as it could have to build hype as the track is much more tepid and ballad like than stadium bangers These Days and Giants, the leads of their last albums. As ever with the singles, it is a Barlow lead track but has him singing higher and slower than ever. This means it is a slower burn and less immediately arresting and fun than prior Take that tracks, yet once you are on its wavelength it is palatable enough to be good- not the highest of highs but nothing you’ll turn off. Keep your head up keeps the simple and restrained theme of the lead with not many lyrics to fill the three minute run time but enough enigmatic atmosphere to amp up the intrigue and tension of the album. It’s not one to return to in isolation but certainly makes the album as a whole more rounded and exciting. This lifes jaunty production helps leave the tone hopeful and bright even when the lyrics can lean on depressing. It clear that the lads are aiming for a more mature and restrained atmosphere for the album and this track adds to the coffee shop aesthetic rather than the big stadium chanting choruses. It isn’t bad but it isn’t necessarily the vibe hoped for for a Take That album but they are clearly having a lot of fun making it that you can’t complain.

Brand new sun, the first mark owen lead on the album, is pleasant. Again, it easy listening that you can leave in the background without a problem but doesn’t reach the heights of usual Take that tracks nor songs from Marks solo album last year. It just a pleasant inoffensive deep cut. Whereas, March of the hopeful opens with a flurry of energy that promises this’ll be a banger but then immediately returns to the easy listening, which initially this prick tease feels aggravating for a song that never was but the minor burst of euphoria does land some emotional punches for a nostalgic track about enjoying the past and still marching forward as a group- only take that could sing this song straight and give it the grounded reverence it deserves. Though i do wish the quieter moments of the track were cut for the more interesting sections, they do offer moments of pause and reflection that builds the message of the song. Days I hate myself starts with promise and builds into the most stereotypical Take That Chorus yet, even if it a lot more negative than the usually relentless joy and stadium euphoria of previous work. This could be a cute single for them in the future as it is more sing along and radio friendly, and maybe with some visuals the song could pop a bit more- it definitely good but not the gooey infectious great that you want from a Take That album- where is the boyband cheese that gets the middle age women froffing, I hope this isn’t the only attempt at traditional Take That on the album.

The Champion sounds like a reject from Owen’s latest album which isn’t a bad thing. It’s sweet, finding the joy in the little things and it’s another track where the bands age and standing in the public gives it reverence. Whereas artists in the peak would come across as pandering and unbelievable, here they sound genuinely euphoric to still be making art together and finding joy in not necessarily being on top anymore. It’s enjoyable easy listening and one you wont want to skip even if it not the biggest sounding song demanding you to listen over and over again. We got all day is just a tad too repetitive and underbaked to hit the heights it wants to achieve, it is pleasant passable pop but nothing great.

Mind full of madness also opens with lots of potential, with the most infectious guitars I think Take That have ever used. But it doesn’t ever develop into anything big enough that it clearly could and should have done. With a chorus relying on ohs than their usual infectious and catchy lyrics means the track feels a little underbaked. Time and time again though is a joyful return to form, so Mark is definitely the mvp of the trio with the most well lead tracks, but to be honest my affinity for his solo work leads me to a clear bias. This track just is Take That to me with the foot tapping beat, the driving home at the end of a long day euphoria and the reverence that only a uniquely worn voice like mark could give.

One more word is definitely a quick and steep tonal come down from Time after Time, Howards voice has never been my thing and this isn’t it for me, probably the only duff on the album for being too slow and boring. Where we are is a good nostalgic sum up of the album, reminiscing on the good old days and the growth since there - it a fun if frivolous end to the album.

Swapping the gooey synths and catchy choruses of previous Take That work for maturer sounding guitars and pedal drums, This Life is a step into maturing gracefully even if it doesn’t hit the highs of the recent trios work. It is all passable and nice, with enough here to come back to on an easy listening summers day but no major hits. They sound their best when they stick to their usual formula, or when they use their age to give depth to their muted joyful lyrics.

Best songs: Windows, March of the hopeful, Time After Time