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I feel like every end-of-year list should begin with a series of apologies. I’m sorry for not listening to everything. And for not listening closely enough, for not fully attending, for not hearing what’s there, for not being enough to do any of this justice.
In other words, I am not worthy.
And then there’s the second thought which is: Lighten up, Jimmy. Stop dithering. Nobody cares. So, yeah, these are just albums from the year that hit me, that stood out, that seemed distinct and fresh and different and valuable.
Mostly, it’s my hope that this annual exercise helps you find something that you like, just as it helps me clarify my own listening umwelt. What I hear within the confines of my particular bubble.
I am struck, often, by how negative (and infuriating) some people are about music. So narrowly dismissive, closed off and elitist. It breaks my heart. So if, on the other hand, you arrive to this list as a springboard for checking out something you haven’t heard before, or if it prods you to listen again, maybe with fresh ears and an open heart, then . . . thank you. You are my kind of listener.
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And third: Every list I read includes a too-long preamble that I almost invariably skip. So: more apologies for lacking the strength to resist that temptation.
Quickly about my process: I keep track of every full album I listen to, a practice I started five years ago. I listened to 131 (& counting) full-length albums that were released in 2023. Not nearly everything.
This year, I listened to 505 (& counting) full-length albums overall. That number used to be in the 700s. Two factors: I’m more committed than ever to repeated listens, and I’m quicker to abandon an album that isn’t working for me.
If I wait another week, or six more minutes, the contents here would likely change. There will be mistakes. Things I’ve missed or over- or under-rated. That’s why I embrace the “nobody cares” aesthetic. It’s liberating. I’m free. I’m not going for perfection. It’s all for fun, folks.
Here goes . . .
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TOP 20 (in alphabetical order)
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Ahnoni, Antony & the Johnsons: My Back Was a Bridge
Ambrose Akinmusire: Beauty Is Enough
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society: Dynamic Maximum Tension
Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die ((world war))
Julie Byrne: The Greater Wings
Margo Cilker: Valley of Heart’s Delight
Feeble Little Horse: Girl with Fish
PJ Harvey: I Inside the Old Year Dying
Irreversible Entanglements: Protect Your Light
Jason Isbell: Weathervanes
Lankum: False Lanky
Lydia Loveless: Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way
Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden
Jeff Rosenstock: Hellmode
Ryuichi Sakamoto: 12
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Sufjan Stevens: Javelin
Veeze: Ganger
Wilco: Cousin
Yo La Tengo: This Stupid World
Youth Lagoon: Heaven Is a Junkyard
HONORABLE MENTIONS (36)
EXPERIMENTAL, AMBIENT, NEW MUSIC
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Altin Gun: Ask
Daniel Bachman: When the Roses Come Again
Blue Lake: Sun Arcs
Lonnie Holley: Oh Me Oh My
Blake Mills: Jelly Road
Tirzah: Trip9love . . . ?
JAZZ
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Natural Information Society: Since Time Is Gravity
The Necks: Travel
Gogo Penguin: Everything Is Going to Be Okay
Mette Henriette: Drifting
London Brew: s/t
ROCK, INDIE
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Bar Italia: Tracy Denim
Beirut: Hadsel
Bully: Lucky for You
Margaret Glaspy: Echo the Diamond
Hotline TNT: Cartwheel
The Lemon Twigs: Everything Harmony
Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Palehound: Eye on the Bat
Ratboys: The Window
Joanna Sternberg: I’ve Got Me
The Tubs: Dead Meat
Water From Your Eyes: Everyone’s Crushed
Wednesday: Rat Saw God
AMERICANA, FOLK, COUNTRY & ALT-COUNTRY
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Meg Baird: Furling
Shana Cleveland: Manzanita
Cut Worms: s/t
Iris DeMent: Workin’ On a World
Margo Price: Strays
Paul Simon: Seven Psalms
Kassi Valazzi: Kassi Valazzi Knows Nothing
Jamila Woods: Water Made Us
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HIP HOP, R & B
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Janelle Monae: The Age of Pleasure
Noname: Sundial
Cleo Sol: Heaven
RAYE: My 21st Century Blues
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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY . . . NOW GET LISTENING!
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