The best albums of 2023

Jaimie Branch

The best album this year was a posthumous release by the amazing trumpeter Jaimie Branch, who died in 2022. Branch made an album that will be remembered for years.

Yo La Tengo and Wilco also made excellent albums. The up-and-coming Chicago band Deeper stretched a bit on its third full-length release.

This was the year that, for me, everything felt like we were finally back to normal.

Of course, artists never stopped making great music throughout the pandemic. It’s what helped us get through it.

This year, the new music — rock, pop, jazz, experimental — was eclectic, exciting and original.

Here are the 12 best albums of this year in order.

Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or die (world war)