It’s the Media Boat 2023 Year-End Wrap-Up! Today we’re taking a look back at the year in Music! First we’ll recap the year in news, choosing one story that defined the year. Next, we’ll give our individual Top Five Albums, followed by choice for Media Boat’s Album of the Year!

Matt’s Top Five Albums of 2023

I expected Olivia Rodrigo’s second album to be good, but somehow my expectations were still shattered. Guts has more genre experimentation, more pearls of teenage wisdom, and packs a heftier punch. The ballads here aren’t as perfect as “driver’s license,” but if Olivia continues writing songs like “get him back!” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” she might not need them.

4. indigo de souza - *all of this will end*

“Who gives a fuck, all of this will end.” My anxiety needed that. Indigo de Souza’s third record continues her streak of perfection with even more great songs about feeling everything you need to feel. From the out of body experience of “Parking Lot” to the Rilo Kiley-esque jam “The Water,” Indigo manages to fit within an existing indie rock pantheon, while also carving out a niche for herself.

Jeff Rosenstock has always been great at celebrating the good and screaming away the bad, and sometimes on the same song. Hellmode straddles these two worlds too, and in a year as contradictory as 2023, it was extremely necessary. “Graveyard Song” is explicitly about gun violence, but its chorus could apply to any number of the atrocities we’d wish would be dead and buried. I, too, want to yell “FUCK ALL THESE PEOPLE” so we can all look forward to a quiet, rainy day inside instead.

I love it when an album sneaks up on me. When I first heard Esther Rose’s Safe to Run, I liked it well enough, but I didn’t expect to return to it later in the year and sink into it completely. There are just so many great songs here, so many I can’t pick a favorite: “Spider?” The title track? “Dream Girl?” If you’re at all a sucker for traditional-leaning country music, Safe to Run is one of the easiest recommendations I could ever make. I’m going to put it on again right now.

Watching a band you love finally getting the respect they deserve is a truly wonderful feeling. Ratboys certainly have their fans, but The Window takes them to a completely new realm of notoriety. It’s a fantastic album on its own, but with more than ten years of context, it’s even better. Everything about these songs expands on what already made the band great, including the storytelling, the lush instrumentation, and the effervescent charm. Julia Steiner has never sounded better, and Chris Walla’s production shines. But the real reason it has to be number one? The title track “The Window” is guaranteed to make me cry every time I hear it. That’s a winner in my book.

Mike’s Top Five Albums of 2023

5. taylor swift - *1989 (taylor’s version / speak now (taylor’s version*

Is it really a Media Boat End of the Year List if Taylor Swift doesn’t make the cut? This year she delivered not just one, but two amazing re-records during her Eras Tour which included some top notch bonus tracks with “I Can See You,” “Slut!,” and “Say Don’t Go.” Take a look just beyond the fact that the (Taylor’s Version)s aren’t technically “new” and you will find a new appreciation and love of these albums that makes them a must listen to be included.

4. turnpike troubadours - *a cat in the rain*

A personal favorite fills the void left by former country artists like Midland and Old Dominion, this year's country album strums more to the bluegrass tune, but keeps its storytelling prowess. While I didn’t consider it to be a top album when it came out, it’s one that I kept going back to enjoy. The album eventually grew on me with melodic harmonies in “Brought Me” and “Chipping Mill” wrapped around the heartbreak of “Lucille” for an emotional story ride.

With their first album following the loss of their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, But Here We Are brings with it the heavy weight of both grief and uncertainty as Dave Grohl and team strives to move forward. This is an excellent example of what I look for in an album as each song builds upon the preceding track with themes and feelings of losing somebody so close to you. It also helps that the album's tune strikes a direct chord to their first collaboration with Taylor Hawkins on The Color and the Shape and longtime fans of that album will feel right at home with this most recent iteration of the band.

D-d-d-d-do you have it? The expectations were high coming off winning 2021’s Media Boat Album of the Year award and it’s safe to say this album delivered. The sophomore album had me a bit worried when “Vampire” was released as the first single, but once I sunk my teeth into Guts, all that trepidation went away. Olivia Rodrigo broke any preconceived notions with “All-American Bitch” and “Bad Idea Right?” as she sent us all on a wonderful ride with her in the driver's seat. While it may not have the commercial success that Sour had, that’s okay because Olivia Rodrigo doesn’t care and isn’t afraid to tell you otherwise. There’s a good reason as to why it’s my most listened to album this year, and -SPOILERS- it’s not because I’m a teenager.

1. Janelle Monae - The Age of Pleasure

The Age of Pleasure won’t appear on any of my unwrapped playlists this year, so why does it get the top spot for 2023? In a word: Connected balance. This is exactly what I look for when reviewing albums and it delivers on all fronts. Each song flows seamlessly right into the next as Janelle Monae takes you on a personal journey of sensuality where you can relax and “Float” through this album. It’s a cover-to-cover album filled with sexual undertones that mostly just vibes with you to enjoy the moment.

2023 Year-End Wrap Up: Music

Matt’s Top Five Albums of 2023

Mike’s Top Five Albums of 2023