2023: Top 20 Songs of the Year
The Top 50
50. "Oh No" – Iguana Death Cult (Post-Punk)
49. "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish (Singer-Songwriter)
48. "Vergessen Wie" – Peter Fox (Dancehall)
47. "Swim Back" – Daughter (Dream Pop)
46. Amaranth – Model/Actriz
45. "Chosen to Deserve" – Wednesday (Alt-Country)
44. "(It Goes Like) Nanana" – Peggy Gou (Dance-Pop)
43. "Blurry" – Petite Noir feat. Sampa the Great (Neo-Soul)
42. "No More Lies" – Thundercat & Tame Impala (Psychedelic Soul)
41. "Pirouette" – deathcrash (Slowcore)
40. "How Does It Make You Feel?" – Victoria Monét (Neo-Soul)
39. "Oral" – Björk & Rosalia (Art Pop)
38. "Not Strong Enough" – boygenius (Folk Rock)
37. "Talk To Me Nice" – Tinashe (Alternative R&B)
36. "MY HOUSE" – Beyoncé (Hip House)
35. "Mew Shiny" – Mon Laferte (Latin Alternative)
34. "dazies" – yeule (Shoegaze)
33. "A Child's Question, August" – PJ Harvey (Folk Rock)
32. "Kakistocracy" – Maruja (Post-Rock)
31. "Leaving the Light" – Genesis Owusu (Dance-Punk)
30. "kisses" – Slowdive (Dream Pop)
29. "Houdini" – Dua Lipa (Synthpop)
28. "Softpower" – Bilderbuch (Neo-Psych)
27. "Dancer" – IDLES (Dance-Punk)
26. "So You Are Tired" – Sufjan Stevens (Chamber Folk)
25. "Saddest Worm Ever" – HMLTD (Art Rock)
24. "Si Te Portas Bonitas" – Sofia Kourtesis (Deephouse)
23. "Hounds" – Puma Blue (Trip-Hop)
22. "Run, Run, Run" – McKinley Dixon (Jazz-Rap)
21. "Rush" – Troye Sivan (Dance-Pop)
20. "Ghosts Again" – Depeche Mode
A song that feels like its dedicated to Depeche Mode keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who passed away in 2022, and one of the best pop songs the band has made since decades with a newfound focus on melodicism.
19. "Adderall" – shame
A poignant song about friendship and substance abuse, combining a serene atmosphere with loose Art Punk elements and heart-wrenching group vocals.
18. "The Grants" – Lana Del Rey
A perfect opener to a spotty album; on this heart-warming ballad, Lana Del Rey and choir sing about what's left, when you die – about remembrance-culture.
17. "Seaforth" – King Krule
The bleak lead single for King Krule's 2023 album, Space Heavy, is the perfect soundtrack to a grey day in a post-industrial English port city.
16. "Lovely Sewer" – Yves Tumor
Yves Tumor's attempt at Dance-Punk is just as Pop, because of the fantastic guest appearance of female singer Kidä.
15. "It Must Change" – ANOHNI & The Johnsons
The opener and lead single of ANOHNI's new album is a perfect introduction to The Johnsons' new, guitar-driven sound and a solemn call to action.
14. "Carnavoyeur" – Queens of the Stone Age
QOTSA singer Josh Homme lays out his philosophy on life and the lessons of the gargantuan challenges he had to overcome over the past couple years on the unconvential, string-kissed highlight from In Times New Roman...
13. "Bug Like an Angel" – Mitski
Mitski opens her 2023 album and album cycle with a confession and immediately breaks the listeners heart: "As I got older, I learned I'm a drinker / Sometimes a drink feels like family". The song is perfected by its breathtaking choir sections.
12. "Psychedelic Switch" – Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen delivers the summer jam of the year with the electrifying Psychedelic Switch.
11. "Dragon" – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
King Gizzard establish themselves as one of the best Metal acts of the present with this jaw-dropping and insane 8-minute-epic.
10. "The Blades" – Squid
On this climactic and quirky fusion of Krautrock, Radiohead's In Rainbows era, Art Punk and Progressive Rock, Squid sharply comment on police brutality at peaceful demonstrations.
9. "Contact" – Kelela
For one of the best club songs of this year and an ode to nightlife experiences, Kelela's Contact is surprisingly atmospheric and mellow.
8. "Rūnā" – Susanne Sundfør
On my Chamber Folk highlight of the year, Susanne Sundfør musifies my ideals of rural Norway through a pastoral instrumental, phenomenal melodies, beautiful vocal harmonies and flawless, cyclical songwriting.
7. "Dancers (Live at Bush Hall)" – Black Country, New Road
Black Country, New Road finish their conceptual live performance, Live at Bush Hall, with the shivers inducing, grandiose, memorable and theatrical Dancers.
6. "bad idea right?" – Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo ups her game with one of the best, weirdest and most self-aware mainstream Rock singles of the past years.
5. "I Been Young" – George Clanton
George Clanton perfectly matches his nostalgic Chillwave and Baggy sound with thought-provoking lyrics about youth, growing up and aging on I Been Young.
4. "Cowboy Nudes" – Geese
The first teaser to Geese's fresh and simultaneously Dad Rock left-turn starts with the best guitar riff of the year and eventually evolves into a percussion-lead b-section that is energisingly exhilarating.
3. "Pearls" – Jessie Ware
Jessie Ware pushes her luxurious, Disco-infused Dance-Pop to new heights on the silly but brilliant, relentlessly fun and head-scratchingly catchy Pearls.
2. "Blood and Butter" – Caroline Polachek
On Blood and Butter, Caroline Polachek manages to crown 2023's best Art Pop song with a killer bagpipe solo of all things.
1. "Jonathan L. Seagull" – Sampha
The most musically accomplished song of the year, a truly perfect piece of music; a song that makes you float and fly and that makes you cry while healing you – Jonathan L. Seagull, named after the insanely popular American fable from the ’70s, was the only possible choice for my favourite song of the year.