With his distinct style and tone still firmly in place, longtime music blogger Gorilla vs Bear always makes one of our most anticipated year end lists, and his 2023 edition, out now, is no exception. Like last year, he doesn’t include releases from his label Luminelle, including Magdalena Bay’s mini-mix vol. 3 and Alaska Reid’s Disenchanter, but he listed 55 albums this time around, including ones from Laurel Halo, ML Buch, Jessy Lanza, JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown, Nourished by Time, Oliver Coates, NOIA, billy woods & Kenny Segal, Jess Williamson, Caroline Polachek, King Krule, Sufjan Stevens, Armand Hammer, Julie Byrne, Sofia Kourtesis, NewJeans, Sun June, André 3000, Avalon Emerson, Joanna Sternberg, Helena Deland, Lana Del Rey, bar italia, Fever Ray, Tirzah, Shabazz Palaces, Lisel, Buzzy Lee, Olivia Rodrigo, and more. See his list below, and read the full list, complete with commentary on the top 10, at Gorilla vs Bear.

GORILLA VS. BEAR’S TOP 55 ALBUMS OF 2023
55 TDJ – SPF INFINI 3
54. NOIA – gisela
53. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
52. Abbey Blackwell – My Maze
51. Chuquimamani-Condori – DJ E
50. Joanna Sternberg – I’ve Got Me
49. Freak Heat Waves – Mondo Tempo
48. Shabazz Palaces – Robed in Rareness
47. Soccer Committee – ❤️ / Lamb
46. a.s.o. – a.s.o.
45. Andrea – Due in Color
44. Buzzy Lee – Internal Affairs
43. Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
42. John Glacier x Surf Gang – JGSG
41. Sun June – Bad Dream Jaguar
40. Isola – LP1
39. Fever Ray – Radical Romantics
38. Joanne Robertson – Blue Car
37. Patten – Mirage FM
36. Lisel – Patterns For Auto​-​Tuned Voices And Delay
35. Jonnine – Maritz
34. Oneohtrix Point Never – Again
33. Jouska – Suddenly My Mind is Blank
32. Oliver Coates – Aftersun OST
31. Carlene – Looking Out My Window
30. Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental
29. King Krule – Space Heavy
28. Julie Byrne – The Greater Wings
27. Voice Actor – Fake Sleep
26. Mandaworld – For Emotional Use Only
25. Jim Legxacy – hnpm
24. Laurel Halo – Atlas
23. Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
22. Rainy Miller x Space Afrika – A Grisaille Wedding
21. Marina Zispin – Life and Death – The Five Chandeliers of the Funereal Exorcisms
20. Tujiko Noriko – Crépuscule I & II
19. Avalon Emerson – & the Charm
18. Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
17. bar italia – Tracey Denim & The Twits
16. Niecy Blues – Exit Simulation
15. NewJeans – Get Up
14. Jessy Lanza – Love Hallucination
13. Tirzah – trip9love…???
12. Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
11. JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown – Scaring The Hoes
10. Being Dead – When Horses Would Run
9. Sofia Kourtesis – Madres
8. Jam City – Jam City Presents EFM
7. Meagre Martin – Gut Punch
6. André 3000 – New Blue Sun
5. Helena Deland – Goodnight Summerland
4. Laura Groves – Radio Red
3. billy woods + Kenny Segal – Maps
2. ML Buch – Suntub
1. Nourished by Time – Erotic Probiotic 2