The end of the year is upon us, and it's time to reflect on your favorite music of 2023! Here are Zach McCormick's favorite songs of the year. Once you've made your own list, vote in The Current's Top 89 poll by December 18, and we'll count down your Top 89 of 2023 at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31, and at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1.

Top 10 Songs of 2023

Hotline TNT - Cartwheel - "I Thought You'd Change" 

I've been a fan of Will Anderson's output since his days in Weed and, while I sincerely respect his DIY bonafides, I had always hoped that he might put out a record that got the wider distribution that his incredible songwriting deserved. This album is catchy enough to make you kiss your speakers and loud enough to blow your lips back like people's faces in those wind tunnel videos. It reminds me of Sugar's Copper Blue and Guided by Voices' Alien Lanes by way of Surfer Blood's Astro Coast. I basically begged Kendall Stewart, our APD, to add this one for me. Thanks Kendall!

The Replacements - Tim (Let it Bleed) - "Little Mascara" 

Is it cheating to put this album in my #2 slot for 2023 when I've been listening to it religiously since I was like, 15? I don't care if it is. The Ed Stasium remix of Tim made me fall in love with this album all over again. It's richer, more nuanced, and it really showcases the musical chops and songwriting acumen of a band that did their best to hide their virtues wherever possible. As a 99th percentile Replacements dork, I was delighted by all the bonus material, the crown jewel of which is an updated mix of the fabled "Tim Version" of "Can't Hardly Wait" that positively rips. 

Bully - Lucky for You - "Days Move Slow" 

On the (fantastic) early Bully records such as Feels Like, you could hear Alicia Bognanno's knack for sincere, anthemic power-pop bursting through the belt-sander grit, and on Lucky for You, she embraces these impulses to glorious result. I hear the Breeders, I hear the Cure, maybe even a little Muffs? Bognanno's voice is fearlessly present in the mix and sounds awesome, bringing additional layers of emotional depth to rockers and ballads alike. 

Ratboys - The Window - "It's Alive" 

What a cool record, and a well-deserved blow-up for a hardworking band out of Chicago. Our editor Reed Fischer aptly compared this band to early Rilo Kiley (thanks for letting me steal that, Reed) but I also hear a ton of pre-country Waxahatchee and even some of their sister band Swearin' in The Window as well. Plus, how many indie rock bands (Australians excluded) are willing to put an 8.5 minute guitar workout on their records in 2023? Color me stoked. 

Genesis Owusu - Struggler - "Tied Up!" 

I had the pleasure to see this guy twice in 2023, first at The Current's Microshow at Amsterdam Bar and then again at Fine Line, and I was gobsmacked both times. Genesis Owusu possesses an astonishing level of charisma and what I believe the kids these days are calling "aura" — so much so that I'd be hard-pressed to leave him off this list even if the album was mediocre. Thankfully, it's super interesting, an eclectic R&B fantasia that also features some admirable rap verses too. "Tied Up" showcases a bit of Owusu's Prince influence, so naturally it gets the nod.

White Reaper - Asking for a Ride - "Pages"

It's always tough for albums that are released in January to make a big impact come end-of-the-year list time, so let me plant my flag in White Reaper's stellar fourth album as one that you should definitely revisit. Asking for a Ride swaps out the synths and glam sounds that White Reaper toyed with on their (still really good) third record You Deserve Love in favor of higher proof influences like thrash metal, industrial, and grunge. I'm sharing "Pages" because that's the single we added on The Current, but my real favorite is the glorious Thin Lizzy tribute of "Fog Machine."

Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond - "Ice Cream (Pay Phone)" 

Bands/artists that get their start doing a throwback soul sound almost always seem eager to shed it by the time their second or third album rolls around (Looking at you, Leon Bridges/Alabama Shakes/Mayer Hawthorne/Fitz and the Tantrums/etc.) so credit to Black Pumas for finding a way to expand and still deliver the goods on their sophomore record. There's some really cool psychedelic soul on Diamond too, but some of my favorite stuff they're playing with happens on "Ice Cream (Pay Phone)." It's almost New Wave, and it reminds me a little bit of Buzzcocks "Why Can't I Touch It?"  

Durand Jones - Wait 'Til I Get Over - "See it Through"

I give Durand Jones a lot of credit for stepping sideways from his growing popularity with The Indications to make a solo debut that feels true to his throwback soul appeal but also clearly expresses something deep and personal. There's swooning, string-soaked piano balladry on par with Stevie Wonder, chooglin' southern boogie rock, hip-hop, and even gospel woven together in service of a loose story about Jones' southern roots. 

Wednesday - Rat Saw God - "Quarry" 

Any band that declares their love for Drive By Truckers as passionately as the members of Wednesday have is going to get favorable treatment from me, especially when they also remind me of another group of stoney North Cackalacky killers (Archers of Loaf). This is a youthfully exuberant record that's bursting at the seams with cool ideas and memorable imagery, and I think their best might still be yet to come. 

Janelle Monae - The Age of Pleasure - "Lipstick Lover"

Janelle Monae is a brilliant artist with a penchant for heady concepts about futurism and technology, a history that makes their hedonistic turn into a more lush, organic sonic palette on The Age of Pleasure that much more exhilarating. In my humble opinion, this is the most confident and natural that Monae has sounded across a full LP, rapping and singing with an effortless swagger across silky soul and disco beats. It's breezy, catchy, and sensual, like a ray of island sunshine refracted in a bead of sweat.