The 50 Best Albums of 2023

When you think of some of the artists who really dominated the airwaves, the culture and the headlines in 2023 — artists like SZA, Beyoncé, The Weeknd and (naturally) Taylor Swift — it’s a little strange to realize how many of them did so without releasing a proper new album this year. Of course, a couple of them released albums towards the tail-end of the 2022 calendar, and some of them found success with revived older material. But the last 12 months generally provided proof that promo cycles don’t need to be based around a new full-length in 2023 — particularly if you’ve got a much-anticipated new tour to serve as your most relevant contemporary body of work.