5 best albums of 2023

Head to the AP Shop to seize unique pressings of Waterparks’ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and journal bundles.

2023 has been full of nice releases that deserve recognition. From the leap, Paramore ended their six-year break with a cool, “fierce portrait of millennial angst.” Meanwhile, Drain’s Living Proof served as a mission assertion and acknowledgment of their affect, and boygenius’ the document proved how a lot love can come from being in a band together with your best pals. That mentioned, we requested our readers to call their favourite albums of the 12 months, and the solutions had been wide-ranging throughout genres. Ultimately, although, the ballot needed to be narrowed down to 5.

Read extra: 25 best albums of 2023 to date

From Sleep Token to Waterparks, discover the highest fan picks ranked under.

5. Sleep Token – Take Me Back to Eden

Sleep Token, the masked band from the U.Ok., began the 12 months on a excessive notice with their viral epic “The Summoning.” Then, like a seance, they conjured a slew of spellbinding singles — together with the equally viral “Granite” and “Chokehold” — that led as much as their third studio album, Take Me Back to Eden. The nameless band aren’t too far off from headlining arenas now, as their dizzying mix of R&B, djent, and pop-metal smarts resulted in an unlikely breakout that inducted 1000’s into their cult.

4. Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust 

On Fall Out Boy’s eighth album, So Much (For) Stardust, they returned to their roots in additional methods than one. For one, they reunited with producer Neal Avron, who helmed some of their most beloved information. They additionally signed to Fueled by Ramen, the label that backed them of their early days. Now, they’re armed with the sophistication and knowledge that comes with being a gaggle for greater than twenty years. Employing lesser-used influences like orchestral music (“I Am My Own Muse”) to the bonafide pop punk that made their identify (“Love From the Other Side”), Fall Out Boy sound sharper, rejuvenated, and an growth of every part they do nicely.

3. Ren – Sick Boi

Ren is a one-man present. He does all of it, appearing as a frontman, producer, and artistic director, however above all, he prides himself on being a teller of profound reality. Over the final two years, the Welsh rapper has undergone therapy for Lyme illness and mind harm, making the title of his second studio album, Sick Boi, painfully literal and metaphorical. The result’s an hour-long document that chronicles his journey by way of debilitating illness and psychological well being in brutal element.

2. blink-182 – One More Time…

blink-182’s reunion album with Tom DeLonge, One More Time…, made this 12 months really feel like their glory days. Their first album with the basic lineup since 2011, the band’s second has proved to be endearing, consuming, and a ton of enjoyable. From acoustic ballads that acknowledge the disaster that they’ve endured to pop-punk romps that includes DeLonge’s whiney vocals — his trademark — One More Time… is a welcome addition to their catalog.

1. Waterparks – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Flashes of Green Day and blink-182 will at all times be half of Waterparks’ DNA. On INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, although, they push their experimental pop to the brink and make use of heavy themes. “There is a love story throughout the record that is expressive to and for other people, but the album itself has to do with overcoming, unlearning, and growing past religious guilt,” Awsten Knight instructed us earlier this 12 months. Naturally, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY sees the frontman face his trauma and are available by way of the opposite aspect, with the songs possessing a “hypersexualized” power to thwart that conservative previous.