HMLTD, from the artist’s Bandcamp.
I recently posted the list of the 40 Best Protest Albums of 2023. Even though this site primarily focuses on protest music, not every album I listen to explicitly meets the definition of a protest album. I decided to list my 100 favorite albums of the year. Even though it includes several albums that made the Top 40 protest albums list, it also includes many albums that didn’t quite meet the criteria. Also in contrast with most of the lists on this site, I decided to rank the albums in numerical order for fun. But I wouldn’t get too hung up on the rankings. For example, every album in my top 5 could have easily been my number one, and all of the albums in my top 20 I seriously considered for my top 10. There also isn’t a significant difference between the number 100 album and the number 70 album.
100. New Blue Sun – André 3000
99. Okemah Rising – Dropkick Murphys
98. The Love Still Had Me Near – City and Colour
97. Cacti – Billy Nomates
96. Aging – Kevin Drew
95. Spectral Lines – Josh Ritter
94. Mondo Tempo – Freak Heat Wave
93. The Road To Sedition – Faintest Idea
92. Grand Salami Time! – The Baseball Project
91. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Original Score) – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
90. Shook – Algiers
89. Common Nation of Sorrow – Rachel Baiman
88. Systemic – Divide and Dissolve
87. We’re Still Here – The Hirs Collective
86. Such Ferocious Beauty – Cowboy Junkies
85. Blouse Club – Problem Patterns
84. Creation and the Timeless Order of Things – Racetraitor
83. Retas – Voice of Baceprot
82. History Books – The Gaslight Anthem
81. Doom Loop – Dream Nails
80. Plastic Eternity – Mudhoney
79. Continue as a Guest – The New Pornographers
78. Land of Sleeper – Pigs x7
77. PetroDrangonic Apocalypse – King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
76. The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – The Hives
75. I/O – Peter Gabriel
74. The Price of Progress – The Hold Steady
73. Safe To Run – Esther Rose
72. Traffic Fiction – Tré Burt
71. Good Luck – Debby Friday
70. Memento Mori – Depeche Mode
69. Strays – Margo Price
68. Back To Moon Beach – Kurt Vile
67. But Here We All – Foo Fighters
66. Breaking the Balls of History – Quasi
65. Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You – Bonnie “Prince’ Billy
64. Michael – Killer Mike
63. Zango – Witch
62. Wait Til I Get Over – Durand Jones
61. Heavy Heavy – Young Fathers
60. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips – Armand Hammer
59. Rat Wars – Health
58. Glorious Game – El Michels Affair & Black Thought
57. Jenny From Thebes – The Mountain Goats
56. Dead Meat – The Tubs
55. Ganalili – Spinifex Gum
54. Another Triumph of Ghetto Engineering – Open Mike Eagle
53. Rustin’ In The Rain – Tyler Childers
52. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Rey
51. Homo Anxietatem – Shamir
50. I Am the River, The River Is Me – Jen Cloher
49. Thin Places – Jason Hawk Harris
48. All of This Will End – Indigo De Souza
47. I’m Not There Anymore – The Clientele
46. Gigi’s Recovery – The Murder Capital
45. After the Magic – Parannoul
44. The Window – Ratboys
43. The Returner – Allison Russell
42. Water Made Us – Jamila Woods
41. I Love You – Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
40. Saved! – Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
39. Cousins – Boogey The Beat
38. Weathervanes – Jason Isbell and the 400 Units
37. Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love – Kara Jackson
36. Protect Your Light – Irreversible Entanglements
35. Empire Electric – No-No Boy
34. I’ve Got Me – Joanna Sternberg
33. False Lankum – Lankum
32. Music from the Song Film: Omoiyari – Kishi Bashi
31. Erotic Probiotic 2 – Nourished By Time
30. The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte – Sparks
29. Maps – billy woods & Kenny Segal
28. With a Hammer – Yaeji
27. Quaranta – Danny Brown
26. Terrasite – Cattle Decapitation
25. Javelin – Sufjan Stevens
24. Sundial – Noname
23. To Know The Light – Dawn Ray’d
22. Scaring the Hoes – JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
21. Blondshell – Blondshell
20. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? – McKinley Dixon
19. The Record – Boygenius
18. My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross – ANOHNI and the Johnsons
17. London Ko – Fatoumata Diawara
16. One Day – Fucked Up
15. The Aux – Blockhead
14. Life Under The Gun – Militare Gun
13. Integrated Tech Solutions – Aesop Rock
12. Dead Pioneers – Dead Pioneers
11. The Last Rotation of Earth – BC Camplight
10. Rat Saw God – Wednesday
9. The Land, the Water, the Sky – Black Belt Eagle Scout
8. Oh Me Oh My – Lonnie Holley
7. i’ve seen a way – Mandy, Indiana
6. the whaler – Home Is Where
5. Desolation’s Flower – Ragana
4. Hellmode – Jeff Rosenstock
3. Anarchist Gospel – Sunny War
2. A New Tomorrow – Zulu
1. The Worm – HMLTD