ML3's Top 23 Albums of 2023

No matter how much I write in a year, I'll never miss the opportunity to give you all my top albums of the year. As a music enthusiast, I enjoy the singles and short projects, but there's something different about a full length album rollout & release that shows how dedicated an artist is to their brand and/or craft. An album shows an artists' interpretation of a genre or just what they're feeling or going through in their personal life, it's a very important piece of them. With that being said, it's always interesting to see how the entire process goes & listening to the final results. These are my personal top 23 albums of 2023, along with two honorable mentions to make the standard 25. I hope you enjoy!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

NoName - Sundial (Released August 11th)

Lil Tecca - TEC (Released September 22nd)

23. Offset - SET IT OFF (Released October 13th)

22. Metro Boomin - Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Released June 2nd)

21. Rodwave - Nostalgia (Released September 15th)

20. Rick Ross & Meek Mill - Too Good To be True (Released November 10th)

19. Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS (Released September 8th)

18. Sexyy Red - Hood Hottest Princess (Released June 9th)

17. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - Welcome 2 Collegrove (Released November 17th)

16. Lil Yachty - Let's Start Here (Released January 27th)

15. Lil Uzi Vert - The Pink Tape (Released June 30th)

14. Larry June & Alchemist - The Great Escape (Released March 31st)

13. Mariah The Scientist - To Be Eaten Alive (Released October 27th)

12. Killer Mike - Michael (Released June 16th)

11. Tory Lanez - Alone At Prom (Deluxe) (Released November 17th)

10. Gunna - A Gift And A Curse (Released June 15th)

Best Record: fukumean

9. Ice Spice - Like..? EP (Released January 20th)

Best Record: Actin A Smoochie

8. Kali Uchis - Red Moon In Venus (Released March 3rd)

Best Record: I Wish you Roses

7. Brent Faiyaz - Larger Than Life (Released October 27th)

Best Record: Outside All Night (feat. A$AP Rocky & N3WYRKLA)

6. Doja Cat - Scarlet (Released September 22nd)

Best Record: Shutcho

5. Larry June & Cardo - The Night Shift (Released November 10th)

Best Record: Chops on the Blade

4. Chris Brown - 11:11 (Released November 10th)

Best Record: Sensational (feat. Davido & Lojay)

3. Drake - For All The Dogs (Scary Hours Edition) (Released November 17th)

Best Record: Evil Ways (feat. J. Cole)

2. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday 2 (Released December 8th)

Best Record: Everybody (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

1. Travis Scott - Utopia (Released July 28th)

Best Record: I KNOW ?

While any of my top 4 albums could've been in a different order, with Nicki, Drake & Chris all delivering phenomenal projects, I believe that this order with Travis at #1 is the best. I was very skeptical on whether he would be able to follow up his magnum opus, Astroworld, especially given everything that has occurred since it's release. However, Travis proved me wrong in a big way, as the Kanye-esque production and abundance of high profile features put this album over the top. Utopia is a very precise project, and you won't catch everything on a first listen, but after sitting with the album since July, I can definitively say that Travis Scott delivered us the album of the year.