Charlie Doherty’s Top 25 Tunes of 2023 (Feat. Lana Del Rey, Blur, Rolling Stones, and More)

The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Peter Gabriel all released new music in 2023. Add to that new music from ’90s vets like Slowdive, Letters to Cleo, Louise Post (Veruca Salt), Fu Manchu, Blur, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin, and Noel Gallagher, and you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking for a moment that this was a flashback to circa 1997.

That being said, Stereogum, Pitchfork, and other top music sites remind me every day of the numerous new artists out there making and releasing great new music. After marking down over 70 tunes for consideration for my 2023 list, I’ve narrowed it down to a healthy 25 by artists young and not so young. Read on to find out who made the cut.

My Top 25 Songs of 2023

Olivia Rodrigo “Can’t Change Me Now” (Along with Billie Eilish, Rodrigo has become one of the most popular female artists in the pop world today not named Taylor Swift. This acoustic-based one comes from the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birdsongs and Snakes movie.)

The Beatles “Now and Then” (First worked on in the ’90s after Yoko Ono found some unfinished John Lennon songs, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr finally completed what is considered to be the final song in the storied Beatles archives that all of the Fab Four contributed to.)

The Rolling Stones “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” (With Stevie Wonder on the keys and Lady Gaga trading soulful vocals with Mick Jagger, you’ll get goosebumps by the end of this highlight from Hackney Diamonds, an unexpected gift of an album, one of their best in decades.)

Lana Del Rey “A&W” (Essentially a three-part song that lyrically is a commentary on her professional and personal life, it’s an instant classic, one of the best and catchiest in her always-growing discography.)

Dream, Ivory “Milk (w/ Jay Som)” (This Southern Californian dream pop duo found a perfect match in Melina Duterte, aka Jay Som, for this one.)

Four Tet “Three Drums” (It was the chill song of the year for me.)

Boygenius “Satanist” (Not that they ever needed to, but these girls prove here that they can just have fun rocking out and rocking out hard. Last year during a show, they even brought Dave Grohl onstage to jam with them on it.)

Brittany Howard “What Now” (This pandemic-era song that doubles as the title track to her second solo album out on February 2 is a pretty funky one from the Alabama Shakes frontwoman.)

The National “Tour Manager” (“Space Invader” may be the epic single from Laugh Track, but this is the tune among the 12 that had me hitting the repeat button on my MP3 player the most.)

Noah Kahan “Dial Drunk” (If you saw Kahan on SNL last year, you likely know it was a breakout year for the Vermont native. This one reminds me a bit of Mumford and Sons.)

Devendra Banhart “Fireflies” (I’m always down for ethereal guitar tracks, and even though I’m not familiar with Banhart’s entire discography, this is my new favorite of his.)

Bleachers “Modern Girl” (First featured last year in the final season of Netflix show Sex Education, this upbeat, sax-powered one will also appear on their self-titled fourth album out on March 8.)

Slowdive “Alife” (This lush number is from Everything Is Alive, the first new LP from the ‘90s British shoegaze group since their 2017 self-titled comeback album.)

Shallow Pools “Nightmare” (This hard-hitting electro-pop track from the Boston group got on my radar after they appeared at the Inbetween Days Festival in my hometown of Quincy, MA last summer and for combating LGBTQ hate via their music and activism – all band members belong to that very community.)

Dropkick Murphys “Rippin Up the Boundary Line (f/ Jesse Ahern)” (Speaking of Quincy, Ahern duets with Ken Casey on this fiery acoustic-led working-class anthem from Okemah Rising, the band’s second collection of previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics set to music after releasing This Machine Still Kills Fascists in 2022.)

Code Orange “Take Shape (f/ Billy Corgan)” (Between a 33-song rock opera, touring, and another more traditional Pumpkins rock record either done or in the works, not to mention his pro wrestling (NWA) and other responsibilities, somehow Corgan found the time to make a cameo with this metalcore group.)

Extreme “Rise” (This heavy hard rocker from the veteran Boston band’s Six LP gets taken to an incredibly artful level by virtuoso axeman Nuno Bettencourt. His fiery fretwork around the three-minute mark – see the video below – is simply jaw-dropping.)

The Pretenders “I Think About You Daily (w/Jonny Greenwood)” (This lovely track from Chrissie Hynde and crew’s 12th LP Relentless has a moving strings arrangement from Radiohead’s lead guitarist.)

Beck “Thinking About You” (If you loved the Sea Change era of Beck, you’ll likely dig this beautifully mournful acoustic one.)

Blur “The Narcissist” (This peppy gem is from their latest album, The Ballad of Darren.)

The Chemical Brothers “No Reason” (Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have outlasted most of their ’90s electronica revolution peers like Daft Punk and The Prodigy. And for good reason. They keep finding a way to reinvent themselves with fresh and original dance-pop tunes propelled by big beats, as on this one from their Grammy-nominated 10th LP, For That Beautiful Feeling.)

Post Malone “Chemical” (About a decade into his career, Austin Post continues to deliver top-notch songs to the masses.)

BSlime “Whippin It (f/Young Thug)” (Hip-hop music has seen better days, but this one stood out, phat bass line and all.)

Angel Olsen “Nothing’s Free” (From the Forever Means EP, this sort of slow, jazzy one features a gorgeous sax solo by Dan Higgins and an elegant organ – likely Hammond B3 – one by Drew Erickson to end it.)

Molina, Talbot, Lofgren and Young “You Will Never Know” (It’s one of three by Nils Lofgren on All Roads Lead Home, an album essentially by Crazy Horse but with Neil Young on only one track.)

See also my Top Music Releases of 2023 list.