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Best of 2023

The Best Music Video Choreography of 2023

Ten visuals—by NewJeans, Troye Sivan, Victoria Monét, and more—that danced all over those dinky TikTok trends.

The 13 Best Concerts of 2023 (That Weren’t Taylor Swift or Beyoncé)

Featuring live shows from SZA, Lana Del Rey, Yaeji, Shygirl, Rauw Alejandro, Feist, and more

Hardcore Expanded Its Boundaries in 2023—and the Scene Embraced It

How the warm reception to adventurous bands like Scowl, Militarie Gun, and Zulu signifies a new normal for the genre that’s long overdue.

The Best Indie Game Scores of 2023

From the funk-house chaos of Pizza Tower to the Tamil pop at the heart of Venba, indie developers delivered some of the most memorable video-game soundtracks of the year.

The Shoegaze Revival Hit Its Stride in 2023

The 30-year-old subgenre has found new life in the hands of indie rockers, digicore artists, TikToking teens, and reunited first-wavers.

The 2023 Music Grab Bag: Trends, Scandals, and Theories

In this episode of the Pitchfork Review podcast, our critics talk about the rise of the musical theater girlie, the fall of the 1975’s Matty Healy, and more. Plus: Alvvays’ Molly Rankin reveals the song she wishes she wrote.

The 30 Best Jazz and Experimental Albums of 2023

Our favorite unfamiliar, unsettling, provocative, transgressive, spaced-out, psychedelic, surreal, meditative, and confrontational albums of the year.

Live Music’s Race to Find the Biggest Screen

From U2’s Sphere debut to SZA’s onstage boat to the visual feast of Beyoncé’s Renaissance live, this year’s touring spectacles were all about making the stage more like the screen.

The Best Music by Latine and Spanish Artists in 2023

The year in dembow, raptor house, corridos tumbados, pop-flamenco, Brazilian funk, and everything in between.

The Best Pop Music of 2023

Opulent disco-pop, R&B hook-up jams, raging hot-mess anthems: These are the songs and albums that defined the year in pop music.

The 42 Best Rap Songs of 2023

From Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem’s exuberant collaboration to billy woods’ apocalyptic visions to Little Simz’s myth-making swagger

The Best Music of 2023, According to Pitchfork Readers

Featuring your picks for the best albums and songs of the year

The Best, Worst, and Most Surprising Albums of 2023

In this episode of The Pitchfork Review podcast, our critics talk about some of their faves from our 50 Best Albums of 2023 list and lament a few of the year’s biggest disappointments.

The Best Electronic Music of 2023

Yaeji, Aphex Twin, Skrillex, Tirzah, Avalon Emerson, and more: these are the songs and albums that defined the year in electronic music.

The 37 Best Rock Albums of 2023

The year in indie rock, punk, singer-songwriter and solo guitar music, shoegaze, metal, and everything in between.

The 50 Best Albums of 2023

Featuring Sufjan Stevens, Kali Uchis, SZA, boygenius, Caroline Polachek, André 3000, and more

The 100 Best Songs of 2023

Featuring Ice Spice, Olivia Rodrigo, Lana Del Rey, Troye Sivan, Amaarae, NewJeans, and more

The 10 Best Music Books of 2023

Our favorites include an homage to pop’s most random decade, a graphic novel reintroducing a ’70s Cambodian rock legend, and the best Lou Reed biography to date.

The Best Music Merch Gifts of 2023

The Cure trading cards, Ice Spice lunch boxes, Olivia Rodrigo rings, Snail Mail plush toys, and more unique gift ideas for every type of music fan.

Vote Now for Your Favorite Albums and Songs of 2023

Take the Pitchfork Readers’ Poll