Rolling Stone’s 100 best albums of 2023 begin with SZA’s SOS, boygenius’ The Record, and Tainy’s Data. The complete ranking is notable less for one defining genre than for its range: pop, indie rock, rap, R&B, Latin music, Afrobeats, electronic music, K-pop, metal, soundtracks, and experimental records all have a place.
This is Rolling Stone’s editorial list, published November 30, 2023—not an objective or universal consensus. Use it as a discovery guide, with the numbered ranking intact and genre-based routes for finding where to begin.
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What makes Rolling Stone’s 2023 list interesting
The ranking does not point to one dominant sound. Its top 10 moves from SZA’s expansive R&B and pop on SOS to boygenius’ indie rock, Tainy’s Latin electronic production, Lil Yachty’s psychedelic pivot, Olivia Rodrigo’s pop-rock, Paramore’s alternative pop, Mitski’s orchestral songwriting, billy woods and Kenny Segal’s abstract rap, Victoria Monét’s R&B, and Zach Bryan’s country songwriting.
That range suggests a useful way to read the list: Rolling Stone rewarded records that were immediately legible but also highly specific in their artistic identity. The ranking connects mainstream pop to regional and global scenes, rap to experimental production, and established artists to conspicuous reinventions.
#1 Best Overall
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There is one important qualification. SOS was released on December 9, 2022, and Spotify lists it as a 23-song album running approximately 68 minutes. Rolling Stone’s year-end list is therefore an editorial view of the music being discussed and experienced in 2023, not a rigid audit of albums released only between January and December of that year.
The complete 100-album ranking
Here is Rolling Stone’s complete ranking, published November 30, 2023. The numbers are an editorial sequence, not a precise measurement of the distance in quality between one album and the next.
- SZA — SOS
- boygenius — The Record
- Tainy — Data
- Lil Yachty — Let’s Start Here
- Olivia Rodrigo — Guts
- Paramore — This Is Why
- Mitski — The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
- billy woods & Kenny Segal — Maps
- Victoria Monét — Jaguar II
- Zach Bryan — Zach Bryan
- Blondshell — Blondshell
- Chappell Roan — The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
- Noname — Sundial
- Karol G — Mañana Será Bonito
- Sufjan Stevens — Javelin
- Becky G — Esquinas
- Anohni and the Johnsons — My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
- Jessie Ware — That! Feels Good!
- JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown — Scaring the Hoes
- Janelle Monáe — The Age of Pleasure
- Lana Del Rey — Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
- Young Nudy — Gumbo
- Christine and the Queens — Paranoia, Angels, True Love
- Kesha — Gag Order
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit — Weathervanes
- Amaarae — Fountain Baby
- Wednesday — Rat Saw God
- Caroline Polachek — Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
- Kali Uchis — Red Moon in Venus
- Miley Cyrus — Endless Summer Vacation
- Model/Actriz — Dogsbody
- Bad Bunny — Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana
- NewJeans — Get Up
- Troye Sivan — Something to Give Each Other
- Drake — For All the Dogs
- Water From Your Eyes — Everyone’s Crushed
- Asake — Work of Art
- KAYTRAMINÉ — KAYTRAMINÉ
- Veeze — Ganger
- Kara Jackson — Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
- U.S. Girls — Bless This Mess
- Samory I — Strength
- Megan Moroney — Lucky
- Jenny Lewis — Joy’All
- Kylie Minogue — Tension
- Everything but the Girl — Fuse
- L’Rain — I Killed Your Dog
- Gunna — A Gift & a Curse
- Yo La Tengo — This Stupid World
- Dominic Fike — Sunburn
- Militarie Gun — Life Under the Gun
- Ice Spice — Like..?
- Jordan Ward — Forward
- McKinley Dixon — Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
- Reneé Rapp — Snow Angel
- Melanie Martinez — Portals
- Peso Pluma — Génesis
- Bonny Doon — Let There Be Music
- Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist — Voir Dire
- Hozier — Unreal Unearth
- Joy Oladokun — Proof of Life
- Gracie Abrams — Good Riddance
- Mr Eazi — The Evil Genius
- PinkPantheress — Heaven Knows
- The Rolling Stones — Hackney Diamonds
- Grupo Frontera — El Comienzo
- Various Artists — Barbie The Album
- Skrillex — Quest for Fire
- Agust D — D-DAY
- Blur — The Ballad of Darren
- Burna Boy — I Told Them…
- Holly Humberstone — Paint My Bedroom Black
- Wilco — Cousin
- 100 gecs — 10,000 gecs
- Palehound — Eye on the Bat
- Sampha — Lahai
- Bebe Rexha — Bebe
- Gale — Lo Que No Te Dije
- Low Cut Connie — Art Dealers
- Diego Raposo — Yo No Era Así, Pero de Ahora en Adelante, Sí
- Joanna Sternberg — I’ve Got Me
- Jungle — Volcano
- Kelela — Raven
- The National — First Two Pages of Frankenstein
- Adekunle Gold — Tequila Ever After
- Lucinda Williams — Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart
- Yves Tumor — Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
- Jamila Woods — Water Made Us
- Bully — Lucky for You
- DannyLux — DLUX
- Larry June and The Alchemist — The Great Escape
- Nicki Nicole — Alma
- Metallica — 72 Seasons
- Jorja Smith — Falling or Flying
- Rae Sremmurd — Sremm 4 Life
- Crosslegged — Another Blue
- Godflesh — Purge
- Kelsea Ballerini — Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)
- Depeche Mode — Memento Mori
- Arlo Parks — My Soft Machine
Where to start if you do not want to hear 100 albums
The ranking is most useful as a set of entry points rather than a demand to listen in numerical order. These pathways are editorial groupings based on the artists and records; they are not additional categories claimed by Rolling Stone.
For pop and pop-rock listeners
Start with Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts at No. 5 and Paramore’s This Is Why at No. 6 for two different versions of sharply written, guitar-aware pop. Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Jessie Ware’s That! Feels Good!, Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation, Troye Sivan’s Something to Give Each Other, Kylie Minogue’s Tension, Reneé Rapp’s Snow Angel, and Bebe Rexha’s Bebe extend the route toward dance-pop, theatrical pop, and emotionally direct contemporary songwriting.
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For a shorter three-album sampler, pair Rodrigo’s youthful pop-rock, Ware’s dance-floor sophistication, and Roan’s larger-than-life pop persona. Their high placements also show that the list’s mainstream choices are not confined to one commercial formula.
Rank #2
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For alternative and indie rock
boygenius’ The Record is the No. 2 entry and the clearest starting point for listeners seeking harmony-rich indie rock and songwriter collaboration. Paramore’s This Is Why and Blondshell’s self-titled album offer more abrasive or muscular alternatives, while Wednesday’s Rat Saw God, Model/Actriz’s Dogsbody, and Water From Your Eyes’ Everyone’s Crushed move toward noisier, more left-field territory.
Yo La Tengo’s This Stupid World, Militarie Gun’s Life Under the Gun, Blur’s The Ballad of Darren, Wilco’s Cousin, Palehound’s Eye on the Bat, Bonny Doon’s Let There Be Music, and Bully’s Lucky for You make the lower and middle sections just as useful for discovery as the top 10.
For R&B, soul, and electronic R&B
SZA’s SOS leads this path at No. 1, followed by Victoria Monét’s Jaguar II at No. 9 and Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure at No. 20. Kali Uchis’ Red Moon in Venus, L’Rain’s I Killed Your Dog, Sampha’s Lahai, Kelela’s Raven, Jamila Woods’ Water Made Us, and Jorja Smith’s Falling or Flying provide a broad route through sensual, experimental, intimate, and electronically textured approaches to R&B.
The list also places songwriting-led records near these more rhythm-focused albums. Mitski’s No. 7 The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Sufjan Stevens’ No. 15 Javelin, and Lana Del Rey’s No. 21 Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd are useful choices for listeners who want emotional detail and expansive arrangements.
For rap and hip-hop
billy woods and Kenny Segal’s Maps ranks No. 8, while JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown’s Scaring the Hoes lands at No. 19. Together they represent the list’s interest in dense, unconventional rap production. Noname’s Sundial, Young Nudy’s Gumbo, Veeze’s Ganger, Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse, Ice Spice’s Like..?, Jordan Ward’s Forward, McKinley Dixon’s Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, and Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist’s Voir Dire offer very different entry points into contemporary hip-hop.
Rank #3
- Nirvana- Nevermind
Other rap-oriented selections include Drake’s For All the Dogs, Agust D’s D-DAY, Larry June and The Alchemist’s The Great Escape, and Rae Sremmurd’s Sremm 4 Life. Agust D is the credited artist on D-DAY; this is a solo album credit and should not be presented as a BTS group album.
Metallica’s 72 Seasons appears at No. 93. It is better treated as a metal outlier than folded into the rap pathway simply because the list otherwise includes many hip-hop records.
For Latin, Afrobeats, and global pop
Tainy’s Data is the No. 3 album and places Latin electronic and urbano production near the very top of the ranking. Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, Becky G’s Esquinas, Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, Peso Pluma’s Génesis, Grupo Frontera’s El Comienzo, Gale’s Lo Que No Te Dije, DannyLux’s DLUX, and Nicki Nicole’s Alma create a substantial Latin-music route through the list.
Asake’s Work of Art, Burna Boy’s I Told Them…, Mr Eazi’s The Evil Genius, and Adekunle Gold’s Tequila Ever After extend that route into Afrobeats and related global-pop conversations. NewJeans’ Get Up adds a K-pop entry at No. 33, while Tainy’s production-heavy No. 3 placement demonstrates that the list’s global scope is not limited to a token selection near the bottom.
For experimental, art-pop, and left-field listening
Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here is the No. 4 example of a major artist making a conspicuous stylistic pivot. Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, Amaarae’s Fountain Baby, and Christine and the Queens’ Paranoia, Angels, True Love offer three more routes into ambitious, shape-shifting pop.
Rank #4
Other left-field choices include Yves Tumor’s Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), Godflesh’s Purge, 100 gecs’ 10,000 gecs, Skrillex’s Quest for Fire, and Jungle’s Volcano. These records do not share one genre, but they do reward listeners who want unusual production, aggressive textures, or a deliberately constructed sonic world.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Important details behind several entries
SOS at No. 1
SZA’s placement gives the list a commercially prominent but musically expansive center. It is also why the ranking should not be treated as a strict list of albums first released in 2023: SOS arrived in December 2022 but remained central to the 2023 listening conversation.
The Record at No. 2
boygenius’ second-place finish makes The Record a natural recommendation for indie-rock listeners and a strong physical-media candidate. It also establishes collaboration as one of the year’s important storylines: three established singer-songwriters became a distinct band project rather than simply issuing a collection of guest appearances.
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Mitski, Sufjan Stevens, and Lana Del Rey give the upper portion of the list a songwriting-centered counterweight to its dance, rap, and global-pop selections. Zach Bryan’s self-titled album at No. 10 and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Weathervanes at No. 25 add country and Americana perspectives to that same broader emphasis on narrative writing.
Barbie The Album is a soundtrack compilation
Barbie The Album, ranked No. 67, is credited to Various Artists. It is a soundtrack compilation rather than a solo-artist album, so it belongs in the list as a soundtrack and collaborative pop-culture project. That distinction matters when comparing it with artist albums or shopping for a physical edition.
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Why No. 100 is not “the worst”
Arlo Parks’ My Soft Machine appears at No. 100, but that position should not be read as a claim that it is the least valuable album listed. Year-end rankings communicate editorial preference and ordering; they do not provide a precise, objective score. A reader drawn to intimate, reflective songwriting may reasonably begin with Parks rather than with the No. 1 entry.
How to turn the ranking into a listening plan
- Choose a starting lane. Pick pop, indie rock, R&B, rap, global music, or experimental music rather than trying to hear all 100 immediately.
- Sample the top three. The contrast between SOS, The Record, and Data quickly demonstrates the breadth of the selection.
- Pair a familiar artist with a discovery. Follow Olivia Rodrigo or Drake with Blondshell, Water From Your Eyes, Veeze, or L’Rain to avoid turning the list into a survey of only major names.
- Listen to complete albums when possible. The ranking concerns albums, so sequencing, transitions, and the relationship between individual tracks are part of what is being recommended.
- Use streaming to sample before buying. A practical listen to the best albums of 2023 route is to sample several records first, then purchase the albums that reward repeat plays. Catalog access varies by service, country, and licensing window.
- Buy a specific edition, not a vague idea. If you decide to collect, confirm whether the item is an LP, CD, soundtrack, compilation, deluxe edition, or another release type. Pressings and availability are not uniform across the list.
What this list does—and does not—claim
Rolling Stone’s ranking is one publication’s editorial selection. It is not a universal consensus, an aggregate of every critic’s ballot, or an objective measurement of musical quality. Other publications made different 2023 packages, including shorter lists, and the phrase “100 best albums of 2023” can also refer to personal rankings.
Its value is therefore practical rather than final. The list puts obvious mainstream releases beside albums from independent, international, experimental, and genre-specific scenes. It gives a reader a map: start with the records that match your taste, follow the collaborators and producers, and treat low or high placement as an invitation to investigate rather than a verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was SZA’s SOS actually released in 2023?
No. Rolling Stone ranked SZA’s SOS at No. 1 even though it was released on December 9, 2022. The list reflects the albums central to the 2023 listening conversation rather than only releases made during the calendar year.
Does No. 100 mean the album is the worst one listed?
No. The ranking is Rolling Stone’s editorial sequence, not a universal consensus or an aggregate score. A No. 100 placement for Arlo Parks’ My Soft Machine, for example, does not mean it is objectively the least worthwhile album on the list.
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What are the best three albums to start with?
Start with SOS, boygenius’ The Record, and Tainy’s Data. Those first three records immediately show the list’s range across R&B/pop, indie rock, and Latin electronic production.
The Bottom Line
Rolling Stone’s 100-album ranking is best used as a broad 2023 discovery map, not as a universal scorecard. Start with SOS, The Record, and Data for a fast tour of its range, then follow the genre and mood paths to find the records that fit your own listening.
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