Top Five Indie Albums of the Year
Discover my top album picks and the power of Spotify Wrapped for fans and artists alike.

It’s December, indie music lover, and you know what that means. It’s time to relax and reflect on a year of wonderful music. A few weeks ago, Spotify released its Spotify Wrapped for the year, and other streaming platforms have since followed. For music lovers, it was a chance to look back on the year to track our tastes. I managed to rack up over 69 thousand minutes of listening to over 2 thousand artists. What can I say? I love to explore.

For artists, on the other hand, it provided analytics for the whole year. I especially like it for artists because it helps you keep track of your progress. Connor Price, for example, released a video tracking his progress over the years. He went from 7 thousand streams in 2018 to over 600 million streams in 2023.

In the spirit of looking back, I’ve written out a list of my top five albums of 2023. Before I begin, here’s a disclaimer. These are my favorite albums and there will be differences in all our opinions. Good, now let’s do it.

Lahai by Sampha

If calm, soothing, and emotionally packed was what Sampha was going for, he nailed it with this album. Six years after releasing his first album Process, which won him a Mercury Prize, Sampha is back like he never left. Lahai tells the story of a man who’s been through plenty. Just before Process, he lost both of his parents to Cancer. In Lahai, you can tell he has made progress moving on from that.

Lahai has a tribute to Richard Bach’s 1970 novel, a song about his daughter, and a wonderful main song in Spirit 2.0. Sampha also showed a new level in his production abilities. More importantly, the fans loved it. Spirit 2.0 alone has racked up over 6 million streams on Spotify alone.

Sundial by Noname

After five years, Nooname finally released an album. Boy was it worth the wait. Her smooth flow and deep lyrics are Drake-esque. On this album, Nonname’s theme is brutal honesty and witty creativity. She discusses racism but then says the first Black president is the one who bombed them. She’s not taking the role of an activist, simply an observer who sees what’s going on.

I hope you understand, everybody scams, she says in the second song, Hold Me Down. It’s an honest reminder that oppressed people aren’t always blameless. There are always people doing damage from the inside. It’s a call to self-reflection. Before you say someone is oppressing you, make sure you haven’t done anything against yourself.

Such deep talk, yet she masks it well with cool and smooth flows. You might miss it if you don’t pay attention. Noname has outdone herself with this one.

First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National

With guest appearances from Boygenius, Sufjan Stevens, and the newly indie Taylor Swift, the National went all the way with their ninth album. Pitchfork called it their gentlest album yet, and I agree. It’s as soothing as it is deep. The entire album is about taking stock. So much has been lost, so much has changed, but in all that we still have some things left.

It’s been a rough time for the National, but they’re back again. After struggling with writer’s block and depression among other things, it’s great to see them back doing what they love. If you want to be taken on the most sonically gentle yet emotionally turbulent journey, go ahead and listen. Look out for The Alcott.

The Record by Boygenius

The super trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus combined for this masterpiece of an album. These three are not just collaborating artists, they’re friends who have shared in each other’s lives. The Record is a compilation of songs about life. It opens up with Without You Without Them, an ode to the people who came before her. Julien asks soulfully, who would I be without you, without them?

The entire album is a walk through the lives of our trio. They’re great artists, but what makes the album special is their friendship and connection with each other. This allows for a different level of vulnerability and openness. In one of the songs, they talk about how they share stories that they would never tell anyone else. Songs such as Emily I’m Sorry, Not Strong Enough, and We’re in Love are some of my personal favorites from the album.

Spin the Globe by Connor Price

This one’s my favorite on the whole list, I’ll explain why. In making this album, Connor Price combined almost all the fundamentals of succeeding as an indie artist. It all started when he posted a video where he would spin the globe and collaborate with an artist from any country he landed on. He made 8 such songs and put them in an album.

Connor Price first created hype around the songs by releasing short videos on Instagram. It was a creative concept and the artists he featured were also quite talented. Connor Price maximized the use of social media and artist collaboration like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He also released the album in January so we had all year to stream. Those 600+ million streams don’t seem so crazy now, do they?

If you enjoy rap, this one’s for you.

Final Thoughts

Again, I’m sure you might have a completely different list. Please remember that these are my favorite albums, and I’m no standard. That said, these albums are here for two main reasons. Firstly, they each touched on very important subjects and carried deep messages that I could relate to, and that’s what music is all about. Secondly, fans loved these albums. They racked up millions of streams between them.

As we count down to 2024, I can only hope that it will be full of even better music for us to enjoy, and I hope when I write the Top Five Albums of 2024 article, your name will be on there. Cheers to that!