LIST: My 25 Favorite Songs of 2023
It’s time for my annual favorite songs of the year list!
I consider songs for this list that had any kind of release in 2023. Generally, I try to keep it to songs that first appeared in 2023, but sometimes that doesn’t happen based on when I first discover a song. I only include one song per primary artist to ensure no one artist dominates the list.
I created Spotify and Apple Music playlists of these songs and embedded them at the bottom here (the playlists are meant to be listened to as a 30–1 countdown, despite the numbers next to each song).
Enjoy these awesome songs and stay tuned for my albums list coming later in December!
Get Jake T. O'Donnell’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
25. ORIGAMI ANGEL — “THANK YOU, NEW JERSEY”
24. SQUARE LOOP — “THE LONGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS”
23. THE SMILE — “WALL OF EYES”
22. PARANNOUL — “POLARIS”
21. JESS WILLIAMSON — “HUNTER”
20. M83 — “AMNESIA”
19. LOCAL NATIVES — “NYE”
18. CHRIS STAPLETON — “WHITE HORSE”
17. MJ LENDERMAN — “KNOCKIN”
16. MITSKI — “MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE”
15. BULLY — “ALL I DO”
14. FIDDLEHEAD — “SULLENBOY”
13. WILCO — “EVICTED”
12. FOO FIGHTERS — “UNDER YOU”
11. JEFF ROSENSTOCK — “LIKED U BETTER”
10. BAR ITALIA — “CHANGER”
9. OLIVIA RODRIGO — “BAD IDEA, RIGHT?”
8. HOTLINE TNT — “I THOUGHT YOU’D CHANGE”
7. HOME IS WHERE — “YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!”
6. THE BETHS — “WATCHING THE CREDITS”
5. WEDNESDAY — “CHOSEN TO DESERVE”
4. TAYLOR SWIFT — “I CAN SEE YOU (TAYLOR’S VERSION)”
3. BOYGENIUS — “NOT STRONG ENOUGH”
2. RATBOYS — “THE WINDOW”
1. THE NATIONAL — “EUCALYPTUS”
