Top 35 Songs of 2023:

A power pop number with a little punk skuzz and a giant chorus. This is the formula for success.

Will Oldham is quiet and stunning as he divides humanity into three groups in this skeletal folk gem.

It's probably the way the galloping drums lead into that shredded guitar solo that hooked me on this melodic slice of punk rock heaven.

This is gloriously dumb punk & roll that makes you want to cut the sleeves off your jean jacket and sew on a Thin Lizzy backpatch.

Lauren Denitzio can build an anthem for any emotion. Here's one I want to shout and jump and pump my fist to beside 100 sweaty friends in an all-ages space.

Why castigate the slimy men who run the scene when castration is much more effective? In this song Dream Wife roar with power that cannot be stopped.

A one-minute indie pop delight that slams us directly into a great chorus and sneaks in miles of melody.

It may have taken Glenn Donaldson 50 years to be as melancholy and dreamy as Morrissey was as a teen, but you can't argue with this weary masterpiece about a never was.

Are you looking for an anti-government screed from a harmony-singing oi band to use as pump up music? Then boy do I have good news for you.

If this song comes on when I'm driving, there's a 100% chance I'm speeding. Maybe it's the motorik keyboard. Maybe it’s the way those undulating cosmic waves hit. Maybe it's the Maybelline.

This one is a slow, pained cry that just drifts by on vibes, seemingly uninterested in genre entirely. You owe it to yourself to feel this one.

A galloping street punk anthem about drunken stevedores with a folk guitar lead that will make you reel, sober or not. Welcome back!

The band announced their breakup weeks ago, thankfully this is a good one to step out on. Those guitars just rip and shred at the fabric of this undulating rocker before ultimately climbing up to hit the jugular.

Settle in for this amazing 8+ minute tracks that floats flawlessly. Stop screaming "Freebird" at shows and start streaming "Black Earth, WI."

Power pop vet brings some bubblegum nostalgia and an undeniable hook. My heart never had a chance.

The way this track balances its expansive vision, indie rock swagger, and catchy pop chorus is perfection.

Jangly and propulsive punk rock that's 90% chorus and 100% earworm.

TV Party have created a cool and detached post-punk song to soundtrack your late-night shenanigans.

Exquisitely constructed power pop can never go out of style. Please someone make another Gilmore Girls season so this can become famous.

Someone deserves a Nobel Prize for the chiming melody in this snapping power pop wonder.

It's jangling and chiming power-pop topped with a trucker hat and with dirt under its fingernails. Aka wonderful.

The lurching verses give way to a simple singalong chorus that couldn't be catchier. Warning: you're not ready for the guitar solo.

A warm electric piano is bolstered by twinkling filigree and brilliant production that sounds better with every listen. Give it a try!

Somewhere there's a gay lo-fi synth-pop musical being hatched, and this song is going to going to slay. Until then just bop along and imagine the rest of the story in your head.

Power-pop from that skinny tie era with a snapping buoyancy, a strong guitar solo, Cheap Trick-esque harmonies, and a catchy chorus. What else could you want?

Step into my garage for two minutes and enjoy this sloppy guitar-driven kiss off.

The songcraft here is perfect. Listen as the verses grow and those guitar leads begin circling, rejoice as the chorus erupts in vocal harmonies, and then listen again for those drum fills. It's ace.

This one reminds us that there's no ceiling for this band. We're given so many intriguing little touches that require repeat listens married with a love-at-first-sight singalong chorus.

This effortlessly brilliant song is a jangly love potion with a bitter aftertaste. And I love it.

The production on this is amazing. Every vocal line, instrument, and sound is created, recorded, and mixed to perfection. If this song were 20 minutes long it'd still be too short.

I grew up on Appalachian folk songs sung by my Grandmother. The best ones were somehow both comforting and terrifying. This one shakes me to my core.

Punk has aged into heartland rock and I'm not sad about that. This song is all chorus. It's stupid. And you can probably hear me shouting it in my car from two lanes away.

Critics like to talk about musicians' musicians. This surely puts Heidi Gluck higher up on that list. There's a quiet complexity in this one that feels so good. Just go live in this one for a while. You'll feel it.

If serotonin had a sound, it'd be this one. This jangly indie-pop played at 100mph has no business including a bass line so catchy or drum fills so wonderful. Why is this so good?

From the ice cream-truck twinkles to the skipping rhyme to the sliding bass this one is pure saccharine bubblegum. It might not be the best song of the year, but it's certainly my favorite. Now stop reading and get to dancing.

It'd be nice if I somehow heared about every great release the day it came out, but sometimes I don't even hear about them the year they come out. So here are three songs from 2022 releases that were absolutely tops and would have been included on last year's list if I had only been hipper.

Simply put there hasn't been a better dreamy and wistful dream pop song released in the last thirty years.

If it sounds a little familiar don't worry about it, that's just your body telling you that you're home. Oi oi oi!

This is what rock & roll swagger sounds like. If these guitars don't pump you up for a night out, just stay in.