Another year is in the books (almost) and another year of songs helped guide us through it all. While there were some newbies that earned their way into our playlists this year, 2023 was mostly defined by some of our favorite artists creating some career defining work. From a massive comeback from blink-182 to a massive leap forward for Olivia Rodrigo to a statement of authority from Paramore, 2023 was a year for artists to stake their claim to greatness. Here are some of the songs we loved the most. Share yours in the comments below!

15. Off Road Minivan – “Victim Complex”

For me, “Victim Complex” from May This Keep You Safe from Harm is one of the hardest hitting tracks on the album. The guitar is instantly driving, and the vocals are desperate and it just all around makes for a frenetic addition to what is otherwise a pretty grounded and well paced album. I think adding just a dose of chaos is enough to keep an album from becoming monotonous and boring and make sure it packs a punch. It definitely draws from frontman Ryan O’Leary’s Fit for a King experience and is a great display of just what this band can do, lest we think it’s just another side project. – Nadia Alves

14. Bring Me the Horizon – “AmEN!”

We were supposed to get a new Bring Me the Horizon album in 2023, but it’s hard to make complaints about its absence considering how many great tracks they dropped. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly “AmEN!”, which features Lil’ Uzi Vert(?) and Daryl Paulumbo of Glassjaw(!!!). It’s a track that harkens back to the band’s early days with its death growls, barreling guitar riffs, and punishing pace. It’s honestly the heaviest song the band has delivered in a decade and proves that Bring Me the Horizon still have the kind of edge that makes them one of metalcore’s most dangerous bands. – Kiel Hauck

13. Speed of Light – “Teeth”

Sometimes, YouTube feeds can be pretty awesome. Speed of Light, a small band based out of L.A., appeared randomly to me and created a massive fan with one song. “Teeth” fulfills the spirit of punk in absolute measure. It’s simple, cutting, and charged. Repeated chants of “Don’t want your smile / Give it teeth” become a mantra against the harsh wall of power chords like humidity against glass until it finally cracks and breaks into an absolutely stellar jam.

“Teeth” is simple in many aspects, but it’s perfect. It’s a song that demands attention, frantic searches for more songs from Speed of Light, and impromptu moshing in a living room that sends cats fleeing to the coat closet for safety. – Kyle Schultz

12. Hot Mulligan – “Gans Media Retro Games”

“Gans Media Retro Games” is one of those tracks that immediately stuck out to me when I did my first listen-through of Why Would I Watch. It’s not just pop punk or Midwest emo, it’s math-y, a little distorted. For someone who constantly thinks they’re the problem, someone who can only see what they’re doing wrong, and cringes everytime they open their own mouth, this one hits different. One could call it a less self-aware cousin of the Taylor Swift track. Why Would I Watch has a lot of stand-outs but I keep coming back to this one everytime I press play simply for its sheer relatability. – Nadia Alves

11. Olivia Rodrigo – “get him back!”

For all of the songs on Guts which find Olivia Rodrigo stretching into new territory, none is more delightful and downright fun than “get him back!”. It finds Rodrigo *checks notes* rapping(?) the verses before blowing the door down with one of the most catchy choruses of 2023. Lyrically, it’s a masterclass in tug-of-war concepts that gets richer and more fun to sing each time you hear it. Does she hate this guy or love him? The answer is yes, and each turn of phrase finds new ways to delve into the dichotomy. “I wanna kiss his face / With an uppercut / I wanna meet his mom / Just to tell her her son sucks. – Kiel Hauck

10. New Found Glory – “Get Me Home”

A simple acoustic song, even subdued by New Found Glory standards, “Get Me Home” is a window of pure honesty in a crisis. Reflecting on guitarist Chad Gilbert’s battle with cancer, the lyrics plead for a return to health in an almost stream-of-consciousness style without the puff of poetry to dress it up. 

Simple, desperate, and hopeful, the song is as dangerous as it is elating. The panic of  lines like, “Scans showed my problems got bigger today / But I still trust the process, trust your word,” hide behind pleading reasons to make it through to the other side, such as, “I’ve got friends imprisoned by their depression / I need to be here for them / Time to be a positive outlet / In a cynical scene.”

“Take Me Home” is just so honest that it’s sickening. It’s the glimmer of light between teary eyes that keeps you alive. There is no decoration, no flowery prose to dress it up. It’s just a memory of the prayers we tell ourselves in our darkest hours. – Kyle Schultz

9. Sleep Token – “Take Me Back to Eden”

A lot of talk was heard earlier this year about the lead single, “The Summoning”, from Take Me Back To Eden, and while I think obviously it had its place in the scene’s culture as a whole in 2023, I feel like the title track deserves a spot in top tracks this year. Genre-bending abounds, and we’re sent on a roller coaster of R&B inspiration, to a soaring piano-led bridge, to finally a heavy breakdown at the end, just in case we forget Sleep Token’s roots. This track not only ties the album together perfectly, it’s also a great amalgamation of the album and what it aims to do – Send both the band and listeners on a path to self-redemption. – Nadia Alves

8. Lil Durk ft. J. Cole – “All My Life”

2023 proved to be a breakout year for Lil Durk with the release of Almost Healed, but “All My Life” pushed Chicago rapper truly into the mainstream. It’s the kind of track that reminds listeners of hip hop’s heydays past with its boldness and message. J. Cole’s appearance here highlights that the track is meant to speak with authority, “This shit could be gone in an instant / Me, I’m runnin’ long distance”. Durk impresses his mission to change things for the better, both within his community and beyond. It’s an uplifting moment in a time when we need this kind of bold determination more than ever: “I decided I had to finish, but the media called me a menace / I done sat with the mayor and politicians, I’m tryna change the image”. – Kiel Hauck

7. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – “Nobody Tells You When You’re Young”

Andrew McMahon’s career has been one of finding biting emotion and relaying it against powerful choruses to tell stories of heartbreak and hope. “Nobody Tells You When You’re Young” is a stripped back, simple ballad of quiet reflection on growing up. 

Simple, quiet, and moody, McMahon relays life lessons learned by a character that they can’t believe was never relaid to them. Somber, sincere, and dipped in regret, McMahon ponders on topics from every aspect of growing up (“Nobody tells you when you’re young / That the cops cannot be trusted / That some hearts like cars just rust out / In the rain for years.”).

However, there is hope in the message of finding your way, of seeing truth and being better for it, as McMahon sings, “‘Cause a rebel heart won’t listen / But to grow you must go missing, just don’t disappear / The wisdom’s in the living, not the years.” – Kyle Schultz

6. Paramore – “Thick Skull”

Paramore always nails their album closers, and “Thick Skull” for This Is Why isn’t the only exception, if you will. It’s unassuming but lyrically hits hard and ends up taking you so high you’re almost shocked when the silence lingers and then the album restarts. While not accessible enough to be named a single, I think this is one of Paramore’s best tracks, and second only to Brand New Eyes’ “All I Wanted” in terms of ranking. In a way, it feels a lot like her younger sibling. Another absolute genius move was having Julien Baker take lead on it for their album re-release later in the year titled Re: This Is Why. “Thick Skull” is an incredible choice to round out the album, and it also marks the last track recorded under the original Paramore record deal. – Nadia Alves

5. Spiritbox – “Ultraviolet”

The lead-up to Spiritbox’s much anticipated EP The Fear of Fear came complete with banger after banger. But the day of the release revealed the best song the band has ever written. “Ultraviolet” is a fitting end to the EP, leaning into the hope that anxiety and fear and dread don’t have to be the end – that hope can be found amidst the turmoil inside our heads. The track blends everything that makes Spiritbox special and far beyond their other metalcore peers: the eerie synthesizers and electronic sounds combined with perfectly placed breakdowns and the haunting vocals of Courtney LaPlante. It’s the band’s own playbook perfected. “If you can meet me in another life / We can burn into a velvet sky / Dream I die”. – Kiel Hauck

4. Fireworks – “Megachurch”

Fireworks’ return album Higher Lonely Power is a scathing reflection on modern religion, faith, and depression, but maybe nothing encapsulates that more than “Megachurch.” It’s a dark, brooding, and beautifully orchestrated piece that uses irony to its full effect to attack modern views of Christianity while also allowing for moments of admiration to senseless faith.

The lyrics are as dark as the grunge-inspired guitar hammering slowly in the background as vocalist David Mackinder addresses how a portion of the country is more worried about “the woke mob” than gun violence (“Glad it wasn’t my child / But my family needs protecting / Because like a crocodiles we shed tears while we break skin / You don’t have to think too much / We know god’s candidate / Religious freedom won’t be touched / We’ll keep the gays from our children”). 

“Megachurch” is heartbreaking, lonely, and scathing but there is a quiet admiration of the simplicity that allows this type of indoctrination when balanced against Mackinder’s possibly agnostic views of the world. The song digs deep to find the monsters, but builds to a massive crescendo as MacKinder repeatedly howls, “Hurts to know we’re on our own / Sad to know we’re in control”. – Kyle Schultz

3. Hozier – “Francesca”

To me, the award for strongest lead single goes to Hozier this year with “Francesca”. Not only is it an explosive track that hasn’t left my mind, it’s also the absolute definition of lead single. Even without the knowledge of the album and its connection to Dante’s Inferno, it’s one of Hozier’s most poignant and beautiful songs. Lines like, “I would still be surprised I could find you in any life” and “Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I” still take my breath away months and hundreds of listens later. No one does desperation and lovesickness like Hozier, it’s just a fact. If I had a complaint, it would be that it wasn’t longer. – Nadia Alves

2. Kesha – “Eat the Acid”

“Eat the Acid” is the definition of an ear worm. The lead single from Kesha’s brilliant Gag Order marks a clear departure from her signature sound and sets the table for an experimental, stripped down journey through her psyche. The song’s hook, “You said don’t ever eat the acid / If you don’t wanna be changed like it changed me” is a warning from Kesha’s mother about the dangers of psychedelic drugs, but here, Kesha uses this concept to explore her climb from the depths, aligning with her own spiritual awakening. “The universe said, ‘Now’s your time’ / And told me everything’s alright”. – Kiel Hauck

1. blink-182 – “One More Time”

The opening guitar riffs of “Anthem Part III” was the moment when I realized that this new era of blink-182 was going to be special, but “One More Time” is when I knew they meant it. Being a fan of blink-182 has been to accept the on-again off-again relationship between its members. However, naming their new album and return to form after an acoustic ballad acting as therapy for the band was a massive, risky choice that paid off in big ways.

“One More Time” acknowledges the personal mistakes that disrupted the friendship between Mark, Tom, and Travis in direct ways and is a promise to each other and their fans that these are better times. With a music video set against a backdrop of famous scenes from the band’s past, the song is an emotional powerhouse known for making middle-aged men cry. 

While almost every line of this song is emotionally charged, there is absolutely nothing quite as special as hearing Tom and Mark sing together, “I miss you, took time but I admit it / It still hurts even after all these years / And I know that next time / Ain’t always gonna happen / I gotta say ‘I love you’ while we’re here”.

It may be melodramatic, but “One More Time” is so honest with the history between the band that it’s impossible not to feel it on each listen. Blink-182 can be fun with or without the original members, but it takes all three of them to create a song so far outside of genre that it still feels like the greatest achievement the band has ever made. – Kyle Schultz

Honorable Mention:

Anberlin – “Lacerate”
Fall Out Boy – “Love From the Other Side”
Drake – “First Person Shooter”
blessthefall – “Wake the Dead”
boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”

Posted by Kiel Hauck