If you’re looking for a theme for popular music in 2023, I think it can actually be summed up by a song from 2011. Who run the world? Girls, y’all. Six out of the seven Grammy nominees for Album of the Year are women. The soundtrack to the Barbie movie – overwhelmingly featuring women artists – was THE album of the summer. Between Taylor Swift and Beyonce, was anyone else even touring this year? You get the drift.
So it’s fitting that, for the Great Pop Culture Debate’s Best of 2023 Music episode, most of our panelists’ picks are albums by women – although we have a few men in the mix, because we are committed to equality. So join Andrea Guerrero, Eric Rezsnyak, Jake Lewis, and Jonny Minogue as they share their favorite albums, as the Great Pop Culture Debate presents the Best Music of 2023!
Looking for selections from each of the nominated albums? Click here for our playlist.
Andrea Guerrero Pick #1: Olivia Rodrigo GUTS
Eric Rezsnyak Pick #1: Kim Petras Feed the Beast/Problematique
Jake Lewis Pick #1: The War and Treaty Lover’s Game
Jonny Minogue Pick #1: Sufjan Stevens Javelin
Andrea Guerrero Pick #2: Gorillaz Cracker Island
Eric Rezsnyak Pick #2: Baby Queen Quarter-Life Crisis
Jake Lewis Pick #2: Holly Humberstone Paint My Bedroom Black
Jonny Minogue Pick #2: Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! For each panelist’s No. 1 picks, PLUS our honorable mentions, listen to the episode now! We absolutely saved the best for last.
Did we miss your favorite albums? Do you disagree with some of our picks? Leave a comment below.
Then come back every Monday in December for our Best Of 2023 episodes devoted to Film and Books! Our episode devoted to the Best TV of 2023 is already available by clicking here.
Looking for more related content?
Check out these other episodes from Great Pop Culture Debate:
Also make sure to check out Eric Rezsnyak’s Top 10 list ranking the best tracks off the Barbie movie soundtrack.
Have a say in future episodes!
Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!
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EPISODE CREDITS
Host: Eric Rezsnyak
Panel: Andrea Guerrero, Jake Lewis, Jonny Minogue
Producer: Bob Erlenback
Editor: Eric Rezsnyak