10. Pink Tape- Lil Uzi Vert

Best Songs: “Flooded the Face,” “Crush Em,” “Patience” 

After a three year long absence and numerous rumored release dates, the time finally came for Lil Uzi Vert to drop their long awaited album in June. The album is very heavily influenced by metal and rage music, which is rising in popularity within mainstream hip-hop. Uzi has always had a persona similar to those of rock stars from the 80s, with his high energy and wild antics. They finally released a project in which they used this to their advantage with lots of the instrumentals reflecting a heavy metal influence and even featuring metal bands like Bring Me the Horizon and BABYMETAL. This album is quite similar to how Playboi Carti created a punk-metal and trap sound on Whole Lotta Red by making metal music without the natural sounds of metal. The album also hosts features from Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, and Don Toliver. Overall the album very much delivered, but I feel as if it is only at the 10 spot for me because of the various filler tracks like, “Died and Came Back” and “All Alone” that tend to plague the middle of this album. 

9. And Then U Pray for Me– Westside Gunn

Best Songs: “Mamas PrimeTime,” “Kostas,”  “The Revenge of Flips Leg”

Following the release of various mixtapes, Westside Gunn finally dropped his sequel album to his 2020 masterpiece Pray for Paris. Westside Gunn is part of the Griselda collective along with Benny the Butcher and Conway, which creates the grimiest sounding boom-bap rap of the modern era. Wes follows this blueprint, but ended up surprising his fans when he was rapping on trap beats like on the song “Kostas”. It was a very big change for Gunn, but it ended up sounding very natural. He still includes lots of his old sounding music as well with production coming mostly from Daringer, Conductor Williams, and Alchemist. The album also has a wide array of features coming from the likes of JID, Denzel Curry, and Rick Ross, as well as Griselda affiliates Boldy James, Rome Streetz, and StoveGod Cooks. Overall, the album follows the usual formula of a Griselda project, which never fails to disappoint. 

8. Lahai – Sampha

Best Songs: “Spirit 2.0,”  “Dancing Circles,”  “Only”

After a six-year hiatus, Sampha finally followed up Process, with his sophomore album Lahai. The album mainly follows the theme of human connection, especially after becoming a father in between the releases of his two albums. The cover art for the album features the camera staring up at Sampha with a blue sky overhead. It very much matches up with the light, airy production of the album as well as the idea of soaring above the clouds and rising up that is portrayed on the song “Jonathan L. Seagull”. Overall, this album is a breath of fresh air for R&B music and highlights lots of the lyrical and sonic strengths that Sampha brings to the table on every track. 

7. Red Moon in Venus- Kali Uchis

Best Songs: “I Wish you Roses,” “Fantasy,” “Moonlight”

Following the 2020 release of her album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), the Latin-Pop Standout returns with her 3rd album to raving reviews. Uchis has always had a very lush and grand sounding production style, but it is truly exemplified on this album. The feelings of love can’t be felt more than on this album, and it perfectly encapsulates the sensualness of love. It also happens to align perfectly with her partner Don Toliver’s album, LoveSick. This was my favorite pop record of the year by far, and the somewhat psychedelic effect she creates with her music is almost puzzling. The album also includes features from Summer Walker and Omar Apollo. Other outlets have this album within the top 1 or 2 of the year, but, personally, I’m just not that big of a pop fan so this album doesn’t compare to the excitement I get from my favorite rap albums from this year. 

6. AftërLyfe- Yeat

Best Songs: “No more talk,” “how it go,” “Bettr 0ff”

To start his massive 2023 run, Yeat released his 3rd studio album, as a sequel to his mixtape Lyfe. He debuted into the mainstream as an artist who stretched the boundaries of modern trap music with his vocal effects, production style, and one-of-a-kind delivery. This album is probably the oddest sounding album that any mainstream rapper has produced in the 2020s. The best way to describe it would be that Afterlyfe is the album that we should send to the aliens to get into contact with them. The album is almost entirely produced by BNYX, who also had a breakout year producing for the likes of Travis Scott, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Uzi Vert. The style of this album is unlike any other album to come out, not only from Yeat, but from any hip-hop artist in general. The album only includes one feature which is from NBA Youngboy. Overall, this album was the most genre-bending project I’ve heard in 2023. 

5. Never Enough– Daniel Caesar

Best Songs: “Ocho Rios,” “Let Me Go,” “Do You Like Me?”

Never Enough by Daniel Caesar is one of the most somber sounding R&B records I’ve ever heard. The combination of the guitars, rhythms, and the harmony of Caesar’s vocals creates both a comfortable and depressing sound. The downfalls of love and the lows of relationships are the outlines of most of the tracks on this album, with Caesar’s calming and near angelic vocals adding onto the effect on the listener. The album artwork perfectly matches the sonics of the album, with a distorted image of Caesar running through the desert, colored with black and blue to match the feelings of the music. Overall, this album is just another masterpiece in the young catalog of Daniel Caesar, and I’m excited to see how he can continue his career for his 4th Studio Album. 

4. Scaring the Hoes– JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown

Best Songs: “Lean Beef Patty,” “Fentanyl Tester,” “Kingdom Hearts Key”

Over the top Rapper/Producer JPEGMAFIA and the legendary underground rapper Danny Brown finally teamed up to create the best collaborative album of 2023. The near overblown production that has made Peggy popular fits perfectly with the extreme vocal deliveries of Danny. Peggy produced the entire album, which features lots of extravagant samples including “Milkshake” by Kelis on the song “Fentanyl Tester.” Not only is the production unbelievable, but Danny Brown’s lyrical ability and Peggy’s hilarious bars complement the style perfectly throughout the album. The two rappers create the oddest, but most well-fitting duo in rap today. 

3. A Great Chaos– Ken Carson

Best Songs: “Jennifer’s Body,” “Fighting My Demons,” “Me N My Kup”

Following a somewhat disappointing debut album, Opium artist Ken Carson flew into the mainstream with A Great Chaos. This is probably the album I listened to the most, even with the album having been released in early October. Ken exemplifies the Opium aesthetic on this album with loud 808s; intricate, spacey melodies; and the best beats in all of rap. Even though many discount Ken’s lyrical content on much of the album, it is not a factor in terms of the amount of enjoyment the listener gets. Even with 17 tracks, there is no filler on this album whatsoever. It’s as if every single song just keeps up the intensity of the last throughout the whole album. The catchiness of Ken’s hooks is also much improved on this album, even though that’s always been a strong suit of his. Accompanying Ken on three tracks is his best friend Destroy Lonely as well as a feature from Lil Uzi Vert. I’m also excited to see this album performed live in concert when Ken tours with Playboi Carti. I can imagine the energy of this album live is probably tenfold from the original version. 

2. Let’s Start Here– Lil Yachty

Best Songs: “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!,” “WE SAW THE SUN!,” “drive ME crazy!”

To the surprise of everyone, famed for being a Soundcloud rapper, Lil Yachty released a psychedelic rock album. Not only was it any psych-rock album, it was the best rock record of the year. Yachty’s autotune and wobbly vocal effects fit absolutely perfectly with the mesmerizing sounds of this album. The production and mixing on this album are also flawless, and listening to this record with headphones is a breathtaking experience. The bass and synth sounds fill out everything and Yachty’s vocal panning perfectly encapsulates what a psych-rock album is supposed to sound like. His transition as an artist is truly remarkable, seeing that only two or three years ago he was putting out mediocre trap records. Even the singles released after Let’s Start Here that were rap-style were somewhat influenced by the sounds of this album by using the wobbly vocal effects that were so popular. His lyrical ability on all of the music he has put out this year has majorly improved as well, which helps as to why this album was a huge step forward for Yachty as an artist. The features include Teezo Touchdown, Justine Skye, and Foushee. To end it off, I am truly surprised at the growth that Lil Yachty made artistically. Going from a melodic rapper that many thought had little to no talent, to being one of the most productive artists of 2023 is truly groundbreaking.

1. Utopia– Travis Scott

Best Songs: “HYAENA”, “THANK GOD”, “SIRENS”, “TELEKINESIS”

After 5 long years, Travis Scott has finally blessed the world with his album Utopia. The long-awaited return mixes a lot of influences from his predecessors, Kanye West and Kid Cudi, but mostly a similar style to Kanye’s Yeezus. The production of this project is unbelievable, matching a similar sound of his first mixtape Owl Pharaoh, along with his debut album Rodeo, as well as Kanye West’s Yeezus, making a completely different sound from the usual psychedelic trap found on albums like Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight or Astroworld. Two of my favorite things about this album are that Travis has lots of production credits all over the project, which hasn’t been the case since Rodeo, as well as the fact that he is actually rapping. While he does have some songs on the album that are melodic, he is mainly using his technical ability to glide over the production. This album truly shows Travis’s work as a music visionary, combining the sounds of the somewhat old and new. Along with that, the feature list is unbelievable, maybe the best I’ve ever seen. Some of the features include Drake, The Weeknd, Beyonce, Playboi Carti, SZA, Future, 21 Savage, Kid Cudi, and Young Thug just to name a few. There also isn’t any filler on this album whatsoever. I could listen to this album straight through without getting bored at any time, and I wouldn’t skip a single song. Utopia is an album that doesn’t necessarily appeal to most of the mainstream, which is why many fans still prefer Astroworld over this album. But from an artistic standpoint, or a view that looks at the album content, this closely rivals Rodeo as his best work. There is a reason that many consider Travis to be at the top of the mountain in terms of rap, and it is because he is one of the most creative and genre-moving artists of the generation who isn’t afraid to take creative steps forward even if it means not making the most mainstream music.