My top 30 songs of 2023

 Hello everyone, today I will be going over my top 30 songs of 2023. Just like last year, there is no criteria for this list, it just has to be songs I liked. Let's get into it.

30. Illenium/ Avril Lavigne/ Travis Barker- Eyes Wide Shut

This works quite well. Illenium and Barker did a great job on the production and Avril Lavigne sounds amazing like always. This definitely should have been more huge.

29. Morgan Wallen- Last Night

I have yet to hate a Morgan Wallen song, and this song is quite good. While this one is fairly slow, it's still quite, and Morgan Wallen sounds amazing like usual.

28. Noah Kahan/ Post Malone- Dial Drunk

This collaboration just works all too well. They both sound good and have pretty good chemistry and it goes along super well with the folk type production.

27. Kylie Minogue- Padam Padam

This is so much fun. The EDM production is extremely fun and Kylie Minogue sounds amazing throughout. Glad this became a hit for her later in her career.

26. Charlie Puth/ Dan + Shay- That's Not How This Works

This one is super cool. I like the hook on this and Charlie Puth has solid chemistry with the guy from Dan + Shay. The production is also pretty good here too.

I would like to state that all four sequel collabs from this year made the list, starting with this next one.

25. Will.i.am/ Britney Spears- Mind Your Business

This one is still a lot of fun. I really love the "Mind Yo B Mind Yo B Mind Yo B" in the chorus, both of them sound really great, and the production is fucking legendary. I still have no clue what Big2000 is talking about.

Random question, does anyone besides me remember this next song?

24. Diplo/ Kodak Black/ Koe Wetzel- Wasted

This one is all types of wild. This is one of Diplo's best production jobs and both Kodak Black and Koe Wetzel sound really good throughout. This should have been more of a hit than Heartbroken currently is.

23. Ice Spice/ Rema- Pretty Girl

This blending of rap, Afropop, and EDM works all too well. Rema's hook is super cool and Ice Spice still has an on point flow. This collab just works like some of these others.

22. Fall Out Boy- Love From The Other Side

Other than the fact that this takes a decent bit of time to get going, this is yet another banger from Fall Out Boy, and I'm glad this eventually hit #1 on Hits 1, because it definitely deserved it.

21. Paul Russell- Lil Boo Thang

That title is quite funny, and the song is just as funny. The retro production works here and Paul Russell sounds really good. I'm glad this was as huge as it was.

20. Jelly Roll- Need A Favor

I can probably see why someone might hate this, but I personally don't hate it myself. I usually like country songs like this, and I quite like this, too. Jelly Roll sounds really good and the production is super cool.

19. Tai Verdes- Sandman

This has to be my favorite Tai Verdes song thus far. He sounds really great throughout and I like the production. The hook is also super catchy. And no, this does not sample Mr Sandman by the Chordettes at all, but kind of sounds like Hold Me Closer by Elton John and Britney Spears from last year.

18. Leah Kate- Super Over

So me hating 10 Things I Hate About You must have been a fluke, because I have not minded anything she has put out since, especially this, a half pop punk, half EDM song in the key of G minor. All of that sets the vibe of what this is supposed to be about, and Leah Kate sounds great throughout.  

17. David Guetta/ Anne Marie/ Coi Leray- Baby Don't Hurt Me

So unlike others, I never got tired of this one. The What Is Love sample is executed flawlessly, Anne Marie sounds great, and Coi Leray delivers a solid verse. 

16. Jax Jones/ Fireboy Dml- Me And My Guitar

So this is your official proof that when executed the right way, Afropop artists do well on EDM songs. Jax Jones once again did a great job producing and Fireboy Dml sounds better than he did on Peru from last year.

15. Nsync- Better Place

So Nsync reunited for this from the upcoming third Trolls film (not sure if it's out yet), as their first song as a group in 22 years. And this comeback was perfect for them. The production is super cool and all five of them sound really good on here. I just wish this was more of a hit than it was.

On the topic of bands who tried to make a comeback but their comeback single never took off a whole lot...

14. Linkin Park- Lost

This was Linkin Park's first song since the death of Chester Bennington in 2017, and was supposed to be on Meteora but got left off and forgotten about until this year, since this year marked the 20th anniversary of Meteora. And I'm glad they decided to release this, because it is still quite good to this day. It sounds like a cross between their songs Numb and Burn It Down, and the vocals from Chester Bennington are good as always. This really should have been more of a hit than it was, and I am 100% giving my LOP award to this.

13. The Chainsmokers/ Bludnymph- Self Destruction Mode

At least Hits 1 eve picked up on this in the first place... this also deserved better. The production is super cool and both Drew Taggart and Bludnymph sound really good here. I hope TCS can score another massive hit eventually.

12. Marshmello/ Farruko- Esta Vida

This is literally Pepas Part 4... I love how Marshmello tried to replicate the production style that IAmChino, Victor Cardenas, and others used in Pepas and its previous sequels, and Farruko once again does a great job here.

That was not one of the four sequel collabs I was referring to, but this next song is:

11. French Montana/ Swae Lee- Wish U Well

This is quite a great follow up to their previous collab Unforgettable. I don't think the sample of My Love by Route 94 and Jess Glynne was completely necessary, but everything else about the song works quite well. Both French Montana and Swae Lee deliver great verses and that hook is super interesting. I wish this was as big as Unforgettable was though.

10. The Kid Laroi/ Jungkook/ Central Cee- Too Much

This is so much fun. Both The Kid Laroi and Jungkook sound good, but my favorite part has to be Central Cee's verse. With the type of production that this song has, it makes Central Cee's verse sound somewhat like Jiggle Jiggle by Duke & Jones and Louis Theroux, and that is always a good thing.

9. Timbaland/ Nelly Furtado/ Justin Timberlake- Keep Going Up

Sure, this probably should have existed during the late 2000s, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great song for 2023. I've always found Timbaland's production style to be super cool, and he did a great job here too, and both Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake sound great here.

8. All Time Low/ Avril Lavigne- Fake As Hell

I knew this was going to be a legendary collab when I first heard it, and it completely was. The pop punk production is amazing and Alex Gaskarth and Avril Lavigne have near perfect chemistry. This probably should have taken off more, though.

7. Lauv- Love U Like That

This has to be my favorite Lauv song thus far. It's in Bb major and hits in the feels, but it's upbeat so it's a better in the feels song than it should probably be.

6. Endless Summer/ Violet Days- Crying On The Dancefloor

So this is one of six songs I've heard in my life that samples Better Off Alone by Alice DJ, and this is among the better ones. Sam Feldt and Jonas Blue did a great job producing and the sample just works.

So if I were to choose a favorite new artist of 2023, it would be this next one:

5. Knox- Not The 1975

Ok this one is super cool. The production is super cool, and Knox sounds really good. I also like the lyrics on this. I will definitely be on the lookout for whatever he has next (and I listened to his latest release, Girl On The Internet, and it's also really good).

4. J Balvin/ Usher/ DJ Khaled- Dientes

This is so much fun. I like how DJ Khaled put the background of Yeah by Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris over an EDM type beat, and both J Balvin and Usher do a great job on vocals. That hook is also extremely cool. I just wish Hits 1 had picked up on this.

So you know 2023 was a weird year for music when there are two BTS members with songs in the top 10 of my best list...

3. Jimin/ Jvke/ Muni Long/ Kodak Black/ Nle Choppa- Angel Part 1

In all seriousness though, as strange of a collab as this was, it worked. Jimin, Jvke, and Muni Long all did a good job with the hook, and I like the verses from Kodak Black and Nle Choppa. So really good song.

2. Sigala/ MNEK- Radio

This is definitely my favorite song from Sigala's cancelled album Every Cloud. Sigala did a great job producing per usual, and MNEK sounds really great on this. But it was the fact that it was released on the day of an awards banquet for the zoo that made this do everything for me. I just wish Sigala had released the remaining songs from Every Cloud, though.

Before I reveal my #1 song of 2023, I'm going to list some honorable mentions:

David Kushner- Daylight

Sure, this had to grow on me, but Kushner's vocals make this work.

Metro Boomin/ Swae Lee/ Nav/ A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie- Calling

My favorite song off the Across The Spider Verse soundtrack, they all sound good and Metro Boomin's production here works.

Dream/ Yung Gravy- Everest

Yung Gravy's verse here makes this my favorite Dream song

Sigala/ Mae Muller/ Caity Baser/ Stefflon Don- Feels This Good

His production once again slaps, and the three vocalists all do a great job

Alok/ Ava Max- Car Keys

Catchy bop all around

Jack Black- Peaches

This list wouldn't be complete without this song making the list

Coi Leray/ David Guetta- Make My Day

Just so damn fun, among Coi Leray's best songs

And so my favorite song of 2023 is...

1. Lil Durk/ Morgan Wallen- Stand By Me

So I'm sure everyone reading this is kind of surprised that I chose this as my #1, but I have my reasons. The song is about asking for loyalty when people turn their backs on you, and this happened to me while this song was on the countdown, I found out that the Miami County Engineer's Office (as a reminder, that was where I did my co-op for the first four months of 2023) was trying to cancel me after my lease for the house I spent the summer in ended. So I thought of everyone who was in the friend group from that house every time I heard this, knowing they would indeed remain loyal to me no matter what. On to the song itself, obviously, this is better than Lil Durk and Morgan Wallen's December 2021 collab Broadway Girls. Morgan Wallen delivers one of the best vocal performances I've ever heard from him and I really like Lil Durk's delivery, and the production from Dr Luke ties everything together. So this is just an amazing song, and I'm glad I was able to listen to it when I needed to listen to it the most.

And that concludes my top 30 songs of 2023 list, I will see you guys for my countdown post out this Saturday.