It seems like most Decembers recently I write something like \u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t a great year for music\u2026\u201d as I prepare to share a bunch of songs I both liked and listened to a lot. <\/p>\n
Something was different this year, though. According to Last.fm, I listened to about 15% less music in 2023 compared to 2022, and my least music since 2015. I\u2019m not sure what caused that decline, whether it was changes in me\/my habits, a quirk in how I was listening, or something specific about this year\u2019s music.<\/p>\n
Despite whatever ailed me or music this year, I was still able to collect 23 pretty good songs as my favorites. Three different artists made a big enough impact that I included bonus songs for each.<\/p>\n
20 – \u201cWonder\u201d – En Attendant Ana
\nThis was perhaps the most difficult decision on the list, the dividing point between the chosen few and the excluded. At least four other songs were in strong contention to make the cut. This got the nod thanks to its lovely transition from the gentle, folky opening into a frenzied, Krautrock-influenced ripper.<\/p>\n