The 20 Best Albums of 2023 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 6, 2023

Which albums impressed critics during the first half of the year? In the gallery on this page we rank the highest-scoring LPs released between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023. Albums are ranked by their Metascores as of July 3, 2023 and must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible. Resissues, EPs, live albums, and compilations are excluded.

14 of 21 photo by Rough Trade

89 False Lankum by Lankum

(#7) The progressive Irish folk band Lankum returned with March with a genuine follow-up to their award-winning 2019 set The Livelong Day. Somehow, that 89 score makes the intense and ambitious False Lankum the band's "worst" album to date (following two 90+ releases).

“If modern folk music needs its own OK Computer, its own The Dark Side Of The Moon, or indeed its own F#A#∞, this may well be it.” —Mojo

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