31 is an arbitrary number. Even the year “2023” is arbitrary, as we consider any album released from 1 Jan 2022 through 31 Oct 2023 eligible. And what constitutes an album? We don’t really know even though we sorta tried to write it down. There’s no real magic directly tied to any of it, really.

The discipline all this arbitrariness drives, however, can be magic. It gives a framework to help us think critically about what we’ve been listening to. These playlists become little sonic time capsules, evoking the delightful experiences of any given year. The 31s bond us to our friends and family, with whom we share the list every Christmas. Even the little USB drives we use to share music elicit delight.

Most years have more than 31 great singles, and the discipline that forges best-of playlists leaves many fine songs unheard. To remedy this, we started sharing our nearly-there lists in 2022. The songs on the Almost lists are often great but didn’t quite make the cut. Sometimes, the source album needed more strength as a whole. Other times, the artist might have a tremendous back catalog that the new release doesn’t live up to. Or, sometimes, one of us thought the album was 31-caliber while the other didn’t. For whatever reason, here’s our “b-sides” playlist for 2023.

FAVORITES THAT MISSED THE TRAIN

We had several previous 31 finalists that didn’t hit quite the right note in 2023. Absent for many years, Phoenix delivered an album we tried mightily to love, but it just didn’t click. Same for We Are Scientists and Monowhales. The new Little Simz has all the vigor of earlier release but, alas, was essentially a sequel to earlier works.

Alison Goldfrapp and Ladytron surprised us with albums we liked but didn’t love. Over time, these may grow on us, and we’ll regret not including them on the 2023 31 list. Regardless, they merit special attention here for no other reason than they’re spectacular musicians.

Surprisingly, Death Cab For Cutie didn’t make this year’s 31 cut – even though they have done so nine times previously. While the album may not stretch DCFC boundaries, it is still a solid offering, and the title track (Asphalt Meadows) is superb.

Grace Potter’s honky-tonk album, Mother Road, is undoubtedly a rollicking listen. If we had been picking 32 songs instead of 31, Ready Set Go would have been there. So here’s a big almost-gold medal for Potter.

Angelique Kidjo provided vocals for Philip Glass’ arrangement of Bowie’s Boys Keep Swinging. Had she not already placed in this year’s 2023, very likely, this album would have been on the shortlist instead. But we don’t double-dip here.

NEWCOMERS THAT MIGHT MAKE IT NEXT TIME

Many new artists who didn’t make our shortlist showed up this year. The Steens, despite some unevenness, crank out some crunchy punk-inspired songsmithing. Broods, reminiscent of Ting Tings or Metric, busts it out with Piece Of My Mind.

Varsovia, whom we discovered via the outrageously excellent Los Espookys, almost brought some Spanish to the 31. We recommend spelunking YouTube for playlists from the short-lived HBO series; there’s a lot of great Latin punk to be heard.

Don Flemons and Jake Blount offer unique country blends that get points for originality and depth. We will keep our ears open for future releases from these two.

LEGENDS DON’T GET FREE RIDES

Pixies was a tough call. Their new album, Doggerel, would have blown us away had it been a debut album from a new band. Alas, it suffers when compared to earlier iconic releases like Surfer Rosa. Still, as a Pixies fan, I absolutely loved Doggerel, and it should be enjoyed as a vital part of their catalog.

Suzi Quattro served up an EP of covers that, while fun to listen to, sounded like a joyous tribute album. Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) did pretty much the same thing with Consequences Coming. Macklemore’s latest also seemed a bit tired, but even a tired Macklemore is an enjoyable Macklemore (haters aside).

Finally, we’ve got Dolly wrapping things up with her first rock album, Rockstar. Dolly teams up with the biggest names in rock, like Sir Paul McCartney, in what must be a double-album of covers interpreted through Dolly’s lens. The album is a lot to take in but it has so many gems. Plus, it’s Dolly.

2023 Playlist: Almost 31s

Track by track, with artist + album