Top 100 Albums of 2023

In a celebration of diverse rhythms, melodies, and beats, we present to you KGNU’s Top 100 most played albums from 2023.

Our DJs pride themselves on delivering a eclectic mixes that transcend genres, and our annual album roundup is a testament to the vibrant tapestry of sounds that you hear every single day on our airwaves.

Here’s what rose to the top of our DJs playlists in 2023:

	Artist	Album	Label
100	Noname	Sundial	Self
99	Bruce Cockburn	O Sun O Moon	True North
98	Scott McMicken And THE EVER-EXPANDING	Shabang	Anti
97	Allison Russell	The Returner	Birds of Chicago
96	Eliza Gilkyson	Home	Realiza Records
95	Water From Your Eyes	Everyone’s Crushed	Matador Records
94	Bokani Dyer	Radio Sechaba	Brownswood Recordings
93	The Allergies	Tear the Place Up	Jalapeno Records
92	Parker Millsap	Wilderness Within You	Okra Homa Records
91	Fenne Lily	Big Picture	Dead Oceans
90	Bobby Rush	All My Love For You	Deep Rush
89	Feist	Multitudes	Interscope
88	Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit	Weathervanes	Southeastern Records
87	DJ Black Low	Impumelelo	Awesome Tapes From Africa
86	Jungle	Volcano	Thanks For Your Patience
85	Faizal Mostrixx	Mutations	Glitterbeat Records
84	Yaeji	With A Hammer	XL Recordings
83	RUMTUM	Arcadian Daze	Bastard Jazz Recordings
82	Jim Hurst	From the Ground Up	Pinecastle
81	Tall Poppy String Band	Tall Poppy String Band	Self Produced
80	João Selva	Passarinho	Underdog Records
79	Otis Taylor	Otis Taylor’s Banjo	Octave Records
78	Benny Sings	Young Hearts	Stones Throw Records
77	Rodrigo Y Gabriela	In Between Thoughts…A New World	ATO Records
76	Zuco 103	Telenova	Zuco Sound
75	Dan Tyminski	God Fearing Heathen	8 Track Entertainment
74	Nickodemus & Pat Kalla	Soul & Science	Wonderwheel Recordings
73	Tony Allen & Adrian Younge	Tony Allen JID018	Jazz Is Dead
72	Natalie Padilla, Casey Campbell & Tyler Andal	Hell Broke Loose	Natalie Padilla
71	Onipa & David Walters	Off The Grid	Real World
70	Black Pumas	Chronicles of a Diamond	ATO Records
69	Wax Tailor	Fishing for Accidents	Lab’Oratoire
68	A Certain Ratio	1982	Mute
67	Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily	Love In Exile	Verve Records
66	Salami Rose Joe Louis & Brijean	Akousmatikous	Salami Rose Joe Louis
65	Kiltro	Underbelly	Self Released
64	Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen	Hold On	Compass Records
63	Eddie 9V	Capricorn	Ruf Records
62	J Rocc	Beatitudes	Stones Throw Records
61	The War And Treaty	Lover’s Game	UMG Recordings
60	Son Rompe Pera	Chimborazo	AYA Records
59	Devon Gilfillian	Love You Anyway	Fantasy
58	The Sweet Lillies	Equality	The Sweet Lillies
57	Various Artists	Middle Eastern Grooves (Selected By DJ Kobayashi)	Batov Records
56	The Kody Norris Show	Rhinestone Revival	Rebel Records
55	Various Artists	Coco María Presents Club Coco ¡Ahora! The Latin Sound Of Now	Bongo Joe
54	Eje Eje	Five Seasons	Batov Records
53	Jamila Woods	Water Made Us	Jagjaguwar
52	Adi Oasis	Lotus Glow	Unity Records
51	Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer	As We Speak (feat. Rakesh Chaurasia)	Bela Fleck Productions
50	El Michels Affair & Black Thought	Glorious Game	Big Crown
49	The Cody Sisters	The Cody Sisters – EP	Caravan Sun
48	Acid Arab & Sofiane Saidi	٣ (Trois)	Crammed
47	Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley	Living In a Song	Compass Records
46	Hippo Sound System	Origins	Hippo Sound System
45	Captain Planet & Jimena Angel	Sounds Like Home	Bastard Jazz Recordings
44	Janelle Monáe	The Age Of Pleasure	Wondaland Productions
43	Charif Megarbane	Habibi Funk 023: Marzipan	Habibi Funk
42	Bombino	Sahel	Partisan Records
41	The Infamous Stringdusters	A Tribute to Flatt & Scruggs – EP	Americana Vibes
40	Cowboy Dave	Venture South	Self Produced
39	Yo La Tengo	This Stupid World	Matador Records
38	The Budos Band	Frontier’s Edge – EP	Diamond West Records
37	Altin Gün	Aşk	ATO Records
36	Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood	Jarak Qaribak	Dudu Tassa
35	Jon Batiste	World Music Radio	Verve Records
34	Boygenius	The Record	Interscope
33	Peter One	Come Back To Me	Verve Forecast
32	Dale Ann Bradley	Kentucky for Me	Pinecastle
31	Novalima & La Dame Blanche	La Danza (Pt. 1) – EP	Six Degrees Records
30	Durand Jones	Wait Til I Get Over	Dead Oceans
29	Y La Bamba	Lucha	Tender Loving Empire
28	Andy Hall	Squareneck Soul	Americana Vibes
27	Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real	Sticks And Stones	Thirty Tigers
26	Ireke	Tropikadelic	Ireke
25	Hot Mustard	Seconds	Color Red Records
24	African Head Charge	A Trip To Bolgatanga	On-U Sound
23	Nickel Creek	Celebrants	Repair Records
22	Son Volt	Day Of The Doug	Transmit Sound
21	Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton	Death Wish Blues	Rounder Records
20	Surprise Chef	Friendship EP	Big Crown Records
19	Baaba Maal	Being	Marathon Artists
18	Jalen Ngonda	Come Around And Love Me	Daptone
17	Various Artists	Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium	Craft Recordings
16	Willie Nelson	I Don’t Know A Thing About Love (The Songs of Harlan Howard)	Legacy
15	Tinariwen	Amatssou	Wedge
14	Rodney Crowell & Jeff Tweedy	The Chicago Sessions	New West Records
13	Sunny War	Anarchist Gospel	New West Records
12	Lucinda Williams	Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart	Highway 20 Records
11	Meshell Ndegeocello	The Omnichord Real Book	Blue Note
10	Michael Cleveland	Lovin’ Of The Game	Compass Records
9	Mighty Poplar	Mighty Poplar (feat. Andrew Marlin, Noam Pikelny, Chris Eldridge, Alex Hargreaves & Greg Garrison)	Mighty Poplar/Free Dirt Records
8	Dom Flemons	Traveling Wildfire	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
7	Yussef Dayes	Black Classical Music	Brownswood
6	Taj Mahal	Savoy	Stony Plain
5	Witch	Zango	Desert Daze Sound
4	Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway	City Of Gold	Nonesuch Records
3	Various Artists	The Black Gospel Ladies 1947-1970	Narro Way
2	Robbie Fulks	Bluegrass Vacation	Compass Records
1	Iris Dement	Workin’ On A World	Flariella Records

Mark your calendars for the Morning Sound Alternative on Wednesday, December 27th as KGNU’s Music Director Indra Raj walks through every single album from this list. An end-of-year countdown to remember!