Music critic Joey Guerra’s 10 best albums of 2023

I never understood top 10 lists by genre.

Best Latin Album or Best R&B Album or Best Pop Album. No one listens to music like this, right? Your playlist is a melting pot, a jarring mix of styles and artists that often have nothing to do with each other. One minute, it’s Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” Next up are recordings of Drake and boygenius, Carin León and the cast of “Hamilton.”

So, these are the albums that impacted me the most this year. I play with them on my walks. Cleaned the house. Can’t sleep. Want to escape for a while. They are everywhere. I like this.

Rodrigo’s second album is an affirmation of her star and lasting power. Like “SOUR,” it weaves personal experience into riot girl anthems and devastating ballads. As a songwriter, she is both mature and youthful. The album’s three singles – “Vampire,” “Bad Idea Right?” and “Bring Him Back” – were enough to rank among the best songs of the year. But Rodrigo made sure to fill the rest of the set with equally compelling songs from women she’d rocked before.

‘Padam Padam’ is the undisputed song of the year. But don’t call it a comeback. “Tension” is the latest in a long line of excellent Minogue albums (“Golden,” “Disco”) that have been ignored by mainstream American audiences. “Tension” is an elegant and passionate pop song, highlighted by “Hold On To Now” and the gorgeous “Things We Do for Love.” The rest of the world got it and continued to embrace Minogue like the superstar she always was.

Ware is in full dance diva form on her fifth album, a silky fusion of disco and funk. Listening to this song feels like being on a sweaty dance floor at 12:30 on a Saturday night. The elegant swing of “Pearls” conveys the style of Donna Summer. “Beautiful People” has the frothy bounce of a Spice Girls song. It’s no surprise that Stewart Price was involved in the production. He has previously taken Madonna and Kylie Minogue twirling under a disco ball.

“Jaguar II” is the best R&B album of the year and a wonderful showcase of Monáe’s silky voice. She was previously recognized for her long-running songwriting collaboration with Ariana Grande (“Thank U, Next,” “7 Rings”). Jaguar II certainly thrust Monáe into the spotlight and earned her seven Grammy nominations. “Smoke” is a great duet with Lucky Daye. “Bye Bye” rides a retro wave, with harmonies reminiscent of Hall and Oates. Elsewhere, she subtly switches gender roles on “Cadillac (Pimp Anthem)” and “On My Mama” with a sample of Chalie Boy’s “I Look Good.”

“Something to Give Each Other” is Sivan’s voice as an artist and as a gay man. It’s a confident, sexy album that immediately attracted widespread attention thanks to two standout singles. The house thump of “Rush” is about the excitement of dancing with a sweaty stranger. In the video for One of Your Girls, Sivan dresses like a woman and strikes seductive poses. But it’s not just a single album. Each song has its own magic, including “What’s the Time Where You Are?” and “How to Stay By Your Side.”

Clarkson has covered more than 500 songs on her popular talk show “Kellyoke,” covering every genre and artist imaginable, proving that she may be the most dexterous singer alive. The Texan uses these techniques to perfection on her divorce album Chemistry. Yes, it is torture and devastating. But heartbreak has rarely sounded so glorious, from the breakdown drama of “Mine” to the hopeful punch of “Favorite High Note” to Steve Martin’s playful banjo-driven “I Hate It” like”. Now this is something to talk about.

“Esquinas” kicks off with “2ndo Chance,” a dreamy breakup ballad and one of the best singles of the year. The rest of the album, which explores Becky G’s Mexican-American roots, is equally compelling. She spent several years honing her voice, eventually achieving it by reverse-crossing (some would say, from English to Spanish). Collaborations with Peso Pluma, Yahritza y su Esencia and Angela Aguilar gave “Esquinas” a huge boost. But it is clear who is in charge of this Pachanga.

Chapelhart should be a household name by now. Sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle make up the family trio that made it to the “America’s Got Talent” finals, and returns in the new “AGT: Fantasy League” series. They also make great country music. “Glory Days” follows the equally brilliant “Girls Are Back in Town” (2021) and “Out of the Mud” (2019). The music is as bright and lively as the ladies’ personalities. They even had the blessing of the legendary Loretta Lynn, who asked Chapel Hart to turn “Fist City” into her own song before her death in 2022 (“Welcome Come to Fist City”).

Twenty years later, Rafter released the most adventurous album of her career, Autopoiética. The album’s title comes from “autopoiesis,” the ability of a system to replicate and sustain itself. Laferte does this across the album’s 14 tracks. She has experimented with a variety of styles, including cumbia, reggaeton, salsa and house. Her commitment to every moment holds it together. Each song could be a springboard for a full album.

Mexican regional music is bigger than ever in 2023, and Eslabon Armado is an integral part of it. The band’s “Ella Baila Sola”, a collaboration with Peso Pluma, became the first song in the genre to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Eslabon Armado also has the first two regional Mexican albums in history (“Desvelado” and 2022’s “Nostalgia”) to debut in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. Desvelado is one of the standouts of a year that has produced several excellent albums, full of thoughtful sierreños and cumbias that will transport you into your sad boyhood.