With the year 2023 coming to a close, so does a new addition to the human catalog of music we have created over millennium. With the ever-evolving list of sounds we can create, and sounds Taylor Swift can re-release to her fans, we must obviously crown one of them as top of their industry. Our yearn for competition never ceases to amaze. However, with the Grammys’ disconnect between industry judging panels and fans (some say rigged but we here at Music Scene Media would never suggest such an outrageous idea) we present instead, our version…the GRAMSMYS! This year, we want to put up our own nominations, judged not on commercial success, but instead on quality and personal bias.
This year saw plenty of really great music, from industry legacies like Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, alongside returns of record-breaking talent with GUTS from Olivia Rodrigo, and introductions to new household names like Ice Spice with Like..? With such a great year for music how do we begin to crown the “best” of 2023? I have no idea; we just asked our team here at the gramsmys what their favorites were and hope that it can give us an indicative answer as to what the general public might think. I mean, we have a good number of members and they’re always excited about covering tours of bands I’ve never heard of, but then again, my favorite band is named King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (two great albums released this year btw), so I think we have our genres covered. If you think we got it wrong, let us know by shouting it at your computer screen loud enough for us to hear…or by telling us your favorite album this year on our socials!
Wind Walkers - What If I Break?
submitted by Melanie Mae Bryan, Editor-in-Chief
Fridayy - Fridayy
submitted by Fourrell Dagogo, Photographer
Melanie Martinez - Portals
submitted by Andrew MacLean, Photographer
Waterparks - Intellectual Property
submitted by Taylor Dakota, Assistant Editor
nothing,nowhere. - VOID ETERNAL
submitted by Andrew Kjelson, Journalist
Lauren Spencer Smith - Mirrors
submitted by Sofia Robertson, Photographer
Noah Kahan - Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)
submitted by Grace Earley, Photographer
Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness - Tilt at the Wind No More
submitted by Chantel Malin, Copy Editor
Greta Van Fleet - Starcatcher
submitted by Haley Wittmer, Journalist
Kelsea Ballerini - Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
submitted by Kiera Gower, Journalist
Silent Planet - Superbloom
submitted by Mike Kessel, Photographer
You Me At Six - Truth Decay
submitted by Kyle Watt, Photographer
Silent Planet - Superbloom
submitted by Heather Mier, Photographer
Hot Mulligan - Why Would I Watch
submitted by Rayna DiMuro, Photographer
Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions
submitted by Daniel Turner, Editorial Assistant
The Haunt - Dead On Arrival
submitted by Connor Hannan, Photographer
blink-182 - One More Time...
submitted by Matt Benton, Assistant Editor
Hozier - Unreal Unearth
submitted by Mads Pae, Journalist
Catcher and The Rye - Deathcult Tapes
submitted by Jackson Tujo, Copy Editor
The Zenith Passage - Datalysium
by Christy Peterson, Photographer
Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
by Dylan Wallace, Photographer
Whatever your favorite album this year may be, I know it is a good one. I think what humans have called music we should hold closer to us as a gift. Yes, to some it’s just noise depending on whose listening, but music is sacred and special. What else can make you immediately understand how hard a stranger’s day has been other than seeing them pause Mitski on their screen to relay you their order? What else can be the reason a Led Zeppelin loving Dad realizes he has more in common with his Greta Van Fleet fanatic daughter than he may realize? What else can make you willingly link arms with a sweaty drunken man you’ve never seen before if not the chorus of "Sweet Caroline" at a bar? I know a lot of this list may not pertain to each reader specifically, but give it a shot, it encompasses a section of someone’s life, and that might just be more important than what any song can sound like. Give it a try, and you might find out you’re actually a fan, and if not, your music will always be waiting to comfort you when you’re done.
Thank you for reading our crazy stories all year, we hope to have you for the next as well.
#TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork:
INTRO (AND OUTRO) BY DYLAN WALLACE (you know, the eloquent text)
HEADER GRAPHIC BY TAYLOR DAKOTA (the sick image at the top)
LIST COMPILED BY MELANIE MAE BRYAN (let's be honest, the real MVP here)
