2023: The Year in Review - Best Albums and Live Performances

Best Albums of 2023:

1. Peter Gabriel, i/o

2. The Alarm, Forwards
3. Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds, Council Skies
4. Blur, The Ballad of Darren

5. Kip Moore, Damn Love

6. The New Division, Modern Life

7. Boygenius, The Record

8. The National, Laugh Track
9. Old Dominion, Memory Lane
10. Local Natives, Time Will Wait for No One

Honorable Mention:

11. Trevor Rabin, Rio

12. The Murder Capital, Gigi's Recovery

13. Crocodiles, Upside Down in Heaven

14. Niall Horan, The Show

15. Semisonic, Little Bit of Sun

Best Performances of 2023:

1. U2 - Sphere, Las Vegas, NV

2. Boygenius - Coachella Festival 2, Empire Polo, Indio, CA
3. Blossoms - Darker Waves Festival, Huntington Beach, CA
4. Gang of 4 - Cruel World Festival, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
5. Tears for Fears - Darker Waves Festival, Huntington Beach, CA
6. Mike Peters of The Alarm (acoustic) - Wiens Family Cellars, Temecula, CA
7. OMD - Darker Waves Festival, Huntington Beach, CA

8. Beck - Pacific Amphitheatre, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, CA

9. Muna - Coachella Festival 2, Empire Polo, Indio, CA
10. The Hooters - YouTube Theater, Los Angeles

U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere Night 2 photo by Rich Fury, courtesy Full Coverage Communications

Beck photo by Miguel Vasconcellos, courtesy OC Fair