PHILADELPHIA — Taylor Swift and Beyoncé were the headline makers in 2023, but neither released albums of new music this year, so sorry, you won’t find them on this best-of list.
Instead, the world belongs to SZA, the wide-ranging New Jersey R&B singer-songwriter who made an album about disconnection and isolation that dominated the pop charts early in the year.
Along with “SOS,” my top 10 includes one Philly rapper and one Philly rock band, one manic hyper-pop duo and one laid-back dance-pop duo. Plus, a selection of folk, Americana, and country, and singer-songwriters who have risen to pull in arena-size audiences when they played in Philly.
1. SZA, ‘SOS’
“SOS” came out at the end of 2022, but it made itself felt in 2023. Its 23 songs demonstrate mastery over multiple genres while working through recrimination, anger, and self-acceptance and reveling in revenge on “Kill Bill.” And though it took SZA a while to get to Philadelphia after a March show was postponed and Made in America canceled, her weirdly wonderful nautically themed “SOS” show in September underscored that she’s a one-of-a-kind artist.