best of MLD's Best of 2023 (Songs 40-31) + Best of my 20s (170-161)

[ARTPØP]

Last Time I Saw You  HOUDINI Now That We Don't Talk

 

Lovin' all these throwbacks, too! 

 

Fancy  Youngblood Drivers License Ex's & Oh's  Love Me Like You Do 

 

Glad to hear you had a better year, this year! 

 

[Alldeezy]

Fancy + Super Freaky Girl + Youngbloods + High Hopes + Ex's & Oh's + I Took A Pill + Love Me Like You Do 

[poki]

I like that this is mostly older tracks 

90% of my Best Of is 1997-2003. Not even bias 'cause I'm discovering more tracks from then and it's really a vibe so excited to see what 2010s tracks are here 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Hey Dude

[MusicLoverDude]

4 hours ago, Hey Dude said:

I like that this is mostly older tracks 

90% of my Best Of is 1997-2003. Not even bias 'cause I'm discovering more tracks from then and it's really a vibe so excited to see what 2010s tracks are here 

Well keep in mind I have songs from the 2020s too. I mean, a portion of my 20s was during this decade so there's going to be songs from the 2020s too, let alone more of the 2010s. 

 

Anyways, going to be updating both lists now.

[MusicLoverDude]

MLD's Best of 2023

90 - 81

 

90. Tiesto & Tate McRae - 10:35

 

 

I mean, for some reason, most ATRL gays now want to put this dollar store kid on a pedestal just because she bait and switched them with some choreo and sexy videos/imagery. I'm not buying that ****, especially since she has ZERO personality to save herself with. This is evident with the Ryan Tedder lyrics coming out VERY obviously with Tate's delivery on this song. That being said, it's a bop when I'm in the mood and unlike Greedy, this song is actually listenable. 

 

89. Ava Max - Ghost

 

 

Is this song basic? Yes. Is this song a bop? Also yes. Ava delivered a fun album and this wasn't too bad of a listen.

 

88. Kenya Grace - Strangers

 

 

Another recent hit that is still growing on me. This is great to listen to at night. Her voice takes a little to get used to but this song fills a mood honestly. 

 

87. Miley Cyrus - Flowers

 

 

A long time Miley supporter, and she releases new music on my birthday this year. She had my attention. At first, I really enjoyed the song and the video. But as the song got bigger and as this song cannibalized all the success for the other singles from Endless Summer Vacation, I honestly got tired of it. I'm happy Miley got success with this but the entire era deserved to be more successful.

 

86. Olivia Rodrigo - vampire

 

 

Do I think this song is cool and interesting? Yes, to an extent. Do I think the theories that this was about Taylor ruined it a bit for me? Yes, also. If you're going to whine about the fact that you didn't give your idol credit for a song you interpolated (a song that isn't even that good), then don't get mad that the "famefucker" bled you dry. Honey, you only have yourself to blame. Anyways, this song got old quickly but maybe one day I can get into it again without the Taylor rumors. 

 

85. Ava Max - Weapons

 

 

This song seems to be overhated by Ava fans. Ryan Tedder is cheesy like usual but unlike Tate McRae, Ava can actually still show off her personality with that Gen X blond's cookie cutter lyrics. So, we end up with a decent track that deserved a little better. Just like the entire era deserved better.

 

84. Tyla - Water

 

 

Here is another track that I've been getting into that still needs some time to really ramp with me, although the Marshmello remix without a doubt goes off. Tyla gives off Rihanna vibes so it's cool to see a song like this doing well. 

 

83. Olivia Rodrigo - Logical

 

 

I'm allowing album tracks to be apart of the overall 100 best if they charted on the Hot 100, and therefore all of GUTS would be eligible. Several tracks will appear on this list and outside of Vampire, this is the second lowest ranking song. This song is fine enough, I think the 2+2=5 lyric is what kind of turns me off from listening to it more. But still, decent enough track.

 

82. Miley Cyrus f. Brandi Carlile - Thousand Miles

 

 

Here is one of my favorite tracks from ESV. It charted during the album release week so it's eligible for this list, and I think that it's a standout on the album. I like the instrumentation and I think Brandi adds nice background to Miley's vocals. The song is just very laid back despite it's lyrical content and I can listen to this at night and feel at peace. 

 

81. Aly & AJ - Sunchoke

 

 

This is probably the closest to an indie pop song on here. I've always loved Aly & AJ and while this song took me a few listens to get into, I do enjoy it. It was nice for summer evenings by myself and after summer, I pretty much put it in the vault. Still, it left enough of an impact on me to make the year-end list. 

 

[JGibson]

vampire + Flowers + Sunchoke 

[Born to Run]

Mourning sounds cute on his tour.

 

Love this idea of 10 year thing tho, i took a pill in Ibiza is still THAT song.

[Mr. Blue_Shirt]

Ghost, Flowers, vampire and Water are one of my favorites this year

 

 The way i can't get into that Kenya Grace song for some reason, maybe because it sounds a bit more like a waterdown DJ songs to me but it is very chill song though

[Ewan Chaos]

Ghost and Water  I am kinda in the boat of thinking Weapons is one of the weaker songs on the album nn but it's not the worst song on the album imo!

[GreatestLoveofAll]

The selection for this year was pretty good- didnt care for that Taylor song but Houdini is growing on me too, and Nicki's song is actually one of her best emotive songs i just wish the production was a bit better. 

 

and all those pop CLASSICS in your 20s recap list! Youngblood was everywhere when i was in hs, SFG is my jam and Exs and Ohs!!! havent heard that in ageesss. definitely perched for the rest of these lists!

[Remmy]

Songs #100-81~ Last Time I Saw You, Flowers  When I Get There is cute, but yeah the album even underwhelmed the hell out of me and I've been a lowkey P!nk apologist these past few years. Suburban Legends... skip. At least it's deservedly last place for Taylor. Double Paramore  Houdini is good, just not the serve I wanted. Die for You solo >>>>>. Now That We Don't Talk, a grower bop  vampire  The song that finally got me interested in Olivia. logical isn't bad, an easy GUTS bottom 3 track though. Sunchoke is fine. Thousand Miles was a one-play-only kind of song for me.  A*a jumpscares all over

Best of 20s #200-191~ I still like Fight Song, it's cheesy but cute  Super Freaky Girl is good, unfortunately one of the best from PF2. Youngblood, High Hopes, Ex's & Oh's  I Took a Pill has always been decent but never a song I've loved. Fancy  LMLYD is wayyy too low, one of my all time faves

[MusicLoverDude]

MLD's Best of my 20s

190 - 181

 

190. Blackbear - Hot Girl Bummer (2020)

 

 

Ngl, I wasn't expecting to place this Blackbear track so high on my list. I knew who he was prior to Hot Girl Bummer, but he's very much a bitchy one trick pony for the most part so I never really got into his songs prior. This song just had enough catchiness to it that it ended up working and well, 2020 was low-key his only decent year. I have zero interest in giving his music any attention beyond this song...and a certain other song we will be talking about later  

 

189. Dove Cameron - Boyfriend (2022)

 

 

I was genuinely shocked to see that Dove managed to score a hit last year after basically trying and failing so many times. But, I love a Disney girl embracing her sexuality and I was able to vibe with it too, and I still do when in the right mood.  

 

188. Ariana Grande f. Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (2016)

 

 

If I had to choose three artists that defined my 20s, Ariana Grande would be one of those three. We will be seeing plenty of her in the updates to come so we start off with Side To Side. I was honestly lukewarm on this when it came out. But it's grown on me a lot over the years. It's chill and calms me down when I need good vibes and Ariana can make pretty much anything sound good. Nicki also sounds pretty good here. Overall, deserving of a placement. 

 

187. Carly Rae Jepsen - Too Much (2019)

 

 

Carly Rae Jepsen is the second of the three artists that defined my 20s, and thus she is making her first appearance on this list as well. Like with Ariana, we will be seeing plenty of her on this retrospective list. This was the only track from the Dedicated era to make it as I had to cut Now That I Found You from the final 200. Both tracks are great but Too Much just fits the good chill but euphoric vibes better. 

 

186. Avril Lavigne f. Blackbear - Love It When You Hate Me (2022)

 

 

Even though she only released two albums during my 20s, Avril is still an OG fave of mine. Both eras have singles in this list and the Love Sux era in particular absolutely deserved a lot more success than it got. While this single with Blackbear is in the middle portion of the album, Avril's charisma carries the song and I still have fonder memories with this than I did with most 2022 songs. 

 

185. Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams (2015)

 

 

Joining Carly and Ariana in my artist trinity for my 20s, unsurprisingly, is Taylor Swift. And this is the first of many songs by her in this list. Wildest Dreams was a single that took awhile to grow on me. I wasn't immediately sold on it like most of the fandom. But over the years, it's grown on me enough to make this list proper. It's basically the song I think of when there is a guy I like that I can't have and my dreams are the only place for those thoughts. Anyways, this song got its flowers with me. And the video remains one of her best too.

 

184. Charlie Puth - Attention (2017)

 

 

I've always been a casual supporter of Charlie Puth. I'm definitely not on @Insanity's level of support, but music wise I know he has an ear for production. He struck gold with Attention and it's his best single, hands down.

 

183. Liam Payne f. Quavo - Strip That Down (2017)

 

 

So, if I'm being honest, there was a time in my life where I was a bit of a directioner. I had One Direction bracelets that I got from hot topic and I still think half of Midnight Memories is good. But as far as the solo work of the boys, this is the only song that made my cut for the final 200. Liam for a brief moment served sex and this song just had a swagger to it. It's a shame he and Zayn both faded into irrelevancy. 

 

182. Dua Lipa - Levitating (2021)

 

 

I liked Future Nostalgia, but I will say that I don't love it as much as other people on this site. The song is catchy and groovy, and by all accounts, Dua sounds like she is enjoying herself. Dua did what she had to do here so it's the only Future Nostalgia track to make this cut.

 

181. Billie Eilish - when the party's over (2018)

 

 

Billie has grown on me a lot over the past 5 years. I accepted her pretty quickly during her debut era and this is the first of a few tracks from her to make this list. This song is so minimalist but it also works perfectly for Billie's vocals. It's just pure and hauntingly beautiful. 

 

 

[JGibson]

Boyfriend + Love It When You Hate Me + when the party's over + Levitating + Wildest Dreams 

[Mr. Blue_Shirt]

Side to Side, Too Much and Levitating are classic written on it when i heard it for the first time

[khalyan]

There really wasn't a bad track on the Ava album, I agree it deserved better.

 

Not sure I agree at ranking Weapons over Ghost though!

[poki]

183. Liam Payne f. Quavo - Strip That Down (2017)

 

This track is honestly so badass.

[Legend E]

So nice to see Sunchoke here  

Vampire is the nicest song in the 2023 list

 

Blackbear??? CHarlie Puth?? Liam Payne's STD? girl what is going on  

 

Wildest Dreams and Levitating are masterpieces. I wish she added the drums from the video version in Wildest Dreams TV

[superben]

A tribute list to your 20s is such a splendid idea  

I don't really follow 2023 music beyond K-pop, so I'd follow your 20s list instead Interesting choices so far.

[perpetual novice]

Great list so far!

[K$Ellie]

Weapons is a miss but I'm happy to see Ghost on the list

love Water and vampire  wtpo and Levitating are classics whew

[GreatestLoveofAll]

see idk about that Liam song (everything about it is ugly to me now) but the rest are quite literally all classic. Wildest Dreams was my favorite Taylor song when i was younger, Levitating is a 2020s classic track, Side to Side is Ariana's greatest bop even if the production maybe hasnt aged the best sometimes. what a list, loved this update.

[gagacasanova]

Love Me Like You Do SOTY '15

High Hopes, Flowers SLAPS

drivers license, Wildest Dreams, vampire

Levitating 

[MusicLoverDude]

MLD's Best of 2023

80 - 71

 

80. Doja Cat - Attention

 

 

This one took me a bit to get into more. I don't think it was the right choice for a lead single but I respect her for trying to go in a more unique direction. It deserved more success than it got. 

 

79. Dami Im - Collide

 

 

For a brief moment, I was into watching X Factor Australia on Youtube. It's how I discovered Samantha Jade back in 2012 and how I ended up watching the following season in which Dami Im won. I've been a casual supporter of her since then, and yes, she slayed Eurovision in 2016 and deserved to win. She's an independent artist now and still releasing music, which makes me happy. This piano ballad came out this year, and while it's pretty simple, it's simple enough that I liked it. It's got that HAC feel to it, but given that I work in a grocery store, it's nice to listen to a HAC song no one would know about. Anyways, she still is an amazing singer. Glad we got more music from her. This will be her only appearance on this particular list but she might show up in my retrospective list

 

78. Rita Ora - You Only Love Me

 

 

Rita has been an interesting case with me over the years. Her songs are usually hit and miss. This one wasn't a miss thankfully, but I pretty much only listened to it when it came on in my shuffle on Spotify. I liked it enough to chart it this high but the fact that I forgot to include it on my computer says a lot about the song. Still, it's a cute bop.

 

77. Jack Harlow - Lovin' On Me

 

 

Jack knows how to make a catchy bop. First Class was a jam last year and this song is also growing on me. Never cross this man out. 

 

76. Taylor Swift - All of the Girls You Loved Before

 

 

This was a cute Lover leftover. It had its cute moment this year. That's pretty much it. Not the last appearance for a Lover track btw

 

75. Carly Rae Jepsen - Shy Boy

 

 

Carly doesn't usually place this low on my lists. But, when your lead single for your album side isn't as good as other tracks on it (Psychedelic Switch was right there) then yeah, it's going to rank a little lower. This song is cute, but definitely could've been more interesting. Still, Carly can't really do any wrong. 

 

74. Rema & Selena Gomez - Calm Down

 

 

I casually enjoy this. That's all. Selena did her thing.

 

73. Ice Spice - In Ha Mood

 

 

I think Ice Spice has a little bit of charisma. For a moment I was really into this track. And then Princess Diana brought it up even further. So yeah, she had some fire tracks this year.

 

72. Taylor Swift - ****! 

 

 

Coming in third among the 1989 vault tracks, we have the most anticipated one of the group. And well, it was a cute track, that was it. It's grown on me a bit so that's why this lands where it does. Still, enjoyable. 

 

71. Olivia Rodrigo - making the bed

 

 

This is personally one of my favorite tracks on GUTS. This feels like the "Anti-Hero" of the album in that she admits that she's the problem even though she has fair-weather friends that are also a problem anyway. I related to this song a tad. We still have several Olivia songs ahead of this so the party is just getting started with her. 

[JGibson]

All Of The Girls You Loved Before + Sl*t! (TV) (FTV) 

[Legend E]

Calm Down is HORRIBLE

 

Shy Boy, ****, and AOTGYLB are my faves here