Top 10 Worst Albums of 2023

Some albums drop and you wonder if the artist was being held at metaphorical gunpoint by their label or just ran out of ideas halfway through recording. You listen out of curiosity, only to realize three tracks in that you're spiraling into musical purgatory. This is the list for those albums. The ones that made you reach for the skip button like it owed you money.

Maybe it was the cringeworthy lyrics. Maybe it was the production that sounded like it was mixed inside a blender. Or maybe it was an artist chasing trends so hard they tripped over their own identity. Whatever the reason, these are the albums that had you asking, "Was this really necessary?"

Here's your chance to speak your truth. Vote for the releases that tested your patience, made your ears regret existing, or simply had no business being released in 2023.

The Top Ten

The Plugs House - Joey Trap
The Flood - Joey Trap
Call Da Fireman - DaBaby

This whole 3-track long EP shows how much DaBaby has really fallen off. It suffers from the same flaws that DaBaby's newer music projects suffer from: repetitive flows and lyrics that don't amount to anything and come off as very unmemorable. The beats sound very bad, with awful bass mixing issues. A guest feature, like Offset on SELLIN' CRACK, clearly outshines DaBaby on the same track. I'm just so sick of it all. Even if I separate the controversial actions from the artist, this is still awful!
DaBaby, either fade off into irrelevancy or step up your game into being a better rapper and person!

This album is so bad it did not slay, but even so, it reincarnated.
To Whoever Wants to Hear - Dream

Yep, this is garbage, just like the Dream YouTube channel.
It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day - Thirty Seconds to Mars

I was really not looking forward to this album since the sorely disappointing lead single "Stuck" came out. But I was not prepared for the steaming pile of garbage the rest of this album is. Really, nothing works here. Not only is the production overblown and particularly outdated, but the lyrics are incredibly vapid as well.
Most of all, why does Jared Leto sound so out of it? He sounds like he had a really bad cold while recording the album. To add insult to injury, the vocal processing makes his vocals sound AI-generated.
Also, all the songs sound like rip-offs of other artists, namely Imagine Dragons (no surprise considering Dan Reynolds co-wrote "Life Is Beautiful"), The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Skillet, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, and Lukas Graham. But the worst part is that the songs actually sound worse than the aforementioned artists, which is simply inexcusable.
Overall, this album embodies all the worst aspects of millennial pop and even manages to sound worse than Tones and I's "Welcome to the Madhouse," which is saying a lot. Definitely the worst album of the year so far.
P.S.: I can't wait to see Anthony Fantano roast this album.
Leyenda Viva - 6ix9ine

Who told 6ix9ine to release a Latin album? Not only are his vocals awful, but most of the beats are also half-baked. The title is also a misnomer because 6ix9ine is not a living legend and never will be. All he needs to do is go back to jail.

Why is he allowed to do music anymore?

Ranked #8 worst album of the year by Anthony Fantano, which is too low.
Mansion Musik - Trippie Redd

The features on this album are terrible. Lil Baby isn't even trying in Fully Loaded. Lucki sounds very bored, Summrs sounds like he is crying, and Rob49 just overdoses on autotune. Trippie Redd also steals beats and flows from other rappers on this album as well.

This Trippie album is way too long, bloated, has too much autotune, and Trippie's flow is off-beat at times.
Let's Do It - DaBaby
Resistance & the Blessing - World's End Girlfriend

This album is not only way too long (2 and a half hours), it's also straight-up unlistenable. I know it's experimental music, but it doesn't have to sound this glitchy, this rough, this distorted. It's like this album does everything to ruin a potentially nice melody. Sorry for those who liked it, but I will take Fantano's side and give it a 1/10. I can't believe this album is somehow worse than Trippie Redd, 30STM, and even 6ix9ine.

Ranked #9 worst album of the year by Anthony Fantano. It was definitely unlistenable.
Maybe It's Me... - DDG

This album needs to be high on this list. DDG sounds bored and takes woman degradation to a whole new level.

The Newcomers

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Lover (Live from Paris) - Taylor Swift
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1989 (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

The Contenders

Lil Pump 2 - Lil Pump

As someone who has listened to Lil Pump's entire discography, it's not his absolute worst project, at least to me. Lil Pump 1.5 and Harvard Dropout are still easily his worst. However, this album was still bad, with hit-or-miss beats and a few bad lines from Pump. The songs Swipe and Pump Rock X Heavy Metal are easily up there with the worst non-hit songs of 2023 that I've heard. The singles leading up to the upcoming deluxe re-release, like I Sell and 6 Rings, aren't much better either.

Ranked #7 worst album of the year by Anthony Fantano. I didn't think it was that bad, just average, but yeah, "Pump Rock X Heavy Metal" is definitely one of the worst songs of the year.
S*x M*ney Dr*gs - Lucki

Lucki is so low-energy in every song.
The Brave II - Tom MacDonald & Adam Calhoun

Ranked as the second-worst album of the year by Anthony Fantano, just behind Life Is But a Dream by Avenged Sevenfold. What can you expect from Tommy the MacDonald Clown and Adam Calhoun, really?
However, I think it's truly a disgrace that A7X is ranked number one. Sure, it was a weird album, but it's definitely not bad. I wish 30 Seconds to Mars' It's the End of the World But It's a Beautiful Day had taken the top spot instead, because it's 100,000 times worse.
Queen of Me - Shania Twain
On the Prowl - Steel Panther
Palace of Feet - Submarine Man

This is the worst album ever. It's infinitely times worse than any Tom MacDonald album.
Coco Moon - Owl City
Kidz Bop 2023 Vol. 2 - Kidz Bop

Who even likes Kidz Bop? Their music is worse than that of Tom MacDonald.

Why are you catering to Karen's kids?
Rush! - Maneskin
Jackman. - Jack Harlow
4 (The Pink Album) - Lukas Graham
The Mockingbird & the Crow - Hardy

Ranked #3 worst album of the year by Anthony Fantano. I think this album is too harshly hated, to be honest.
Austin - Post Malone

The album flopped so hard, he switched to making country music the following year.
Yuno Certified Trash - Yuno Miles

At least the album title is accurate. It is indeed trash.
Go on Tour Yuno - Yuno Miles

No, Yuno, don't go on tour. Stay in the dumpster with all your trash music.