The 2023 On Repeat Readers Choice Results
Good morning!
Today, we’re looking at the results of the 2023 On Repeat Reader’s Poll.
You've already seen a bazillion other people’s picks for favorite LPs, EPs, and songs (including mine here, here, and here).
Now, it’s time to have your voices heard.
I asked for your favorite records, remastered/remixed/live records, songs, and an artist/band we should all have on our radar, and you came through with a couple of hundred different records, a ton of EPs, and plenty of great songs.
Perhaps tellingly, only one song was voted nominated more than once. The Reds Pinks and Purples had more than one EP nominated. GBV did not show up at all.
A word about scoring: I want to thank the fantastic Rosy Overdrive blog for inspiring this poll and helping me set it up. When ranking LPs, they used a bit more of a robust system. For us, I went with 5 points for 1st place, 4 for second, etc. For EPs, it was 3 for first place, 2 for 2nd, etc.
With only one song nominated more than once, there was no need to rank the list. If anything, it reinforces what we’ve all been saying for the last several weeks: that 2023 was an incredible year for music, with something for everyone & every taste.
Let’s get right into it:
Your On Repeat Album of the Year:
Wilco Cousin
Read my thoughts on the record here.
Tie: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Petro Dragonic Apocalypse & Peter Gabriel i/o
Jason Isbell- Weathervanes
boygenius- The Record
The Tubs- Dead Meat
Your Favorite EP of the Year:
Dazy- OTHERBODY
boygenius- The Rest
Tie: The Reds, Pinks, and Purples-We Can’t All Be Heroes and Unloveable Losers
I didn't vote, but readers may recall my vote for Inner Richmond as a top EP of 2023. Glenn Donaldson had a helluva year.
Dancer- As Well
Dancer features Current Affairs members and put out a fantastic self-titled EP.
Your Favorite Song:
Yo La Tengo ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown’
Read my thoughts on This Stupid World here.
As noted earlier, only one song received more than one vote: that track came from our good friends in Hoboken, New Jersey. Your favorite of the year was Yo La Tengo’s ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown.’
Is there a playlist? Of course, there is! This is On Repeat, after all. This has almost everything on it.
Your Top Remastered/Remixed/Live Record:
The Replacements- Tim (Let it Bleed Edition)
Read my thoughts on the record here.
This category saw fewer total votes than the others, but there were still plenty of fantastic nominations. If I’m honest, I was a little surprised no one threw in a vote for Stop Making Sense. Same story with New Order’s Substance. That I found it to be wonderful will surprise absolutely no one.
Knowing this crowd, the runaway favorite was no surprise, but the runner-up totally was. In fact, until the responses started rolling in, I’m not even sure I knew this had been released.
Your runner-up pick: Bob Dylan’s Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions
Other records receiving votes included Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories (Drumless), Joni Mitchell’s Live at Newport, and MJ Lenderman’s And the Wind (Live and Loose!). The Purple One’s Diamonds and Pearls also received a couple of votes.
Artists/Bands You Want Us To Have On Our Radar:
The Clockworks
Cordovas
Cumbia Con Loop
Mikaela Davis
Dead Letter
Bob Dylan
Feeling Figures
Geese
Jon Dee Graham
The Murlocs
Or Best Offer
Partial Traces
The Photocopies
Pillow Queens
Poppy Patica
Porridge Radio
Chessa Rich
The Tubs
We Are Scientists
Also, Someone was curious about Huey Lewis's upcoming Broadway musical and wanted us all to know that “Alanis Morissette and Frankie Valli showed that jukebox musicals can be awesome sauce!”
Thank you to everyone who participated! Watching the responses roll in was a blast. I also want to take a second to thank all of you who took the opportunity to provide feedback. I appreciate your responses and will be incorporating many of your suggestions.
Do you have any thoughts, hot takes, rants, or raves? Sound off below!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
I laughed after seeing Bob Dylan on the list of artists to have on the radar in the middle of mostly new or less known artists. Just shows how timeless his music is!
I can't remember what I picked for remastered/live album, but was Stop Making Sense remastered on album as well as the film? I was unaware of that. I thought it was just the movie but it 'makes sense' that it would be available on audio formats too.
Thanks for sharing the poll results!
Awesome playlist, thanks for gathering the input. In hind sight, I should have stuffed the ballot with Miter songs...next year. hahaha.