This isn’t a definitive list of the best music that came out in 2023 but just a selection of some of the best that seemed to stand out for Brian Tallman and myself (Tom Murphy). I already chimed in heavily on my Birdy column and will eventually publish my extended year end best albums list in the coming weeks. Tallman is someone I met when I would work out of coffee shops when I was still freelancing for Westword and getting Queen City Sounds and Art off the ground and he seemed very aware of newer music for someone close to my age and had seen plenty of shows going back to the 80s and worked at record store in NYC in the 90s and 2000s. We both went to college in Illinois around the same time, him at Northwestern in Chicago and me at Knox College in rural Galesburg and have a shared cultural background in underground and popular music. We began work on a podcast in 2022 that hasn’t yet seen the light of day discussing music scenes and albums and shows so I thought this year to ask him about a top list of albums and songs for 2023 and shows because he’s been living in other parts of the country and traveling to see shows across America and I’ve been only seeing shows in Colorado but as an active music journalist I’ve been able to see more than most people. Oh yeah, the Sex Swing record is a live album but its versions of previously released material is fantastic. Hopefully you find something of interest in our discussion and maybe discover artists you might not otherwise have known about or whose work you have heard of but have yet to explore. Listen to the discussion on Bandcamp and below I will include playlists for the albums, songs and music by artists at the shows covered.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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