The 100 Best Songs of 2023

While Apple Music’s experts debated long and enthusiastically over their picks for the very best tracks of 2023, one thing was always obvious: The year was lit up by outstanding female voices. As we welcomed back stellar names including Lana Del Rey, Olivia Rodrigo, Kylie Minogue and Jorja Smith, we also saluted the rise of emerging stars such as The Last Dinner Party, Olivia Dean and Tyla—each establishing a unique place in pop with daring and invention. In the year when we also celebrated 50 years of hip-hop, UK rap served up an all-timer of a track as Dave and Central Cee locked down the entire summer with “Sprinter”. And, as ever, the dance floor was fertile ground for creating incredible music, turning its mirrorball shine on fast-rising homegrown talent such as PinkPantheress and Jazzy. London duo Jungle may have provided one of our favourite cuts with the breezy acoustic disco of “Back on 74”, but 2023 was often about cranking the BPM right up. Hannah Laing’s hard house-inspired “Good Love” and cassö’s “Prada”—a high-octane rewiring of D-Block Europe and RAYE’s “Ferrari Horses”—raised hands and pulses, while Rudimental, Chase & Status and Sub Focus all helped supercharge the continuing resurgence of drum ’n’ bass.