End-of-year vinyl review – the best records of 2023

What are the best records of 2023? It’s a tricky question, and yet, all music enthusiasts probably ask themselves this question at the end of each year. Of course, we do, too. And even though we limited our judgement to vinyl releases only, it’s still quite a mess. After all, there are 2.000 releases every month, which is why we needed some help to make this decision. So we have asked artists, partners, readers, experienced journalists and also our employees: »Which were the best vinyl records in 2021?« The results were cast into the following charts.

What was on your turntable?

Year after year, we ask producers, DJs, MCs, label operators and collectors about their records of the year released on vinyl.The result is the Artists & Partner Charts.This year, around 150 people told us their favourite music.Among them were hip hop artists as well as musicians from the electronic music guild.In 2023, the operators of the hottest record labels such as Mr Bongo, Finders Keepers, Strut, Soundway, Delsin, Gondwana and We Jazz are also back.

Professional Top Lists

As every year, our contributors at HHV Magazine have a very trained eye on the releases. Sorting out and classifying music is their daily task. When the writers and editors select their 50 albums and 50 reissues, their 20 12-inches and 20 compilations, 20 tapes and 10 music books of the year, it is not only those releases that everyone can agree on that are found here. No, you can always discover something in these top lists. Music that you might not have thought of before.

Spin Around Like A Record, Baby

But you haven’t seen it all, yet. You can also explore the music that our staff listens to: the Staff Picks 2023 give you a good idea about the diversity of our tastes. In addition, Most Sold Records 2023 shows you the best-selling records through our HHV web-shop. The User’s Rating Charts 2023’ offer a summary of what our HHV mag-readers liked best. And if you sign up for the HHV Online Mag, you can even still influence the final results. Either way – we wish you lots of fun browsing and exploring!