This is my annual list of records that brought me the most joy during a respective calendar year. 2023 brought the world some really spectacular music. Here is a list of my favorites (18 in total).

Music is a very significant part of my life. I was a full-time musician for a number of years, with a lot of records and shows under my belt. But more immediately relevant, I’m a music fan. I listen to music all day, every day.

Following is a story about my six-year journey as a drummer in a death metal band you’ve probably never heard of whose collection of recordings is being republished by a record company you also probably haven’t heard of—26 years after we called it quits.

In high school I was often found listening to records in my living room, air drumming, trying to reverse engineer what I was hearing on my favorite records. Mostly I was trying to learn records by Death, Metallica, Slayer, and Rush.

Every once in a while this story resurfaces in conversation. It’s pretty cool, so I thought I would go ahead and write it down for posterity.