I’ve spent my whole life chasing the high of flipping through a CD case overstuffed with discs burned from Napster. I’d go on long downloading binges, acquiring a huge collection of albums I hadn’t yet heard, trusting comment board reviewers and hoping I wasn’t loading viruses on to my parents’ computer. Sometimes that file on the Internet wasn’t labeled honestly, and yes malicious software may have gotten involved, but many of those records have stayed with me for life. Once I knew better, I happily spent the money I didn’t have when I was young.
Digital media has a different place in today’s world, and artist payouts are even more fucked. But that possibility — the chance that the next time you push play will change your life — has only grown. Gripe about the streaming age all you’d like, but listeners have never had it better. We’re finding new favorites every day.
With Staff Picks, our writers and editors share the records from this month that turned into our obsessions. As a bonus, it allows us to share our love for stellar albums that we didn’t cover at the time of release, because while nobody can get to everything, Staff Picks allows us to cover just a little more. Here, in alphabetical order, are what we think are the 16 best albums from June 2023.
Wren Graves
Features Editor
Asake – Work of Art
I’ve officially lost count of how many times I’ve let this one play all the way through this week. There’s something hypnotically calming about Work of Art; maybe it’s the string elements and expertly balanced instrumentals, or the way both of those things pair with his warm, inviting vocals. If a literal island escape isn’t possible for you this summer, this album might be the next best thing. — Mary Siroky
ATEEZ – THE WORLD EP2: OUTLAW
This is the highest-charting album for the eight-member K-pop act to date, and it might just be due to the fearlessness the members of ATEEZ possess in their music-making process. This is a group that thrives in the chaos they create — their performance style often veers into sensory overload, an explosive mix of beat drops, terribly charismatic choreography, and industrial production touches. These guys are historically more popular internationally than at home in South Korea, but lead single “BOUNCY” seems to finally be providing a welcome domestic breakthrough in Seoul for ATEEZ, too. — M. Siroky
