Culture | Good to hear

The best albums of 2023, as chosen by The Economist

Throwback sounds such as folk, punk and soul dominate our list this year

An illustration of a person skating around a vinyl record.
Illustration: Bianca Bagnarelli

“Blomi”. By Susanne Sundfor

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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Good to hear”

From the December 16th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

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Angela Merkel in Frankfurt, Germany in December 1991

Angela Merkel sets out to restore her reputation

But her new memoir is unlikely to change her critics’ minds

Blue books forming a winner rosette on a red background

The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist

Readers will never think the same way again about games, horses and spies


Elon Musk speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

What to read to understand Elon Musk

The world’s richest man was shaped by science fiction


Tech and religion are very much alike

They both have gods, rich institutions and secretive cultures

Woodrow Wilson’s reputation continues to decline

A dispassionate new biography chronicles the former president’s hostility to suffrage

The cult of Jordan Peterson

What the Canadian intellectual gets right about young men