2023 Albums of the Year Bracket Results

The results are in! Last month we named Change the Rotation's 32 favorite albums of 2023. Now we have the results of our 11th annual albums of the year bracket showdown. How did the matchups go down and who was the last album standing? Find out below. First, a little bracketology: four of us (Dave Anians, Danny Collins, Steve O and myself) each submit a list of our favorite full-length albums of the year. Any record appearing on at least two of our lists automatically makes it onto the bracket. The remaining spots are divided evenly between the four of us. Once we have our field of 32, the albums are drawn randomly into their positions on the bracket. All four of us vote on each matchup until we have a champion. Four voters means there are bound to be some ties. We each assign a point value to each album before the voting begins (32 points to our favorite album, 1 point to least favorite). In the case of a tie, we add the four point values for each album to determine the winner. Below, see how it all came out and stream all 32 albums through the links toward the bottom of the post.

2017 champion Sincere Engineer heads into the final four with Cheap Grills. Mustard Plug makes their bracket debut and wins an all-ska first round matchup. In fact, Sincere Engineer is the only band in this quadrant that has previously appeared on the bracket.

HIRS makes a return to the final four with We're Still Here. HIRS was the runner-up in 2018. It was a cruel twist of fate to have them matched up with GEL in the first round. Audio/Rocketry advance to the last 8 with Voyager. Flying Raccoon Suit go out far too early for my tastes, but that's the bracket.

Wednesday makes it through to the final four in their bracket debut with Rat Saw God. Check out the songs "Bull Believer" and "Chosen to Deserve" if you haven't already. COFFIN finds out that putting your cock out on the table only gets you to the second round. And a fond farewell to Screaming Females.

Jeff Rosenstock makes his third trip to the final four with Hellmode (No Dream and We Cool? also made final four appearances). Blind Adam and the Federal League break through to the last 8 with The Fields We Know.

HIRS advances to the final with We're Still Here, beating out Cheap Grills by Sincere Engineer.

Jeff Rosenstock moves on to the final with Hellmode, taking down Rat Saw God by Wednesday.

Hellmode by Jeff Rosenstock is Change the Rotation's album of the year! Hellmode joins our previous bracket champions: The Beauty Between by RVIVR (2013,) Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me! (2014,) Constructs of the State by Leftöver Crack (2015,) , Dies by Gouge Away (2016,) Rhombithian by Sincere Engineer (2017,) The Gutters of Paradise by The Kreutzer Sonata (2018,) Cut & Stitch by Petrol Girls (2019), Imperio Maldito by Evil Empire (2020), Fuck These Fuckin Fascists by The Muslims (2021) and Diaspora Problems by Soul Glo (2022). Congratulations to all the bands on this year's bracket. Stream all 32 albums through the links below.

Audio/Rocketry - Voyager
Beat the Smart Kids - Hot Death
Blind Adam and the Federal League - The Fields We Know
The Bollweevils - Essential
Brutal Youth - Rebuilding Year
Bully - Lucky For You
Clowns - Endless
C.O.F.F.I.N. - Australia Stops
Edging - Good Sex Music
Excrucis - Excrucis
Flying Raccoon Suit - Moonflower
French Police - Bleu
GEL - Only Constant
HIRS - We're Still Here
The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons
Initiate - Cerebral Circus
The Iron Roses - The Iron Roses
Mustard Plug - Where Did All My Friends Go?
No Men - Fear This
Omnigone - Against the Rest
Jeff Rosenstock - Hellmode
Screaming Females - Desire Pathway
Shit Present - What Still Gets Me
Sincere Engineer - Cheap Grills
Suzie True - Sentimental Scum
Teenage Halloween - Till You Return
Tightwire - Head Full of Snakes
Upchuck - Bite the Hand That Feeds
Wednesday - Rat Saw God
The Whiffs - Scratch 'N' Sniff
White Reaper - Asking For a Ride
Zulu - A New Tomorrow