Don’t think the honorable cowboy Bucky Brown no longer knows the deal. Hell no! He knows the deal alright and will ante up without taking a second breath! The man still has not one, but all fingers on the very pulse of the Heavy Underground. Still getting together with Doomed & Stoned‘s Billy Goate and Vegas Rock Revolution‘s John Gist for the Doomed & Stoned Doom Charts Countdown on an almost monthly basis. Still doing Doom Charts work by spreading the good word on the Doom Charts Twitter/X page and still delivering the occasional blurb for the Doom Charts whenever possible. Just check the list below, and see style, knowledge and pure class!
We’re honored to present another list of Favorite Albums of 2023 by one of the Doom Charts Contributors… There are many as you might know; and many already posted their list of Favorite Albums of 2023 on their own sites or the sites they write for. Some of those lists will be published here as well. And for all the others we advise you to check out all of their personal sites… Cause it might just contain your next very favorite album!
Bucky’s Top Shelf Records of 2023
Another one bites the dust. I’ve been putting lists together on and off for over a decade now and each year my listening habits evolve, morph, go up and down especially the last few years. That said, I still have my finger on the pulse on new music in both the heavy underground and other realms of the underground and made sure to send in my personal list to the charts each month in 2023. I’d also like to add, its great to see new blood within the Doom Charts crew continue to carry on the torch of setting trends and making taste in the heavy underground. As the old dogs age and fade, there is a thriving group of ambitious contributors that continue carrying the torch forward.
This year I tried to limit the amount of strain that could endure when deciding on what albums to feature in my list. There was a shit load that aren’t featured here that are fantastic albums including many good friends of mine. One filter I try and use it to feature albums I purchased on vinyl (one exception this year). I buy a lot of vinyl, its borderline problematic both financially and physically trying to manage storage capacity and organization. You can peruse my collection via the Discogs Database which contains most of my records. Below are 25 records that had an above average impact on me released in 2023.
25. HOT SPRING WATER – OF A MORNING
Sir Tony Reed outdoes himself once again. Full band firing on all cylinders with a healthy dose of classic rock inspired tunes. Equal parts southern rock, americana, and prog with cool crisp vocals and impeccable songsmithing. Wow!
I discovered this one quite late in the year despite its release being in early February. Not even sure what drew me to it late in the year, but I loved what I heard enough to order the vinyl and include it within my top 25 albums. It lives within that Krautrock, Prog Rock, Progressive rock realm. Each song just sucks you deeper into its laid-back vortex and it gets better every time you push play.
23. GREEN LUNG – THIS HEATHEN LAND
I mean. Green Lung. What else is there to say? Should it be higher on the list? Probably. Woodland Rites from 2019 could be considered one of the best albums of the decade and the band really hasn’t slowed down. As has become customary with Green Lung, if you want the limited vinyl editions, you must pre-order right away, which I did straight from the Label website. The White and Green 50/50 record looks and sounds astonishing. I’ll continue to describe their sound as a mixture of Elder meets Uncle Acid. The progressive guitar tones and occult thematic have worked very well for this rising star of a band.
22. HUMULUS – FLOWERS OF DEATH
This was my #1 album for September. Something about this one drew me in immediately and exceeded my expectations. I liked their last album, but don’t remember it having the impact this new one had. It has much more of a progressive edge to it and that artwork is captivating. Had to grab it on import wax.
21. REVEREND MOTHER – SEVEN NIGHTS IN MEMPHIS
Blindingly epic blues guided by crunchy guitar tone and smoldering psych. Sounds like Sabbath on the brown acid. I felt this one slipped under the radar of many folks in the Doom Charts crowd. Maybe not, it almost passed me by as I didn’t vote on it until the month after it came out. Anyway, super cool sound and a band to be on the lookout for.
20. SVARTANATT – LAST DAYS ON EARTH
Masters of the hard rock hook are back with another stunning slab of show-boat rhythm, raspy vocals and swooning solos. These guys are just awesome. From the album art to the colossal hook throughout all their musc, Svartanatt are the real deal. Just recently received my vinyl pre-order and it’s as precious as I could have hoped.
19. STEPMOTHER – PLANET BRUTALICON
Tee Pee Records has been on a roll with me lately and this brand-new band/album had me intrigued upon the preorder. Really like the garage punk vibes with a stoner groove. The epitome of what Tee Pee Records stands for these days. Certainly not cookie cutter anything, not overly produced, just flat out hard and heavy psych-tinged rock & roll.
18. LUCID SINS – DANCING IN THE DARK
Lucid Sins is somewhat of a cult band in the scene. It’s been a while since their last release, which was a real banger so seeing the new one come out was high on my priority list. They are a band that takes some patience and the patience pays off. The songwriting is superb throughout the entire album with the impressive album art to match.
17. LEON III – SOMETHING IS TRYING TO CHANGE MY MIND
Wow! The level of progression these guys have gone through amazes me. They have indeed gone full blown progressive psychedelia on this new one with subtle remnants of their classic country twang. This band morphed from a straight up americana alt/country band previously called Wrinkle Neck Mules, which is how I knew that the lead man spun off into a solo act. The band has progressed on its 3rd full length album as Leon III into a full on psychedelic rock album.
16. THUNDER HORSE – AFTER THE FALL
Thunder Horse remains untamed and battle-born with a ferociously metallic harmony, infectious stoner fuzz and galloping rhythm. The vocals remain virile with an overwhelming sense of dissonanse between manufactured virtue and reality. Favorite track: Aberdeen.
Imagine Motörhead, Deep Purple, and The Allman Brothers formed a gang and then made some sweet, sweet love. You get the idea. Love Gang live the part both on and off stage from their fashion apparel to their bombastic stage presence and down to earth personalities at the merch booth. Surely catch them live when they come to your town.
This sweaty Texas one-man psychedelic troubadour can do no wrong. Something about the latest offering stuck with me and never let go. Such a soulful psych driven tripper. One you could literally melt away into. Probably my favorite Night Beats album I’ve listened to yet.
13. SWEAT – WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?
Another Tee Pee Records debut release that came out of nowhere and had a strong initial impact on me. The Swiss-American quartet released a single called Jane early in the year, and had some music videos out leading up to the full album release. By that time my pre-order was executed and the full album arrived and emitted a classic rock aroma reminiscent to The Who and possessed that cool factor I yearn for with new tunes.
12. SAINT KARLOFF – PALEOLITHIC WAR CRIMES
This was my #1 pick for the June Doom Charts just edging out the fantastic release from Church of Misery which ended up topping the June Charts as cumulated by the entire crew. Certainly, progressing their game from prior releases, and easily their best work to date. The song Bone Cave Escape gets me every time. Unrelenting, unapologetic, and absolutely groove inducing through and through.
11. DEAD GALLERY – DEAD MAN’S THEME
Dead Man’s Theme was not available on vinyl and therefore my only addition to my list that I do not possess on wax. It’s that good and stuck with me the whole year. An intoxicating dose of heavy blues, blistering psych and bar room rock. It’s like Hendrix meets Pink Floyd on a back-alley bender.
10. BOB LEFEVRE & THE ALREADY GONE – TWO
Gives me old school Drive-By Truckers vibes (Cooley worship). The hard rocking guitar tones emit a classic alt/country/outlaw attitude while resonating with a Tom Petty meets Lucero twang. Discovered late in the year and quickly became one of my most listened to albums of the year. I did not vote this into the Doom Charts for obvious reasons. Likely the only one in the crew who heard this one. Until you read this list and go check it out for yourself. Do it.
9. ISAAK – HEY
Pure pummeling fuzz fronted by rippling vocals and sonic riffage through and through. I finally pony’d up and paid the international shipping after being reminded of this album on several end of the year lists. It was no doubt, upon initial listen, that Isaak had created something special.
8. THE GOLDEN GRASS – LIFE IS MUCH STRANGER
Perhaps the years’ most solid rock & roll album released. Could have been released in 1975 and would have topped the charts. This came in at my #2 for April just behind Faerie Ring’s latest album, but ended up getting a bit more playtime and stuck with me throughout the year.
7. JACK BROWNING – RED EYE RADIO
Red Eye Radio checks all of my boxes and is certainly not one I’d have voted for on the Doom Charts monthly lists. It’s got the perfect amount of sultry steel guitar, surfy psychedelics, and outlaw storylines. It’s heavy not in volume, but in spirit. Found this late in the year and gobbled up the vinyl immediately. The guy has an extensive art catalog with some super cool paintings in which I perused after doing a little rabbit hole diving.
6. HAIL THE VOID – MEMENTO MORI
Memento Mori was hailed as a frontrunner within the Doom Charts community upon its release back in February. I was certainly on that train. The emotion and sense of desolation evoked by this band is hard to explain. The guitar work is frightening and the vocal tones are eerily accessible and poignant.
Hope Is Heavy is an absolute truth, and delivers an outstanding follow up to its debut, Wyrd Syster. Acid Magus have honed a perfect balance of crushing grit, vocal harmony and psychedelic dirge with this epic output of modern doom mastery, instantly shoving itself into AOTY territory. This record may perhaps be album art of the year, especially when you unfold the gatefold vinyl edition. The entire package is sublime.
I may have listened to this album more than any other album this year. A 2022 release that became available on vinyl this year. Why its ranked so high on my list. It’s not “Doom Charts” type of music, but it’s a modern-day masterpiece. Daniel Rice has a natural vocal tone that seamlessly carries itself across all of his varied stylistic projects. I’d argue Brim is every bit as impressive as the main act Westing. The upbeat cosmic energy combined with the steel guitar interludes, vocal gold, and driving rhythm section is hard not to be completely awe struck with. Perhaps this is really his “main act” and those hard rock albums are just a side project? His wife is in this band too, which makes it that much cooler.
3. MONDO DRAG – THROUGH THE HOURGLASS
Through The Hourglass really struck a chord with me this year. In my top 3 albums from a playcount standpoint and one that I did not hesitate to come back to no matter the situation. Has such a dreamy, airy vibe that made it easy to play in the background with a group of unsuspecting normies or in the car blasting with fellow music gurus. Total banger of an album. Reminded me of a long-lost favorite of mine called Spirits of the Dead which topped my year end list back in 2013 with its album Rumours of a Presence.
Sick guitar harmony? check
Bombastic rhythm? check
Punk rock energy? check
Psychy atmosphere? check
These are few of my favorite things and Deathchant nails them all once again and ends up at #2 on my favorite albums of the year. I cannot deny any of the qualities this band showcases. Rawk and Roll of the highest caliber.
While still firmly Zeppelinesque in nature, Westing emerges from the ashes of Slow Season with a heavy cosmic boogie steeped in gritty western analog and pulsing with psychedelia. I knew from the first moment I jammed to promo along Interstate 70 on a work commute that this was going to be in my year end list. The fact that it landed at #1 is a testament to my fanboyism to the group of Central California homies and the quality of jams they always seem to put out on top of most of them starting families and holding down the farm. Literally, they are farmers guys.
If you’re intrigued at all by this list, feel free to head over and shuffle my Spotify playlist, put together with each full album included in this list.
Doom Charts 
Yo, Bucky, I told you I’d pop over here and check out your list! I actually listened to some of these this year (after they popped up on Bandcamp because of you). I’m particularly fond of that Mondo Drag record, and I need to give it some more spins. It’s a special album. And of course the Acid Magus album, which made it to my honorables and almost cracked my list. Great stuff! Dude, where the hell do you store all your vinyl? I’m only in the mid-200s and I’ve always got to prune a little bit.
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Hey Nic, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for checking it out. I have a full finished basement of which I am fortunate to have space for my records on multiple shelves scattered throughout about 500 sf of space.
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