‘Finally, a film made for me!’: readers’ best films of 2023
From a queer royal romcom to a druggy ursid, a protest against Putin as a droll love story and Greta Gerwig’s feminist opus, there was joy in many genres this year
There was soothing minimalism and bowel-quaking low end as Neil Gaiman got some wonderfully quizzical accompaniments and Manchester’s answer to Sun Ra freaked out
Readers’ favourite stage shows of 2023
This year, our readers were blown away by productions from Machinal to Free Your Mind – with one theatregoer returning to watch Groundhog Day four times
The five-star albums we missed in 2023 – from Jane Remover to Jalen Ngonda
Albums highly rated, but not reviewed, by our writers this year include debuts from Sanam, Priya Ragu and Current Affairs – and Lil Yachty’s genre-hopping return
Childhood memories generated by AI, photographic activism and prize-winning magical realism were among the standout exhibitions of the year
Film: Wendy Ide’s 10 best of 2023
From struggling mothers to monstrous maestro, the year was notable for superb performances by veterans and newcomers
The 10 best global albums of 2023
Dragonchild delivered a genre-hopping debut, Thandi Ntuli collaborated with Carlos Niño on a stripped back, joyous record and Titanic conjured visionary free-improv chamber pop
Lankum’s roaring reworking of Irish folk stunned, there was unprecedented invention from Young Fathers and Caroline Polachek offered an oblique angle on pop in our critics picks of the year
The 50 best albums of 2023, No 1 – Lankum: False Lankum
Wrangling Irish folk into expansive new territory, the group’s stunning harmonies lead us through delicate beauty and nightmarish cacophony
And the 2023 Braddies go to … Peter Bradshaw’s film picks of the year
