Here is the year-end list of my Favorite 50 Albums of 2022:
1. Alvvays - Blue Rev
Power pop at its finest.
2. Shygirl - Nymph
Whether she is singing over fractured beats or cooing over blankets of pillowy synths, Shygirl's debut album is never less than captivating.
3. Caroline Loveglow - Strawberry
Sublimely lush dream pop.
4. Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen
Restlessly inventive future R&B.
5. Rosalia - MOTOMAMI
Blowing away genre conventions, the Catalan singer's third album is breathtaking in its scope.
6. Working Men's Club - Fear Fear
The UK act's sophomore record meshes their industrial/EBM/synthpop influences into a lean machine of hypnotic grooves.
7. The Smile - A Light For Attracting Attention
Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead along with drummer Tom Skinner have teamed up to make an album that can stand head-to-toe with the best Radiohead records.
8. Novaa - She's a Star
If you like Billie Elish, you will fall madly in love with Novaa's eclectic alt-pop.
9. Blaqk Audio - Trop d'amour
The best Depeche Mode record in years.
10. Beth Orton - Weather Alive
Inspired by Talk Talk's final two monumental albums, Weather Alive is an atmospheric wonder.
11. Just Mustard - Heart Under
The most inventive guitar-based record this year.
12. Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
Ridiculously catchy return to form for the French band.
Dan Snaith's (aka Caribou) Daphni project finds him working with simple loops that he commands into hypnotic swirls of dancefloor bangers.
14. Taylor Swift - Midnights
More magical Swiftian pop.
15. Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Popul- Topical Dancer
16. Charli XCX - Crash
Charli XCX leans more into pure pop on this fun record.
17. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
Sadly, frontman Issac Woods left the band a few days before the release of this album, but what a way to go. Transcending their post-rock trappings, they coalesce into an almost indescribable area of their own.
18. Zola Blood - Black Blossom
Brooding, atmospheric synthpop.
19. Santigold - Spirituals
Returning after a 6-year absence, Santigold returns with another eclectic, genre-bending record that gets better with each listen.
20. Sun's Signature - Sun's Signature
Cocteau Twins' singer Elizabeth Fraser and partner Damon Reece collaborated on this EP that solidly shows Fraser still in top vocal form.
21. Winter - What Kind of Blue Are You?
Mixing pop, dream pop, and shoegaze, this album is restless and transfixing.
22. Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time
Jepsen's most solid collection of pop confections.
23. Arctic Monkeys - The Car
Loungey, dramatic, and louche, The Car is a stylistic 180-degree turn for the veteran rockers, and they handle it with aplomb.
24. Wet Leg - Wet Leg
It was hard to ignore their signature song "Chaise Lounge," and equally hard to ignore all the other catchy tracks on their debut album.
25. Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever
Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, joined up with Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, who adds a darker shade to her sophisticated tracks.
26. Daniel Rossen - You Belong There
Intricate instrumentation and haunting melodies define this solo release by the Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist.
27. Beach House - Once Twice Melody
Although Beach House makes microscopic changes with its sound, each record of theirs is a wonder.
28. Animal Collective - Time Skiffs
The psych-rock stalwarts continue to impress on their most focused record in years.
29. Bjork - Fossora
Only Bjork could merge a bass clarinet quartet with Gabba techno beats and make it work.
30. Girlpool - Forgiveness
The final record from Girlpool was their finest; their emotional and moving lyrics paired up with more experimentation, and yet still accessible.
31. Tove Lo - Dirt Femme
Another solid set of dance tracks that found the singer delving into weightier subjects.
32. Grace Ives - Janky Star
Quirky pop that is endlessly intriguing.
33. Yard Act - The Overload
Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny lyrics that muse on everyday life are matched with effortless post-punk swagger.
34. Vandal Moon - Queen of the Night
There was a slew of goth-influenced synthpop records, and Vandal Moon's album was a stellar part of that trend.
35. Everything Everything - Raw Data Feel
Using AI-assisted lyrical help, Everything Everything came up with one of their most inventive art-rock releases.
36. Beach Bunny - Emotional Creature
Sparkling indie pop-punk that is packed to the rafters with infectious melodies.
37. Rival Consoles - Now Is
More impeccable electronic soundscapes.
38. Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B
The most undefinable record of the year. It's pretty much every genre put into a blender. And while you can't quite taste all the individual components, it all works to go down easily.
39. Death Cab for Cutie - Asphalt Meadows
A return to form for the indie-rock stalwarts.
40. Holy Fawn - Dimensional Bleed
Blissful mix of metal and shoegaze.
41. Fashion Club - Scrutiny
Dramatic goth-inspired synthpop.
42. Warpaint - Radiate Like This
On their latest album, Warpaint adds a gauzy haze to their locked-in grooves.
43. SCALPING - Void
Dark and seething mix of post-punk/metal attitude with haunting industrial techno textures.
44. Beyonce - Renaissance
Queen Bey takes on a fascinating journey through the history of dance music.
45. Burial - Antidawn
Evocative, almost beatless, ambient tracks that are wholly and unapologetically Burial.
46. The Soft Moon - Exister
Angsty, emotional goth rock.
Each album she releases is more fantastic than the last. PAINLESS is no exception.
48. Jenny Hval - Classic Objects
Uncompromising experimental pop.
Mezmerizing psychedelia from the Philly band.
50. Special Interest - Endure
Glam-punks Special Interest makes thought-provoking music that is not afraid to get you sweaty on the dancefloor.
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