Albums of the Year: 2022 Edition
Lists are stupid. I say it every year and I believe it to be true. But lists are “necessary” at the end of the year. Alas, here are the ten albums that touched us the most this year:
1. Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows
2. Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever
3. Hurray for the Riff Raff – Life on Earth
4. Spoon – Lucifer on the Sofa
5. Craig Finn – A Legacy of Rentals
6. Nate Bergman – Metaphysical Change
7. Nilufer Yanya – Painless
8. Eddie Vedder – Earthling
9. John Fullbright - The Liar
10. Mike Campbell + Dirty Knobs – External Combustion
And here are the others we loved in alphabetical order:
The 1975 - Being Funny in a Foreign Language
Abbie Gardner – Dobrosinger
Alan Parsons – From the New World
Alex G – God Save the Animals
Alvvays – Blue Rev
Amy Speace – Tucson
Anais Mitchell - self-titled
Aiofe O’Donovan – Age of Apathy
Amy Ray – If It All Goes South
Angel Olsen – Big Time
Andrew Bird - Inside Problems
Ashley McBryde – Lindeville
Bartees Strange – Farm to Table
BeaBaDooBee - Beatopia
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Bonnie Raitt – Just Like That
Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
Brother Brothers – Cover to Cover
Bruce Springsteen – Only the Strong Survive
Caamp – Lavender Days
Charlie Puth – Charlie
Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco
Charli XCX – Crash
Cody Jinks – Mercy
Conan Gray – Superache
Danielle Ponder – Some Of Us Are Brave
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold as Weiss
Eleri Ward – Keep a Tender Distance
Elvis Costello + Imposters – The Boy Named If
Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter
Father John Misty – Chloe and the Next 20th Century
FKA Twigs – CapriSongs
Foals – Life is Yours
Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia
Freedy Johnston – Back on the Road to You
Happy Traum – There’s a Bright Side Somewhere
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Heavy Heavy - Life and Life Only
Jack Harlow – Come Home The Kids Miss You
Jack White - Entering Heaven Alive
Jamestown Revival – Young Man
Janis Ian – The Light at the End of the Line
Joshua Hedley – Neon Blue
John Mayall – The Sun is Shining Down
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure
Julian Lennon – Jude
Kae Tempest – The Line is a Curve
Kehlani – Blue Water Road
Kula Shaker – 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love
Khruangbin + Leon Bridges – Texas Moon
Lucy Kaplansky - Last Days of Summer
The Linda Lindas – Growing Up
Lizzo – Special
The Lumineers – Brightside
Maggie Rogers – Surrender
Marcus King – Young Blood
Maren Morris – Humble Quest
Mary Gauthier – Dark Enough to See the Stars
Martin Courtney – Magic Sign
Miranda Lambert – Palomino
Mitski – Laurel Hell
Molly Tuttle + Golden Highway - Crooked Tree
Momma – Household Name
Muna - S/T
Nathaniel Rateliff + Night Sweats – The Future
Noah Cyrus – The Hardest Part
Old Crow Medicine Show – Paint This Town
Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard
Omar Apollo - Ivory
Orville Peck - Bronco
Pale Blue Eyes – Souvenirs
Peter Mulvey - Love is the Only Thing
Phoenix – Alpha Zulu
Porcupine Tree – Closure/Continuation
Plains – As I Walked With You A Ways
Punch Brothers- Hell on Church Street
Robert Plant + Allison Krauss – Raise the Roof
Robyn Hitchcock – shufflemania!
Regina Spektor – Home, before and after
Sabrina Carpenter – Emails I Can’t Send
Tedeschi Trucks Band - I Am the Moon
Thee Sacred Souls – S/T
The Black Keys - Dropout Boogie
The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
Seratones – Love + Algorithms
Soccer Mommy - Sometimes Forever
Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful
Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights
Stray Kids – Oddinary
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Tegan + Sara – Crybaby
Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
Toro Y Moi – Mahal
Various Artists – Broken Hearts + Dirty Windows, Songs of Johnn Prine, Vol 2.
The Weeknd - Dawn FM
Wet Leg – S/T
Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Name
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool it Down