Year-End Lists

Consequence of Sound: Top 50 Albums of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. It's Almost Dry
   Pusha T
2. Un Verano Sin Ti
   Bad Bunny
3. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
4. Cool It Down
   Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. American Heartbreak
   Zach Bryan
6. Diaspora Problems
   Soul Glo
7. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
   Big Thief
8. Natural Brown Prom Queen
   Sudan Archives
9. Motomami
   Rosalía
10. Painless
    Nilüfer Yanya
11. SOS
    SZA
12. Farm to Table
    Bartees Strange
13. The Forever Story
    JID
14. God Save the Animals
    Alex G
15. The Unraveling of PUPTheBand
    PUP
16. Hold the Girl
    Rina Sawayama
17. Few Good Things
    Saba
18. Muna
    Muna
19. Harry's House
    Harry Styles
20. I Love You Jennifer B
    Jockstrap
21. Supernova
    Nova Twins
22. Laurel Hell
    Mitski
23. Soul Sold Separately
    Freddie Gibbs
24. Dance Fever
    Florence + The Machine
25. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
    Kendrick Lamar
26. The Loneliest Time
    Carly Rae Jepsen
27. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
28. Midnights
    Taylor Swift
29. Squeeze
    SASAMI
30. Blue Rev
    Alvvays
31. Omens
    Lamb of God
32. Cheat Codes
    Danger Mouse and Black Thought
33. Pre Pleasure
    Julia Jacklin
34. Lucifer on the Sofa
    Spoon
35. Las Ruinas
    Rico Nasty
36. Entering Heaven Alive
    Jack White
37. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
    Weyes Blood
38. Maxident
    Stray Kids
39. Love, Damini
    Burna Boy
40. Pool Kids
    Pool Kids
41. ILYSM
    Wild Pink
42. Ants From Up There
    Black Country, New Road
43. Melt My Eyez See Your Future
    Denzel Curry
44. The Tipping Point
    Tears for Fears
45. Household Name
    Momma
46. Ghetto Gods
    EarthGang
47. We've Been Going About This All Wrong
    Sharon Van Etten
48. Unlimited Love
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
49. Boat Songs
    MJ Lenderman
50. Patient Number 9
    Ozzy Osbourne

Billboard: Best Albums of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Un Verano Sin Ti
   Bad Bunny
2. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
3. Midnights
   Taylor Swift
4. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
   Kendrick Lamar
5. Motomami
   Rosalía
6. Harry's House
   Harry Styles
7. Gemini Rights
   Steve Lacy
8. Dawn FM
   The Weeknd
9. Ivory
   Omar Apollo
10. Wet Leg
    Wet Leg
11. Special
    Lizzo
12. It's Almost Dry
    Pusha T
13. Formula, Vol. 3
    Romeo Santos
14. Surrender
    Maggie Rogers
15. Obssesed
    Yahritza y su Esencia
16. Being Funny in a Foreign Language
    The 1975
17. Crash
    Charli XCX
18. Bell Bottom Country
    Lainey Wilson
19. Emails I Can't Send
    Sabrina Carpenter
20. De adentro pa' fuera
    Camilo
21. Blue Water Road
    Kehlani
22. DS4Ever
    Gunna
23. The Car
    Arctic Monkeys
24. Marchita
    Silvana Estrada
25. Caprisongs
    FKA twigs
26. Bronco
    Orville Peck
27. Honestly, Nevermind
    Drake
28. Nostalgia
    Eslabon Armado
29. I Never Liked You
    Future
30. Muna
    Muna
31. Palomino
    Miranda Lambert
32. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
33. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
    Big Thief
34. Spaceships on the Blade
    Larry June
35. A Beautiful Time
    Willie Nelson
36. Growin' Up
    Luke Combs
37. God Save the Animals
    Alex G
38. Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo, Te Pirateamos El Álbum
    Feid
39. Holy Fvck
    Demi Lovato
40. Lindeville
    Ashley McBryde
41. Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
    Fred again..
42. Born Pink
    Blackpink
43. Charlie
    Charlie Puth
44. Laurel Hell
    Mitski
45. Wasteland
    Brent Faiyaz
46. Preacher's Daughter
    Ethel Cain
47. Heterosexuality
    Shamir
48. Just Like That...
    Bonnie Raitt
49. American Heartbreak
    Zach Bryan
50. Elvis (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
    various artists

Pitchfork: The 50 Best Albums of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
2. Natural Brown Prom Queen
   Sudan Archives
3. Blue Rev
   Alvvays
4. Endure
   Special Interest
5. Un Verano Sin Ti
   Bad Bunny
6. Motomami
   Rosalía
7. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
   Big Thief
8. ¡Ay!
   Lucrecia Dalt
9. Remember Your North Star
   yaya bey
10. God Save the Animals
    Alex G
11. Dawn FM
    The Weeknd
12. Fossora
    Björk
13. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
    Kendrick Lamar
14. Janky Star
    Grace Ives
15. I Love You Jennifer B
    Jockstrap
16. Painless
    Nilüfer Yanya
17. Sick!
    Earl Sweatshirt
18. In These Times
    Makaya McCraven
19. Crash
    Charli XCX
20. Pompeii
    Cate Le Bon
21. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
22. Topical Dancer
    Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
23. Weather Alive
    Beth Orton
24. Caprisongs
    FKA twigs
25. Cherry
    Daphni
26. Ugly Season
    Perfume Genius
27. Florist
    Florist
28. Aethiopes
    Billy Woods
29. Heaven Come Crashing
    Rachika Nayar
30. Labyrinthitis
    Destroyer
31. Bad Mode
    Hikaru Utada
32. Hypnos
    Ravyn Lenae
33. Being Funny in a Foreign Language
    The 1975
34. Laughing so Hard, it Hurts
    Mavi
35. Boat Songs
    MJ Lenderman
36. Diaspora Problems
    Soul Glo
37. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
    Weyes Blood
38. Plonk
    Huerco S.
39. God's Country
    Chat Pile
40. Classic Objects
    Jenny Hval
41. Shebang
    Oren Ambarchi
42. Nothing To Declare
    700 Bliss
43. Laurel Hell
    Mitski
44. Three Dimensions Deep
    Amber Mark
45. Sometimes, Forever
    Soccer Mommy
46. KicK iii
    Arca
47. Expert in a Dying Field
    The Beths
48. Forfolks
    Jeff Parker
49. Ants From Up There
    Black Country, New Road
50. Pripyat
    Marina Herlop

Nicholas Quah: The Best Podcasts of 2022, as published by New York Magazine’s Vulture

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. Dead Eyes, "Tom"
2. Normal Gossip
3. The Trojan Horse Affair
4. Mother Country Radicals
5. The 11th, "His Saturn Return"
6. HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story
7. The Prince
8. The True Crime of Your Frozen Death, "Imaginary Advice"
9. Sounds Like A Cult

Honorable Mentions (by U.S. release date)

• Frog of the Week
• This Is Dating
• Sorry About The Kid
• Wild Boys
• Authentic: The Story Of Tablo
• Let's Make A Sci-Fi
• Crypto Island
• The Town with Matthew Belloni
• The Superhero Complex
• Truthers: Tiffany Dover Is Dead*
• Ghost Church by Jamie Loftus
• Will Be Wild
• Deliver Us From Ervil
• Not Lost
• Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade
• The Draymond Green Show, "TGame 3"
• Choosing Sides: F1
• My Mother Made Me
• Shameless Acquisition Target
• Crooked City: Youngstown, OH
• The Walk Home
• Death of an Artist: The Ana Mendieta and Carl Andre Story
• We Were Three

Leah Greenblatt: The 10 Best Movies of 2022

[see also 2020]

The year's best films

1. Tár
   Todd Field
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
   Martin McDonagh
3. Triangle of Sadness
   Ruben Östlund
4. Top Gun: Maverick
   Joseph Kosinski
5. Fire of Love
   Sara Dosa
6. Aftersun
   Charlotte Wells
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
   Edward Berger
8. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
   Dean Fleischer Camp
9. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
   Laura Poitras
10. RRR
    S.S. Rajamouli

Plus more we loved

• Navalny
  Daniel Roher
• Close
  Lukas Dhont
• The Menu
  Mark Mylod
• Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood
  Richard Linklater
• EO
  Jerzy Skolimowski
• Hustle
  Jeremiah Zagar
• Turning Red
  Domee Shi
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
  Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• Emily the Criminal
  John Patton Ford
• Decision to Leave
  Park Chan-wook
• Happening
  Audrey Diwan
• Clara Sola
  Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
• Great Freedom
  Sebastian Meise
• Pearl
  Ti West
• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
  Sophie Hyde
• Mad God
  Phil Tippett
• Empire of Light
  Sam Mendes
• You Won't Be Alone
  Goran Stolevski
• Bros
  Nicholas Stoller
• The Woman King
  Gina Prince-Bythewood

Vulture: The Best Books of 2022, as published by New York Magazine

1. Manhunt
   Gretchen Felker-Martin
2. Easy Beauty
   Chloé Cooper Jones
3. The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On
   Franny Choi
4. Strangers to Ourselves

   Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us
   Rachel Aviv
5. Siren Queen
   Nghi Vo
6. The Furrows
   Namwali Serpell
7. 2 A.M. in Little America
   Ken Kalfus
8. All This Could Be Different
   Sarah Thankam Mathews
9. Seduced by Story

   The Use and Abuse of Narrative
   Peter Brooks
10. X
    Davey Davis

Honorable Mentions (by U.S. release date)

• Fiona and Jane
  Jean Chen Ho
• Last Resort
  Andrew Lipstein
• Dilla Time

  The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
  Dan Charnas
• Pure Colour
  Sheila Heti
• Vladimir
  Julia May Jonas
• Then the War

  And Selected Poems, 2007-2020
  Carl Phillips
• The Employees
  Olga Ravn
• Checkout 19
  Claire-Louise Bennett
• Run and Hide
  Pankaj Mishra
• Oedipus Tyrannos
  Sophocles
• The Doloriad
  Missouri Williams
• Glory
  NoViolet Bulawayo
• The Candy House
  Jennifer Egan
• Constructing a Nervous System

  A Memoir
  Margo Jefferson
• A Tiny Upward Shove
  Melissa Chadburn
• Love Marriage
  Monica Ali
• The Women's House of Detention

  A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison
  Hugh Ryan
• It Was All a Dream

  Biggie and the World That Made Him
  Justin Tinsley
• DJ Screw

  A Life in Slow Revolution
  Lance Scott Walker
• An Island
  Karen Jennings
• Avalon
  Nell Zink
• You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
  Akwaeke Emezi
• Fruiting Bodies
  Kathryn Harlan
• Mothercare

  On Obligation, Love, Death, and Ambivalence
  Lynne Tillman
• Afterlives
  Abdulrazak Gurnah
• My Phantoms
  Gwendoline Riley
• Bright Unbearable Reality

  Essays
  Anna Badkhen
• Toad
  Katherine Dunn

The Ringer: The 33 Best Albums of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
2. Motomami
   Rosalía
3. Aethiopes
   Billy Woods
4. Un Verano Sin Ti
   Bad Bunny
5. Blue Rev
   Alvvays
6. God Save the Animals
   Alex G
7. The Elephant Man’s Bones
   Roc Marciano and The Alchemist
8. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
   Kendrick Lamar
9. Big Time
   Angel Olsen
10. It's Almost Dry
    Pusha T
11. Preacher's Daughter
    Ethel Cain
12. Boat Songs
    MJ Lenderman
13. Expert in a Dying Field
    The Beths
14. The Forever Story
    JID
15. Lucifer on the Sofa
    Spoon
16. Cheat Codes
    Danger Mouse and Black Thought
17. Being Funny in a Foreign Language
    The 1975
18. Soul Sold Separately
    Freddie Gibbs
19. Once Twice Melody
    Beach House
20. Honestly, Nevermind
    Drake
21. Age/Sex/Location
    Ari Lennox
22. King's Disease III
    Nas
23. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
    Big Thief
24. Diaspora Problems
    Soul Glo
25. Laurel Hell
    Mitski
26. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
27. The Loneliest Time
    Carly Rae Jepsen
28. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky
    Porridge Radio
29. High School
    Tim Heidecker
30. Spaceships on the Blade
    Larry June
31. a tape called component system with the auto reverse
    Open Mike Eagle
32. Painless
    Nilüfer Yanya
33. Ramona Park Broke My Heart
    Vince Staples

Stereogum: The 50 Best Albums Of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Blue Rev
   Alvvays
2. Motomami
   Rosalía
3. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
4. Sometimes, Forever
   Soccer Mommy
5. Aethiopes
   Billy Woods
6. God Save the Animals
   Alex G
7. Expert in a Dying Field
   The Beths
8. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
   Big Thief
9. Diaspora Problems
   Soul Glo
10. Dawn FM
    The Weeknd
11. Boat Songs
    MJ Lenderman
12. Gemini Rights
    Steve Lacy
13. Wet Leg
    Wet Leg
14. Lindeville
    Ashley McBryde
15. Versions of Modern Performance
    Horsegirl
16. New Lords
    Mindforce
17. Being Funny in a Foreign Language
    The 1975
18. I Don't Know Who Needs To Hear This...
    Tomberlin
19. Painless
    Nilüfer Yanya
20. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
    Kendrick Lamar
21. Reset
    Panda Bear and Sonic Boom
22. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
23. Once Twice Melody
    Beach House
24. Giant Palm
    Naima Bock
25. Anywhere But Here
    Sorry
26. Animal Drowning
    Knifeplay
27. Blending
    High Vis
28. Little Green House
    Anxious
29. Everything Was Beautiful
    Spiritualized
30. God's Country
    Chat Pile
31. Muna
    Muna
32. Pompeii
    Cate Le Bon
33. Hygiene
    Drug Church
34. Palomino
    Miranda Lambert
35. Heaven Come Crashing
    Rachika Nayar
36. Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament
    BabyTron
37. In These Times
    Makaya McCraven
38. ILYSM
    Wild Pink
39. sore thumb
    Oso Oso
40. 40 oz. to Fresno
    Joyce Manor
41. The Elephant Man’s Bones
    Roc Marciano and The Alchemist
42. Pool Kids
    Pool Kids
43. Farm to Table
    Bartees Strange
44. Club Godfather
    Bandmanrill
45. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
    Weyes Blood
46. The Sun Still Seems To Move
    Shannen Moser
47. Sick!
    Earl Sweatshirt
48. Pigments
    Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn
49. 劇變 (Jubian)
    Ripped to Shreds
50. Big Time
    Angel Olsen

The Bitter Southerner: Best Southern Albums of 2022

1. Big Time
   Angel Olsen
2. This Is A Photograph
   Kevin Morby
3. Pigments
   Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn
4. Ghetto Gods
   EarthGang
5. Renaissance
   Beyoncé
6. Teeth Marks
   S.G. Goodman
7. The Forever Story
   JID
8. I Walked With You A Ways
   Plains
9. Boat Songs
   MJ Lenderman
10. American Heartbreak
    Zach Bryan
11. Ali
    Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin
12. No Rules Sandy
    Sylvan Esso
13. Sunshine Only Sometimes
    Robert Lester Folsom
14. Boleros Psicodélicos
    Adrian Quesada
15. Revelators
    Revelators Sound System
16. The Social Animals
    Duquette Johnston
17. Not Tight
    Domi and JD Beck
18. Beautiful Mind
    Rod Wave
19. Careening
    Hammered Hulls
20. The Family
    BROCKHAMPTON
21. Only Built for Infinity Links
    Quavo and Takeoff
22. For The Birds
    Neighbor Lady

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2022

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. ¡Ay!
   Lucrecia Dalt
2. Jazz Codes
   Moor Mother
3. Music For Four Guitars
   Bill Orcutt
4. Shebang
   Oren Ambarchi
5. Living Torch
   Kali Malone
6. Two Sisters
   Sarah Davachi
7. Aethiopes
   Billy Woods
8. Fossora
   Björk
9. Canti di guerra, di lavoro e d'amore
   Silvia Tarozzi & Deborah Walker
10. Wat Dong Moon Lek
    Carl Stone
11. Fragility of Sounds
    various artists
12. Diaspora Problems
    Soul Glo
13. Warm Chris
    Aldous Harding
14. Living Sky
    Sun Ra Arkestra
15. Almanac Behind
    Daniel Bachman
16. Comradely Objects
    Horse Lords
17. Amaryllis
    Mary Halvorson
17. Belladonna
    Mary Halvorson
18. Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy
    Jeff Parker ETA IVtet
19. Never Stop Texting Me
    Claire Rousay and More Eaze
20. Broken Gargoyles
    Diamanda Galás
21. The Actress
    Vanessa Rossetto
22. Conduit
    Coby Sey
23. Cry Sugar
    Hudson Mohawke
24. Hostile Architecture
    Ashenspire
25. Versions of Modern Performance
    Horsegirl
26. Paste
    Moin
27. A Light for Attracting Attention
    The Smile
28. Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef
    Bennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph
29. Occam XXV
    Éliane Radigue & Frédéric Blondy
30. The Eventual Window
    Robert Storey
31. Ima
    Tegh & Adel Poursamadi
32. Lightwork
    Devin Townsend
33. Antiphony of the Trees
    Laura Cannell
34. Chasing the Phantom
    Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukat
35. Henki
    Richard Dawson & Circle
36. Devotional
    The Lord † Petra Haden
37. The Afrorack
    Afrorack
38. The Elephant Man’s Bones
    Roc Marciano and The Alchemist
39. Psychonautic Escapism
    The Ephemeron Loop
40. Tuqoos
    Julmud
41. Drumming Up Trouble
    Alvin Curran
42. Mirage Colony
    N Chambers
43. Ama Gogela
    Phelimuncasi
44. Say Laura
    Eric Chenaux
45. Bečvou
    Tomáš Niesner
46. FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE
    Brian Eno
47. The Hands of Grace
    Ishmael Reed
48. Ghosted
    Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin
49. Fault Lines
    Deliluh
50. Bajascillators
    Bitchin Bajas