Year-End Lists

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 2023 • 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 2023 • 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

[see also 2023]

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

Annabel Gutterman: The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022, as published by Time Magazine

[see also The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2023 • The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2022 • The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021 • The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021]

1. In Love

   A Memoir of Love and Loss
   Amy Bloom
2. South to America

   A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
   Imani Perry
3. Ducks

   Two Years in the Oil Sands
   Kate Beaton
4. The Escape Artist

   The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World
   Jonathan Freedland
5. An Immense World

   How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
   Ed Yong
6. Constructing a Nervous System

   A Memoir
   Margo Jefferson
7. His Name Is George Floyd

   One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
   Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
8. How Far the Light Reaches

   A Life in Ten Sea Creatures
   Sabrina Imbler
9. The Invisible Kingdom

   Reimagining Chronic Illness
   Meghan O’Rourke
10. The Revolutionary

    Samuel Adams
    Stacy Schiff

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2022

[see also 2023 • 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

A.O. Scott: Best Movies of 2022, as published by The New York Times

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

1. Nope
   Jordan Peele
2. Neptune Frost
   Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman
3. Mr. Bachmann and His Class
   Maria Speth
4. Aftersun
   Charlotte Wells
5. No Bears
   Jafar Panahi
6. Tár
   Todd Field
7. Lost Illusions
   Xavier Giannoli
8. Flux Gourmet
   Peter Strickland
9. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
   Laura Poitras
10. Down with the King
    Diego Ongaro

And 20 more …

• A Chiara
  Jonas Carpignano
• All That Breathes
  Shaunak Sen
• Armageddon Time
  James Gray
• Corsage
  Marie Kreutzer
• Descendant
  Margaret Brown
• Donbass
  Sergei Loznitsa
• Dos estaciones
  Juan Pablo González
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
  Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• The Fabelmans
  Steven Spielberg
• Fire in the Mountains
  Ajitpal Singh
• Futura
  Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
  Rian Johnson
• Happening
  Audrey Diwan
• The Inspection
  Elegance Bratton
• Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
  Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
• Marx Can Wait
  Marco Bellocchio
• Pleasure
  Ninja Thyberg
• The Woman King
  Gina Prince-Bythewood
• Women Talking
  Sarah Polley
• X
  Ti West

Manohla Dargis: Best Movies of 2022, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2023 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. EO
   Jerzy Skolimowski
2. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
3. Nope
   Jordan Peele
4. No Bears
   Jafar Panahi
5. Kimi
   Steven Soderbergh
6. The Eternal Daughter
   Joanna Hogg
7. Happening
   Audrey Diwan
8. Decision to Leave
   Park Chan-wook
9. Expedition Content
   Ernst Karel and Veronika Kusumaryati
10. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
    Laura Poitras

And make sure to watch

• Armageddon Time
  James Gray
• The Cathedral
  Ricky D'Ambrose
• Corsage
  Marie Kreutzer
• Descendant
  Margaret Brown
• Dos estaciones
  Juan Pablo González
• Funny Pages
  Owen Kline
• Futura
  Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher
• Great Freedom
  Sebastian Meise
• Hold Your Fire
  Stefan Forbes
• I Didn't See You There
  Reid Davenport
• Întregalde
  Radu Muntean
• Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
  Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
• Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
  Sacha Jenkins
• Nanny
  Nikyatu Jusu
• Playground
  Laura Wandel
• Pleasure
  Ninja Thyberg
• Return to Seoul
  Davy Chou
• Riotsville, U.S.A.
  Sierra Pettengill
• Three Minutes: A Lengthening
  Bianca Stigter
• The Tsugua Diaries
  Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
• Till
  Chinonye Chukwu
• The Woman King
  Gina Prince-Bythewood
• The Worst Person in the World
  Joachim Trier

Ann Powers: Top 20 Albums Of 2022, as posted by NPR

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2011]

1. Outsiders
   Anna Tivel
2. Marchita
   Silvana Estrada
3. I Love You Jennifer B
   Jockstrap
4. Multitude
   Stromae
5. I Ran Down Every Dream
   Tommy McLain
6. Skinty Fia
   Fontaines D.C.
7. Life on Earth
   Hurray for the Riff Raff
8. Breaking The Thermometer
   Leyla McCalla
9. For All Our Days That Tear the Heart
   Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler
10. Angel in Realtime
    Gang of Youths
11. It Starts with Love
    The Suffers
12. White Trash Revelry
    Adeem the Artist
13. Asha's Awakening
    Raveena
14. Ghost Story
    Fern Maddie
15. Gold
    Alabaster DePlume
16. Ramona Park Broke My Heart
    Vince Staples
17. Microcosmos
    Lou Turner
18. Topical Dancer
    Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
19. If You Will
    Flora Purim
20. Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing's Surprising
    Body Type
20. Save the Baby
    Enumclaw

This list contributes to:

• NPR Music: Best Albums of 2022

Christopher Borrelli: The 10 Best Books of 2022, as published by The Chicago Tribune, in order of authors' names

[see also 2023 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

• Planes
  Peter C. Baker
• Ducks

  Two Years in the Oil Sands
  Kate Beaton
• Glory
  NoViolet Bulawayo
• The Philosophy of Modern Song
  Bob Dylan
• The Rabbit Hutch
  Tess Gunty
• The Devil Takes You Home
  Gabino Iglesias
• South to America

  A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
  Imani Perry
• My Phantoms
  Gwendoline Riley
• Super-Infinite

  The Transformations of John Donne
  Katherine Rundell
• Sandy Hook

  An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
  Elizabeth Williamson

Plus 10 more notable books and honorable mentions

• Trust
  Hernan Diaz
• American Midnight

  The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis
  Adam Hochschild
• Fairy Tale
  Stephen King
• What Moves the Dead
  T. Kingfisher
• Art Is Life

  Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night
  Jerry Saltz
• His Name Is George Floyd

  One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
  Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
• Lost & Found

  A Memoir
  Kathryn Schulz
• Camera Man

  Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century
  Dana Stevens
• An Immense World

  How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
  Ed Yong
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
  Gabrielle Zevin