It’s that time of the year again. We’ve ranked the best albums of 2022. This year we’ve expanded to include the top 20 albums. Check out our list and be sure to listen along on Spotify. And while you’re there, hit the like button.
When you’re done here, check out The Daily Music Report’s 20 best songs of 2022.
20. Sault – Air
Sault catches the greater music community off guard with the release of their latest album, Air.
19. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
On Harry’s House Styles explores an upbeat and intimate form of pop music that bumps up against a more electronic sound.
18. Three Colored Squares – After Rain
Three Colored Squares has created an album constructed using one tiny device — a Teenage Engineering OP-Z sampler/synthesizer.
17. PRADO – Machines
On Machines Nicolás Prado releases a precise and dialed-in experiment.
16. DJ Khaled – God Did
Hailed as THE curator of the genre, DJ Khaled has released an all-star album filled with tracks that will keep the dance floor packed for weeks to come.
15. Tumi Mogorosi – Group Theory: Black Music
Group Theory: Black Music boasts massive polyrhythmic beats coupled with a nine-person choir.
14. Kevin Morby – This Is A Photograph
Morby captures his curiosity regarding life, the afterlife, and everything in between.
13. Sharon Van Etten – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
Primarily written in her new home in California during the height of the pandemic, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is a sprawling, mature project that sees Sharon Van Etten apprehensive, yet optimistic about the future.
12. Rosalía – Motomami
Rosalía’s third album Motomami sees the Spanish singer and songwriter explore her “most personal and confessional album so far.”
11. Galcher Lustwerk – 100% Galcher
Cleveland-born and Brooklyn-based producer Galcher Lustwerk’s 2013 DJ mix 100% GALCHER finally receives a proper physical and digital release almost ten years after its initial release.
10. Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
For their latest album, Ants From Up There, the London six-piece sounds complete, crisp, and calculated as you proceed through the album’s 10 tracks.
9. ODESZA – The Last Goodbye
Their inspiration shows. Their dedication shows. And their love and focus shows on one of the best albums of the year.
8. Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Twenty-three tracks deep and featuring appearances from Rauw Alejandro, Bomba Estéreo, Buscabulla, and more Bad Bunny’s surprise fourth album is his first since 2020’s El Último Tour Del Mundo.
7. Oso Oso – sore thumb
Catchy hooks, rolling guitars, and the band’s fresh and friendly vibe come across with ease on the 13 tracks.
6. Puppies in the Sun – Light Became Light
Light Became Light, the debut album from Puppies in the Sun, is a glorious experiment in improvised “noise” rock that will stand as a template for future bands to learn from for years to come.
5. Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE
Beyoncé delivers her first solo project in six years. The album sits atop many year-end lists. And rightfully so.
4. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
On A Light for Attracting Attention, the band incorporates components of post-punk, progressive, alternative, and electronic music to a stunning outcome.
3. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Spanning four different recording sessions, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You is the result of a band with space to create.
2. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Throw out all those preconceived notions on what this album should be, open your ears and mind, and you will come out on the other side happy to have listened to one of the best hip-hop artists in the game.
1. SZA – SOS
SZA has followed up her 2017 critically acclaimed album Ctrl with another stunning project. Entitled SOS, the St. Louis-born musician’s sophomore album consists of twenty-three tracks written and composed by herself, along with Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco, Rodney Jerkins, DJ Dahi, Gabriel Hardeman, Ant Clemons, Lizzo, and Björk. The album features collaborations with Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.