2022 year-end lists, recommendations, complaints, etc

[iron yuppie]

Reviewing the year in music in whatever form seems appropriate. Let's see if we can get more than five participants.

 

[lazarus]

I need to listen to this new SZA first, which oddly hasn't been mentioned at all yet in B&C?

 

[mikal]

If live albums count, Tom Petty at the Filmore has just been an absolute treat and probably the most memorable album of my year.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Every year my boss asks me for a mix of the best stuff that came out during the last twelve months. He calls his car the "time machine," because he's pretty well stuck in the 80s and only listens to older stuff. But he's willing to branch out.

Y'all. I've hardly listened to anything that came out this year. I might just have to come clean and tell him, I got nothing for you. But a part of me is hoping that with a thread like this, or with some playlists from y'all, I can still throw something together by the end of the year.

 

[MrPryck2U]

I bought 3 albums released in 2022. Eddie Vedder's album and the 2 RHCP albums. Eddie's was the best. The 2nd RHCP album released was better than the first.

Naturally, with PJ being my 1A of favorite bands, I regard Eddie's album highly beyond just 2022.

 

[iron yuppie]

I'm going to treat the two releases from Billy Woods - Aethiopes and Church - as a single entity and call it album of the year. Woods is easily my favorite hip-hop artist at the moment. The beats are ridiculously inventive - "Wharves" and "Classical Music" immediately come to mind - and his bars are full of noir humor and off-kilter references. His brand of lo-fi, jazz and industrial-tinged hip-hop is really speaking to me.

The next tier for me is:
Duster - Together
The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention
Beach House - Once Twice Melody

And some others I would recommend:
Carmen Villain - Only Love from Now On
Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork
Gilla Band - Most Normal
Lucrecia Dalt - Ay!
Nilufer Yanya: Painless
Sylvan Esso - No Rules Sandy

Biggest disappointment:
Mitski - Laurel Hell

Worst album of the year:
Arcade Fire - We (I thought this before all the stuff about Win came to light, but the album is even less tolerable now that the full sanctimony of bullshit like "Lookout Kid" is in full view.)

 

[Salome]

Favourites:
I Am the Moon - Tedeschi Trucks Band
Florist - Florist
Maternity Beat - Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen / Trondheim Jazz Orchestra
In Cinerama - April March
The Chicago Experiment - Greg Spero
Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions - The Dream Syndicate
Magic Pony Ride - µ-Ziq
Bells on Sand - Gerald Clayton
Ghost Poems - Earthen Sea
Spells and Daubs - Kreidler
The Bible - Lambchop
Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Ry Cooder / Taj Mahal
Doggerel - Pixies
Jump - Julieta Eugenio
I Could Be Your Dog/I Could Be Your Moon - Emile Mosseri / Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Great / Highly recommended:
Crystal Nuns Cathedral Guided by Voices
Tremblers & Goggles by Rank - Guided by Voices
Heavy Rocks [2022] - Boris
The Bad Plus [2022] The Bad Plus
Found Light - Laura Veirs
Classic Objects - Jenny Hval
Let's Turn It Into Sound - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Dream like a Dogwood Wild Boy - Binker Golding
12 Stars - Melissa Aldana
Reflections - Alina Bzhezhinska & the HipHarpCollective
Music for Magnesium 173 - Ian William Craig
Ride - Walter Trout
Blue Skies - Dehd
World Construct - Matthew Shipp Trio
Ghost Song - Cécile McLorin Salvant
sabela - Oded Tzur

Good/Very good:
Looking Glass - Alela Diane
Comradely Objects- Horse Lords
Kalak - Sarathy Korwar
United States of the Broken Hearted - Jeb Loy Nichols
Voices of Bishara -Tom Skinner
Speakers in the House - The Headhunters
En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog - Dungen
Palomino - First Aid Kit
Oh Death - Goat
Into the Blue - Broken Bells
Fossora - Björk
In the Fade - Tony Molina
In These Times - Makaya McCraven
MLDE - Marxist Love Disco Ensemble
Done Come Too Far - Shemekia Copeland
Forecast - Jazz Funk Soul
Misadventures of Doomscroller - Dawes
Voodoo Nation - Supersonic Blues Machine
Every Note Is True - Ethan Iverson
Mississippi Son - Charlie Musselwhite
Amaryllis - Mary Halvorson
Belladonna - Mary Halvorson / Mivos Quartet
In the Spirit of Ntu - Nduduzo Makhathini
Interpret It Well - Ches Smith
Where's the One? - Congotronics International
The Parable of the Poet - Joel Ross
Fear of the Dawn Jack White
Diving Rings - Night Palace
Blind - Jameszoo
Cold as Weiss Delvon Lamarr / Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

And while he might be scum, incredible year for Ryan Adams: Chris, Romeo & Juliet, FM, Devolver

 

[LemonMelon]

I've heard over 300 albums this year and there are still 20~ I want to get to before I make a list. I'm relistening to a lot of albums too, which is in my zeal to hear every album ever is something I sometimes forget to do. This has been my favorite year for music since at least 2016, so that process has been a pleasure.

 

[iron yuppie]

I've heard over 300 albums this year and there are still 20~ I want to get to before I make a list. I'm relistening to a lot of albums too, which is in my zeal to hear every album ever is something I sometimes forget to do. This has been my favorite year for music since at least 2016, so that process has been a pleasure.

LM do you have a list? I always find something good in your year-end stuff.

 

[LemonMelon]

LM do you have a list? I always find something good in your year-end stuff.

So, I've been working on a novel since last March and finished it today. That's taken up most of my mental bandwidth. I'm off work next week so I'll be doing my usual year end stuff during this time. Better a little late than never!

 

[Jerry Dunk]

This was easily the worst year I've had in terms of keeping up with new music, just from being extremely busy all the time. But I can at least acknowledge the best concerts I went to this year:

The War on Drugs
LCD Soundsystem
Spoon
Beach House
Mitski
Tim Heidecker
Los Campesinos!
Phoenix
The Killers
St. Lucia
Broken Social Scene
Pond

 

[womanfish]

Look forward to this thread every year. I usually find a couple that I add to my list. I've been doing a best of for 20 years now, and this year was pretty decent, but still have some to listen through.

Surprised no one mentioned Yeah Yeah Yeah's Coo it Down. My favorite album of the year so far. Creating one of their best albums 20 years on, is pretty impressive as well.

 

[lazarus]

Totally forgot that came out. Still haven't heard it.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

So, I've been working on a novel since last March and finished it today. That's taken up most of my mental bandwidth. I'm off work next week so I'll be doing my usual year end stuff during this time. Better a little late than never!

Finishing a novel is a big deal - congrats! Looking forward to your list too. I need to backtrack to last year and check some stuff out.

 

[phanan]

I didn't really get to much new stuff last year, but what I did enjoy most was generally pop in nature. The Weeknd, The 1975, Carly, Taylor, etc. Also enjoyed Harry Styles latest.

Others I gravitated to were The Beths, Wet Leg, Spoon, and Beach House.

Finally, an outlier around these parts, but anyone interested in hard rock should check out the latest from Ghost (Impera). Harkens back to the 80's with their sound, so not everyone's taste, but just great guitar riffs and melodies. They have a metal background, and while there are still hints of it, the latest is more of a straight rock sound.

 

[mikal]

I've heard over 300 albums this year and there are still 20~ I want to get to before I make a list. I'm relistening to a lot of albums too, which is in my zeal to hear every album ever is something I sometimes forget to do. This has been my favorite year for music since at least 2016, so that process has been a pleasure.

I’m jealous that you’re able to listen to that many albums.

 

[Salome]

Finally, an outlier around these parts, but anyone interested in hard rock should check out the latest from Ghost (Impera). Harkens back to the 80's with their sound, so not everyone's taste, but just great guitar riffs and melodies. They have a metal background, and while there are still hints of it, the latest is more of a straight rock sound.

Stumbled upon that one just after posting my 2022 list.
Definitely an album worth checking out.

 

[LemonMelon]

Here is my massive list of recommendations. If you would like to read my thoughts about some of these albums and songs, I made a list for RYM with individual entries here:

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Trav...ums-and-songs-that-meant-a-lot-to-me-in-2022/

1. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Genre: indie folk, singer/songwriter
Recommended song: Little Things

2. Cities Aviv - Man Plays the Horn
Genre: psychedelic hip hop
Recommended song: Block Pleasure

3. Weyes Blood - In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Genre: chamber pop
Recommended song: It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody

4. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
Genre: indie rock, chamber pop
Recommended song: Concorde

5. Billy Woods - Aethiopes
Genre: experimental hip hop
Recommended song: NYNEX

6. Alvvays - Blue Rev
Genre: indie rock, shoegaze
Recommended song:

7. Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful
Genre: space rock
Recommended song: Always Together With You

8. Alex G - God Save the Animals
Genre: indie rock/folk
Recommended song: Runner

9. Tim Bernardes - Mil coisas invisíveis
Genre: MPB
Recommended song: A Balada de Tim Bernardes

10. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Genre: west coast hip hop
Recommended song: Father Time

11. Beach House - Once Twice Melody
Genre: dream pop
Recommended song: New Romance

12. Destroyer - LABYRINTHITIS
Genre: art rock
Recommended song: It’s in Your Heart Now

13. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention Genre: art rock
Recommended song: Free in the Knowledge

14. Angel Olsen - Big Time
Genre: Americana, singer/songwriter
Recommended song: Right Now

15. Niños del Cerro - Suave pendiente
Genre: art rock, dream pop
Recommended song: Tentempie

16. Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time
Genre: Dance pop
Recommended song: Western Wind

17. Hatchie - Giving the World Away
Genre: shoegaze, dream pop
Recommended song: Quicksand

18. MJ Lenderman - Boat Songs
Genre: alt-country
Recommended song: You Are Every Girl to Me

19. Little Simz - NO THANK YOU
Genre: UK hip hop
Recommended song: Gorilla

20. Animal Collective - Time Skiffs
Genre: neo-psych
Recommended song: Strung With Everything

21. Anxious - Little Green House
Genre: pop-punk
Recommended song: More Than a Letter

22. The Weeknd - Dawn FM
Genre: synthpop, synthwave
Recommended song: Out of Time

23. Hikaru Utada - Bad Mode
Genre: J-pop
Recommended song: Bad Mode

24. Foxes - The Kick
Genre: dance-pop
Recommended song: Sister Ray

25. Mondo Grosso - Big World
Genre: dance-pop, house
Recommended song: STRANGER

26. Let's Eat Grandma - Two Ribbons
Genre: art pop
Recommended song: Happy New Year

27. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
Genre: indie rock
Recommended song: Wild

28. The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
Genre: power pop
Recommended song: Head in the Clouds

29. Guerilla Toss - Famously Alive
Genre: neo-psych, indietronica
Recommended song: Cannibal Capital

30. Cate Le Bon - Pompeii
Genre: art pop
Recommended song: Moderation

31. Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity
Genre: funk, electro
Recommended song: All That You Want

32. Molly Nilsson - Extreme
Genre: synthpop
Recommended song: Pompeii

33. Ethel Cain - Preacher’s Daughter
Genre: singer/songwriter, slowcore
Recommended song: American Teenager

34. Nu Genea - Bar Mediterraneo
Genre: funk, nu-disco
Recommended song: Marechià

35. Bill Callahan - YTI⅃AƎЯ
Genre: singer/songwriter
Recommended song: Naked Souls

36. betcover!! - Tamago
Genre: jazz rock, art rock
Recommended song: ばらばら

37. Nas - King's Disease III
Genre: east coast hip hop
Recommended song: Legit

38. Luna Li - Duality
Genre: indie pop
Recommended song: Cherry Pit

39. Lilien Rosarian - Every Flower in My Garden
Genre: ambient, electronic
Recommended song: Revery Hour

40. Ghais Guevara - There Will Be No Super-Slave
Genre: political hip hop
Recommended song: Face/Off

41. Naked Flames - Miracle in Transit
Genre: house, techno
Recommended song: Tennessee Transit

42. The Mountain Goats - Bleed Out
Genre: indie rock/folk
Recommended song: Mark on You

43. Real Lies - Lad Ash
Genre: downtempo, house
Recommended song: Boss Trick

44. Fievel Is Glauque - Flaming Swords
Genre: progressive pop, jazz pop
Recommended song: Save the Phenomenon

45. Courting - Guitar Music
Genre: indie rock, dance-punk
Recommended song: Jumper

46. $ilkMoney - I Don't Give a Fuck About This Rap Shit, Imma Just Drop Until I Don't Feel Like It Anymore
Genre: political hip hop
Recommended song: Cuummoney Amiliani

47. Westside Gunn - 10
Genre: east coast hip hop
Recommended song: Peppas

48. Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Darklife
Genre: glitch pop, vaporwave
Recommended song: Messe de E-102

49. Sobs - Air Guitar
Genre: power pop
Recommended song: Friday Night

50. Natalia Lafourcade - De todas las flora
Genre: singer/songwriter
Recommended song: De todas las flores