Skip to main content

Top 25 Best Albums of 2022: Shouting Within

2022 was a spectacular year for music. From the new Radiohead side project (The Smile) to the virtually unknown debut of Shrieking Violet, 2022 turned out to be on par with 2021 in terms of diversity and brilliance in sonic craft and experimentation. 

Below I rank my favorite albums of the year. The format is: Artist Name - Album Name  ||  Genre  ||  descriptors  ||  Country  ||  Rating. Scroll to the bottom for a playlist of my favorite song from each album.

Hope you find something you like!

Honorable mentions: Death Cab for Cutie - Asphalt Meadows, Porcupine Tree - Closure / Continuation, Ghais Guevara - There Will Be No Super-Slave, Sharon Van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong, Jack White - Fear of the Dawn, Cult of Luna - The Long Road North.

25. Avantdale Bowling Club - Trees  ||  Jazz Rap  ||  mellow, poetic  ||  New Zealand  ||  8.5/10

24. Jesca Hoop - Order of Romance  ||  Indie Folk  ||  playful, lush  ||  USA  ||  8.5/10

23. Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy  ||  Jazz Metal  ||  complex, heavy  ||  USA  ||  8.5/10

22. Destroyer - LABYRINTHITIS  ||  Art Rock  ||  eclectic, poetic  ||  Canada  ||  8.5/10

21. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers  ||  Conscious Hip Hop  ||  eclectic, philosophical  ||  USA  ||  8.5/10

20. Archive - Call to Arms & Angels  ||  Trip Hop  ||  peaceful, atmospheric  ||  UK  ||  8.5/10

19. Shrieking Violet - Dead Things With Teeth  ||  Post-Industrial  ||  dark, avant-garde  ||  USA  ||  9/10

18. Beach House - Once Twice Melody  ||  Dream Pop  ||  ethereal, melancholic  ||  USA  ||  9/10

17. Naked Flames - Miracle in Transit  ||  Outsider House  ||  uplifting, happy  ||  UK  ||  9/10

16. Mamaleek - Diner Coffee  ||  Experimental Rock  ||  disturbing, frightening  ||  USA  ||  9/10

15. Sunrise Patriot Motion - Black Fellflower Stream  ||  Gothic Rock  ||  surreal, passionate  ||  USA  ||  9/10

14. Hatchie - Giving the World Away  ||  Dream Pop  ||  lush, longing  ||  Australia  ||  9/10

13. Billy Woods - Aethiopes  ||  Abstract Hip Hop  ||  existential, nihilistic  ||  USA  ||  9/10

12. Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter  ||  Slowcore  ||  lethargic, funereal  ||  USA  ||  9/10

11. Björk - Fossora  ||  Post-Industrial  ||  avant-garde, complex  ||  Iceland  ||  9/10

10. Natalia Lafourcade - De todas las flores  ||  Singer/Songwriter  ||  passionate, poetic  ||  Mexico  ||  9/10

9. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention  ||  Art Rock  ||  anxious, abstract  ||  UK  ||  9/10

8. Just Mustard - Heart Under ||  Post-Punk  ||  noisy, rhythmic  ||  Ireland  ||  9/10

7. Black Midi - Hellfire  ||  Avant-Prog  ||  infernal, energetic  ||  UK  ||  9.5/10

6. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You  ||  Folk Rock  ||  pastoral, warm  ||  USA  ||   9.5/10

5. ì•¼ì•¼ í‚´ [YAYA Kim] - a.k.a YAYA  ||  Jazz Pop  ||  eclectic, lush  ||  South Korea  ||  9.5/10

4. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There  ||  Art Rock  ||  melancholic, epic  ||  UK  ||   9.5/10

3. Backxwash - His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering  ||  Industrial Hip Hop  ||  manic, disturbing  ||  Canada  ||  9.5/10

2. Daniel Rossen - You Belong There  ||  Progressive Folk  ||  acoustic, introspective  ||  USA  ||  9.5/10

1. Anna von Hausswolff - Live at Montreux Jazz Festival ||  Neoclassical Darkwave  ||  suspenseful, mysterious  ||  Sweden  ||  10/10

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot (Themed Playlist)

"The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot  “A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” “My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me. 'Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak. 'What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? 'I never know what you are thinking. Think.” The Waste Land is one of the most impactful pieces of poetry that I have ever read. A British work written in the wake of WWI, it is an early example of modernism in poetry, and in fact inspired the entire literary movement almost on its own. It requires heavy interpretation and direct attention from the reader to understand and digest i...
Post a Comment
Read more

2024 Album Ratings (2)

Other Installments: One   ||  Three All of my album ratings for albums released this year (so far). This is the second installment. We've had a decent year so far. The top 10 on this list don't touch last year's, but it's early days yet. New additions to the list are are indicated. 1. Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She   ||  Darkwave, Post-Industrial, Trip Hop  ||  10/10  2. Allie X - Girl With No Face  ||  Synthpop, Darkwave, Electronic  ||  9.5/10 (NEW)  3. The Smile - Wall of Eyes  ||  Art Rock, Post-Rock, Krautrock  ||   9/10   4. Ally St. Ives - Dryleaze Marching Band   ||  Post-Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Experimental  ||  9/10   5. Kim Gordon - The Collective  ||  Industrial Hip Hop, Trap, Experimental Rock, No Wave  ||  8/10 (NEW)  6. Sonic Youth - Walls Have Ears   ||  Noise Rock, No Wave, Archival ...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Top 25 Australian Albums

This one's for the Aussies.  Music from Australian artists has had a huge impact on my taste. In particular, the punk blues scene which emerged from it was an important gateway into aggressive, catchy, and rebellious music. You will see a lot of albums from this scene on the list. Artists from other genres, of course, are among my favorites of all time. I love you Australia! I'm limiting the list to one album per artist, to keep it readable and not oversaturate it with just a couple of artists (guess which ones). 1. The Drones - I See Seaweed  ||  Punk Blues  ||  2013  ||  angry, poetic     Favorite tracks:  Nine Eyes, I See Seaweed, Why Write a Letter That You'll Never Send 2. The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You  ||  Neo-Psychedelia, Electronic, Trip Hop, House  ||  2020  ||  melancholic, atmospheric     Favorite tracks: We Go On, Song for Barbara Payton, The Divine Chord 3.  Nick Cave ...
Post a Comment
Read more