Top 50 Albums of 2022

Hello, everybody! I hope you’re all doing well as we wind down towards the end of the year. 2022 was, in some respects, a breather—COVID isn’t over, but it’s as over as it’s likely going to be for the foreseeable future. The music industry acted accordingly: touring is back in full swing, bands sitting on material were mostly able to get it out, and I had greater clarity of mind to consume it attentively. A record amount of the stuff, in fact—I heard over 300 current releases for the first time in my decade of writing these top 50 album rundowns. That came with some drawbacks as well—I revisited albums less often if at all, and going forward I’d like to try to find a better balance between getting my ears on as much material as possible but also appreciating that material more deeply than under the pretext of background noise.

Still, though I had over 300 releases to choose from, my favorites made themselves apparent fast. If any of the writing that follows was hard, it’s only because my “audience” is of two minds: about half of you are contemporary music junkies yourselves, likely aware of most of these artists already. The other half of you have probably never heard of the majority of them. In trying to satisfy both crowds, I’ve discussed what the music means to me, while also trying to contextualize it on the timelines of the artists’ careers and their genres’ evolutions. Some blurbs will lean more towards one or the other based on what I can attest to, but regardless, they all get a firm recommendation from me.

Top 50 Albums of 2018

We both know why you clicked on this and I don’t intend to waste any more of your time than this long read will on its own, so I’ll keep the intro short and sweet. 2018 sure was a year, one that felt characterized by ridiculous cultural developments on a large scale yet flew by kind of fast and easily for me personally. My head’s somehow in as good a place as it’s been in years, so I gravitated towards a lot of happier mu- hah, just kidding, I binged like mad on hardcore and jammed more metal than I have in a long time.

That’s not to say I didn’t still get around to some of this year’s most lauded pop, hip-hop, and electronic music, but what successfully clicked with me was a little more of a grab bag. Regardless of what music you enjoy though, I think there’s something for virtually everyone here and I hope you all enjoy it.