AllMusic Best of 2022 | AllMusic 2022 in Review

Adrian Quesada

Boleros Psicodélicos

The Grammy-winning producer revisits the tear-stained romantic baladas of his youth with the able help of a top-notch roster of vocalists.

Alvvays

Blue Rev

After a five-year absence, the group return with a bulked-up and refined version of their sound that adds even more energy and drama.

Amanda Shires

Take It Like a Man

The Americana heroine throws away her rule book and delivers a stylistically diverse and remarkably accomplished album.

Andris Nelsons / Boston Symphony Orchestra / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Strauss

Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhausorchester in a survey of Richard Strauss' major works for orchestra.

Ari Lennox

Age/Sex/Location

Working closely again with Elite, the Dreamville affiliate reaffirms her standing as one of the most fascinating artists in progressive R&B.

Ashley McBryde

Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville

A delightful concept album filled with character sketches and vignettes from a fictional small town inspired by songwriter Dennis Linde.

AURORA

The Gods We Can Touch

An ambitious mix of intimate acoustic, club-fit electro, and sweeping orchestral pop marks the Norwegian's mythology-themed fourth album.

Bad Bunny

Un Verano Sin Ti

The Puerto Rican superstar distills the summer itself into his expansive fourth LP, a representation of the year's warmer months packed with new rhythms and emotionally driven anthems.

Barney McAll

Precious Energy

After three decades as a bandleader, sideman, soloist, and composer, the Australian pianist delivers his sun-drenched, spiritual magnum opus.

Beach House

Once Twice Melody

The group's self-produced double album is a striking mix of ambition and heart that plays to their enduring strengths and reveals new ones.

Beyoncé

Renaissance

A lavish and exhilarating celebration of self and community with a similarly inclusive mix of sounds ranging from disco to dembow.

Bill Callahan

YTILAER [REALITY]

The singer/songwriter's post-pandemic reflections capture the moment's tensions and hopes with songs of timeless quality.

Björk

Fossora

Delivering earthy illustrations of the many kinds of love and how they're expressed, the singer/songwriter's tenth album is one of her most moving.

Black Thought / Danger Mouse

Cheat Codes

Captivating, intensely focused LP from Brian Burton and the Roots' principal MC, finishing what they started back in 2006.

Cate Le Bon

Pompeii

The sixth album from this abstract pop auteur replaces detail-oriented songcraft with smears of dense synth pop and plastic funk.

Charley Crockett

The Man from Waco

The hardest-working man in Americana took his touring band into the studio to cut a record that showcases their effortless eclecticism.

Charlie Musselwhite

Mississippi Son

After returning to the Delta to live, Musselwhite delivers an unromanticized testament to his life as a bluesman in originals and covers.

Charlotte Adigéry / Bolis Pupul

Topical Dancer

The Belgian duo's first album is a catchy, danceable, and brutally funny takedown of racism, xenophobia, and sexism.

Charlotte Dos Santos

Morfo

A richer, more soul-steeped follow-up to the Brazilian-Norwegian singer/songwriter's promising debut.

Cola

Deep in View

The debut album from this band partly made up of ex-members of Ought turns away from that act's often emphatic style toward streamlined post-punk.

Conway the Machine

God Don't Make Mistakes

Conway's long-planned full-length contains some of the most vulnerable, confessional material of his career.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano

Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets 3 & 4

Hugely enjoyable string quartets from Spain in superb performances, not typically nationalist but marked by Spanish traditions.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Ghost Song

The Grammy-winning vocalist showcases her broad influences and poignant lyricism on her first album for the Nonesuch label.

Denzel Curry

Melt My Eyez See Your Future

The Florida rapper folds summer-tinged directions into his fifth studio album, enlisting a diverse range of producers for a smooth ride into the sunset.

Dry Cleaning

Stumpwork

The band's confident second album takes a quieter, slower approach that highlights their warmth, sensuality, and humor.

Duster

Together

Trading in space rock ramble for a singer/songwriter-meets-noise rock approach, the group's fourth album is a slowcore triumph.

El Grupo Renacimiento / Meridian Brothers

Meridian Brothers y Grupo Renacimiento

Meridian Brothers collaborated with "long lost" salsa dura band Grupo Renacimiento on this wildly imaginative, utterly accessible long-player.

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

Down Every Road

A vibrant, soulful tribute to Merle Haggard, one of the iconic American figures of the 20th century.

Elvis Costello / Elvis Costello & the Imposters

The Boy Named If

Costello and his longtime band use familiar building blocks -- pumped-up riffs, fleet wordplay, an omnivorous musical appetite -- yet reassemble them in unexpected ways.

Erin Anne

Do Your Worst

Hooky, '90s-style indie rock infused with Anne's potent, queer-oriented perspective.

Florist

Split between songs and instrumentals, an immersive, poignant fourth LP that finds the band reuniting for sessions on a porch with stunning results.

Gerald Clayton

Bells on Sand

A deeply dreamlike and poetic album of duo and trio performances informed by the pianist's classical influences.

Gerardo Teissonnière

Beethoven: The Last Sonatas - Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111

Magisterial Beethoven by Teissonnière evoking the performances of Schnabel and Cortot.

Ghost

Impera

The Swedes return with a melodically infectious, bombastic, hook-laden, riff-drenched stadium rock tome about the rise and fall of empires.

Goat

Oh Death

After a detour into acoustic sounds, the band return with a dark, dangerous, and thrilling album that adds dance grooves and death to the mix.

Harish Raghavan

In Tense

The New York bassist delivers an imaginative and reflexive therapeutic second outing as bandleader.

Harry Styles

Harry's House

Inviting third set from the English pop star that merges '70s influence, L.A. energy, and irresistible pop savvy.

Hater

Sincere

After some lineup changes and a rethink, the band come out blazing on a set of guitar-heavy, emotionally shattered post-punk- and shoegaze-inspired songs.

Herbert Blomstedt / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 "Unfinished" & 9 "The Great"

Superb Schubert from a nonagenarian conductor and the orchestra that premiered the Symphony No. 9.

Horace Andy

Midnight Rocker

Reggae vocalist is in prime form more than 50 years in, with production from Adrian Sherwood helping to place this dubby, mysterious among his best.

Horsegirl

Versions of Modern Performance

A stunning late-in-the-game indie rock revelation from a Chicago group barely out of high school but full of knowledge and inspired skill.

Hurray for the Riff Raff

Life on Earth

"Nature punk" Alynda Segarra updates their folk-rock with such modern touches as urgent melodies and atmospheric keyboards.

Ibibio Sound Machine

Electricity

The Afrofuturist dance band teams with Hot Chip to deliver a soulful, militant dancefloor manifesto.

Jack White

Entering Heaven Alive

The counterpart to Fear of the Dawn is a relaxed yet vibrant collection that finds Jack White in a fresh, inventive state.

Jake Xerxes Fussell

Good and Green Again

The North Carolinian turns in another marvelous and deeply charming LP of obscure folk songs and a handful of originals.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet / Gabor Takács-Nagy / Manchester Camerata

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22, KV 482; Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488; Overture to 'Der Schauspieldirektor', KV 486

Exceptionally fluent Mozart concertos, with superb sound capturing the orchestrational strides forward in this pair of works.

Jeff Parker

Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy

Recorded over three years during a club residency with a smoking ensemble, this is the guitarist's most mysterious and groove-laden offering.

JID

The Forever Story

The Dreamville rapper's third solo studio album continues the monumental presentation of its predecessors while growing more personal lyrically.

Jockstrap

I Love You Jennifer B

The full-length debut from this experimental London duo is pop at its most baffling, but is kept listenable and thrilling by its captivating design.

John Eliot Gardiner / Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists

Bach: St. John Passion [2021 Recording] [CD & Blu-Ray Audio]

Highly dramatic St. John Passion draws energy from its live, socially distanced performance in a theatrical setting.

Jorge Drexler

Tinta y Tiempo

On his first outing in five years, the Uruguayan songwriter offers a sophisticated collection of pop songs examining the many facets of love.

Joshua Hedley

Neon Blue

Second album from the songwriter whose heart is in Nashville's past moves from the 1960s to the '90s with engaging results.

Katie Alice Greer

Barbarism

The solo debut from the former Priests lead vocalist is a confounding rush of noisy experimentalism and futurized pop.

Kendrick Lamar

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

The fifth album from one of rap's most creative artists is relentlessly complex and often uncomfortably raw in its emotional gravity.

Kenyon Dixon

Closer

Low-profile (if Grammy-nominated) singer/songwriter and producer with his most satisfying set of deep contemporary R&B thus far.

Kokoroko

Could We Be More

Four years after their global smash "Abusey Junction," this London-based octet delivers a seamless meld of jazz, funk, Afrobeat, and highlife.

Leikeli47

Shape Up

The Brooklyn rapper ends her Beauty Series album trilogy with some of her most confident and varied music.

Les Cris de Paris / Geoffroy Jourdain

Schütz: David & Salomon; Psalmi; Canticum Canticorum

A magnificent Schütz recording captures not only the sumptuous style but the expressiveness the composer learned from two Italian trips.

Les Épopées / Stéphane Fuget

Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria

Working from the premise that the heart of Monteverdi lies in recitatives, the ensemble Les Épopées delivers a remarkable performance.

Lightning in a Twilight Hour

Overwintering

The group's second album adds British folk and American slowcore influences to their sad and beautiful sound with great success.

Lights

Pep

The Canadian singer's first album for Fueled by Ramen is an effusive and hooky rock-influenced production.

Lizzo

Special

The multifaceted talent follows her breakthrough album Cuz I Love You with confessional, musically adventurous songs.

Lola Kirke

Lady for Sale

The singer/actress embraces a playfully empowered, '80s-styled country-pop vibe on her sophomore album.

Lucky Daye

Candydrip

David Brown's gleaming second album of progressive R&B, chock-full of persuasive slow jams and ballads.

Makaya McCraven

In These Times

Seven years in the making, this cumulative effort enlists a dozen collaborators who recorded in five studios and four gigs.

Marxist Love Disco Ensemble

MLDE

A sublime record of sunny Euro-disco grooves, quirky indie pop melodies, and impeccable musicianship.

Maylee Todd

Maloo

Dreamlike and gentle, the album is a series of lovely science fiction ballads built around sparse and bubbly electronics and Todd's entrancing vocals.

Melissa Aldana

12 Stars

The Chilean-born saxophonist joins Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund for this enveloping, sonically textured quintet album.

Melody's Echo Chamber

Emotional Eternal

A warm embrace of sweet psychedelia from the team who made the thrilling Bon Voyage album; this time the feeling is peace rather than turmoil.

Miranda Lambert

Palomino

Miranda Lambert indulges in her wanderlust on this varied and empathetic collection.

Night Palace

Diving Rings

Unexpected production choices and ambitious orchestral pop arrangements join captivating songwriting on the dreamlike debut LP from this Athens/N.Y.C. group.

Nikki Lane

Denim & Diamonds

Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme produces Nikki Lane's collection of searching songs.

Panda Bear / Sonic Boom

Reset

This joint album from the longtime collaborators taps into the essence of their individual strengths and delivers its songs with a newfound sense of carefree joy.

Panic! At the Disco

Viva Las Vengeance

The band's seventh album is a love letter to rock & roll, full of knowing exuberance and references to rock's golden gods.

Phoenix

Alpha Zulu

Inspired by their late friend and collaborator Philippe Zdar, the band puts their melodies and exuberance up front with winning results.

Rachika Nayar

Heaven Come Crashing

Sublime guitar-based ambient/post-rock that takes inspiration from anime soundtracks, jungle, and uplifting trance.

Ravyn Lenae

Hypnos

Matured, refined, and fearlessly creative full-length debut from Ravyn Lenae, arriving four years after her lauded third EP.

Rina Sawayama

Hold the Girl

The triumphant follow-up to the pop star's 2020 breakthrough debut pushes her genre experimentation and confidence to stadium-sized levels.

Robyn Hitchcock

Shufflemania

The esteemed sorcerer of pop surrealism's tightest and most potent outing in years.

Rosalía

Motomami

Juxtaposing the jarring, dissonant, and experimental with the sweet, tender, and nurturing, the Spanish singer revels in musical contradiction.

Samuel Hasselhorn / Joseph Middleton

Schubert: Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe

Gripping, superbly performed collection of some of Schubert's most daring songs from baritone Hasselhorn.

Say Sue Me

The Last Thing Left

Tinged by sadness due to the death of their ex-drummer, the band deliver sadness with a pretty melody and the occasional glimpse of hope.

Shygirl

Nymph

Shygirl follows her head-turning early EPs with a full-length that's more introspective and melodic, but no less inventive or sexually commanding.

Sondre Lerche

Avatars of Love

A constantly surprising, alternately epic and intimate album from the songwriter that feels like a definitive artistic statement.

Steve Lacy

Gemini Rights

The Internet guitarist, producer, and singer/songwriter returns in strong form with the breakup-inspired follow-up to his Grammy-nominated debut.

Sudan Archives

Natural Brown Prom Queen

Diversifying as a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, Brittney Parks outdoes herself with her powerful second album.

Suede

Autofiction

Suede sound urgent and muscular as they tackle the deep emotions of middle age.

Taylor Swift

Midnights [Moonstone Blue Edition]

A moody, dreamy album designed to be played in the wee small hours of the morning.

The Comet Is Coming

Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam

The fourth album by this futurist electro-jazz trio was improvised over four days, then deconstructed and reassembled into apocalyptic party music.

The Dear Hunter

Antimai

Refreshing jaunt outside the band's long-running Acts series injects brass-backed funk and an array of flourishes to a heady sci-fi concept.

The Smile

A Light for Attracting Attention

More than just a side exercise, the Radiohead/Sons of Kemet debut LP is a jazzy, mind-bending rock trip.

The Weeknd

Dawn FM

Abel Tesfaye indulges his frantic romantic side with numerous synthesizer-powered '80s flavorings on his follow-up to After Hours.

Tom Skinner

Voices of Bishara

The first album where this storied London drummer assumes a directorial role is subtle and otherworldly, using editing to bend strong jazz performances into unexpected shapes.

Tomberlin

i dont know who needs to hear this...

The follow-up to the songwriter's intimate collegiate debut finds a musical artistry that rises to the level of her lyrical perceptiveness.

Trevor Pinnock

J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier II

The successor to Pinnock's WTC Book 1 is just as breathtaking as the first volume.

Tyler Childers

Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?

Three versions of the same eight songs showcase the far-reaching musical vision of Tyler Childers.

Wet Leg

The group's cheeky, occasionally heartbroken debut captures twenty-something angst with all the wit and fun of their viral singles.

Weyes Blood

And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Fifth album from this soft rock-inspired songwriter builds on the orchestral majesty of earlier work while focusing on themes of isolation and societal dread.