YEAR END MEGALIST 2022!!!!

I kinda want to post mine but I'm also kind of still exploring.

Of note, I need to revisit Horsegirl and check out Momma, Yard Act, SZA and Angel Olsen (I adore her but dislike country).

I always struggle with honestly dividing points between my favorites and dishonesting dividing points in a way that attempts to push my favorites up the list that I know others here like (but does nothing to highlight albums that are lesser known around these parts) 😂
 
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DownIsTheNewUp said:
Wouldn't it be easier on you to have some sort of marker for when people have cemented their list?
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Perhaps, but it isn't an issue to me. Seeing the "Last edited" marker at the bottom-right corner of posts will allow me to cross-check for same day or day old edits given that I will check this thread at least once (but probably more) a day.
 
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Alight-- (EDITED)

I thought this year was really strong. My top two tiers ran deeep and I had filled out a top 50 I felt good about before end-of-the-year lists had started dropling.

I'm gonna post a top 35 that's pretty close to cemented as far as making the top 50 and then will add the rest of the top 50 and cement the points once I've finished exploring end-of-the-year and N&G member list--

Tier 1A:
1. Kendrick Lamar: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (rap) 20 PTS
2. Jockstrap: I Love You Jennifer B (electro pop, folk) 15 PTS
3. Ibibio Sound Machine: Electricity (house, afro-funk) 10 PTS
4. JID: The Forever Story (hip-hop) 10 PTS

Tier 1B: 5 PTS each
5. Sunflower Bean: Moment in the Sun (indie rock)
6. Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen (experimental r&b, hip-hop)
7. Beyonce: Renaissance (house, r&b)
8. Perfume Genius: Ugly Season (art pop)
9. Wet Leg: Wet Leg (indie rock, pop punk)
10. Little Simz: No Thank You (hip-hop)
11. The Soft Pink Truth: Is It Going to Get Any Deeper (ambient jazz, deep house)
12. King Hannah: I'm Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me (indie rock, post-punk)
13. Just Mustard: Heart Under (shoe-gaze, post punk)

-----‐----------------------

Tier 2:
14. Axel Boman- LULZ (downtempo house) + Quest for Fire (progressive techno)
15. Beth Orton: Weather Alive (art rock, trip hop)
16. Wunderhorse: Pup (indie rock, alt-rock)
17. Denzel Curry: Melt My Eyez See Your Future
18. Zola Jesus: Arkhon (art pop)
19. Grace Ives: Janky Star (lo-fi pop)
20. Angel Olsen: Big Phase (singer / songwriter)
21. Alex G: God Save the Animals (indie folk)
22. Billy Woods: Aethiopes (rap)
23. Big Thief: Dragon New Warm Mountain (folk)

Tier 3:
24. Nilifur Yanya: Painless (indie rock, singer / songwriter)
25.The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention (rock)
26. Tove Lo: Dirt Femme (pop)
27. Black Thought and Danger Mouse: Cheat Codes (rap)
28. Weyes Blood: And in Darkness, Hearts
29. Daniel Avery: Ultra Truth [ambient techno]
30. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Cool It Down (indie rock)
31. Kevin Moby: This is a Photograph (singer / songwriter, folk rock)
32. Viagra Boys- Cave World (dance punk)
33. Bonobo: Fragments (deep house)
34. Gabriels: Angels and Queens- Part 1 (orchestral soul, R&B)
35. Wu-Lu: Loggerhead (experimental hip-hop)
36. Arctic Monkeys: The Car (art rock)
 
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Joe Mac said:
Really struggling with this this year. There’s plenty that was kinda fine but absolutely nothing that’s jumping out to me as special.
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Maybe it's a matter of genre preference? I wouldn't say it was a particularly memorable year for rock. But in regards to pop, hip-hop, r&b and dance music in general, there was a lot of stuff that both pushed artistic / genre boundaries and that I am confident I'll be listening to for years.

Part of that probably has to do with the ways in which top 40 radio has completely destroyed rock's place at top of the zietgiest. All the people I know who only like rock music are the same people who think modern music sucks-- because the stuff on the radio sucks. Meanwhile, there's a lot of strong indie shit but people find their own path or scene to it so it usually stays a lot more niche than, say, the new Tove Lo or Kendrick.

Not saying that second portion is true of you by the way. We've had enough music related convos for me to know you have diverse taste. And anybody spending regular time on this forum is a music junkie. Just think it's really hard for concensus classics to form in a genre that's become so splintered.

I also thought last year was the weakest year for music in roughly a decade though and a lot of people here felt very differently. So obviously, this shit's the definition of subjective.
 
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ahh, forgot the 20 pt max rule. What about Florence + the Machine, Spiritualized, Bjork, and Oliver Sim? that would give you 5.

or Santigold, Nils Frahm, or Hot Chip? or that Nick Cave Seven Psalms album?

I feel like SZA, Orville Peck, and Amber Mark are the ones the jumped out the most to me this year but not sure if you would enjoy them as much.
 
Ericj32 said:
ahh, forgot the 20 pt max rule. What about Florence + the Machine, Spiritualized, Bjork, and Oliver Sim? that would give you 5.

or Santigold, Nils Frahm, or Hot Chip? or that Nick Cave Seven Psalms album?

I feel like SZA, Orville Peck, and Amber Mark are the ones the jumped out the most to me this year but not sure if you would enjoy them as much.
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No offence but beyond Spiritualized and Björk the rest aren’t my thing and the Spiritualized is kinda the epitome of my list ennui. It’s good but it’s kinda not really something that’s compelling me to pull it off the shelf repeatedly. I really can’t get into the Björk yet, the abrasiveness of some of the percussion is proving a mental block to me right now, it keeps pulling me out of the moment. That might change in time but it won’t be in time for a year end list.

I bought 26 new releases this year and I’m sure I can make a list of my favourite 10 or so but honestly, I’m just not feeling that hyped about more than 2 or 3 that are going to be on it.
 
Ericj32 said:
It's ok - this is all just the start of the Christmas movie that ends with @Joe Mac finding the true meaning of Christmas in the new SZA album. I can feel it.
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Or maybe I’m just getting old and the fact that I’ve bought 120 odd reissues or pressings of older albums versus 26 new releases is saying something. Or maybe it’s just this year wasn’t for me and next year is another 2020 and I have 20 brilliant albums all in my list. Life is strange, true meanings don’t exist.
 
Joe Mac said:
Or maybe I’m just getting old and the fact that I’ve bought 120 odd reissues or pressings of older albums versus 26 new releases is saying something. Or maybe it’s just this year wasn’t for me and next year is another 2020 and I have 20 brilliant albums all in my list. Life is strange, true meanings don’t exist.
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This is all great material for the setting the scene of our film. It will be all the more glorious when the power of SZA makes your heart grow 3 sizes. Or maybe it will be a jazz album.
 
My favorite albums of the year

Danielle Ponder - Some Of Us Are Brave (10)
Samora Pinderhughes – Grief (10)
JID - The Forever Story (10)
Terence Etc. - V O R T E X (9)
Saba - Few Good Things (8)
DOMi & JD Beck - NOT TiGHT (8)
Obongjayar - Some Nights I Dream of Doors (8)
Open Mike Eagle - Component System with the Auto Reverse (8)
Jacob Banks - Lies About The War (6)
EARTHGANG – GHETTO GODS (5)
Nosaj Thing – Continua (5)
Smino – Luv 4 Rent (5)
Sasha Alex Sloan - I Blame the World (5)
Vince Staples - Ramona Park Broke My Heart (1)
Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Cheat Codes (1)
Gabriel Kahane - Magnificent Bird (1)

AOTY.png

My favorite songs of the year
 
I felt slightly more tapped into the music scene this year than last year, but I also know there's plenty of stuff I didn't get around to and there's probably several albums that could have made my list if I'd had more time with them or felt like returning to them more often. But for my list this time around I'm mostly focusing on the records I listened to the most consistently throughout the year. This is the music I kept coming back to again and again in 2022.
  1. Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes (20 pts)
  2. The Weeknd - Dawn FM (18 pts)
  3. The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention (16 pts)
  4. Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time (15 pts)
  5. Mitski - Laurel Hell (12 pts)
  6. Hot Chip - Freakout/Release (10 pts)
  7. Benjamin Clementine - And I Have Been (5 pts)
  8. Clarence Clarity - UNRECORDED HISTORY (4 pts)
Thanks for putting this together @Rip_City! I'm loving seeing everyone else's lists.
 
The new Little Simz is steller. As usual. Grey Area and Sometimes are both top 5 of their respective years for me. This one splits the difference nicely in regards to GA's gritty electronics + samples / overall catchiness and Sometimes' lush orchestral / soul.

My head says this is gonna be a favorite for years but my heart doesn't want me to put it in my top 10 in a year where so many albums have been in heavy rotation all year.

Either way, I'm both grateful for an era with so many rappers who manage to trailblaze while staying consistent. And am sort of shocked at the relative crickets surrounding the release.
 
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Okay, here goes.

20 points goes to:
Alvvays - Blue Rev
T/T/T - Their They’re Three

15 points goes to:
The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
PUP - The unravelling of PUPTheBand
Lamb of God - Omens

5 points goes to:
Arctic Monkeys - The Car
Gentle Sinners - These Actions Cannot Be Undone
Slipknot - The End, So Far

This is mainly based off how many spins each album got.
 
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