The tenth year of this list!
âŠor at least I only have copies of ten lists. Despite the fact that Iâm completely convinced these are stupid, this ritual has become an annual tradition. I skipped writing about it last year (though I did rank the songs) and December just didnât feel right as a result.
Iâve stopped ranking my favorite albums entirely. I have become the very thing I despised up until a few years ago: A âMostly Listen To Songsâ Guy. I used to be an ardent defender of the art of the album, but time comes for us all and I find it much easier to keep up with new music when I can break it up into smaller chunks and donât feel obligated to devote an hour of uninterrupted focus to each new artist I discover. Itâs gross and I donât like it, but I do think itâs allowed my music tastes to branch out and get more varied.
This is my most diverse list, both within itself (there are a lot of different artists here) and compared to the history of these rankings (this feels like a departure from the other nine lists). For some reason I got really into country this year! Thatâs a genre thatâs had a very small presence through the years. On the other hand, Pusha T appeared in the first top five in 2013 and again in the top five in 2022. Neither of us have any interest in totally abandoning what we love. đ€·ââïž
Find the honorable mentions on the playlist page.
Listen on Spotify here.
50. Wilco â âTired of Taking It Out On Youâ
A rite of passage at this point. I donât know if Wilco is my favorite band of all time. They probably arenât. But I love lead singer Jeff Tweedy too much not to fall for one song a year. Iâve been ranking my annual favorites for at least a decade and heâs probably appeared in more lists than anyone.
49. Flatland Cavalry â âMountain Songâ
A bunch of weird stuff happened in my brain this year, something I blame on turning 30. One of those things was finally making contact with something Iâve spent most of my life circling: Formally becoming something of a country music fan. âTime ainât a thing here, luck is my best friend,â indeed.
48. NilĂŒfer Yanya â âmidnight sunâ
Not sure what I love more: Songs based on drum breaks and acoustic guitars or songs that take their title from the bridge.
47. Camp Trash â âLet It Rideâ
Another band that made a huge dent on my 2021 list. Camp Trashâs debut LP The Long Way, The Slow Way is one of my favorites of the year. I listened to a lot of music in this vein growing up, but something about Camp Trash specifically seems to hit that mood directly. Itâs music that feels designed to be played on a portable CD player.
46. Runner â âUr Name on a Grain of Rice - demoâ
I wrote this last year and I guess it continues to hold true, but this kind of ambling bedroom pop is everywhere still. I like all of it while recognizing itâs kind of light and airy to the point of being nearly disposable. But something about Runnerâs demo version of this song feels lived-in enough that itâs retained some sticking power.
45. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross â â(You Made It Feel Like) Homeâ
The GOATs Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have never made my favorite songs of the year list, despite my great admiration of their work. For whatever reason Iâve always seemed to silo âmusic for filmâ into a separate place in my brain, but the two puddles have merged in 2022. This song come from Luca Guadagninoâs Bones and All, one of my favorite movies of the year, pinned down by a couple stirring needle drops.
44. Junior Varsity â âSingaporeâ
Junior Varsity was my band of 2021, and as a result doesnât have near the same presence on this yearâs list, but the duo continues to make some of the most affable pop music in the world. I build this list of annual favorites in real time, which means I spend all year listening to these songs. Junior Varsity never gets skipped.
43. Danger Mouse, Black Thought, A$AP Rocky, & Run The Jewels â âStrangersâ
Danger Mouse making rap music feels like a transmission from an ancient LimeWire past. The Black Thought and Run The Jewels collaborations make quick sense, but consider it a plot twist that A$AP Rocky sounds perfectly at home as well. Perhaps itâs a testament to the versatility of each.
42. The 1975 â âAll I Need To Hearâ
I love The 1975âs b.s. so much, yet amidst the more naked provocation and gleeful, wanton pretension exists âAll I Need To Hear,â a sincere little ballad. It was (allegedly) recorded in one take and (allegedly) designed to feel like a cover of someone elseâs song. Both of those could be a lie, but Iâll buy it.
41. Princess Nokia â âNo Effortâ
Listen to this song for 30 seconds and then tell me it doesnât belong on a list for best songs of the year. I do a poor job of following Princess Nokia and then Iâll hear one of her songs and curse myself for not spending every waking minute blasting her music.
40. Lana Del Rey â âDid you know that thereâs a tunnel under Ocean Blvdâ
Americaâs foremost crafter of flawless album titles returns with the title track to her 2023 record. After falling out of love with Lana a bit between 2012 and 2019, Iâm glad to have her back in my life. Sheâs firmly in the Pusha T category where she continues to make the exact same type of music, but sheâs now so good at it that I donât get tired. Serve me Americana pastiche forever.
39. MJ Lenderman â âYou Have Bought Yourself A Boatâ
If thereâs an artist discovery from 2022 most likely to stay with me into the future, itâs MJ Lenderman. I nearly gave this spot to âYou Are Every Girl To Me,â another great cut from Boat Songs. But thereâs a line on here where he says, wearily, âThey gave this hurricane your human name.â
38. Origami Angel â âlive from the ufoâ
Iâve been on the Origami Angel train since 2019. Their 2021 album GAMI GANG (one of my favorites) won me over with its brash style and rollicking energy. But âlive from the ufoâ sheds that, embodying a soft, twinkly love song. Itâs not something I thought Iâd want from them but now I need more.
37. Freddie Gibbs â âGold Ringsâ (ft. Pusha T)
Another completely overlooked Pusha T verse comes here. Few rappers are better at weaving in unique vocabulary and phrases than Pusha. âGold Ringsâ features âcummerbundâ and âcreate-a-playerâ seamlessly.
36. Mt. Joy â âBathroom Lightâ
Whiskey-soaked sleaze disguised as, like, coffee house stuff.
35. Cheem â âSnagâ
I am 30, officially old enough to feel something when a new band pays homage to the very worst style of music from my youth.
34. Freddie Gibbs â âIce Creamâ (ft. Rick Ross)
I probably put too much Freddie Gibbs on this yearâs list. I am only human, with human weaknesses. But, in my defense, this selection here is owed primarily to Rick Rossâ verse. Weâre 12 years removed from the modern masterpiece that is Teflon Don and he still has gas in the tank and fire in the belly.
33. Wild Pink â âILYSMâ
Every single time I listen to a Wild Pink song I think I should be listening to them more. They remind me a lot of The Killers at their bestâalt rock pitched in a grander tone. Every song has the walls blown out and run time extended, elevating good music to a more weighty plane.
32. The National â âWeird Goodbyesâ (ft. Bon Iver)
Matt Berninger and Justin Vernon is a dream collaboration for a certain type of guy (me). âYour coatâs in my car; I guess you forgot. Itâs crazy the things we let go.â If you donât want this kind of woozy, forlorn songwriting, why are you listening?
31. Jack M. Senff â âLittle Lightâ
My flirtation with country culminated so completely this year that this list is also littered with this kind of country-adjacent stuff. Crucially, these are all lyrics-first. Itâs singer-songwriter more than it is Nashville pop.
30. Tindersticks â âStars at Noonâ
Becoming the kind of guy who listens to movie soundtracks is easy when theyâre this good. There were some great needle drops in 2022 movies, but this one, titled after the film in which it appears, might be my favoriteâa bleary, sweaty waltz.
29. Freddie Gibbs â âFeel No Painâ (ft. Anderson .Paak & Raekwon)
Anderson .Paak references Keanu Reeves. Freddie Gibbs references Bubba Wallace. Raekwon references Danny Ainge.
28. Kurt Vile â âStuffed Leopardâ
Kurt Vile, in limited doses, is one of my favorite songwriters. If I listened to this every day I might lose my mind, but thereâs something about him spilling for nearly seven minutes.
27. Vince Staples â âROSE STREETâ
An anti-love song that is actually just a kind of bromance song.
26. Microwave â âCircling the Drainâ
âI am getting my ass kicked, but I am playing to lose.â This is still a band that will release 20 songs I donât feel strongly about and then one song that feels like itâs the best rock song Iâve heard in my entire life. No act of this ilk has a better Spotify top 10 popular list. (âSomething Rightâ is #10 right now and itâs literally a perfect emo song.)
25. Slaughter Beach, Dog â âIntersectionâ
I still miss Modern Baseball in a lot of ways, but Iâve gotta admit Jake Ewaldâs second act in Slaughter Beach, Dog is a lot more impressive. The contemplative and poetic rarely gets people going in the same way MoBoâs rollicking emo does.
24. Drake & 21 Savage â âOn BSâ
There was a time when I considered myself a big fan of Drakeâs, but over the past six or seven years all of is music has fallen somewhere on the spectrum between lifeless and outright terrible. My fascination with Her Lossâhis collaboration with 21 Savageâproved to be short lived, but âOn BSâ recaptures some of the carefree fun of his last great projects: What A Time To Be Alive and If Youâre Reading This Itâs Too Late.
23. Moneybagg Yo â âBlowâ
Few artists are able to so successfully capture and repackage concentrated energy. âBlowâ may not match 2021âs âTime Todayâ in menace but it keeps the bouncy swagger and sprinterâs pace.
22. Meridian Ohio â âGive Off A Glowâ
I first heard âGive Off A Glowâ years ago, digging through Meridianâs Bandcamp page. I loved it back then, so I was thrilled to see it dusted off for the bandâs 2022 LP New Ways for Old Days. The nine-year arc is fitting for a song about seeing ghosts.
21. Armâs Length â âObject Permanenceâ
I am old and uncool and busy with âreal lifeâ now, so the rate at which I discover completely new bands has greatly diminished. One thatâll stick around past 2022 is Armâs Length. Itâs emo that begs to be played at an unhealthy volume.
20. Boldy James & Real Bad Man â âAll the Way Outâ
Boldyâs second verse is the best of the year in the Non-Pusha category, a fitting distinction for a guy whoâs been making good music with little to no fanfare for more than a decade.
19. Joyce Manor â âGotta Let It Goâ
I saw Joyce Manor in concert in 2016. Iâve thought about that set more and more recently as the band has become one of my all-time favorites and their west coast locale keeps them from frequenting Cincinnati.
18. Pusha T â âHear Me Clearlyâ (ft. Nigo)
âHear Me Clearlyâ first hit the world in a circulated clip from the Kenzo FW22 runway show. Models stoically walk a long hallway as Pusha spins webs about Harry Potter and a âkilogram Kickstarter.â Not since high school had I been so rapt by a snippet. (The full song lives up to the hype.)
17. Camp Trash â âLake Erie Boysâ
I listen to a lot of this music and kind of always have, but something about Camp Trashâand this song specificallyâis intensely nostalgic to me. This is tonally indistinguishable from stuff I listened to when I was a 13-year-old Lake Erie boy myself.
16. Zach Bryan â âYounger Yearsâ
Song of the Summer 2022
15. Noah Kahan â âStick Seasonâ
All the hallmarks of the annoying song that wonât age well: Blew up on TikTok, white guy, guitar-based. Go back and try listening to âIâm Yoursâ by Jason Mraz. And yet I do think this one is different, just because itâs not quite in the category of uber-catchy, ringtone-type guitar music. This blew up because of its songwriting, which is something that happens with less and less frequency. Cool to see it in 2022.
14. PUP â âMatildaâ
One of the best (and one of the only!) shows I saw in 2022 was a packed room erupting over PUP. Their 2022 album THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND is very good but I couldnât quite get it to stick as much as Morbid Stuffâmy favorite album of 2019. âMatildaâ sticks though, and it can tear down a room full of sweaty 20- and 30-somethings looking to recapture the freedom of their youth.
13. Retirement Party â âQuick to Changeâ
I saw Retirement Party open for Foxing in January 2019. The band performed songs from their debut LP Somewhat Literate and its package of clever quips and witty barbs. Things were simpler for all of us then. They called it quits this year, but not before sending us off with a final EP. âQuick to Changeâ is quite possibly the best song of the bandâs brief run; a good place to leave things.
12. Pusha T â âLet The Smokers Shine The Coupesâ
Late night TV musical performances are generally a wasteland, especially when it comes to hip-hop. The genre does not translate well to a studio audience seated comfortably under an applause sign. But sometimes the contrasts form something beautiful, like Pusha T letting this song rip on Jimmy Kimmel in June. We support all mainstreaming of Pusha T.
11. Zach Bryan â âTishomingoâ
I listened to so much Zach Bryan in 2022 that I donât know how to weave him into this list, but Spotify tells me this is the song of his I listened to second most, so here we are. This is the song of his Iâd play around a campfire, which captures how simple and laid-back it is but undersells how good it is.
10. The 1975 â âPart Of The Bandâ
âThe worst inside of us begets that feeling on the internet. It's like someone intended it.â
I think about The 1975 in the same way that I think about a lot of movies these days. In an era where so much art feels thoughtless and designed to go down easy, you have to appreciate art that provokes, even when the provocation is occasionally childish. Matt Healyâs band lives in this realm, blending schoolboy impulses with larger-than-life pretension. Iâve described them as the best bad band or the worst good band, and Iâve come to love them. Their 2022 album Being Funny In A Foreign Language (see what Iâm saying?) is great, and âPart of the Bandâ is the best of the bunch.
09. Junior Varsity â âFloridaâ
âThere's complications from believing it's all fate. You never work as hard in understanding the true nature of the thing.â
Junior Varsityâa band Iâve been following ferociously for a couple yearsârecently dropped âFloridaâ alongside some very ominous messaging: âOne last one before we go.â If this really is the final entry for the reclusive duo, itâs a shame. Itâs a single that sheds their party tone in favor of something soft, twinkly, and heartfelt. Itâs a nod at the possibility of the bandâs next era, one that may never come to exist.
08. Signals Midwest â âSETTLED IN MY SKINâ
âJust let me be here to imbibe the moment bĐ”fore itâs tail lights in a fog of âbest wishesâ and âwarm rĐ”gards.ââ
One of my favorite bands of all time dropped their fifth album, serving as proof that if you stick with anything for a long timeâand give it every part of yourselfâyou really can just get better and better. Youth is overrated when the alternative is this kind of expert grasp of songwriting and heavy guitar. âSETTLED IN MY SKINâ is a song about uncertain futures and relationships stretched and strained against the barrier of timeâsomething Maxwell Stern has been writing about for more than a decade at this point.
07. Armâs Length â âFormative Ageâ
âI'm not concerned that you'd kill for me, but you don't even live for me. I beg you to get out of bed.â
Blunt-force rock music. Power emo in the vein of so many of my favorite bands. (I would never want put this pressure on anyone, but itâs scratching my years-long Hotelier itch.) All I want in this life are soaring hooks and mosh-pit energy to make me feel 21 again.
06. ME REX â âGiant Giant (Destruction Story)â
âI want to burn your silhouette into the ground around my feet and let that savage incandescence carve its own way into me. I know that you get beaten up by ghosts in your sleep. You wake up without bruises and climb to your feet.â
This is not the first time ME REX has appeared on one of these lists; they cracked the top 15 in 2020. Iâm endlessly amazed by the scope of their ambition despite their stature as what seems to be a pretty small band. (Just one of their songs on Spotify has eclipsed 60,000 plays.) Open their lyrics and youâll find length thatâs rare in rock music. Listen to their songs and youâll hear frantic density and intricacy.
05. MJ Lenderman â âHangover Gameâ
âItâ wasn't a pizzaâ that poisoned him in Utah. With aâ hotel bill to prove: Three thousand dollars on just five dudes.â
An ode to drinking through the lens of Michael Jordanâs âFlu Game.â Harmless conspiracy theories through alt-country fuzz. MJ Lenderman is a one-of-one artist and he appeals to me for so many different reasons. Boat Songs has become something of a breakthrough hit and the kind of album that makes you think, âWhy would anyone ever make music that doesnât include electric guitar?â âHangover Gameâ is the most fun I had listening to music all year.
04. Pusha T â âDiet Cokeâ
âThey mad at us. Who wouldn't be? We became everything you couldn't be. Everything your mama said you shouldn't be. The Porsche's horses revvin', like, âLook at me.ââ
The beat of the year (produced by the legend 88-Keys with an assist from Kanye) was a fitting way for Pusha T make his triumphant return for solo album number four. Detractors continue to say Pushaânow 45 years oldâhas run out of things to rap about. I donât care because Pusha doesnât either. âI am like the Martin Scorsese of street raps,â he told Hot Ones. âThatâs how I want to be seen.â Heâs an expert at his craft and arguably getting better with age, something weâve rarely seen in hip-hop.
03. 49 Winchester â âRussell County Lineâ
âAnd in that dirt was planted seeds of hope, and from them grew the flowers of our lives. And all our favorite little things that true loves brings, all the times we laughed and cried.â
Unmistakably country, yet, in its best, most spiritual moments, it adopts the kind of heartland rock that would make Bruce Springsteen holler. Itâs a song about seeing the world and missing your own backyard. Spotify Wrapped tells me this was my fourth-most played song of the year. That sounds impressive and yet it cannot possibly be accurate. There is no way I listened to any song more in 2022.
02. Zach Bryan â âHighway Boysâ
âI wanna ride that K-10 to way back when, sleep next to the river, hear it rushin' again, get my no-good soul back to where it belongs, and do my best to keep truth in songs.â
I first heard Zach Bryan in 2019 as video of a sweaty kid playing his guitar in the dark started making the rounds. It felt like alchemy in the way that few newly discovered artists do and even fewer are able to follow through on. Heâs finally arrived in full, completely owning 2022. He released a massively successful major-label debut, 34 songs deep, and then for good measure a nine-song EP and some stray singles on top of it. No artist has had such a prolific output in one year this side of Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. It feels wrong to choose a single song to represent all of that music, but âHighway Boysâ is what I listened to most, so that seems like a good place to start.
01. Black Country, New Road â âConcordeâ
âI was breathless upon every mountain just to look for your light.â
I make these stupid lists every year. Theyâre a Sisyphean exercise, futilely ranking something that defies objective categorization. I sit around and wonder if one song is really better than another as if that were possible to determine and if anyone would even care if it were. And yet thereâs a phenomena that occurs annually where Iâll hear a songâmaybe in March, maybe in Julyâand instantly know itâs my #1 of the year. âConcorde,â a sprawling six-minute opus, frames a love interest as a supersonic jet: A sunk cost fallacy that will never break even and a speeding comet that will never be caught, and yet an object of worship and deep-seated desire nonetheless. Itâs a songwriting masterpiece culminating in a tidal wave of an outro that will define the year in music for me.