Top 100 Albums Of 2022

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Our Top 100 Albums Of 2022 list presents a wide variety of albums from all musical genres that we believe represent the best of 2022. This is not a best rock albums or best country or jazz or hip hop albums lists. This is a list that includes all musical genres. One may ask why a site that is based on classic rock would include all musical genres. It’s an easy answer to explain to anyone who follows the site and recognizes that we cover all music. The reason is simple. Any musician, hardcore music fan or historian would argue the simple point that all music is connected. All genres share from each other, and all genres inspire each other. This is what we truly believe and in the end, we like listening to all music and writing about it.

We choose the 100 albums on this best of 2022 list based on a number of factors. First and foremost, the quality of the music is always number one. It doesn’t matter to us how popular an album may become, if it’s not that good in our own subjective taste, we are probably not going to write about it or include it on the list. Of course, popularity can’t always be ignored and if the music is good and the album is extremely popular based on either chart sales, radio play, or mass cultural acceptance, it’s going to rank high on this list no matter what genre of music or category it falls under.

From 1955 to 2022 we have covered the top 100 rock albums of each year on this site. This article is the first time we have covered the top 100 albums of any given year outside of the rock genre. It was fun to do and will now stand as the catalyst for us to go back to the 1950s and put together a list of the top 100 albums from every year that covers all music genres. We hope you come along for the ride. For now, lets celebrate 2022.

# 100 – Brightside – The Lumineers

# 99 – Cool It Down – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

# 98 – By Royal Decree – The Flower Kings

# 97 – Butterfly 3001- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

# 96 – Happiness Not Included – Soft Cell

# 95 – Three Dimensions Deep – Amber Mark

# 94 – Georgia – Jason Aldean

# 93 – Dropout Boogie – The Black Keys

# 92 – Weather Alive – Beth Orton

# 91 – The Trouble with Fever – Michelle Branch

# 90 – Explosions – Three Days Grace

# 89 – C’mon You Know – Liam Gallagher

# 88 – Denim & Rhinestones – Carrie Underwood

# 87 – Harder Than It Looks – Simple Plan

# 86 – The Blues Don’t Lie – Buddy Guy

# 85 – Formentera – Metric

# 84 – Ego Trip – Papa Roach

# 83 – Takin’ It Back – Meghan Trainor

# 82 – Masquerade – Bananarama

# 81 –Take It Like a Man – Amanda Shires

# 80 – Sometimes, Forever – Soccer Mommy

# 79 – Expert in a Dying Field – The Beths

# 78 – Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson – She & Him

# 77 – Cheat Codes – Danger Mouse and Black Thought

# 76 – Fossora – Bjork

# 75 – Pawns & Kings – Alter Bridge

# 74 – Long Gone – Joshua Redman

# 73 – Classic Objects – Jenny Hval

# 72 –Labyrinthitis – Destroyer

# 71 – Diamond Star Halos – Def Leppard

# 70 – R&B Money – Tank

# 69 –Mr. Saturday Night – Jon Pardi

# 68 – Forecast – Jazz Funk Soul

# 67 – Meet the Moonlight – Jack Johnson

# 66 – Resist – Midnight Oil

# 65 – Being Funny in a Foreign Language – The 1975

# 64 -4 – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators

# 63 – Age/Sex/Location – Ari Lennox

# 62 – Unwanted – Pale Waves

# 61 – Ugly Season – Perfume Genius

# 60 – Home, Before and After – Regina Spektor

# 59 – Freedom – Journey

# 58 – Nut – KT Tunstall

# 57 – Darker Still – Parkway Drive

# 56 – Different Man – Kane Brown

# 55 – Requiem – Korn

# 54 – Suckerpunch – Maggie Lindemann

# 53 – Chaos in Bloom – Goo Goo Dolls

# 52 – Freewheelin’ Woman – Jewel

# 51 – Mr. Sun – Little Big Town

# 50 – AM Gold – Train

# 49 – The God Machine – Blind Guardian

# 48 – Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment – Chicago

# 47 – Entering Heaven Alive – Jack White

# 46 – Subject to Change – Kelsea Ballerini

# 45 – Lindeville – Ashley McBryde

# 44 – Mercury – Act 2 – Imagine Dragons

# 43 – A Bit of Previous – Belle and Sebastian

# 42 – Rock Candy – Orianthi

# 41 – 18 – Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp

# 40 – Detroit Muscle – Ted Nugent

# 39 – So Happy It Hurts – Bryan Adams

# 38 – Let Yourself Free – Fitz and the Tantrums

# 37 – Unlimited Love – Red Hot Chili Peppers

# 36 – Will of the People – Muse

# 35 – 5SOS5 – Five Seconds Of Summer

# 34 – World Record – Neil Young & Crazy Horse

# 33 – What’s It Gonna Take? – Van Morrison

# 32 – Into the Blue – Broken Bells

# 31 – Love Sux – Avril Lavigne

# 30 – Rock Believer – Scorpions

# 29 – Crash – Charli XCX

# 28 – Spellbound – Judy Collins

# 27 – The Boy Named If – Elvis Costello & The Imposters

# 26 – Good Morning Gorgeous – Mary J. Blige

# 25 – Back From The Storm – Halestorm

# 24 – Afterlife – Five Finger Death Punch

# 23 – The Tipping Point – Tears For Fears

# 22 – Closure/Continuation – Porcupine Tree

# 21 – Just Like That… – Bonnie Raitt

# 20 – Unity – Nina Hagen

# 19 – Covers – Cat Power

# 18 – Return of the Dream Canteen – Red Hot Chili Peppers

# 17 – Fear of the Dawn – Jack White

# 16 – Strictly a One-Eyed Jack – John Mellencamp

# 15 – No More Worlds to Conquer – Robin Trower

# 14 –Mainstream Sellout – Machine Gun Kelly

# 13 – A Tribute to Led Zeppelin – Beth Hart

# 12 – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar

# 11 – The Zealot Gene – Jethro Tull

# 10 – Viva Las Vengeance – Panic! at the Disco

It’s always great to celebrate a new Panic! at the Disco album.

# 9 – In the Canyon Haze – Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile has always maintained a huge cult following. Her appearance with Joni Mitchell on stage only further enhanced her ability to reach a much bigger audience as many people were asking who is that next to Joni?

# 8 – Patient Number 9 – Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne made look like you slowing down when you see him on TV. However, one listen to this record and he sounds like he can go on forever.

# 7 – Only the Strong Survive – Bruce Springsteen

We never thought we would see Bruce Springsteen release and album of 60s soul music. Glad we did.

# 6 – Crazy Times – Sammy Hagar & Circle

Sammy Hagar’s album took the number one spot on our Best Rock Albums of 2022 list. You cant go wrong with this one, It cooks.

# 5 – Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny

Is there any musical artist more popular than Bad Bunny on an international basis? We think not. The sales of the albums and sold-out shows around the world only prove our point further.

# 4 – Solo – John Scofield

John Scofield remains one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the past 50 years. He is one of the few to have crossed the genres into not just rock but also jam band territory. This album is a tribute to his talent.

# 3 –Renaissance – Beyoncé

Beyonce returned in 2022 with the album of her career. That’s saying a lot because she has released so many fantastic records throughout her solo career. This one is a must-have for your collection no matter what style of music you are a fan of.

# 2 – Midnights – Taylor Swift

It’s tough not to rank an album this high when ten of the album’s songs claimed all ten spots at the same time on the Billboard Hot 100. Her popularity among young women parallels the popularity of the Beatles in the 1960s. A true pop culture icon ff there ever was one.

# 1 – Never Forget My Love – Joss Stone

She has more soul than the entire city of London put together. This girl can sing among the best of them. The records has some ballads so powerful that they will knock you down to your knees weeping. This one is fabulous.