2022 Music In Review: Best Songs

Hello all! Before the Grammys officially end the season of reflecting on the music of 2022, here’s my list of my favorite songs of the year. These tunes run the gamut from underground hip-hop to folk, dance and almost everything in between. Let me know which ones you also loved and which of your favorites I left off! Cheers!

30. JID — Surround Sound (feat. 21 Savage and Baby Tate)

29. Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul — Blenda

28. Westside Gunn — Science Class (feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Stove God Cooks)

27. The Blunt Force Trauma (feat. Dylan David Hart) — what’s it to me?

26. Brakence — deepfake

25. Fievel is Glauque — Save the Phenomenon

24. Oso Oso — Computer Exploder

23. Quelle Chris — Alive Ain’t Always Living

22. Yung Lean — Summertime Blood (feat. Skrillex, Bladee and Ecco2k)

21. Quadeca — house settling (feat. Danny Brown)

20. Open Mike Eagle — Multi-Game Arcade Cabinet (feat. R.A.P. Ferreira, STILL RIFT and Video Dave)

19. Jakey — Pine Barrens

18. Joji — Glimpse of Us

17. Kendrick Lamar — The Heart Part 5

16. Carly Rae Jepsen — The Loneliest Time (feat. Rufus Wainwright)

15. FKA twigs — darjeeling (feat. Jorja Smith and unknown t)

In a mixtape full of genre-blending bops, UK based singer-songwriter FKA twigs drill jam featuring soulful vocals from Jorja Smith and a gritty verse from rapper unknown t stands out as the most creative, catchy and cathartic.

14. billy woods — NYNEX (feat. E L U C I D, Quelle Chris and Denmark Vessey)

New York-based underground rap veteran billy woods brings together a dark and bluesy posse cut for the ages and the crown jewel of his masterful album “Aethiopes,” delivering quotable after quotable along with his frequent collaborator E L U C I D and underground MCs Quelle Chris and Denmark Vessey.

13. Vince Staples — AYE! (FREE THE HOMIES)

In an album full of West Coast-flavored jams perfect for blasting out of your car, this instantly catchy and bittersweet anthem is to this decade what Kendrick Lamar’s “Don’t Kill My Vibe” was to the last.

12. Denzel Curry — Walkin

Over a soulful and propulsive two-part beat that stands out as a career highlight for Kal Banx, this effortlessly quotable and topically mature banger epitomizes the balance of raw charisma and refreshing substance that this Florida icon has been delivering for years.

11. Danger Mouse and Black Thought — Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels)

Veteran MC and Roots collaborator Black Thought delivers hard-hitting flows and thoughtful lyrics at the start of this group affair, paving the way for A$AP Rocky, El-P and Killer Mike to spit predictably incredible verses over Danger Mouse’s nostalgic and bouncy beat.

10. Pinegrove — Let

Pinegrove is no stranger to crushingly personal and beautifully performed songs, but this one hits especially hard, with lyrics facing the guilt of losing a friendship over some of the band’s catchiest instrumentation.

9. black midi — Welcome to Hell

This Post-Brexit punk prog outfit’s new album didn’t blow me away like 2021’s “Cavalcade,” but this song’s breakneck pace, theatrical flourish and biting satire gave me everything I could want from a black midi song and more.

8. Alex G — Runner

In an album full of soothing and catchy tunes, this one stands above the rest, striking just the right emotional chord by pairing Alex’s bittersweet and self-deprecating lyrics with warm production and unforgettable melodies.

7. Julia Jacklin — Be Careful With Yourself

This easygoing, meditative guitar ballad gives Julia Jacklin all the space she needs to deliver one of the most comforting and heart-wrenching musical depictions of caring for a troubled loved one, in the last or any year.

6. Alvvays — Velveteen

The Canadian dream pop band’s third album is overflowing with blissful bops, but this one stands as one of Alvvays’ all time greatest songs, with some of Molly Rankin’s most memorable lyrics and the band’s most transcendently atmospheric production.

5. Andy Shauf — Satan

This loose single from my favorite songwriter is a solemn, but beautiful experience, meditating on how quiet dissolution can lead us down dark paths over raw folk instrumentation.

4. Big Thief — Simulation Swarm

Like so many music fans, I fell in love with Big Thief’s music in 2022, and this tune clearly shows why, with Adrianne Lenker’s delicate vocals and the band’s lush instrumentation operating at the peak of their powers.

3. The Weeknd — Out of Time

If “After Hours” represented The Weeknd becoming sympathetic as an antihero, “Dawn FM” finally got me to root for Abel as the hero of his story, with this bittersweet city pop-sampling anthem acting as the turning point.

2. Christian Lee Hutson — Rubberneckers

This California native songwriter’s indie pop masterpiece was my most-listened song of the year, and for good reason, with his hopelessly romantic lyrics and irresistible singalong chorus providing hit after hit of catharsis whenever I needed it.

1. Black Country, New Road — Good Will Hunting

Out of all the gorgeously sincere songs on this British post-punk and prog outfit’s incredible sophomore album, “Good Will Hunting” stands as both the catchiest and most emotionally affecting, with the band’s cycling guitar and piano licks, delicate strings and Isaac Wood’s unforgettable vocal performance making not only for the best song of the year, but one of my new all-time favorites.

You can follow John on Twitter @JohnMichaelBr15. Or given that Twitter is a total mess these days, you can find him on Instagram @johnmichaelbricker.