Lais Borges/Nylon

Entertainment

NYLON's Favorite Albums Of 2022

From Rosalía’s Motomami to Ethel Cain’s Preacher’s Daughter.

by NYLON

A 2022 report found that over 100,000 songs are being uploaded to Spotify every single day. If this year felt more bloated with music than normal, that probably explains why. Over the past 12 months, the music industry inarguably entered a renaissance (no pun intended) of output, with big comebacks, big debuts, and its biggest players still playing on. Still, physics demands that the cream rises to the top, and that certainly is the case for the albums we couldn’t get enough of this year.

Bad Bunny’s already much-acclaimed Un Verano Sin Ti soundtracked our messiest nights, while Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights spoke directly to our astrological centers. Beyoncé’s Renaissance was the kickoff to the best part of the year, though we didn’t forget all of the joy that Q1 projects like The Weeknd’s Dawn FM and Girlpool’s Forgiveness delivered us. Through all the false starts and real starts 2022 blessed us with, these projects kept us going.

Below, read on to find NYLON’s top albums of 2022.

Blue Rev, Alvvays

Polyvinyl

I’ll be honest. The first few times I listened to Alvvays’ Blue Rev, it kept slipping beyond the grips of my attention. The Toronto dream-pop band’s third album is a dense one, but for those patient enough to unravel its mysteries, delights, and cleverly tangled melodies, it’ll bloom into something you won’t be able to put down. —Steffanee Wang, associate music editor

Crash (Deluxe), Charli XCX

Atlantic Records

Charli XCX entered her sellout, villain arc in 2022 and ended her five-album record contract with a… crash! On Crash, Charli leans into full mainstream pop star mode, but with a wink and a nod (and a flash of Atlantic panties in the “Used To Know Me” music video). The album and deluxe edition bonus tracks showcase some of her most vulnerable songwriting over hypnotic pop beats with “Twice,” “How Can I Not Know What I Need Right Now,” and “Sorry If I Hurt You.” —Lindsay Hattrick, senior designer

Dance Fever, Florence + The Machine

Autumn de Wilde

A career high for Florence Welch, Dance Fever reminds you why she's so fully captivating, from cutting snarls to full choruses that make you want to run barefoot into the night. —Lauren McCarthy, executive editor

Dawn FM, The Weeknd

Matilda Finn

The Weeknd is an extremely skilled world builder when it comes to his musical projects, and I found myself getting lost in this fictional f.m. radio frequency time and time again this year — that is, when I didn't get stuck with "Out of Time" on repeat for a bit. —Alyssa Vingan, editor-in-chief

Dirt Femme, Tove Lo

Pretty Swede Records

Tove Lo’s first independent release feels like a declarative self portrait and exploration of modern femininity. Dirt Femme covers topics of heartbreak, eating disorders, sex, and longing over a mix of ballads and hot dance tracks. With a tight 12-song tracklist, “No One Dies From Love” and “Attention Whore (feat. Chanel Tres)” are standouts. Find me crying and dancing to this album at the club all at once. —Lindsay H

Forgiveness, Girlpool

Anti-

Forgiveness is the last record from Girlpool, the near-decade-long project of Avery Tucker and Harmony Tividad, and it is a fitting final bow. Like all of Girlpool’s work, Forgiveness leaves you feeling seen for the ugliest and most joyful of your feelings, but the album also marks the band’s most expansive rock yet, both in terms of lyrics and production, with gratingly personal couplets like the delicate and biting “Nothing Gives Me Pleasure,” where Tividad’s voice rings out, crystal clear: “Do you even want me if I even have to ask?/ Break it to me gently with your fingers up my ass.” —Sophia June, staff writer

Gemini Rights, Steve Lacy

RCA

Steve Lacy’s album, Gemini Rights, was the soundtrack to my 2022. Lacy's cheeky lyrics on the dualities of being a Gemini resonate with my Gemini tendencies, which means I’ve listened to this album an ungodly amount of times, front to back — and it never gets old. —Kelly Reed, social media editor

Harry’s House, Harry Styles

Erskine Records

I'll admit, a certain film's highly dramatic press junket and the never-ending Love on Tour residency left me with a slight case of Harry Overload in 2022, but this sunny album will likely remain in my heavy rotation for years to come regardless. —AV

Hideous Bastard, Oliver Sim

Young

Oliver Sim’s Hideous Bastard is an excavation of self — but to do that, he had to release music under his own name. The debut from The xx member is stunningly vulnerable, filled with gorgeous ballads and propulsive beats about the most self-hating and glamorous of monsters. —SJ

Honestly, Nevermind, Drake

OVO

This breezy, dance floor-ready album was the soundtrack to my summer from the moment Drake dropped it in June, and thanks to its varied mix of genres, I can see it helping me set a vibe for many seasons to come. —AV

Hypnos, Ravyn Lenae

Atlantic

I’ve followed Chicago’s Ravyn Lenae since her 2016 project Moon Shoes, and can confidently say Hypnos is her most realized and cohesive project yet. Its 16 songs are sensual, liquid-y smooth, and just plain sublime. —SW

i don’t know who needs to hear this, Tomberlin

Saddle Creek

The album I returned to over and over again this year. In 50 minutes, Tomberlin exudes rage, yearning, and everything in between. —LM

Motomami, Rosalía

Columbia

Motomami is a full swing concept of Rosalía’s creation and ownership of her persona via mantras and transformation. She’s uninhibited by genre or melody and leans into subversion. Motomami is fun, emotional, engaging, and thrilling all at once. It feels like the culmination of many different aspects of contemporary culture, music, and art coming together for something new and exciting. —Lindsay H.

Preacher’s Daughter, Ethel Cain

Daughters of Cain Records

It is incredibly rare to listen to a debut album that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. Listening to this record was like watching a star be born. —LM

Renaissance, Beyoncé

Parkwood Entertainment

Beyoncé made an album for the club kids and ignited a revolution — and revelation. This immaculate 16-track record fiercely ushered house music to the masses, and in the process, offered up a glittering outlet for all our stifled, stuffed-up, early 2022 frustration, energy, and stagnant thoughts. Technically, Renaissance is a marvel: a seamless fantasy that is rich beyond rich, layered beyond layered, helmed by Beyoncé’s honey voice beckoning us through its chapters. Incredibly, she found a different sound to master 16 times, through the help of a superstar team of collaborators only she has the cachet to assemble. I could go on, but this is reminding me to listen to “Plastic Off The Sofa” one more time. —SW

The Loneliest Time, Carly Rae Jepsen

Pop music can truly be so restorative, and few working artists are as consistent as Carly Rae Jepsen. Another sparkling, emotional record in her stellar discography. —Layla Halabian, culture editor

Un Verano Sin Ti - Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti is a peek inside the Piscean psyche, a place where everyone is crying and shaking their asses at the same time. —Layla H.

Uncanny Valley, COIN

10K Projects

COIN always knows how to make a hell of a pop album, but they really outdid themselves with their fourth full-length, Uncanny Valley. —KR

Wasteland, Brent Faiyaz

Lost Kids Label

Brent Faiyaz’s sexy, smooth Wasteland has been in heavy rotation for me in the back half of 2022 — and I’m convinced it’s slept on by the masses. With features from Tyler the Creator, Drake, and Alicia Keys, every single song is a masterpiece. —KR

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

Domino

While the world once again embraces indie sleaze, Wet Leg’s debut album is a time capsule to the mid-aughts Britrock bands that made music people actually wanted to dance to. Frontwomen Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers bring a much-needed unseriousness to rock ‘n’ roll. The art is in the self-awareness; they take rock as seriously as it needs to be taken, with hooks and bass lines that ooze with spunk and defiance, combined with palpably horny lyrics that evoke a youthful exuberance of green room make outs and accidental glamour. Plus, any song with a Mean Girls reference will always have my heart. —SJ

See NYLON’s favorite songs of 2022.