Top 100 Music Albums of 2022
by 
LedZep 
Went with 1 per artist, but Billy Woods, King Gizzard, Gospel, Ka, Della Zyr, Trha, Boldy James have multiple incredible albums out this year, listen to all of them
- Chart updated: 11/23/2025 18:45
- (Created: 01/02/2022 12:39).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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Track pick: No Reason
Heartwarming. Both the best and the most diverse collection of tracks associated with the group. 20 all killer no filler tunes. As of April, there's nothing that's remotely close in 2022. One of the best modern folk records, one of the best indie ones as well. They've mastered the quiet, emotional singer/songwriter tunes (Sparrow), the simple, playful folk (The Only Place), the Americana and country-adjacent sounds (Spud Infinity), psychedelic rock (Little Things), the slightly psychedelic folk stuff (No Reason) and the downright madness like Time Escaping. It may not have a life changing tune, but every single one of these songs is incredible. An impressive statement from Big Thief. [First added to this chart: 02/12/2022]
Heartwarming. Both the best and the most diverse collection of tracks associated with the group. 20 all killer no filler tunes. As of April, there's nothing that's remotely close in 2022. One of the best modern folk records, one of the best indie ones as well. They've mastered the quiet, emotional singer/songwriter tunes (Sparrow), the simple, playful folk (The Only Place), the Americana and country-adjacent sounds (Spud Infinity), psychedelic rock (Little Things), the slightly psychedelic folk stuff (No Reason) and the downright madness like Time Escaping. It may not have a life changing tune, but every single one of these songs is incredible. An impressive statement from Big Thief. [First added to this chart: 02/12/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,157
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: Living Torch II
[First added to this chart: 08/30/2022]
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Track pick: The Doldrums
Billy Woods is already a well-known legend and he still manages to surprise, excite and produce masterpieces almost on a yearly basis. I'm not sure if it's just recency bias, but this might be his best record to date. Forward-thinking, both dense and chill (sometimes in the same song), with his signature lyrical style. Preservation's beats and production are insane. It's a perfect fit with Woods' equally enthralling and experimental songwriting and rapping. All the features are great as well, with Boldy James being the highlight. I cannot find a single fault with this album. [First added to this chart: 04/09/2022]
Billy Woods is already a well-known legend and he still manages to surprise, excite and produce masterpieces almost on a yearly basis. I'm not sure if it's just recency bias, but this might be his best record to date. Forward-thinking, both dense and chill (sometimes in the same song), with his signature lyrical style. Preservation's beats and production are insane. It's a perfect fit with Woods' equally enthralling and experimental songwriting and rapping. All the features are great as well, with Boldy James being the highlight. I cannot find a single fault with this album. [First added to this chart: 04/09/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
633
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: Heavy Rain
What a wonderfully visceral electronic collage. There's a bit of everything here, mostly centered around atmospheric drum and bass textures, but there are some parts which could genuinely sound decent mixed in a high energy DJ set. It's not a perfect album for partying, but it might be a perfect album for listening to at home. Soaked in heavy atmospheric soundscapes, all the while not forgetting to have fun. Never a slog or too repetitive or stuck in a groove, be it techno, ambient, dnb, breaks or IDM. The best thing I've heard from Avery tbh, completely floored me despite loving the singles and having high expectations. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2022]
What a wonderfully visceral electronic collage. There's a bit of everything here, mostly centered around atmospheric drum and bass textures, but there are some parts which could genuinely sound decent mixed in a high energy DJ set. It's not a perfect album for partying, but it might be a perfect album for listening to at home. Soaked in heavy atmospheric soundscapes, all the while not forgetting to have fun. Never a slog or too repetitive or stuck in a groove, be it techno, ambient, dnb, breaks or IDM. The best thing I've heard from Avery tbh, completely floored me despite loving the singles and having high expectations. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2022]
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Track pick: Hearts Aglow
Common Weyes Blood W. Natalie's doing it like no one else. An incredibly effective mix of styles, otherworldly songwriting and the atmosphere of pure joy (despite the typical introvert themes) make her stand out in the sea of boring, overproduced indie pop darlings. Prog/art/chamber/indie/whatever pop has never sounded as wonderful. My initial reaction is that And In The Darkness... isn't too far from Titanic Rising in terms of quality. Considering the former could very well be a top 100 album of all time for me, that's huge. [First added to this chart: 11/17/2022]
Common Weyes Blood W. Natalie's doing it like no one else. An incredibly effective mix of styles, otherworldly songwriting and the atmosphere of pure joy (despite the typical introvert themes) make her stand out in the sea of boring, overproduced indie pop darlings. Prog/art/chamber/indie/whatever pop has never sounded as wonderful. My initial reaction is that And In The Darkness... isn't too far from Titanic Rising in terms of quality. Considering the former could very well be a top 100 album of all time for me, that's huge. [First added to this chart: 11/17/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,133
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: 50/50 (Extended Mix)
It's 50/50. [First added to this chart: 09/23/2022]
It's 50/50. [First added to this chart: 09/23/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
701
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: S.R.O.
Feels like they haven't missed a beat in those 15+ years. This is definitely an older, more refined version of Gospel, but the songwriting is still incredible. It's both a worthy sophomore effort of a band whose first album is a classic and a late career gem which is in the same quality tier as the band's peak work. Still energetic but more mature, great vocals which do feel almost 2 decades older, but have aged like a fine wine. It's one of those comeback albums which you'll look back on in 10 years and it'll sound wonderful. [First added to this chart: 05/12/2022]
Feels like they haven't missed a beat in those 15+ years. This is definitely an older, more refined version of Gospel, but the songwriting is still incredible. It's both a worthy sophomore effort of a band whose first album is a classic and a late career gem which is in the same quality tier as the band's peak work. Still energetic but more mature, great vocals which do feel almost 2 decades older, but have aged like a fine wine. It's one of those comeback albums which you'll look back on in 10 years and it'll sound wonderful. [First added to this chart: 05/12/2022]
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Track pick: Diet Coke
The king is back. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2022]
The king is back. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
508
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: Snow Globes
It's tough to write anything about BCNR's new record in the midst of this internet frenzy. Everybody and their mom is proclaiming this the new generation's Funeral, or something in that vein. 10/10s, 5/5s all around. And I love it. But it does make it hard to write anything meaningful about it, especially when after 3-4 listens I feel it's... nothing that spectacular? Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic album with several standout tracks and a likely high year-end position, but I feel like we got exactly what was expected out of BCNR. From the first single to the live jams, it was evident they were going in the more chamber poppy direction, while still keeping the core of their post rock sound intact and keeping the noisier parts under control. That's exactly what this album is, and it's incredibly good at what it does. Yet, despite the songwriting prowess, it lacks the "it" factor of their debut. Not in a sense that it's a worse album, if anything it's possibly better overall, but I guess what I loved about their debut is how original and experimental the mix of sounds was. Unrestrained, wild rock album. While not feeling that much less original, Ants From Up There is certainly a more appealing and compact experience with a reserved approach which, for me, lacks a bit of punch and weirdness. You won't get a klezmer melody out of nowhere, or a noisy breakdown. It does explode occasionally, but it's never as loud as Opus, Sunglasses or Science Fair. Gone is all the noisy post punk which defined the band up until this point. Another entirely personal problem is that this sophomore effort was so overhyped both by me and the internet community at large that it ultimately ended up being a detriment imo. Perhaps a real review of Ants will only be possible in a year or two.
Now onto the good stuff. And there's a lot. "You won't get a noisy breakdown" is mostly true, but there are still climactic breakdowns where the beautiful progressions reach the peak. Sometimes that peak completely defies expectations, like on the brilliant closer. After 6 minutes of building up the expectations, it all ends in gentle noodling and a slight breather before the explosive second part. LOVE the guitar sound on that one. Both the immaculate cleans and the slow, heavy, dirty riffs locking you into a groove which feels much slower than necessary. It's so off kilter that it works, like a technique a funeral doom metal band would use. The lyrics about Charli XCX wet dream would be cringe if they weren't hilarious and cryptic/self-conscious enough. There was a hilarious comment I read somewhere which said "simping over Charli XCX, we've all been there". Concorde is another standout, and it's a track I wasn't too keen on as a single. It took several listens and the full album context to unlock its potential for me. Such an incredibly composed cut. The closing trio is the best part of the project, no question. The Place Where He Inserted The Blade is the best "normal" song, even if it pushes the time limit a bit. Instant banger, what can I say. The last two are huge post rock pieces (as opposed to "normal" songs), of which Snow Globes is slightly better. It blew me away when released as a single, and I've only heard it twice before the album dropped. Glad I didn't overplay it or anything, as it feels like the climactic ending of this long project, while Basketball Shoes is more of an encore. The build up in Snow Globes matches just about any legendary post rock build up ever. I feel like this is BCNR mastering the technical aspect of their songwriting, it's the sharpest, most precise they've ever sounded. And boy, is it incredible.
I cannot possibly imagine where they'll go from here, but I'm hoping it's something that's stylistically closer to the debut, while having the songwriting chops and the track sequencing of the sophomore. The 2 are pretty close in quality, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2022]
It's tough to write anything about BCNR's new record in the midst of this internet frenzy. Everybody and their mom is proclaiming this the new generation's Funeral, or something in that vein. 10/10s, 5/5s all around. And I love it. But it does make it hard to write anything meaningful about it, especially when after 3-4 listens I feel it's... nothing that spectacular? Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic album with several standout tracks and a likely high year-end position, but I feel like we got exactly what was expected out of BCNR. From the first single to the live jams, it was evident they were going in the more chamber poppy direction, while still keeping the core of their post rock sound intact and keeping the noisier parts under control. That's exactly what this album is, and it's incredibly good at what it does. Yet, despite the songwriting prowess, it lacks the "it" factor of their debut. Not in a sense that it's a worse album, if anything it's possibly better overall, but I guess what I loved about their debut is how original and experimental the mix of sounds was. Unrestrained, wild rock album. While not feeling that much less original, Ants From Up There is certainly a more appealing and compact experience with a reserved approach which, for me, lacks a bit of punch and weirdness. You won't get a klezmer melody out of nowhere, or a noisy breakdown. It does explode occasionally, but it's never as loud as Opus, Sunglasses or Science Fair. Gone is all the noisy post punk which defined the band up until this point. Another entirely personal problem is that this sophomore effort was so overhyped both by me and the internet community at large that it ultimately ended up being a detriment imo. Perhaps a real review of Ants will only be possible in a year or two.
Now onto the good stuff. And there's a lot. "You won't get a noisy breakdown" is mostly true, but there are still climactic breakdowns where the beautiful progressions reach the peak. Sometimes that peak completely defies expectations, like on the brilliant closer. After 6 minutes of building up the expectations, it all ends in gentle noodling and a slight breather before the explosive second part. LOVE the guitar sound on that one. Both the immaculate cleans and the slow, heavy, dirty riffs locking you into a groove which feels much slower than necessary. It's so off kilter that it works, like a technique a funeral doom metal band would use. The lyrics about Charli XCX wet dream would be cringe if they weren't hilarious and cryptic/self-conscious enough. There was a hilarious comment I read somewhere which said "simping over Charli XCX, we've all been there". Concorde is another standout, and it's a track I wasn't too keen on as a single. It took several listens and the full album context to unlock its potential for me. Such an incredibly composed cut. The closing trio is the best part of the project, no question. The Place Where He Inserted The Blade is the best "normal" song, even if it pushes the time limit a bit. Instant banger, what can I say. The last two are huge post rock pieces (as opposed to "normal" songs), of which Snow Globes is slightly better. It blew me away when released as a single, and I've only heard it twice before the album dropped. Glad I didn't overplay it or anything, as it feels like the climactic ending of this long project, while Basketball Shoes is more of an encore. The build up in Snow Globes matches just about any legendary post rock build up ever. I feel like this is BCNR mastering the technical aspect of their songwriting, it's the sharpest, most precise they've ever sounded. And boy, is it incredible.
I cannot possibly imagine where they'll go from here, but I'm hoping it's something that's stylistically closer to the debut, while having the songwriting chops and the track sequencing of the sophomore. The 2 are pretty close in quality, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,791
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Track pick: Bluenothing
Having the same artist right near the top of the charts every year has always been kinda boring and silly to me. I do it ofc, have my own favourite bands and styles like everyone else, but having a random meat and potatoes metal band named Worm at the top of 2021 and 2022 charts is not much fun if I'm being honest. And yet, what can I do? These crazy Florida men are making some of the nastiest, tastiest, mystical and interesting metal of all time (dare I say). Brutal death doom which mixes things up a bit with crazy good atmospheric passages, slow and horrifying riffs usually found in funeral doom, and, as of this EP, symphonic Emperor homages. Feels like it's a band made just for me. [First added to this chart: 10/28/2022]
Having the same artist right near the top of the charts every year has always been kinda boring and silly to me. I do it ofc, have my own favourite bands and styles like everyone else, but having a random meat and potatoes metal band named Worm at the top of 2021 and 2022 charts is not much fun if I'm being honest. And yet, what can I do? These crazy Florida men are making some of the nastiest, tastiest, mystical and interesting metal of all time (dare I say). Brutal death doom which mixes things up a bit with crazy good atmospheric passages, slow and horrifying riffs usually found in funeral doom, and, as of this EP, symphonic Emperor homages. Feels like it's a band made just for me. [First added to this chart: 10/28/2022]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Artificial Brain | 1 | 1% | |
| Kilo Kish | 1 | 1% | |
| Zola Jesus | 1 | 1% | |
| The Comet Is Coming | 1 | 1% | |
| King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | 1 | 1% | |
| Clyde And The Milltailers | 1 | 1% | |
| Daniel Avery | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| |
38 | 38% | |
 |
21 | 21% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
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4 | 4% | |
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3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 chart changes
Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 similarity to your chart(s)
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Other year charts by LedZep
(from the 2020s)| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2025 | LedZep | 2025 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2024 | LedZep | 2024 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2023 | LedZep | 2023 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 | LedZep | 2022 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of 2021 | LedZep | 2021 year chart | 2025 | |
LedZep has created 71 other 2022 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 6 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 12/21/2022 23:33 |  Repo | 556 | 100/100 |
| ! | 07/16/2022 22:14 |  travelful | 208 | 99/100 |
| ! | 05/19/2022 05:07 |  Arthurknight | 382 | 89/100 |
| ! | 04/17/2022 00:14 | StreakyNuno | 131 | 82/100 |
| ! | 04/01/2022 14:44 |  Mercury | 257 | 95/100 |
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Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 comments
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From Mercury 06/26/2022 14:05 | #286678
Mercury 06/26/2022 14:05 | #286678
Hey hey hey it’s me again. Knoll is back and better than ever. New LP is more polished, more hellish, more artistically complete, and just as breakneck wild as their debut. And there are TRUMPETS! When you have a chance I’d love to hear your thoughts on Metempiric. I love it, but I’m biased. Knoll and Black Country New Road are my 2 fave bands/artists of this young decade so far.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Mercury 04/29/2022 15:43 | #284790
Mercury 04/29/2022 15:43 | #284790
recently I heard a couple albums that I really liked that maybe you'll also enjoy. The first is a really hellish, atmospheric tech death metal/Avant garde/weird debut album by Aeviterne called The Ailing Facade. The drum patterns and the cool production touches help make this album stand out from the pack a little.
And the other is the only Grindcore I have really found interesting this year - its a crusty, badass grind album by the band Day of Desolation called Circles. That one is awesome. I am more of a grind guy than you perhaps, but there are nuances and riffs in their that the death metal head in you will like I think.
Otherwise, I just came back and checked this chart again... and its sweet. Your 2, 3 and 6 (as of now those are Fontaines DC, Billy Woods and Cult of Luna) are all albums I've started and never finished and was distracted away from but I remember each being pretty damn great. So you've reminded me to return.
It seems like the Hip Hop releases this year have been awesome.
EDIT: I just saw that you already do have the Aeviterne album The Ailing Facade on your chart, not sure how I missed that.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Mercury 04/01/2022 14:44 | #283698
Mercury 04/01/2022 14:44 | #283698
You are lapping me on 2022 listening. But this is a good resource for when I decide to really dig in to this year’s output.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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