Top 50 Music Albums of 2022
by 
DommeDamian 
2022, the beginning of a new, album journey.
Hey reader. Can you please listen to my new album Healium; it's out on every streaming platform. I worked really hard on it and all the other clichés I could say but I seriously hope you will listen to it.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2LJVypC50RhQLVNAD1EJsI?si=XLhfjct1RqK0klIiYQmGzA
- Chart updated: 11/12/2025 12:45
- (Created: 01/12/2022 17:26).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
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95/100 (Disc 1)
Well..............................................................yeah! [First added to this chart: 07/27/2022]
Well..............................................................yeah! [First added to this chart: 07/27/2022]
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80/100
This is some very nice and interesting cookie-delicious audio cut-ups between field recordings, sound effects, and instrument-samples (I guess so), coming together as a way to celebrate natural sounding things. Both meditative and exploring, Oceans of Milk And Treacle creates a universe that has visiting hours when you need it the most. This is manipulation and processing of sound sources to create atmospheric pieces, at its sweetest - and a quirky reminder that Christ also exists in the tropical places. Man oh man I love the aquatic stuff. Listening to this will make the listener feel like there is a meaning behind prettymuch everything.
Most of this flavorful, record I find it truly seems like dreams; not a specific dream, but the thing we call dream. A lot of "surrealistic" stuff out there seems to really focus on how a dreamlike state is "the wacky kind of music" or "dream sweet dreams" (like Dream Pop) but this seems to touch on the structural aspects of dreams, the jarring shape of the images as well as than their possibly odd content - obviously then set to flamboyant music. And it's a comfortable, chill dream. Like the most calming level in the backrooms. Nothing seems quite what it is, but it is. And yet nothing seems familiar, but the feelings that Oceans of Milk And Treacle bring you is wholesome. You wouldn't necessarily call it "real music" as much as just sound recordings, yet its imaginative beauty is virtually unmatched this decade. This piece of art represents the moment when jazz music loses its generational and political feel, and psychedelic music goes further into natural territories rather than hippie noise, and tropical landscape becomes one and the same with human lovabilites. The fact that he is 79, and has made music for decades really says something. I'm gonna listen to more of his albums if what comes out with at grandpa age is this excellent (update: his Do I Know You record is amazing). [First added to this chart: 01/17/2022]
This is some very nice and interesting cookie-delicious audio cut-ups between field recordings, sound effects, and instrument-samples (I guess so), coming together as a way to celebrate natural sounding things. Both meditative and exploring, Oceans of Milk And Treacle creates a universe that has visiting hours when you need it the most. This is manipulation and processing of sound sources to create atmospheric pieces, at its sweetest - and a quirky reminder that Christ also exists in the tropical places. Man oh man I love the aquatic stuff. Listening to this will make the listener feel like there is a meaning behind prettymuch everything.
Most of this flavorful, record I find it truly seems like dreams; not a specific dream, but the thing we call dream. A lot of "surrealistic" stuff out there seems to really focus on how a dreamlike state is "the wacky kind of music" or "dream sweet dreams" (like Dream Pop) but this seems to touch on the structural aspects of dreams, the jarring shape of the images as well as than their possibly odd content - obviously then set to flamboyant music. And it's a comfortable, chill dream. Like the most calming level in the backrooms. Nothing seems quite what it is, but it is. And yet nothing seems familiar, but the feelings that Oceans of Milk And Treacle bring you is wholesome. You wouldn't necessarily call it "real music" as much as just sound recordings, yet its imaginative beauty is virtually unmatched this decade. This piece of art represents the moment when jazz music loses its generational and political feel, and psychedelic music goes further into natural territories rather than hippie noise, and tropical landscape becomes one and the same with human lovabilites. The fact that he is 79, and has made music for decades really says something. I'm gonna listen to more of his albums if what comes out with at grandpa age is this excellent (update: his Do I Know You record is amazing). [First added to this chart: 01/17/2022]
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80/100
How does this n***a only have 15 monthly listeners, when there is not even 15 artists in this world, this year, who will make an album this atmospherically sensitive, velvet and creative, as well as heart-on-sleeve??????
There is a few sonic worlds to Somewhere Else that make it sound like it was from...somewhere else. First you have the metaphysical melancholia that is the "ballads": I want you to for a second imagine if your melancholy and sweet depression was a valley. A big, complex valley. Now take that entire valley, and put it underwater, like the world is under an ocean (forget about oxygen). Then when you go into the valley (or swim into it) you go into the lesser creatured side of a forest in it. What that place would make you feel, Julio Baca managed to convey into his wonderful music.
See, most sad songs and albums tend to soundtrack the grander scheme of emotions, but Julio gets down to the nitty-gritty of one particular nerve and vividly explores it. Melodically, it's influenced by classical music (he cites Bach as an influence), the vocals have Elliott Smith's soft cry and Nick Drake's delivery of hopelessness. Just listen to swimming Shelter, or You Get So Alone (a normal indie singer-songwriter song, but having erased the typical instrumentation and letting the blood of the guitar vein sink into the painting of sorrow) or the title track sounding like Sufjan Stevens lost in a dream, or the otherworldly alt-country joint Come And Forget, or the ocean-deep Euphoria (perhaps the best folk song of the decade).
Then we got the regular indietronica/indie rock isms on Myself (super straightforward rock, almost pop rock) and Empty Feeling, that features a delightful drum machine all over. These first two scapes massage each other on the semi-psychedelic Control Merit.
The third world is jazz-instrumentals. We get the first one in A Small Moment, pretty much a quintessential soundtrack to the greatest stop motion movie of all time, or the most thoughtful intermission. This in contrast with a lot of modern jazz, does not take itself seriously at all, and it's to its advantage undoubtedly. The tune Remain is freaky free-jazz, with all the instruments (drums, trumpet, piano) being utterly free-formed of structure and honestly makes an intriguing chaos of sound art, Miles, Mingus and Beefheart smiling in their graves. This world and the melancholic one culminates in the falling 7min closing cut Why Do I Need, because the piano resembles the jazz moments while simultaneously complimenting the emotional singing.
Without question, the world of metaphysical melancholia is my favorite of Julio's. It's also the one that (ful)fills the most on the album. He manages to be more painstakingly caring about the atmosphere than anyone in this generation. But when I say atmospheric, people think of the clouds, like high above the ground; whereas (as I said before) But hold your breath, and let Julio Baca take it the opposite way, going deep beneath the windy Earth and beneath the floaty surface. Julio, you are the man, man. [First added to this chart: 06/20/2022]
How does this n***a only have 15 monthly listeners, when there is not even 15 artists in this world, this year, who will make an album this atmospherically sensitive, velvet and creative, as well as heart-on-sleeve??????
There is a few sonic worlds to Somewhere Else that make it sound like it was from...somewhere else. First you have the metaphysical melancholia that is the "ballads": I want you to for a second imagine if your melancholy and sweet depression was a valley. A big, complex valley. Now take that entire valley, and put it underwater, like the world is under an ocean (forget about oxygen). Then when you go into the valley (or swim into it) you go into the lesser creatured side of a forest in it. What that place would make you feel, Julio Baca managed to convey into his wonderful music.
See, most sad songs and albums tend to soundtrack the grander scheme of emotions, but Julio gets down to the nitty-gritty of one particular nerve and vividly explores it. Melodically, it's influenced by classical music (he cites Bach as an influence), the vocals have Elliott Smith's soft cry and Nick Drake's delivery of hopelessness. Just listen to swimming Shelter, or You Get So Alone (a normal indie singer-songwriter song, but having erased the typical instrumentation and letting the blood of the guitar vein sink into the painting of sorrow) or the title track sounding like Sufjan Stevens lost in a dream, or the otherworldly alt-country joint Come And Forget, or the ocean-deep Euphoria (perhaps the best folk song of the decade).
Then we got the regular indietronica/indie rock isms on Myself (super straightforward rock, almost pop rock) and Empty Feeling, that features a delightful drum machine all over. These first two scapes massage each other on the semi-psychedelic Control Merit.
The third world is jazz-instrumentals. We get the first one in A Small Moment, pretty much a quintessential soundtrack to the greatest stop motion movie of all time, or the most thoughtful intermission. This in contrast with a lot of modern jazz, does not take itself seriously at all, and it's to its advantage undoubtedly. The tune Remain is freaky free-jazz, with all the instruments (drums, trumpet, piano) being utterly free-formed of structure and honestly makes an intriguing chaos of sound art, Miles, Mingus and Beefheart smiling in their graves. This world and the melancholic one culminates in the falling 7min closing cut Why Do I Need, because the piano resembles the jazz moments while simultaneously complimenting the emotional singing.
Without question, the world of metaphysical melancholia is my favorite of Julio's. It's also the one that (ful)fills the most on the album. He manages to be more painstakingly caring about the atmosphere than anyone in this generation. But when I say atmospheric, people think of the clouds, like high above the ground; whereas (as I said before) But hold your breath, and let Julio Baca take it the opposite way, going deep beneath the windy Earth and beneath the floaty surface. Julio, you are the man, man. [First added to this chart: 06/20/2022]
Buy album
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80/100
Now THIS is what I call a real musical chamber field recording experience. Not only does this thing flow tremendously from track to track, not only does it have a stellar instrumental balance with the nature recordings, and not only doesn't it contain a single spot that is less than at least good plus; it also has a climax that both stay grounded with its earthly aesthetics and is satisfying. Rough And Beautiful Place is wonderful, and one of this year's very best! This is preeeetty much as good as my last album of the year (2021's As The Love Continues) - will reveal if it is on future listens - so if this is the standard of what 2022 is gonna be, I am nothing but hopeful for music now.
Also, I'd no idea that it was Parannoul's alias, and it's actually great to hear an artist releasing one (or two) bad-mediocre albums come out with a fresh one at the beginning'a the next year. [First added to this chart: 01/15/2022]
Now THIS is what I call a real musical chamber field recording experience. Not only does this thing flow tremendously from track to track, not only does it have a stellar instrumental balance with the nature recordings, and not only doesn't it contain a single spot that is less than at least good plus; it also has a climax that both stay grounded with its earthly aesthetics and is satisfying. Rough And Beautiful Place is wonderful, and one of this year's very best! This is preeeetty much as good as my last album of the year (2021's As The Love Continues) - will reveal if it is on future listens - so if this is the standard of what 2022 is gonna be, I am nothing but hopeful for music now.
Also, I'd no idea that it was Parannoul's alias, and it's actually great to hear an artist releasing one (or two) bad-mediocre albums come out with a fresh one at the beginning'a the next year. [First added to this chart: 01/15/2022]
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80/100
Quadeca keeps getting Ws. What could I say, this guy just reinvented a new concept of how music can appeal to me without being completely natural sounding. Many thoughts came to mind over my first rotations of IDMTHY, but in the end, all of them are blurred out by the high impression I had throughout almost the entire album. I will say that Quadeca managed to do what many electronic musicians (like Postal Service and late-era Bon Iver) failed to. Even some of my good favorites out of their primes like Sigur Ros (just listen to the painstaking blend of post-rock and chamber folk on the amazing The Memories We Lost In Translation interlude). He is also like a folktronica Kid Cudi if he mourned his world and his life, post-suicide. Even the cover art is a slight vision of what it's like to be that ghost. You see the small house, probably his home or where he died, and then things start to blossom in his own purgatory. But the elephant is the white circle, that in my interpretation symbolizes the emptiness or the way of descending fading away.
The lush drum machine mixed with distant vocal and string harmony on Tell Me A Joke, make for a truly compelling case of lyrical sarcasm and sonic complexity ("Ha-ha, laugh to the grave"). Attention to detail should be mentioned by the door knock at the end. On top of tying in the feelings of regret in the middle of the record, Born Yesterday is a highpoint of rhythmic soul-search. "I've been in so many tears, I try my best not to count it" just adds to the imaginative of how people live inside other people's emotions. Even the chorus sounds like him weeping, just like the last two minutes is like if peak-era Bladee were a tortured soul.
There's less rapping on Haunt You than on FMTY and also the successor Scrapyard, and it's also less finesse, both on Don't Mind Me, very clumsily - unlike the cumulative piano/violin dialogue - and the misplaced-yet-fine-enough Danny Brown feature (edit: I like that verse now, Danny rapping as carbon monoxide damn). It's more forgivable on Picking Up Hands because of how immensely captivating the folktronica composition is around, both with guitar and whirling drums. It may sound like a critic, but I am actually really taken aback by the music surrounding it that I don't pay attention to it. For some criticism that holds it from a decade-defining classic is that they never seems to be a true emotional gut-punch. Maybe it speaks to how alien the whole album and its stigma is, but generally it remains extensively impressive without hitting close to home. My least favorite song is the opener sorry4dying, but it still is packaged with some compositional acrobatic and lines like "I left my body lying on the doormat" is describing how he just died. But back to the good things, speaking of alien, it also says a lot about its own perception of death: it's strange yet becomes familiar to everybody.
In between the surrealistic melodies and genuinely beautiful glitch warping that I never thought I could enjoy, his vocal effect and mixing is borderline genius. He is from the unknown void you go when you just die, except on Fantasyworld that is a callback to what happened when he committed suicide (aka when he was in the real world). And it makes sense in that context and also in feel, with his heavy Microphones incorporations in the naked vocals and a piano urged in simplicity. That is of course before it explodes into the cinematic prog-pop segment (even that 1-second cut out at 3:21 was cool), Ben making sure to play with brain favors and also making a rotating experience out of it. It's simultaneously the most accessible or least surreal song, and again with the attention to detail, the fact that death is unpredictable speaks volumes to why these tunes have their respective movements. I'll quote user Braithan on this one:
"He is still alive here, but only physically. The character is completely checked out at this point, and has already made the decision to go “to a place that ain’t real”. The utterly dark lyrics are matched perfectly with a really empty atmosphere, that starts with just a droning piano. But as the song goes on, more and more sounds are added and layered, and they reach a heightened build throughout the fantastic self-written poem, it’s a completely goosebumps moment. [...] It’s an existential, depressing and fuzzy triumph, and serves as a perfect last hoorah for the characters life."
Not to mention, I love how imperfect he is singing, it's humane, it's struggling, and drips with somberness and agony, especially in death. But he is not only imperfect in his vocals but also in spirit. After poisoning his family by oven on House Settling, he panics on the marvelous Knots, and undoes it by turning off the oven: even in death, he is still as imperfect as human. It's hard to describe how potent a statement like that is. And just like he is haunting his loved ones in death, he's also showing how much loneliness haunted himself when he was alive if making him unalive wasn't enough. "I'm an open book in a closed casket" he shouts as the instrumental is auditory of when steampunk and cyberpunk clashes. "I don't fade to black, I turn to static" he foreshadows chanting with cryptic death bells and synths of misophonia.
After opening with a Uematsu melody accompanied by slow indie pop drums, vocal delivery of mere acceptance and tape-like instrumental palette sounds, Sunday Service Choir comes in with a surprisingly and legitimately gratifying performance with the essential sentence "Those words don't do you justice" as if angels are stating it as a matter of fact. That level of stellar winds up in the last song Cassini's Division, basically a poem that is less personal and more universal, plus some great drums from the Swans guy. The title refers to The Cassini Division, a dark, thin gap between Saturn's rings, which symbolically mirrors the liminal space between life and the afterlife. These rings represent an unsettling static (an in-between state) capturing the final moments of Qua as he dissolves into nothingness. The track carries an eerie and deeply unsettling atmosphere, with dark, introspective writing that reveals the character's reluctance to let go. Despite convincing himself he’s ready to move on, there’s a palpable sense of fear and desperation. After the spoken word and instrumental end, footsteps and a distant emerge, suggesting that the character’s time in the afterlife is running out, and he’s still struggling to accept his fate. The desperate attempt to escape is futile, as he succumbs to the consuming static—a metaphorical disintegration of his consciousness. Those last three minutes of pure broadband ambient tape noise (also bordering on micromontage) are what I remember the best from the LP. It even goes from crunchy to a subtle swirl. It's a chilling representation of his final absorption into this void, marking the completion of transition and the mourning of his living peers. And then, the record stops, as soon as he is completely out in every metaphysical way. Absolutely the most explosively creative meditation on death and its aftermath I have heard in a long time, as well as one of the most impressive albums of the decade. Every listen is a different breed, different breeze.
Oh and did I mention he did everything himself? [First added to this chart: 11/26/2022]
Quadeca keeps getting Ws. What could I say, this guy just reinvented a new concept of how music can appeal to me without being completely natural sounding. Many thoughts came to mind over my first rotations of IDMTHY, but in the end, all of them are blurred out by the high impression I had throughout almost the entire album. I will say that Quadeca managed to do what many electronic musicians (like Postal Service and late-era Bon Iver) failed to. Even some of my good favorites out of their primes like Sigur Ros (just listen to the painstaking blend of post-rock and chamber folk on the amazing The Memories We Lost In Translation interlude). He is also like a folktronica Kid Cudi if he mourned his world and his life, post-suicide. Even the cover art is a slight vision of what it's like to be that ghost. You see the small house, probably his home or where he died, and then things start to blossom in his own purgatory. But the elephant is the white circle, that in my interpretation symbolizes the emptiness or the way of descending fading away.
The lush drum machine mixed with distant vocal and string harmony on Tell Me A Joke, make for a truly compelling case of lyrical sarcasm and sonic complexity ("Ha-ha, laugh to the grave"). Attention to detail should be mentioned by the door knock at the end. On top of tying in the feelings of regret in the middle of the record, Born Yesterday is a highpoint of rhythmic soul-search. "I've been in so many tears, I try my best not to count it" just adds to the imaginative of how people live inside other people's emotions. Even the chorus sounds like him weeping, just like the last two minutes is like if peak-era Bladee were a tortured soul.
There's less rapping on Haunt You than on FMTY and also the successor Scrapyard, and it's also less finesse, both on Don't Mind Me, very clumsily - unlike the cumulative piano/violin dialogue - and the misplaced-yet-fine-enough Danny Brown feature (edit: I like that verse now, Danny rapping as carbon monoxide damn). It's more forgivable on Picking Up Hands because of how immensely captivating the folktronica composition is around, both with guitar and whirling drums. It may sound like a critic, but I am actually really taken aback by the music surrounding it that I don't pay attention to it. For some criticism that holds it from a decade-defining classic is that they never seems to be a true emotional gut-punch. Maybe it speaks to how alien the whole album and its stigma is, but generally it remains extensively impressive without hitting close to home. My least favorite song is the opener sorry4dying, but it still is packaged with some compositional acrobatic and lines like "I left my body lying on the doormat" is describing how he just died. But back to the good things, speaking of alien, it also says a lot about its own perception of death: it's strange yet becomes familiar to everybody.
In between the surrealistic melodies and genuinely beautiful glitch warping that I never thought I could enjoy, his vocal effect and mixing is borderline genius. He is from the unknown void you go when you just die, except on Fantasyworld that is a callback to what happened when he committed suicide (aka when he was in the real world). And it makes sense in that context and also in feel, with his heavy Microphones incorporations in the naked vocals and a piano urged in simplicity. That is of course before it explodes into the cinematic prog-pop segment (even that 1-second cut out at 3:21 was cool), Ben making sure to play with brain favors and also making a rotating experience out of it. It's simultaneously the most accessible or least surreal song, and again with the attention to detail, the fact that death is unpredictable speaks volumes to why these tunes have their respective movements. I'll quote user Braithan on this one:
"He is still alive here, but only physically. The character is completely checked out at this point, and has already made the decision to go “to a place that ain’t real”. The utterly dark lyrics are matched perfectly with a really empty atmosphere, that starts with just a droning piano. But as the song goes on, more and more sounds are added and layered, and they reach a heightened build throughout the fantastic self-written poem, it’s a completely goosebumps moment. [...] It’s an existential, depressing and fuzzy triumph, and serves as a perfect last hoorah for the characters life."
Not to mention, I love how imperfect he is singing, it's humane, it's struggling, and drips with somberness and agony, especially in death. But he is not only imperfect in his vocals but also in spirit. After poisoning his family by oven on House Settling, he panics on the marvelous Knots, and undoes it by turning off the oven: even in death, he is still as imperfect as human. It's hard to describe how potent a statement like that is. And just like he is haunting his loved ones in death, he's also showing how much loneliness haunted himself when he was alive if making him unalive wasn't enough. "I'm an open book in a closed casket" he shouts as the instrumental is auditory of when steampunk and cyberpunk clashes. "I don't fade to black, I turn to static" he foreshadows chanting with cryptic death bells and synths of misophonia.
After opening with a Uematsu melody accompanied by slow indie pop drums, vocal delivery of mere acceptance and tape-like instrumental palette sounds, Sunday Service Choir comes in with a surprisingly and legitimately gratifying performance with the essential sentence "Those words don't do you justice" as if angels are stating it as a matter of fact. That level of stellar winds up in the last song Cassini's Division, basically a poem that is less personal and more universal, plus some great drums from the Swans guy. The title refers to The Cassini Division, a dark, thin gap between Saturn's rings, which symbolically mirrors the liminal space between life and the afterlife. These rings represent an unsettling static (an in-between state) capturing the final moments of Qua as he dissolves into nothingness. The track carries an eerie and deeply unsettling atmosphere, with dark, introspective writing that reveals the character's reluctance to let go. Despite convincing himself he’s ready to move on, there’s a palpable sense of fear and desperation. After the spoken word and instrumental end, footsteps and a distant emerge, suggesting that the character’s time in the afterlife is running out, and he’s still struggling to accept his fate. The desperate attempt to escape is futile, as he succumbs to the consuming static—a metaphorical disintegration of his consciousness. Those last three minutes of pure broadband ambient tape noise (also bordering on micromontage) are what I remember the best from the LP. It even goes from crunchy to a subtle swirl. It's a chilling representation of his final absorption into this void, marking the completion of transition and the mourning of his living peers. And then, the record stops, as soon as he is completely out in every metaphysical way. Absolutely the most explosively creative meditation on death and its aftermath I have heard in a long time, as well as one of the most impressive albums of the decade. Every listen is a different breed, different breeze.
Oh and did I mention he did everything himself? [First added to this chart: 11/26/2022]
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80/100
April 2022: "I'm still in my earlier stages of appreciating the drain but come on we can all agree that this is a good album, especially by their standards. Bladee and Ecco are really the 2 best members."
A few months later and you can call me a drainer. Yes, autotune I still hate and all that BS, but Bladee has quickly become one of my favorite artists of the 2010s recently. The rest of drain gang not much at all, but I still have lots of respect for what they do. Ecco2K is my second favorite member with his childlike and romantic vocal delivery and humble aesthetic to electronic music.
Those lyrics on here man. It's an album entirely about spirituality. This is not Kanye preaching an outdated religion that follows an outdated book that he does not even personally embody. Every line expresses extremely personal spirituality when you look closely, and every ethereal arrangement expresses genuine serenity. Bladee and Ecco2k have clearly studied several western and eastern philosophies, but even clearer is that they have truly embodied their own interpretations. There is not a single moment of preaching here. Your soul wants nothing more than to be content. If you recognize that the suffering you put your soul through was a choice, then you realize you have the power to put an end to it.
Bladee admits that he once suffered, but now, he has chosen to see the beauty in everything. Death and loss are beautiful. Much of what death causes, the grief especially, is extremely ugly at first. But from the very moment you lose someone, you immediately have the choice to see the ugliness of empty hole left behind or the beauty of a life completed. If you look around, death is everywhere. The flowers bloom and then they rot. Even our closest loved ones share the same fate. Will you focus on the rot, or choose to continue living to see the next set of flowers that grow from the same soil? These are some of the lyrical conceptions and conclusions that Crest explores and expresses, wonderfully (raindbowmonkeys, RYM).
Bladee also released the solo album Spiderr this year but that is probably my least favorite album of his. Crest on the other hand, is one of my absolute favorites. It exemplify and embodies a lot of what I like about this kind of Cloud Rap and electronic music; it's a progressive nostalgic video-game, mixed with a drug trip and all your favorite candies. The synths are delicious like ice cream, and combine that with the religiously observing lyricism and spiritual songwriting from both guys = the result is a monster. Everytime I open up the album with the marvelous The Flag Is Raised, I am having a blast.
I know they probably didn't want to fumble the bag by not putting on Girls Just Want To Have Fun but I never liked that song. The remaining eight songs though are all beautiful bangers. And as obviously as is, 5 Star Crest is the supreme masterpiece of 2022; who said Drain Gang couldn't get progressive? [First added to this chart: 03/26/2022]
April 2022: "I'm still in my earlier stages of appreciating the drain but come on we can all agree that this is a good album, especially by their standards. Bladee and Ecco are really the 2 best members."
A few months later and you can call me a drainer. Yes, autotune I still hate and all that BS, but Bladee has quickly become one of my favorite artists of the 2010s recently. The rest of drain gang not much at all, but I still have lots of respect for what they do. Ecco2K is my second favorite member with his childlike and romantic vocal delivery and humble aesthetic to electronic music.
Those lyrics on here man. It's an album entirely about spirituality. This is not Kanye preaching an outdated religion that follows an outdated book that he does not even personally embody. Every line expresses extremely personal spirituality when you look closely, and every ethereal arrangement expresses genuine serenity. Bladee and Ecco2k have clearly studied several western and eastern philosophies, but even clearer is that they have truly embodied their own interpretations. There is not a single moment of preaching here. Your soul wants nothing more than to be content. If you recognize that the suffering you put your soul through was a choice, then you realize you have the power to put an end to it.
Bladee admits that he once suffered, but now, he has chosen to see the beauty in everything. Death and loss are beautiful. Much of what death causes, the grief especially, is extremely ugly at first. But from the very moment you lose someone, you immediately have the choice to see the ugliness of empty hole left behind or the beauty of a life completed. If you look around, death is everywhere. The flowers bloom and then they rot. Even our closest loved ones share the same fate. Will you focus on the rot, or choose to continue living to see the next set of flowers that grow from the same soil? These are some of the lyrical conceptions and conclusions that Crest explores and expresses, wonderfully (raindbowmonkeys, RYM).
Bladee also released the solo album Spiderr this year but that is probably my least favorite album of his. Crest on the other hand, is one of my absolute favorites. It exemplify and embodies a lot of what I like about this kind of Cloud Rap and electronic music; it's a progressive nostalgic video-game, mixed with a drug trip and all your favorite candies. The synths are delicious like ice cream, and combine that with the religiously observing lyricism and spiritual songwriting from both guys = the result is a monster. Everytime I open up the album with the marvelous The Flag Is Raised, I am having a blast.
I know they probably didn't want to fumble the bag by not putting on Girls Just Want To Have Fun but I never liked that song. The remaining eight songs though are all beautiful bangers. And as obviously as is, 5 Star Crest is the supreme masterpiece of 2022; who said Drain Gang couldn't get progressive? [First added to this chart: 03/26/2022]
Buy album
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75/100
Somebody said to me that there is no way anyone can release a better album than me this month, and while I am wholeheartedly grateful for that compliment, this rock solid Soccer Mommy record proves otherwise.
After one of my favorite singer-songwriter records of the decade (so far) in the emotionally memorable Color Theory, I was curious to where Sophie would go after that. When it comes to creating a gripping and compelling musical atmosphere, Soccer Mommy is quite frankly in a league of her own, especially for this generation of musical acts; blending garage-rock with Slowdive-esque shoegaze, Soccer Mommy is one of the few musicians who can master the nostalgic feel of the golden era of dream pop while simultaneously sound and feel so modern.
Her new album over here, Sometimes Forever, not updates the sound and mood, but also makes a leap in qualifying melodiousness and conceptual depth. Which is not an easy feat, considering how well-structured Color Theory was in itself. She has teamed up with Oneohtrix Point Never, and considering I just fell in love with his 2011 album Replica (that is also kind of dream pop-ish but with more noise rock charms) this is one of those collabs I didn't know I needed.
The production all over this album is crystal yet raw, dystopian yet shines of colors and life. The song that sonically and atmospherically reminds me the most of Color Theory is the tender Fire In The Driveway (one of the true highlights), but is even better with the spinning harmonies around the second half of it. But Sometimes Forever leans more in a Noise Pop gorgeousness. If I should compare it sound-wise to anything it could be the legendary Yo La Tengo (also one of my favorite bands): Color Theory was a melancholic And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, whilst Sometimes Forever is a progressively folky I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One.
One of the most out there moments comes in Darkness Forever because of a surprising trip-hop drum-loop throughout (and that ghosty vocal engineering; super clean (no pun intended)); the track then descends down to a tunnel of shoegaze-guitars (think of Mazzy Star's Bells Ring mixed with Ride's In A Different Place). There is even songs like newdemo where, at very best, she rivals the intensity of Lisa Germano, without loosing that jangly Shoegaze-touch. Normally I would hate when someone incorporate electronic sounds into an indie rock song, but those semi-industrial synths on Unholy Affliction works decently. Not harmoniously or greatly, but decently; luckily it only lasts the first minute before the organic drums (that works much better) takes over. Following Eyes also tries something unusual but ends up sounding less exciting and not a very good melody-line; pretty much the album's weakest link.
Lyrically, I have a huge respect of the way Sophie is capable of conveying emotional observations into strophes that feel free-formed but is sorts of well-organized mini-poems. Feel It All The Time is a prime example of that, as there is a fine combination of literal imagery (Maybe there’s days where it’s just running out / Like gasoline gauges and drivin’ South) to visceral metaphoric thoughts (So I’m gonna drive out for the sunshine / Drown out the noise and the way I feel / But even the light is so temporary / And I see the dark at the back of my heels) and yet nothing feels outta place.
There is so much more to dive into but I feel a little loss for words. Which can indicate either 1: that this record has left me speechless, or 2: that I am not a good writer. If it is the first then that suggests to you enough reason to check this out. If it's the second then I suppose I should approximately listen to it now to comfort myself. Because just like Color Theory, it's a very captivating record, one of the year's greatest actually. Yet unlike Color Theory, Sometimes Forever goes in more sonic places and becomes more risky and exciting because of it. [First added to this chart: 06/24/2022]
Somebody said to me that there is no way anyone can release a better album than me this month, and while I am wholeheartedly grateful for that compliment, this rock solid Soccer Mommy record proves otherwise.
After one of my favorite singer-songwriter records of the decade (so far) in the emotionally memorable Color Theory, I was curious to where Sophie would go after that. When it comes to creating a gripping and compelling musical atmosphere, Soccer Mommy is quite frankly in a league of her own, especially for this generation of musical acts; blending garage-rock with Slowdive-esque shoegaze, Soccer Mommy is one of the few musicians who can master the nostalgic feel of the golden era of dream pop while simultaneously sound and feel so modern.
Her new album over here, Sometimes Forever, not updates the sound and mood, but also makes a leap in qualifying melodiousness and conceptual depth. Which is not an easy feat, considering how well-structured Color Theory was in itself. She has teamed up with Oneohtrix Point Never, and considering I just fell in love with his 2011 album Replica (that is also kind of dream pop-ish but with more noise rock charms) this is one of those collabs I didn't know I needed.
The production all over this album is crystal yet raw, dystopian yet shines of colors and life. The song that sonically and atmospherically reminds me the most of Color Theory is the tender Fire In The Driveway (one of the true highlights), but is even better with the spinning harmonies around the second half of it. But Sometimes Forever leans more in a Noise Pop gorgeousness. If I should compare it sound-wise to anything it could be the legendary Yo La Tengo (also one of my favorite bands): Color Theory was a melancholic And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, whilst Sometimes Forever is a progressively folky I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One.
One of the most out there moments comes in Darkness Forever because of a surprising trip-hop drum-loop throughout (and that ghosty vocal engineering; super clean (no pun intended)); the track then descends down to a tunnel of shoegaze-guitars (think of Mazzy Star's Bells Ring mixed with Ride's In A Different Place). There is even songs like newdemo where, at very best, she rivals the intensity of Lisa Germano, without loosing that jangly Shoegaze-touch. Normally I would hate when someone incorporate electronic sounds into an indie rock song, but those semi-industrial synths on Unholy Affliction works decently. Not harmoniously or greatly, but decently; luckily it only lasts the first minute before the organic drums (that works much better) takes over. Following Eyes also tries something unusual but ends up sounding less exciting and not a very good melody-line; pretty much the album's weakest link.
Lyrically, I have a huge respect of the way Sophie is capable of conveying emotional observations into strophes that feel free-formed but is sorts of well-organized mini-poems. Feel It All The Time is a prime example of that, as there is a fine combination of literal imagery (Maybe there’s days where it’s just running out / Like gasoline gauges and drivin’ South) to visceral metaphoric thoughts (So I’m gonna drive out for the sunshine / Drown out the noise and the way I feel / But even the light is so temporary / And I see the dark at the back of my heels) and yet nothing feels outta place.
There is so much more to dive into but I feel a little loss for words. Which can indicate either 1: that this record has left me speechless, or 2: that I am not a good writer. If it is the first then that suggests to you enough reason to check this out. If it's the second then I suppose I should approximately listen to it now to comfort myself. Because just like Color Theory, it's a very captivating record, one of the year's greatest actually. Yet unlike Color Theory, Sometimes Forever goes in more sonic places and becomes more risky and exciting because of it. [First added to this chart: 06/24/2022]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
287
Rank in 2022:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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75/100
Those entirety of the compositions is like a mixture of: dreams I am having (set to wax), meditative improvised guitar sounds, more dreams I am having that feels like having nostalgia for something happening in the future, a natural field recording audio tape found in a basement of a lost cottage, a spiritual awakening carnival tour, and a time travel back to traditional times. The record, like the album cover, feels so vague yet so clear to me. This doesn't sound like it came from a studio at all. Everything was captured either outside or in a living room that had nothing to do with music equipment. Which makes it even more joyful, inspiring and also different. It's like musique concrete and traditional folk music, but shaped through an avant-garde lens. There is much use of watery sounds, and that is truly asmr-esque to me, in the best way. It's also a grindcore metal album cover, yet the music is anything but. I especially dig the minimalistic approach, there's never too much going on. Not something I need to listen to often, but when I do it's pretty much one of a kind. The second and third act/part/composition are both each some of the most wonderful 15min of audio I have heard this year. [First added to this chart: 12/03/2022]
Those entirety of the compositions is like a mixture of: dreams I am having (set to wax), meditative improvised guitar sounds, more dreams I am having that feels like having nostalgia for something happening in the future, a natural field recording audio tape found in a basement of a lost cottage, a spiritual awakening carnival tour, and a time travel back to traditional times. The record, like the album cover, feels so vague yet so clear to me. This doesn't sound like it came from a studio at all. Everything was captured either outside or in a living room that had nothing to do with music equipment. Which makes it even more joyful, inspiring and also different. It's like musique concrete and traditional folk music, but shaped through an avant-garde lens. There is much use of watery sounds, and that is truly asmr-esque to me, in the best way. It's also a grindcore metal album cover, yet the music is anything but. I especially dig the minimalistic approach, there's never too much going on. Not something I need to listen to often, but when I do it's pretty much one of a kind. The second and third act/part/composition are both each some of the most wonderful 15min of audio I have heard this year. [First added to this chart: 12/03/2022]
Buy album
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75/100
One of the few ambient releases in recent memory that have excited me. Not letting loose for a minute, the atmosphere is a bit intense. Aallokossa demonstrates a black smoke of secrets about the meanness of the society around us, regarding climate crisis and destruction. Its dystopian composure is accompanied by tape later in the piece, guiding mother Earth to the peace when humanity has died out. Huoneen Yllä, though less potent, is a sound poem that displays the lack of noise on the planet when mother Earth can rest, but also a mass where dead things go. Loput isn't too repulsive, it pulls you in and has a hard time letting you go. It's a record that'll mostly make you feel if you don't play it too often. [First added to this chart: 01/25/2022]
One of the few ambient releases in recent memory that have excited me. Not letting loose for a minute, the atmosphere is a bit intense. Aallokossa demonstrates a black smoke of secrets about the meanness of the society around us, regarding climate crisis and destruction. Its dystopian composure is accompanied by tape later in the piece, guiding mother Earth to the peace when humanity has died out. Huoneen Yllä, though less potent, is a sound poem that displays the lack of noise on the planet when mother Earth can rest, but also a mass where dead things go. Loput isn't too repulsive, it pulls you in and has a hard time letting you go. It's a record that'll mostly make you feel if you don't play it too often. [First added to this chart: 01/25/2022]
Buy album
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75/100
WOOOW. Considering I just came from the latest Knoll album (which was another too-funny-to-be-thrilling grindcore album) this album Hiss by Wormrot knocks it outta the park completely. This is by far the best deathgrind/powerviolence/grindcore album of the decade. The way the screamer always and I mean ALWAYS find a way out of an awkward montage and stays on rhythm is in-freaking-credible. It's like what I have been needed from the genre all year (speaking of 2021 too). This isn't a <20min album either, this is 32 minutes and yet somehow it is much less boring and has so many other cool ideas in 'em that it's hard to call this monotonous at all. Every song has a purpose and Wormrot shows the other deathgrind bands in the world what content is, not just pretentious aimless screaming with 110% technic floating per second. Some of these cuts does, speaking as a Christian, make me wanna stalk my childhood bullies and all the country's pedophiles and just assault them till they're nothing but a pile of blood. Yeah it's that sick. Hiss is a blessing and I am glad I finally have an album in grindcore that I like from beginning to end (well Seizures, Voiceless Choir, and Sea of Disease is lackluster in atmosphere considering it's not that well put together but still). Also the cover art is dope as well. Big big props. [First added to this chart: 10/01/2022]
WOOOW. Considering I just came from the latest Knoll album (which was another too-funny-to-be-thrilling grindcore album) this album Hiss by Wormrot knocks it outta the park completely. This is by far the best deathgrind/powerviolence/grindcore album of the decade. The way the screamer always and I mean ALWAYS find a way out of an awkward montage and stays on rhythm is in-freaking-credible. It's like what I have been needed from the genre all year (speaking of 2021 too). This isn't a <20min album either, this is 32 minutes and yet somehow it is much less boring and has so many other cool ideas in 'em that it's hard to call this monotonous at all. Every song has a purpose and Wormrot shows the other deathgrind bands in the world what content is, not just pretentious aimless screaming with 110% technic floating per second. Some of these cuts does, speaking as a Christian, make me wanna stalk my childhood bullies and all the country's pedophiles and just assault them till they're nothing but a pile of blood. Yeah it's that sick. Hiss is a blessing and I am glad I finally have an album in grindcore that I like from beginning to end (well Seizures, Voiceless Choir, and Sea of Disease is lackluster in atmosphere considering it's not that well put together but still). Also the cover art is dope as well. Big big props. [First added to this chart: 10/01/2022]
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Luna Li | 1 | 2% | |
| Soccer Mommy | 1 | 2% | |
| Violet Cold | 1 | 2% | |
| Karfagen | 1 | 2% | |
| Nebel Iang | 1 | 2% | |
| Grace Cummings | 1 | 2% | |
| Shovel Dance Collective | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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|
|||
| |
19 | 38% | |
 |
5 | 10% | |
 |
3 | 6% | |
 |
2 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 4% | |
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2 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 48th to 47th Rock Believer by Scorpions |
| Up 1 from 47th to 46th 40 Oz. To Fresno by Joyce Manor |
| Up 1 from 46th to 45th Vade Mecum by Glenn Jones |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 21 from 27th to 48th Cazimi by Caitlin Rose |
Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 similarity to your chart(s)
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Other year charts by DommeDamian
(from the 2020s)| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10 Music Albums of 2025 | DommeDamian | 2025 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 35 Music Albums of 2024 | DommeDamian | 2024 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 44 Music Albums of 2023 | DommeDamian | 2023 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 | DommeDamian | 2022 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 29 Music Albums of 2021 | DommeDamian | 2021 year chart | 2025 | |
DommeDamian has created 71 other 2022 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 50 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 all 5 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/28/2024 10:01 |  Purplepash | 1,690 | 88/100 |
| ! | 01/14/2023 16:26 |  Repo | 562 | 100/100 |
| ! | 12/23/2022 09:42 |  LedZep | 1,104 | 84/100 |
| ! | 03/31/2022 16:07 | Nkelleyslc | 114 | 91/100 |
| ! | 02/08/2022 19:35 |  Graeme2 | 213 | 94/100 |
Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 favourites
Showing all 2 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 50 Music Albums of 2022 comments
Showing all 2 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
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From DommeDamian 12/24/2022 19:10 | #292176
DommeDamian 12/24/2022 19:10 | #292176
@LedZep thank you mayn. That really means a lot. I had a quick look at your highest rated 2022 albums and I have listened to pretty much all of it though, so yeah different taste but we're different, mate. :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From LedZep 12/23/2022 09:47 | #292156
LedZep 12/23/2022 09:47 | #292156
Feels carefully crafted, with a lot of attention to detail and interesting write-ups. Probably my fave 2022 chart, even though we're not exactly listening to the same styles.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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