I know a lot of the base here isn't too heavy into hunting down new releases in music, otherwise I'd be asking for people's top 10 or 20 albums of 2022 lol, but I'd like to see what your favorite release was!

For me, the best thing I've heard all year was Melt My Eyez, See Your Future by Denzel Curry.

The original cut of Walkin is my favorite track of the decade so far. I'm a big fan of sisyphispan myth and desert theming, which you can hear in the production. No hook until after the beat change and I think that's the sickest part. Also one of the most visually appealing music videos I've seen. I'd still call this a good album even if this was the only great song. I thought there were 3 tracks at best I'd go back to when this came out, but now I only really skip Ain't No Way because I really don't dig the chorus or featured verses, but I can't get over how much I enjoyed the vibe of this album's promotion and concept. Every music video has had fire cinematography/locations that genuinely feel like they match the song, to the point where you can paint a mental picture of how other tracks on the album would be handled. The personal nature of the lyrics is done a lot better than Taboo thanks to a pretty masterful change in his delivery, which feels effortlessly consistent on every track. To me, Denzel's music can do no wrong, and this album is a sublime experience. Especially since he redid the entire thing with an NPR Tiny Desk band he hooked up with and released it as an expanded version of the album.

A close second would be Mr Morale and the Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar, and Fear of the Dawn by Jack White.

My favorite album of 2022 was Rise of the Monarch by Amanda Lee. She's one of my all-time favorite singers (among other things) and this was her first original album so I was really excited for it. I remember buying a signed copy of the CD the day it was released.

i also loved the rest of Mercury by Imagine Dragons.

I like Melt My Eyez See Your Future, but it doesn't crack my top 5. It's probably at 6 or 7. Walkin is fantastic, and I actually like Ain't No Way, but there are a few tracks I'm not too crazy about, especially towards the end of the album.

My favorite album of 2022 is undoubtedly The Forever Story by JID. It's an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. I liked JID prior to The Forever Story, but he wasn't really someone that I paid too much attention to. I heard people raving about the album so I decided to check it out, and I was blown away from the start. His flows, lyrics, production, beat switches, hooks, verses, storytelling, energy, everything is just perfect. Probably in my top 10 favorite albums of all time to be honest.

After The Forever Story, it goes:
2. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar)
3. Luv 4 Rent (Smino)
4. CRASH (Charli XCX)
5. It's Almost Dry (Pusha T)
Honorable mentions: Melt My Eyez See Your Future (Denzel Curry), I Didn't Mean to Haunt You (Quadeca)

tgags123 : For Melt My Eyez, I really liked the last run of tracks. X-Wing is a great track, it has a catchy hook with a cool use of autotune, his lyrics were great, and the vibe is pretty on key; it's on plenty of my playlists.
Angels is a lot more low-key and I'd only really listen to it when listening to the full album, but the beat is great, and I really like the feature's voice over the instrumental.
The Smell of Death is a good throwback to artists like MF DOOM and has an incredible beat but it's so short and only something I hear on a full listen.
Sanjuro has some of his best lyrics on the album and he really hits it hard. The chorus grew on me pretty heavily after not liking it at first. The way the beat hits as he says
"Now the game is colder than the Arctic / sittin' in the darkness feelin' like a starless night" is just really satisfying.
Zatoichi has one of my favorite hip hop instrumentals ever with a lot of amazing lyrics and fantastic cadence with an amped up chorus. Its jungle elements and whole vibe is real unique. Finally,
The Ills is one of Denzel's best songs in my opinion. It's made a classic by the wonderful soft piano melody and vinyl scratches. He opens with
"My mind is a playing field for mental arguments / My thoughts are sayin' my emotions is who started it / My personality always conflicts with other people / The good in me is never conscious of seeing evil"
and then later the piano hits absolutely perfectly while he says "Black holes and white lights, white noise and black sun / shadows and bright lights are crooks back in action

It just all feels impactful, super thoughtful, and very memorable.

When it comes to The Forever Story I was actually debating making that my number 3, but there was plenty I liked about the Jack White album because it seemed to bring a lot of new energy to the garage/blues rock sound I loved alongside some of the best lyrics, innovative direction, and vocal deliveries he's had yet. The Forever Story is without a doubt one of my favorite albums this decade so far. Every song is amazing, it just has a couple of songs I'd only come back to on a full listen. I'd rank the tracklist

Money > Raydar > Dance Now > Surround Sound > Crack Sandwich > Kody Blu 31 > Just In Time > Stars > Can't Punk Me > Better Days > Sistanem > Bruddanem > Lauder Too > 2007 > Can't Make U Change

The delivery on the album is so varied and infectious, and the lyrics are deep and concise. I definitely went back to it a lot more than most other rap albums.

I ended up listening to Mr Morale and the Big Steppers the most out of any of these albums, but I feel like despite being one of the most thoughtful and personal introspective pieces of rap music to have been released in a way that's constructive and helpful not just for Kendrick, but for anybody dealing with personal struggles and the trauma of generational pains. The instrumentation was just a bit off for a good chunk of the songs. I wasn't looking for bangers or anything but there's times where it's too stripped back, and there's plenty of times where while I deeply respect the personal growth and realism involved in the songs that comes back to other people's troubles, there were a lot of tracks that just felt way too personal to want to go back to unless listening to the whole album. Worldwide Steppers, Father Time, We Cry Together, Auntie Diaries, Mother I Sober. They're all some of the best tracks on the album but are viscerally uncomfortable and not something I'd want to replay too much despite hugely admiring and loving the hell out of as a complete album.

Here's my top 25 from last year.

1. Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez, See Your Future (hip hop)
2. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers (hip hop)
3. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn (blues rock)
4. JID - The Forever Story (hip hop)
5. Alvvays - Blue Rev (dream pop/shoegaze)
6. The Comet is Coming - Hyper Dimensional Expansion Beam (jazz fusion)
7. Beyoncé - Renaissance (house)
8. Beach House - Once Twice Melody (dream pop)
9. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava (progressive rock / psych rock)
10. Animal Collective - Time Skiffs (psych pop)
11. Bladee & Ecco2k - Crest (synth pop)
12. Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful (space rock / dream pop)
13. Billy Woods - Aethiopes (drumless hip hop)
14. Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia (gothic rock / post punk)
15. Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems (hardcore punk)
16. Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes (hip hop)
17. deaths dynamic shroud - Darklife (glitch / vaporwave)
18. The Garden - Horses*** on Route 66 (art punk)
19. desert sand feels warm at night - (vaporwave)
20. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain & I Believe in You (folk)
21. NANORAY - TOYBOX (hardcore breaks)
22. Material Girl - i85mixx21-22 (experimental hip hop)
23. Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity (afro funk)
24. The Weeknd - Dawn FM (synth pop)
25. Conway the Machine - God Don't Make Mistakes (hip hop)

Last year was a bit packed with releases, and I must say some of them from very different genres managed to catch my attention.

Forever Grinding from Imperial was a massive hit in the hardcore scene. It included a ton of their previously released singles, though also brand new material that was on par with those singles and therefore made it an absolute blast to listen to (even if they simply provide the lyrics, leaving all the work to the greatness of Rebellion). Legacy of Blood by Irradiate was also impressive, including one of the best hardcore songs of the year in my honest opinion, Edge of Infinity, though overall it didn't pack as much punch.

The other scene that caught my attention was metal. Zeit, the latest album of Rammstein, was also very nice and incredibly varied in style, showcasing all the skills the group has. On a less serious note, Tekkno by Electric Callboy was very welcome after the incredible singles it released (including a failed attempt to represent Germany in Eurovision), and was also very varied in style going from simple 2000s rock to very heavy metal. I'm going to watch them live in a couple weeks, so I'm listening to that album and the rest of their discography like crazy lately xD