The 2022 Year-End Albums Discussion Thread

[Venice Jesus Whore]

Since the year is coming to an end, I thought it might be fun for us to reflect on the albums released the year. I was originally going to have this be a favorite/least favorite album thread, but I have a hard time ranking some of the albums, and I think having a more nuanced discussion will be more interesting anyways.

My favorite albums (I already know I'm going to be judged hard for some of these, but they're the ones I loved and found myself going back to the most):

1. Dirt Femme - Tove Lo
2. Slut Pop - Kim Petras
   • Call me a tasteless trashy gay all you want, but this album is everything I've been missing in pop music since the early 2010s ended: oversexualized bad bitch EDM anthems
3. Honestly, Nevermind - Drake
4. CAPRISONGS - FKA twigs
5. CRASH - Charli XCX (How was this 2022?)
6. The Hardest Part - Noah Cyrus

My biggest disappointment

• Dawn FM by The Weeknd
  • After Hours was my favorite album of 2020, so I was really looking forward to his follow-up, but Dawn FM didn't really click with me. I liked quite a few songs, but others I couldn't even tell whether I liked them or not. While an insanely impressive production, I just didn't connect with it. And while the Jim Carrey interludes were cool and helpful in building the storyline, I found them very annoying when I just wanted to listen to music.

Mixed Feelings:

• Renaissance - Beyonce
• Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar
  • Listen... I loved this album on first listen, but I found it to be too big and too heavy to take in. It's an hour and 13 minutes long, and some of the songs are just very heavy. Every time I try to listen to it, I get about halfway and can't make it farther. We Cry Together just DRAINS me. I feel like I only processed like 5% of this album there's so much to digest. I need more time to go back to it.
• So Far So Good - The Chainsmokers
  • I remember liking it on first listen, but I don't think I ever listened to it again. ?

Not for me:

• Midnights - Taylor Swift
  • I've tried listening to this multiple times, and Lavender Haze is really the only song I come back to, and maybe Snow on the Beach... rarely.
• The Loneliest Time - Carly Rae Jepsen
  • I keep hearing how good Carly is from other pop stans, and every time I go to listen to her, I can never get into her music. It's too bubbly, feminine, & bubblegum for me.

Albums I have not listened to that I'd still like to listen to

• Ivory - Omar Apollo
• Motomami - Rosalia
• Un Verano Sin Ti - Bad Bunny
• Gemini Rights - Steve Lacy
• Harry's House - Harry Styles
• Traumazine - Megan Thee Stallion
• Hold on Baby - King Princess
• emails i can't send - Sabrina Carpenter
• Ramona Park Broke My Heart - Vince Staples
• i used to think i could fly - Tate McRae

 

What are your thoughts on the albums released this year? Was it a good year in music for you?

[Let the Light In]

Dawn FM by The Weeknd was my favourite album of this year. It was such a beautiful experience and concept that a radio show is guiding you through the afterlife.

I also loved Life is Yours by Foals.

[the ocean]

honestly hold the girl, preacher's daughter & renaissance have just completely demolished the year for me i haven't been able to stop listening to them

[stillrun]

Renaissance by Beyoncé is really my top album of the year. 2022 was a very good year for music though. also was very obsessed with CRASH but i agree with you wholeheartedly.....HOW was this 2022? feels like a year ago at least!!!

[the ocean]

let me write down my full list after i stop being delulu in the LDR9 thread

renaissance / preacher's daughter / hold the girl knowing they're the best albums of the year though >>>>>>

[Rorman Nockwell]

Dance Fever - Florence

And In The Darkness - Weyes

Other than those, I can barely remember what was released in the past month never mind in the past year

 

[bluechemtrails]

1. Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter
2. Suki Waterhouse - I Can't Let Go
3. Taylor Swift - Midnights
4. Weyes Blood - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
5. Father John Misty - Chloe and the Next 20th Century

[Semafori]

hot take

Kung-Fu Kenny > KDot > Kendrick Lamar 

[The Siren]

  

[dollanganger]

faves: laurel hell by mitski, glitch princess by yeule, preacher's daughter by ethel cain, shunka ryougen by haru nemuri , & the gods we can touch by aurora

 

Spoiler

liked: caprisongs by fka twigs, crash by charli xcx, good old by vundabar, what i want by lady pills, hold the girl by rina sawayama, suckerpunch by maggie lindemann, jack in the box by j-hope, coping mechanism by willow, being funny in a foreign language by the 1975, night call by years & years, the car by arctic monkeys, magic hour by surf curse, the pink room by ciah fannin (indie taylor stan i found on tiktok lol)

 

[American Whore]

Dawn FM was probably my album of the year I went back to the most. I really liked the 80s vibes, How Do I Make You Love Me? into Take My Breath is perfect, sonically perfect. Is There Someone Else? is probably my favorite on this album too. I guess another thing is it's a concept album, if you got After Hours, you should get this one about as much, considering its the sequel and the middle album between a supposed second trilogy he's working on. I guess we'll see what happens next, because he has my attention as much as ever now

 

Dance Fever by Florence... I have mixed feelings for. I want to love it because I should love it, it's what I've wanted from her since Lungs or even Ceremonials but it's so hard because I end up judging it and comparing it to those albums. The witchy, pagan themes throughout don't shine like they should, at least to me. The visuals she was SPOT ON with, but the lyrics and the songs themselves just sound like... Jack Antonoff again. Idk why people insist on working with him, but he just seems so dry to me. Maybe if I listen to it again, give it more time, but ever since first listen, I end up getting bored halfway through.  King is probably my favorite from this and maybe it's because it has similar vibes to MAC by Lana tbh... idk why, but it does, thematically. Also, the weird spoken poetry versions are... something.

 

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick was my biggest let down this year, I wanted so much from it and I do like some songs!! But it's just... meh. I'll give it more time, some of his other albums are growers for me.

 

The Dream by Alt J was one I really, really liked. It feels more on brand than their last album before it, but also different at the same time. I really liked it, I bought it on vinyl and I"m glad I did.

 

The Car by Arctic Monkeys was a snooze for me. I hated it, it just isn't... good. I liked some of the instrumentals, but the lyrics felt like I was listening to a college student who read too many classics, wanted to be "edgy" and wrote trying so hard to mimic that but fell short in every possible way. I hated it.

 

 

[viktoria]

1. Crash by Charli XCX
2. 2 Baddies by NCT 127
3. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
4. Motomami by Rosalia
5. Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain
6. Renaissance by Beyonce
7. Beatbox by NCT DREAM

There's other albums and eps that I liked but those are by far my favourites 

[the ocean]

ok here's a general list (albums are arranged by tier but they're not in a specific order otherwise)

changed my life
* rina sawayama - hold the girl
* preacher's daughter - ethel cain
* renaissance - beyonce

loved a lot

Spoiler

* red velvet - feel my rhythm
* boa - forgive me
* hikaru utada - bad mode
* charli xcx - crash
* megan thee stallion - traumazine
* doechii - she/her/black bitch
* bjork - fossora
* shygirl - nymph

i enjoyed this

Spoiler

* fka twigs - caprisongs
* loona - flip that
* boa - the greatest
* the weeknd - dawn fm
* christina aguilera - aguilera
* yeule - glitch princess
* girls generation - forever 1
* rosalia - motomami (this one i initially didn't like and it only recently started growing on me and it'll probably be one of my favorites in a few months)
* kilo kish - american gurl
* le sserafim - fearless
* le sserafim - antifragile
* florence & the machine - dance fever
* beabadoobee - beatopia
* flo milli - you still here ho?
* perfume - plasma
* bananarama - masquerade
* erasure - day-glo (based on a true story)
* twice - celebrate
* seulgi - 28 reasons
* tove lo - dirt femme
* carly rae jepsen - the loneliest time
* taylor swift - midnights

[Psychedelic Pussy]

I’ll report back about my fav albums this year after SZA drops SOS. I already know it’s going to blow everything else out of the water. Nobody can compete w CTRL except UV era Lana and I honestly think she’s gonna pull thru with an insane sophomore 

[the ocean]

Just now, Pale Fire said:

I’ll report back about my fav albums this year after SZA drops SOS. I already know it’s going to blow everything else out of the water. Nobody can compete w CTRL except UV era Lana and I honestly think she’s gonna pull thru with an insane sophomore 

SOS will almost certainly reach my changed my life tier

[Psychedelic Pussy]

1 minute ago, the ocean said:

SOS will almost certainly reach my changed my life tier

YES FR 

ctrl was soooooooooo legendary, that album was the soundtrack to my life for *years* and has not aged a bit. And with the snippets we have from SOS I already know she ain’t fucking playing around 

 

[Cherry Blossom]

1. The Loneliest Time

2. Dance Fever

3. Midnights

4. Crash

[Purrfect]

Best:

Taylor Swift: Midnights

King Princess: Hold on baby

The Weeknd: Dawn FM

Chris Isaak: Everybody knows it‘s Christmas 

 

Fav songs 2022: 

Gia Vorne: Fools

Shania Twain: Last day of summer

 

Disappointment:

Noah Cyrus

Michelle Branch

Miranda Lambert

Tate McRae

 

 

All in all 2022 wasn‘t that exciting… 

 

 

[Veinsineon]

01. CRASH - Charli XCX

02. Dirt Femme - Tove Lo

03. You Can’t Kill Me - 070 Shake

04. VOL. II - Sam Gellaitry

05. CLEARING - HYD

 

Honorable Mentions

 

06. Gemini Rights - Steve Lacey

07. Dawn FM - The Weeknd

08. Chloë and The Next 20th Century - FJM

[stillrun]

4 hours ago, Cherry Blossom said:

1. The Loneliest Time

2. Dance Fever

3. Midnights

4. Crash

very good taste