As lifelong music fans, our lives are soundtracked by the records we listen to. Our seasons change with each new album we find and cling to. Our favorite lyrics are often the flashlight’s glimmer that shine during the darkest of our nights. Here, Vinyl Mag’s staff reflects on their favorite albums of the year. How does your list compare to ours?

Jake Feinberg, Staff Writer

1. JID, The Forever Story
2. JPEGMAFIA, LP
3. Smino, Luv 4 Rent
4. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
5. Westside Gunn, 10
6. Fly Anakin, Frank
7. MAVI, Laughing so Hard, It Hurts
8. Denzel Curry, Melt My Eyes See Your Future
9. Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry
10. Kenny Mason, RUFFS

Looking back, 2022 was a monumental year for how I perceive music. I dodged viral TikTok songs and commercial hits to find amazing new music and a deeper appreciation for the craft. Rap music, especially, was constantly changing and growing, like a rap music renaissance. We saw quality lyricism take a forefront, with albums like Melt My Eyes See Your Future, the Forever Story and Frank. These albums found artful angles within the “fast rap” style, creating complex rhyme schemes and flows, but never once taking away from the artists’ emotional narratives. I saw Denzel Curry at the Tabernacle, and watched him perform “walkin”, one of his deeper and more lyrically dense songs from the album. Nothing is as impressive as seeing an artist perform with such lyricism, especially when done as effortlessly as Curry. Creativity in production found further popularity as well, giving space for experimental albums to emerge like JPEGMAFIA’s LP, MAVI’s Laughing so Hard, it Hurts and Kenny Mason’s RUFFS. Each approached rap from a different creative angle, such as electronic beats, complex drums and flows or rock-influenced melodies. At JPEGMAFIA’s show at Atlanta’s the Masquerade, I was blown away by the artist’s solo presence with just his experimental background instrumentals. I am thankful for 2022’s expansive musical landscape that allowed me to branch into newer areas of music I hadn’t anticipated. Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T finally returned, after a five-year and four-year hiatus respectively. They delivered masterfully crafted albums, reminding us why they are still at the top. This year, 10 was another important album, where Westside Gunn demonstrated the power of curation. Collaborating with signees from Griselda, the record label he founded, Gunn was able to create one of the hardest and most cohesive albums of the year. In 2022, artists took their talents to the next level and excelled at expressing themselves, ultimately bringing together a beautiful year of music.

Haley Gilbert, Staff Writer

1. Noah Kahan, Stick Season
2. Lizzie McAlpine, Five Seconds Flat
3. Gang of Youths, angel in realtime
4. Mt. Joy, Orange Blood
5. Caamp, Lavender Days
6. Conan Gray, Superache
7. Maggie Rogers, Surrender
8. The Lumineers, BRIGHTSIDE
9. Matt Maeson, Never Had to Leave
10. COIN, Uncanny Valley

For me, 2022 was a very transformative year; I know that’s a cliché, but there’s a reason it’s said so often. During times when everything around me is changing and filled with uncertainty, I often cling to music to keep myself grounded. Thankfully, there were plenty of great options to choose from this year. The albums on my list were the soundtrack to the calamity that this year bred. The year started out on a lighter note, with The Lumineers new album Brightside delicately guiding me through the joys and turbulences associated with one’s early twenties. For the days when I just wanted to be angry and not feel guilty about it, Conan Gray’s Superache gave me an outlet to express those frustrations while sing-shouting along to songs like “Jigsaw” and “Memories,” much to the dismay of my neighbors in my thin-walled apartment building. During the more confusing times, I have found support and solace in the words of Lizzy McAlpine, listening to Five Seconds Flat as if it was advice given to me by one of my best friends. After spending a good portion of my year listening to Caamp’s Lavender Days, I learned that it is a great album to fill the empty space with, but I can also just as easily get swept up into it. As the Hannukah season was approaching, I found myself listening to the self-titled Jewish Ed Sheeran himself, Noah Kahan, and gladly spent all eight days unwrapping the gifts he gave the world with his album Stick Season. For all the short days, long nights, and moments in between, the albums on this list carefully and purposefully filled those gaps with glimpses of heartbreak, happiness, and immense awe at what these artists were able to convey with their music. As the year is coming to an end, so is a chapter of my life, and I am grateful it had such talented narrators. 

Buket Urgen, Editor-in-chief

1. Beyonce, Renaissance
2. Taylor Swift, Midnights
3. MUNA, MUNA
4. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
5. Charli XCX, CRASH
6. Lucius, Second Nature
7. Rina Sawayama, Hold the Girl
8. Angel Olsen, Big Time
9. Little Simz, No Thank You
10. ROSALIA, MOTOMAMI

My 2022 played out in two acts. Act one—I rounded out my final college semester culminating with graduation. As I went through the motions of preparing for post-grad life, leaving no stone unturned as this incredible chapter came to a sudden, cathartic but ultimately somewhat anticlimactic ending, I was comforted by wildly fun and equally cathartic tunes (CRASH, Second Nature).  Act two—post graduation calm followed by me moving abroad. Everything from the scenery to the supporting roles shifted into new territory, which is nothing if not nostalgic. Music became an easy, necessary escape when I couldn’t find the words to communicate in my new everyday language. Naturally, I relied on new music by old favorites (Midnights, MUNA, Hold the Girl). Although, Midnights was a controversial one for me. It features some of Swift’s strongest work (‘Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve,’ ‘You’re on Your Own Kid’) and some of her worst (Vigilante Shit) and also her most average. But alas, her chokehold on my Spotify Wrapped (and me) persists. On a final note, Beyonce’s Renaissance was the strongest album of the year. In the year of house music revival, Beyonce (and her many collaborators) created the perfect one that kept me dancing all summer long. My only complaint is that it wasn’t released sooner.