The 2022 End of Year music lists thread

Does MOJO consider December 2021 albums as released this year? I only ask because it seems ridiculous to put Parker’s Forfolks on the list when he was head of two of the better jazz releases of 2022. Never understood why this happens, especially in the age of digital releases.

― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Sunday, November 27, 2022 12:07 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Places like Mojo have to work like two months in advance so things can be ready for a print issue. Strictly online ventures have no excuse beyond racing for clicks

The Michael Head album is great, though a little surprised to see it so high on some lists. I guess there's a lot of affection for him given his struggles with booze and heroin.

speaking of race for clicks, here's uproxx's unranked albums list

https://uproxx.com/music/best-albums-2022-list/

has Asake and Burna, lacks Rema and Wizzy

here's my annual reminder that Uproxx is owned by global record label conglomerate Warner Music Group and shouldn't be in the business of reviewing records, much less hosting a poll of critics on the year's best records. (no one cares! i don't know why, but they don't.)

I still don't believe "Alex G." is a real person making real music.

never really liked him before but i really liked his new album ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.lyrics.cat/v/9/97de8067a82fde4d5f48056c77e0a451.jpg
“I still don’t know how I got away with it.”

https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-albums/best-albums-of-2022/#once-twice-melody

every year all these fuckin lists are just anagrams of each other

yes, sadly since the demise of witch house we have been limited to these predictable 26 letters and 10 numerals

the loud and quiet list seems sufficiently interesting

The most interesting lists are still to come: Aquarium Drunkard, The Quietus, and a few others. These other pubs are, for the most part, utter jokes.

oh yes, AD always excellent

yes, sadly since the demise of witch house we have been limited to these predictable 26 letters and 10 numerals

― link.exposing.politically

╚Ø╚

TIME 10 BEST SONGS

https://time.com/6235775/best-songs-2022/

They picked the wrong Sudan Archives song! (FreakaliZer is the right one) still happy to see her there.

I wouldn't know, I keep replaying the title track. Best dense r&b mini-suite banger since Tkay Maidza and Bree Runway have been making music.
Cool that they included Finesse.

Also the best Sudan Archives song cannot not have violin

Yeah, the new Alex G is annoyingly good. Like a post-late-Low version of slacker-indie.

Love love love "ChevyS10" and think it serves as the natural peak when listening to the album - good choice, Time

NYT (Pop): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/arts/music/best-albums-renaissance-bad-bunny.html

NYT Jazz: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/arts/music/best-jazz-albums.html

Yeah, the new Alex G is annoyingly good. Like a post-late-Low version of slacker-indie.

This is literally the first time I've heard his music described in a way that makes me mildly curious!

Critic Gene Seymour's jazz list is better than the Times jazz list, even though it has a Keith Jarrett album on it.

I think Gene Seymour and I like totally different jazz.

I don't agree with him about much — I'm doing a list of 20 albums for Stereogum, and the Shipp album will be on it and I'm considering the Salvant, Sorey and Turner discs, though I'm less sure about them. The Mary Halvorson album he cites as an honorable mention will definitely be on my list.

Excited for your list!

Yeah, the new Alex G is annoyingly good. Like a post-late-Low version of slacker-indie.

guess i have to check it out then, what i've heard of his previous stuff was just fine

yeah that's the first description of Alex G that sounds palatable to me

https://www.gorillavsbear.net/gorilla-vs-bears-albums-of-2022/
https://thequietus.com/articles/32400-the-quietus-top-100-albums-of-2022-norman-records

weirdly they have the same #1

someone needs to let the gvb guy know about real lies

ok this alex g album is nice, he's foregrounded all his production eccentricities, at least since the last album of his i heard which was a while ago.

the late-period low comparison holds up only in a few places but i get it. i'd more directly say it's a slacker-indie take on 'hyperpop', reminds me of the fantastic dltzk album from last year. would love to hear what he'd come up with working with bj burton

like it only really delves into something that actually sounds 'hyperpop' occasionally but just the general way it hangs together is fairly reminiscent of what those sort of artists are doing

I listened to the Jockstrap the other day. It isn't remotely AOTY lol

And the h word has been uttered so I'd best get around to Alex G at some point

Was the Quietus list all Sleaford Mods records and unlistenable art metal again? Last year’s list was abysmal

xp you might be disappointed by the alex g idk but it's at least adjacent to that whole area

i also disliked the jockstrap album but maybe listening to it again would make me hate it

i don't think there was a sleaford mods album this year so you may be in luck

seems like there is a bunch of art metal though, have not tested its listenability yet

Quietus list has disappointed me for a while, so much noodly nothingness, this year no different. Also Fontaines fuckin DC over so many better rock choices, what is it with that band and critics

Also, some actually great Quietuscore - like, tailor-made for them - came out in the form of Holy Scum and it isn't even in their 100. But why list the best thing any member of Gnod has ever done when you can just list yet another fuckin Gnod album?

And as for Jockstrap, yeah it's some diverting and occasionally effective modern production wedded to some truly lumpen songwriting by a BCNR member, embarrassing how that bunch have taken over

I don’t think the Jockstrap will age well at all, it has some great moments tho.

i listened to the caroline album that's on all these lists bc the descriptions were interesting and it sounds like christmas music

I like the GVB list but I rarely coincide with him on albums. His songs list is usually more up my alley. I suspect half of his top 20 tomorrow will be songs I loved this year.

xp I mean, that could be a good thing!

The lists I most look forward to are Raven Sings The Blues and Aquarium Drunkard.

AD and Bandcamp's various lists were great last year iirc

I'm really liking the June McDoom off the GvB list though

I don’t think the Jockstrap will age well at all, it has some great moments tho.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, December 1, 2022 7:55 AM (forty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

Nice to see the Carmen Villain album on the Quietus list, it's super! And also Darklife by Death's Dynamic Shroud. And of course Real Lies.

Although as the years go by I care less and less about these lists. I used to get FOMO at this point of the year and think I had to catch up on all the great music I missed, only to later realise most of it was shite.

I listen to Alex G infrequently but I would have never thought to use any of those descriptors upthread about him.

The Wire has published the individual ballots of everyone who voted in their year-end critics' poll.

Here's mine:

Phelimuncasi Ama Gogela (Nyege Nyege)
Perfume Plasma (Universal)
Horace Andy Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)
Wormrot Hiss (Earache)
Klaus Schulze Deus Arrakis (SPV)
Goatwhore Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven (Metal Blade)
Maule Maule (Cruz Del Sur)
Soulfly Totem (Nuclear Blast)
Buñuel Killers Like Us (Profound Lore)
Loop Sonancy (Reactor/Cooking Vinyl)

My traditional (second year I'm doing it = tradition) list of the 50 best albums from Denmark:

50. Esben Svane – Ikke et ord
49. Stefan Pasborg – Ritual Dances
48. Lukas Vanggaard – Natsværmeren & Sommerfuglen
47. Slægt – Goddess
46. Toechter – Zephyr
45. Jura – Formality Jerne-Site
44. Lueenas – Lueenas
43. iB101 – Enfant Terrible
42. Else Marie Pade – The Orchestral Album
41. Kalaha + Hilal Kaya With Aarhus Jazz Ochestra – Tutku
40. Mekdes – Greedy
39. Kasper Bjørke Quartet – Mother
38. Frederik Valentin & Loke Rahbek – Together
37. Lamin – Kronisk Skeptisk
36. Brimheim – can’t hate myself into a different shape
35. Danish String Quartet – Prism IV
34. CTM – Babygirl
33. NikoCorlin – Ocean Thread
32. Carsten Dahl, Tim Hagans, Johnny Åman & Jukkis Uotila – A Beautiful Blue Moment
31. First Hate – Cotton Candy / The Remix Experience
30. Poptones – Between Darkness & Daylight
29. Sofie Birch – Holotropica / Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka – Langouria
28. Orm – Intet • Altet
27. Josefine Opsahl – Atrium
26. Joyce – Elsk mig
25. Solborg/Bigoni/Maniscalco – Canto
24. Astrid Øster Mortensen – Skærgårdslyd / Klara Livet – Varandra
23. Sonic Girl – Confessions
22. Tvivler – Kilogram
21. Hans Phillip – [α] / [β]
20. Jeppe Zeeberg – Conventional
19. Natjager – At kende bølge fra hav
18. Anna Katrin Øssursdóttir Egilstrøð & Allan Gravgaard Madsen – BEINTA
17. Konvent – Call Down The Sun
16. Anna Roemer – Azure
15. Collider – Excessively Worthwhile
14. SVIN & Aarhus Sinfonietta – Elegi / SVIN – Introducing SVIN
13. Tettix Hexer – The Vibrant And Buoyant Heart / Aero
12. Shooter Gang – Alt har sin pris
11. Lyla Haifa – Cicadas
10. Senso – The Void In Us
9. Trio Con Brio / Bent Sørensen – The Island In The City
8. Gilli – Carnival
7. Sleep Party People – Heap Of Ashes
6. Natlyst – Ikaros
5. Randi Pontoppidan & Povl Kristian – Life In Life
4. Schacke – Apocalyptic Decadence
3. Kindsight – Swedish Punk
2. Tobias Rahim – Når sjælen kaster op
1. HVAD & Abdullah Miniawy – Notice A Tiny Scratch For The Blue Behind / HVAD – YUG

Both of DJ Central’s albums released this year are really nice

Rolling Stone really knows where it’s at - here’s a very knowledgeable afropop top 40:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-afropop-songs-of-2022-1234650065/

I wish Electronic Sound was still in my local Tesco

Electronic Sound , can’t find the top 50 online, but here’s the top 10.

1= Telefis - a Dò/ a hAon
2 Working Men’s Club - Fear Fear
3 Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me
4 Plaid - Feorm Falorx
5 Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - Districts, Roads, Open Spaces
6 Elaine Howley - The Distance Between Heart And Mouth
7 Gwenno - Tresor
8 Acid Klaus - Step On My Travelator…
9 Cosi Fanni Tutti- Delia Derbyshire:The Myths And The Legendary Tapes
10 Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

I sprung for this edition (though it's £7.99 now so I probably won't be doing that again) - here's the rest:

11. 700 Bliss - Nothing to Declare
12. Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxymore
13. Stephen Mallinder - Tick Tick Tick
14. Lucrecia Dalt - !Ay!
15. Future Conditional - Isotech
16. The Hardy Tree - Common Grounds
17. Klaus Schulze - Deus Arrakis
18. Soft Cell - Happiness Not Included
19. Nik Colk Void - Bucked Up Space
20. The Comet is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam
21. V/A - Eins Und Zwei Und Drei Und Vier Vol. 2: Deutsche Experimentelle Pop-Musik 1978-1987
22. Blancmange - Private View
23. Brian Eno - ForeverAndEverNoMore
24. Kelly Lee Owens - LP.8
25. The Advisory Circle - Full Circle
26. V/A - Cue Dot XIII: ReFabricated
27. The Sound of Science - The Sound of Science
28. Simple Minds - Direction of the Heart
29. Au Suisse - Au Suisse
30. Arp - New Pleasures
31. Ghost Power - Ghost Power
32. Rival Consoles - Now Is
33. Hannah Peel & Paraorchestra - The Unfolding
34. Caterina Barbieri - Spirit Exit
35. Gabe Gurnsey - Diablo
36. Rodney Cromwell - Memory Box
37. Wolfgang Flür - Magazine 1
38. Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Popul - Topical Dancer
39. Richie Culver - I Was Born By the Sea
40. Gigi Masin - Vahinè
41. The Black Dog - Music for Photographers
42. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Let's Turn It Into Sound
43. Cate Le Bon - Pompeii
44. Tears for Fears - The Tipping Point
45. Helen Ganya - Polish the Machine
46. Tangerine Dream - Raum
47. Sarah Davachi - Two Sisters
48. Fenella - The Metallic Index
49. Gemma Cullingford - Tongue Tied
50. Tony Price - Mark VI

passion of the weiss albums list: https://www.passionweiss.com/2022/12/29/pow-best-albums-2022/

Passion of Weiss list has Asake, Horace Andy, rap, Vieux Farka Toure w/ Khruangbin , and various releases I have never heard of but maybe you all have

Rock and Roll Globe

https://rockandrollglobe.com/records/the-rock-roll-globe-top-30-albums-of-2022/

A new year's present: At long last, the Album of the Year List spreadsheet! https://t.co/d4vkqKrtJV

— Rob Mitchum (@robmitchum) December 31, 2022

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1m5v1y2Bj88JTmSZGAoGFTuCQPPWQDwxkIfT8QhTh478/edit#gid=1927558368

Voting is open for the ILM EOY Poll: ILM's 2022 End of Year Tracks & Albums Poll / VOTING THREAD

I don’t think Phonica’s lists have been posted but there’s good stuff there

https://www.phonicarecords.com/best-of-2022

Albums of the year of 5:4 (aka 5against4.com):

Part 1 (#30-#16)
Part 2 (#15-#1)

I missed the nominations, some major ones I don't see on the albums list - Large Plants on ghost box, Muramuke (herbert & barbara panther) on accidental, Lalalar on Bongo Joe, Ezra Collective, Tim Bernardes on Psychic Hotline, Noori & His Dorpa Band on Ostinato, Tumi Mogorosi on New Soil, Al-Qasar on Glitterbeat, Meridian Brothers, Kibrom Birhane, Branko Mataja comp/reissue on Numero Group just to name a few! Hope you check some out

woops wrong thread :(

https://www.theafricareport.com/262966/music-our-top-25-african-hits-of-2022-rule-the-dancefloor/

Africa Report also has a separate amapiano only list too I think

https://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/22/

The Jazz critics poll originally started by writer Francis Davis and now handled by Tom Hull. Best albums, plus also separate polls for jazz singers , debut albums, and Latin jazz

The top albums from above jazz critics poll ( points and number of votes)

2022 Totals: New Albums

Mary Halvorson, Amaryllis (Nonesuch) 349.5 (48)
Immanuel Wilkins, The 7th Hand (Blue Note) 220 (29)
Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ghost Song (Nonesuch) 218.5 (30)
Tyshawn Sorey Trio, Mesmerism (Yeros7 Music) 209 (34)
Tyshawn Sorey Trio + 1 With Greg Osby, The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism (Pi) 180 (27)
JD Allen, Americana Vol. 2 (Savant) 159 (22)
Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet, For the Love of Fire and Water (RogueArt) 154 (24)
Terri Lyne Carrington, New Standards Vol. 1 (Candid) 127 (22)
Ches Smith, Interpret It Well (Pyroclastic) 126 (21)
Wadada Leo Smith, The Emerald Duets (TUM) 122 (19)

It's a good year!

Brainwashed readers poll

Nice.

if you like those mostly artsy and art rocky types (some of which I do) . Interesting how Horace Andy, thanks to new records, is top reggae act in that Brainwashed poll

really like that list from the stuff I've enjoyed
Will deffo deep dive

Yeah likewise. The Brainwashed list has a lot of overlap with my own faves, with several previously unheard RIYL titles. This Ak'Chamel album, for instance, is a treat.