Musicians were more active in 2022 and it resulted in a vast treasure trove of superb work. The best albums of 2022 pushed boundaries and are more varied than ever.
The year’s best album re-issues include rock legends, foundational R&B/soul artists, classic pop, new wave, alternative rock, global beats and so much more.
The best new artists of 2022 are pushing boundaries as popular music becomes less genre-focused. They are forging new identities and moving music forward.
The 13 best pop albums of 2022 radiate with unstoppable playlist power, much-needed sweet escapism, self-reflection, self-criticism, and killer melodies.
The best Americana albums are a multicultural, polysexual, mixed-gender, cross-genre lineup of music that fits somewhere under the big backyard of Americana.
The best progressive rock albums are profoundly ambitious and forward-thinking, music that’s immense, expansive, and mind-blowing, with dramatic elements.
This year’s best country albums range from hard-country bands to traditional true-believers to indie-country renegades to pop-country superstars.
Jazz, born of the creative brilliance of Black American culture and now wonderfully global, is passionately alive in 2022. These are the year’s best jazz albums.
The best global music albums demonstrate how much art comes specifically from connections between people and the importance of the places they bring with them.
The following ten best library music albums are bursting with largely instrumental, deeply cinematic tunes that’ll suit a gamut of possible occasions.
In 2022, indie rock was a guitar-led extravaganza with artists drawing from an ever-widening musical well. These are the 25 best indie rock albums of the year.
The best indie pop of 2022 provided a much-needed melodic boost to our daily existence. From Hatchie to Jockstrap, these albums are the best.
![Call for Papers: All Things Reconsidered [MUSIC] May-August 2024](https://www.popmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/all-things-reconsidered-call-music-may-2024-720x380.jpg)
