By AROUSE
2022 saw big releases from big stars amongst the formation of new ones. With no shortage of talked-about releases, there truly was something noteworthy for every kind of listener. As voted on by the AROUSE general body, here are our selections for the best albums of 2022, with some surprises to be filled in later. Check back for further updates!
50. Songz – Sour
49. Harry’s House – Harry Style
48. Surrender – Maggie Rogers
47. Deep in View – Cola
46. Shadowglow – Flipturn
45. Say Laura – Eric Chenaux
44. Louie – Kenny Beats
43. American Bollywood – Young the Giant
42. 2 Alive – Yeat
41. The Car – Arctic Monkeys
40. Stumpwork – Dry Cleaning
39. Little Green House – Anxious
38. Aethiopes – Billy Woods
37. You Can’t Kill Me – 070 Shake
36. Crime//Shame//Illumination – Crime Light
35. Save the Baby – Enumclaw
34. Once Twice Melody – Beach House
33. Bad Mode – Hikaru Utada
32. Mahal – Toro y Moi
31. Big Time – Angel Olsen
30. God’s Country – Chat Pile
29. Pool Kids – Pool Kids
28. Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny
27. LP3 – Hippo Campus
26. Omnium Gatherium – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
25. Uncanny Valley – COIN
Formed in Nashville, 3-piece pop-rock outfit COIN delivered one of their most experimental projects yet in 2022. The band has been making music together since 2012, and Uncanny Valley marks their fourth full-length album release. Over 14 tracks, Uncanny Valley explores what it means to be alive, toeing the line between artificial intelligence and humanity. COIN has created a story about breaking away from the machine, learning, loving, what it all means, and why it matters to us. With its filtered vocals, “Learning” opens the album and sets up a cohesive progression from AI to human. With lyrics like “there’s no algorithm for intuition,” and “maybe I’m more than zeroes and ones,” the song conveys the desire to step out of the digital world and into real life. With hit singles “Chapstick” and “Cutie,” COIN delivers two digitally addictive pop songs. Perhaps their most experimental track to date, “Chapstick” is characterized by driving basslines and nonsensical lyrics– it’s where classic rock meets robotic dissonance. The rest of the album follows this theme, progressively challenging what it means to be a human being. Floaty, carefree, glittery songs like “I Think I Met You In A Dream” and “Blackbox” round out COIN’s new sound on this record, and everything falls into place with closing track “Loving,” an epic acoustic ballad that builds in your head and sinks to your chest. A complete manifestation of the band’s philosophy, Uncanny Valley takes listeners to a beautiful place and encourages them to remember what’s most important – learning to love.
– Megan Durbin
24. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Relatable, charming, and instantly memorable, the self-titled full-length debut from Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers achieves a rare feat – a sign of a fully-formed band with a unique, infectious sound. Wet Leg’s debut captures the breakneck speed and quick-wittedness of your favorite buddy comedy in a record that wastes none of its nearly thirty-seven-minute run time. Complete with self-aware lyricism and distinctive vocal performances, this record is destined to be an instant classic in the world of indie rock. Standout track “Wet Dream” – a hit that garnered them a cosign from Harry Styles (who is taking them along on an expansive tour this summer) is a rollicking banger with vivid narration reminiscent of Le Tigre. Other memorable moments come from the group’s signature sardonic slice-of-life freeze frames – on the standout closer “Too Late Now”, Teasdale laments, “I don’t need no dating app / to tell me if I look like crap / to tell me if I’m thin or fat / to tell me should I shave my rat.” The pair are excellent at capturing young adult life with a brash, refreshing flair, and they’re shaping up to be a group to watch for years to come.
– Rachael Crouch
23. Midnights – Taylor Swift
After wading into the alternative genre with 2020’s Folklore and Evermore, Taylor Swift’s triumphant return to pop does not disappoint. Over the album’s 20 tracks, she channels many of the emotions that race through one’s mind in the middle of the night—regret for past times, yearning for something you can’t have, loneliness, and even self-loathing. Midnights sounds like an amalgam of Swift’s past works. The heart-wrenching, Red-reminiscent “You’re On Your Own Kid” recounts Swift’s biggest insecurities, slowly building into a bittersweet bridge that encourages listeners to be grateful for what they have. Songs such as “Paris,” “…Question?” and “Bejeweled” delve into the familiar pop sound that can be heard on 1989 and Lover. Though at first glance the tracklist may seem bloated, Swift doesn’t lose momentum as the album progresses. In fact, the most memorable track is the penultimate “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” which tells of an emotionally abusive relationship that still haunts Swift a decade after its demise. Midnights feels like the culmination of Swift’s genre-bending career.
– Swifties of OSU
22. Cheat Codes – Danger Mouse
In the early to mid-70s, hip-hop was on the rise in New York. A new musical art form was being spread and championed from block parties in the Bronx, and within a few decades, it would come to dominate music throughout the world. This evolution of hip-hop has been one of the most interesting branches of music to watch, with the rise of subgenres like conscious rap and trap being popular in recent years. This evolution of the genre is perhaps what makes Cheat Codes so endearing: it isn’t just a hip-hop album, it is a celebration of the art form itself. Danger Mouse (with his first hip-hop centered album since 2005) samples from the eras that defined early hip-hop while Black Thought provides verses that feel modern but old school at the same time, resulting in an album that sounds like it could have come from the early days of hip-hop just as much as an album released yesterday. Everything about feels intentional, from each muffled snare, each chopped sample, each featured artist. Cheat Codes may not set out to redefine hip-hop, but their latest work sure is one perfect love letter to it.
– Patrick Scurlock
21. The Forever Story – JID
The Forever Story is both intimate and electrifying. As JID himself says on the first full track “Raydar”, “I got the shit you can play for your mama, I got the shit you can play for the hoes.” “Raydar”, “Dance Now”, “Can’t Punk Me”, and “Surround Sound” are all nearly perfect hype-up songs. “Bruddanem”, “Sistanem”, and closer “2007” are all examples of more introspective songs, in which JID goes into his career path, the environment he was raised in, strong bonds between family and friends, and being remembered after death. JID himself has stated that the album is a sort of origin story, an explanation of where he came from and who he is now. Narratively, it is clear JID had a vision for the themes of the album and is incredibly vulnerable in executing said vision. On the technical side, JID has seemingly unlimited unique flows, and perfect chemistry with everyone included in the project, from 21 Savage and Lil Wayne to James Blake. One of the best rap records of the year, for everyone from the casual listener to the hardcore hip-hop head.
– Brady Virtue
20. Gemini Rights – Steve Lacy
Throughout Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights, the progression of songs leaves the audience feeling euphoric, as though they are ascending to a new plane of existence. Opening the album, “Static” uses the piano progression along with harmony to allow the listener to enter the world of Gemini Rights. “Helmet” accelerates the pace of the album while telling the story of needing protection after being hurt by love. Lead single “Mercury” finds Lacy contemplating his choices in his relationship. Further celestial bodies are used to help guide and explain Lacy’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. “Buttons” slows the album down once again and leads to a smooth transition to “Bad Habit”, which features arguably the catchiest chorus on the album with a message of longing for closeness in a relationship with another being. “2Gether (Enterlude)” showcases a whimsical sound, while listening to “Cody Freestyle” after the ‘enterlude’ fully engages the listener, especially with the use of headphones in a surround sound experience. The final three songs, “Amber,” “Sunshine (feat. Foushee),” and “Give You the World” have similar ethereal vibes, leaving the listener with a lightness in their head. Overall, Gemini Rights communicates the feeling of transcendence through various rhythms and harmonies, with the duality of this album staying true to the nature of Gemini.
– Katie Koenig
19. Melt My Eyez See Your Future – Denzel Curry
Denzel Curry has never been one to shy away from switching up his sound. That’s exactly what he does with Melt My Eyez See Your Future, his most introspective and vulnerable album to date. However, he brings a few ragers into the mix as well. This album takes a deep dive into Curry’s mental state and upbringing and takes on a few difficulties like substance abuse and his own experiences as a black man. The intro “Melt Session #1” sets the tone of self-reflection for the album, being an ode to a therapy session and talking about the things that bring negativity to him. Despite how deep the album can be at times, he doesn’t fail to bring bangers with songs like “Ain’t No Way” and its entourage of high-energy features, as well as “Troubles” with an exciting feature from T-Pain that brings it back to the autotune era in an electric way. Melt My Eyez See Your Future is an exciting showcase of growth and self-reflection on the rise from “the bottle flip song guy” to a well-respected artist.
– Hanebal Asged
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17. RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART – Vince Staples
Coming off his introspective self-titled album, Vince Staples’ RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART delves deeper into Vince’s psyche while bluntly reminiscing on his past and career as a musician. The album opens with warm noises of the beach, seagulls cawing, and waves crashing. This visualization is a stark contrast to Vince’s version of the beach, specifically Long Beach, California, where he grew up. The album formally begins with “AYE!”, a smooth, hypnotizing track that finds Vince vividly describing his youth and the mindset that came with his past, not romanticizing any aspect and being honest when describing his tumultuous upbringing. Tracks like “MAGIC!”, “LEMONADE”, and “ROSE STREET” comment on Vince’s present as a successful musician, still uneasy and anxious about the money it brings, and the envy that can arise. Slower tracks like “MAMA’S BOY and “EAST POINT PRAYER”, demonstrate how he reflects on his past, including his temporary move to Atlanta. “WHEN SPARKS FLY”, while a sensual and seemingly romantic track, is a cleverly disguised metaphor for how much he can’t trust relationships and the only thing he trusts was the thing that has kept him safe throughout his life – a gun. “RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART” is a near-theatrical album that encapsulates Vince’s youth, upbringing, and life as a successful musician. The album sees Vince accept his past, realize fame and money won’t change who you are and who you were, embrace change, and make the most of his fame and life. The best step is the next step.
– Alex Lopez
16. Crest – Bladee and Ecco2k
When “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was released in early 2020, most fans thought the track would be just another one-off Bladee and Ecco2k single. Little did they know that this would be their first taste of Crest. The album is the result of a friendship dating back nearly two decades, as before there was Drain Gang, the two had a grind-core band called Krossad in 2004. Sonically, the album is the most pop-inspired to come out of DG, save 2020’s Good Luck, with the duo bouncing off each other over Whitearmor’s glittery production. Ecco’s vocals throughout the album match the quality expected given his past two releases, E and PXE, while Bladee’s have noticeably improved from the auto-tuned crooning he was known for. The standout track is “5 Star Crest”, which honors the life of their friend Vattenrum, who passed in 2019. The song’s nine-minute runtime offers a gracious opportunity to fully take in what all three bring to the table. Crest manages to do something really special – force pretentious music reviewers to listen to Bladee.
– Aidan Lawler
15. HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66 – The Garden
Before HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66, The Garden’s albums seemed to lean in either the art-punk direction or more towards synth-punk, with no single album feeling as if these two styles were completely melded together. With their newest release, however, the Shears brothers have completely synthesized both of these inclinations into an even noisier, sample-fueled sound, one that is hard to categorize into any singular genre while remaining coherent. With 11 tracks in just over 21 minutes, the songs come and go as if built for the world’s ever-shortening attention span. As with any album, certain tracks stand out more than others, with the album’s three singles standing out in particular due to their rather unique sound. “Freight Yard” feels like it is much more in line with the duo’s past post-punk works, whereas “Orange County Punk Rock Legend” and “Chainsaw the Door” are much more in line with the brothers’ later art-punk and synth-punk style. HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66 is a short listen, and one that is well worth investing 21 and a half minutes into.
– Izzy Davis
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13. Caprisongs – FKA Twigs
A 180-degree turn from the heart-shattering despair of 2019’s career-defining Magdalene, FKA twigs turns the other cheek and starts a new chapter with this adventurous victory lap of a mixtape. Sonically diverse and deeply personal (voice notes from twigs’ friends are scattered about the songs), Caprisongs is a project with something for everyone. Each song is bursting with its own unique capsule of sound, from the accessible pop of “tears in the club” (sporting a feature from top 40 darling The Weeknd) to the glitchy Auto-Tune of “meta angel” to the bouncy dancehall of “papi bones” to confessional R&B in the vein of SZA on “oh my love”. Two highlights emphasize this versatility. On “Honda”, a rollercoaster of a track that balances between a Western church choir and a clattering, clicky beat by el Guincho, twigs holds her own against up-and-comer Pa Salieu with percussive bursts of rap. On “darjeeling”, an ode to the city of London, she floats effortlessly above a drill beat that just won’t quit. While Caprisongs boasts a star-studded features list and excellent production, one element stands out above all else: FKA twigs is an artist we have no choice but to stan.
– Rachael Crouch
12. Laurel Hell – Mitski
Laurel Hell is Mitski’s sixth and potentially final studio album. The Japanese-American songwriter and performer released the project after a several years long hiatus, and for many followers of Mitski’s work, her latest release seemed to be a departure, especially from the acclaimed 2018 album Be the Cowboy that introduced her to a larger, much more public audience. Laurel Hell travels through bright synth-pop into dreamy, soft ballads, echoing the artist’s description of her own experience being in the public eye. The lead single “Working for the Knife” gives listeners a glimpse into Mitski’s relationship with her success and identity as a musician, the very basis of the song and the title referring to her conflicted feelings towards continuing her music career. The album itself arose out of a contractual obligation between the singer and her label, existing as both a love letter and a lament to the music industry and the audience that comes with it. When juxtaposed against 2012’s Lush or 2014’s Bury Me at Makeout Creek, Laurel Hell seems to lose some of the raw, visceral aura that so many love about Mitski’s work, opting for a more commercial, fully produced sound. Laurel Hell as a whole exists as an homage to irony, the artist capturing the coexisting realities of wanting to create and move forward but feeling unable to do so or trapped by the industry and the outside world. The haunting and layered yet radio-friendly album, while not necessarily matching the expectations set up by Be the Cowboy, is definitely still worth a listen.
– Julia Biller
11. Cave World – Viagra Boys
Viagra Boys have spent the past seven years and two albums being a band about music written by the world’s worst people, and their newest, 2022’s Cave World, is about what happens when those people meet an equally screwed-up universe. A concept album about incels, the internet’s increasing isolation, and political division, it might be best thought of as LCD Soundsystem writing about Andrew Tate. Album standouts “Troglodyte” and “Ain’t No Thief” cover a lot of ground in the realm of internet lone wolf Alpha/Beta ideology, but the crux of the album’s themes is best articulated in the spoken word outro of closer “Return To Monke” – “A head is cut off in an office / The staff do a great job of cleaning up.” Are we going to notice if the world falls apart around us, or are we going to be too distracted by our own comfort? Where do we draw the line between what’s on the internet and what should bother us? When are we supposed to be angry about the world? Viagra Boys don’t know, but they definitely want us to think on it.
– Rohan Rindani
10. Preacher’s Daughter – Ethel Cain
Ethel Cain was raised on Bible verses; Hayden Anhedonia was raised on stan Twitter. It turns out that these two scriptures blend together seamlessly, as Preacher’s Daughter establishes Anhedonia’s Cain persona as the Southern Gothic heir apparent to Elizabeth Grant’s Lana Del Rey. Cain’s debut album details the narrator’s journey across the country before her eventual cannibalization and ascent to heaven with a perfectly realized aesthetic and songwriting style that is distinctly her own. For a pop album, Preacher’s Daughter is rather sprawling. Aside from the fantastic “American Teenager”, which reads like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” for the Tumblr generation, many of the tracks smear and unfurl past the six-minute mark. “Family Tree” is a WestWorld-tinged dirge that explodes like a hurled Molotov; “Hard Times” is a warm, secretly muddy campfire lullaby. The album’s biggest shift comes when the narcoticized striptease of “Gibson Girl” cedes to the sludgy, Hellbound funeral march of “Ptolemaea”, which culminates in a bloodcurdling scream straight out of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The album closes with the pleasant ballad “Strangers”, but it’s the showstopping penultimate church hymn of “Sun Bleached Flies” that lingers longer, guaranteeing phone flashlights at every future Ethel Cain concert. “God loves you, but not enough to save you,” Cain’s one-woman choir lilts over a stained glass piano. For its lofty thematic ambitions, Preacher’s Daughter is compositionally simple, but it cements Cain as a rising star that burns brighter than a thousand sinners.
– Connor Telford
9. It’s Almost Dry – Pusha T
Cocaine’s Dr. Seuss brought something unique to 2022 with his 4th studio album It’s Almost Dry. While he’s no stranger to the subject matter, Pusha T puts an exciting new twist on his stories from the past on his most recent album. Executive production from Kanye West and Pharrell Williams brings brand new energy and life into Push’s standard themes and rhymes. Along with the extraordinary production, Pusha is in his best form lyrically throughout this entire album. He does an incredible job of embodying the dark and grimy drug lord lifestyle through the use of really dark lyrics with a menacing vocal inflection and the occasional maniacal laugh here and there. If that isn’t enough to make listeners feel like the clown king Joker himself, then maybe they just don’t have that dog in them. Songs like “Just So You Remember” and “Open Air” show how seriously he takes his supervillain personality, vividly describing in a menacing manner the things Push is willing and able to do to push his product and keep himself on top. Pusha T delivers an amazingly domineering work with It’s Almost Dry, showing his lyricism and storytelling are still in top form.
– Hanebal Asged
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7. Crash – Charli XCX
Charli XCX’s fifth studio album CRASH is one of her most timely and retrospective releases. Beyond her big hits and features like “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea and “Boom Clap”, Charli’s musical expressions have been mainly consumed by a cult-following with a taste for electronic niche subgenres. Diverging from her experimental history, CRASH uses Charli’s knack for crafting excellent melodies and pairs them with lush chords and drum patterns that enhance these near-perfect pop songs. Her lyricism within many of the tracks is vague but effective. She doesn’t ramble or recall specifics, but rather she favors the rhyme structure and ambiguity that informs how relatable the stories in these tracks are for a wide audience of listeners. Tracks like “Good Ones”, “Beg For You”, and “Used To Know Me” include interpolations and samples from notable works in music, which further enhance the instant familiarity that listeners feel with this album upon first listen. While CRASH feels familiar, it is a refreshing, consistent, and effective addition to the pop genre as a whole.
– Collin Meek
6. Hellfire – Black Midi
For the second year in a row, black midi came out with a record that shattered everyone’s expectations of what they were capable of. The London-based trio, all young enough to be AROUSE members themselves, released their 3rd album in 4 years in July, after teasing via singles “Welcome to Hell”, “Eat Men Eat”, and “Sugar/Tzu”, which follow a loose concept along with the rest of the album of various people engaging with the darker parts of themselves in a futuristic fantasy world. Fully embracing their transition from brutal noise punk to free jazz auteurs, Hellfire is the band’s most thoroughly composed effort, completely eschewing most traces of their improvisatory roots. Showcasing breathtaking musicianship as well as incredible songwriting craft, After this much metamorphosis in so little time, Hellfire is black midi’s shortest, tightest, and most expansive record to date. The only question left to ask is what’s next?
– Rohan Rindani
5. Blue Rev – Alvvays
In a sea of fizzy, soda-colored nostalgia, Blue Rev manages to taste unique. Alvvays’ third effort focuses squarely on songwriting craft and a blown-out sound palette. Molly Rankin and the rest of the band create their own Icee-slush of shoegaze and power pop filled to the brim with razor-sharp hooks, misty vocals, and punchy guitar work, resulting in a modern-day cotton candy-colored John Hughes soundtrack. “After the Earthquake” and “Velveteen” are highway delights reminiscent of The Outfield, and tracks like “Many Mirrors” and “Bored in Bristol” recall sunsets surrounded by friends. Of course, the immediate gratification doesn’t mean the band doesn’t have anything to say, with tracks like “Very Online Guy” tackling internet incel culture and “Belinda Says” pondering Heaven and Hell on Earth (both tracks also feature some of the album’s catchiest melodies). The album’s distinctive sound doesn’t work against its replayability or its head-bopping attitude. It’s hard not to dance like a Peanuts character when “Pressed” or “Pomeranian Spinster” comes on. While Alvvays’ talent is hard to ignore, their output is easy to enjoy. Blue Rev sounds like good times.
– Connor Telford
4. God Save the Animals – Alex G
Alex G is singing about animals again, and who can really blame him? God Save The Animals seems to look at animals and Alex G’s current situation through a religious lens, with themes of God, struggle, and salvation laced throughout the tracks and the album title itself. Maybe Alex is telling us he’s the modern-day Noah, filling his arc up with as many fuzzy friends as possible. The track to look out for is “After All”, where Alex fills our ears with that recognizably addictive pitchy-shifty voice effect. God Save the Animals is easily the most cohesive piece of work Alex has put together. This is a confession of all of G’s wrongdoings, and we are the priest listening intently.
– Hannah Gillespie
3. Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is one of Kendrick’s most vulnerable LPs. He raps at length about his issues and insecurities within the album, which almost brings a sense of catharsis at times. Despite its divided reception coming out of a lengthy 5-year hiatus, the record is still great. While it can be said that Mr. Morale is top-heavy, with disc 1 having more bangers and disc 2 being more reflective, the masterful progression of the record demonstrates Kendrick’s skills as a curator and a director of his own art. The album has the burden of competing with Kendrick’s other masterpieces, and yet, Kendrick defies the odds. His other albums are great and K-dot is able to separate them without worrying about creating a sequel. Although this isn’t anything new, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers further establishes Kendrick as a phenomenal writer. He wears himself on his sleeve — and that is the mark of a true artist.
– Zach Imamura
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