No rankings. Just 50 projects that tell the story of music in 2022’s first half

*all albums were released before a cutoff data of June, 1. Any albums released after that date will be eligible for part 2 of this series

By Ben Leshan

Magic- Nas

Nas would have undoubtedly one of the best rappers of all time if he had retired 20 years ago, but the 48-year-old just came with his best record in decades. Magic is 9 tracks long and gets straight to the point on each song, chalk-full of lyricism and grimy New York beats that make you feel like you’re part of the pictures he paints. Nas has really found his groove again working with one of the industry’s biggest producers in Hit-Boy, finding a way to infuse his records with wisdom and experience, keep his vintage sound, and still largely avoid sounding jaded or out of touch. It’s incredible to hear one of the all-time greats still on the top of his game. He showed it on both iderations of King’s Disease, but Magic is more concise, better lyrically, and less feature-heavy, making it a rap purist’s dream record.

PAINLESS- Nilüfer Yanya

Nilüfer Yanya, one of our artists to watch in 2022, has already made huge waves this year with this album, which has landed her features on all of music’s top publications. Still, PAINLESS deserves more mainstream recognition as one of the best projects we’ve heard in a while. The record is innovative, exciting, and beautiful, with every last detail fitting into place. At 12 songs it is just the perfect length with each track adding to the project nicely. The album sounds alternative and indie, but balances its grungier production with spacey vocals. Yanya carves out her own sound in a way that is not often done, creating records that sound like hers the second they drop. From the drum patterns to the vocal tones everything on PAINLESS is unapologetically different in style, but top tier in quality.

Dharma- Sebastian Yatra

Sebastian Yatra is a massive global star, and this project shows it in every way, as he makes one of the biggest albums of the year and shows himself to be a leader in the Spanish-language music market. With many songs on the project hitting over 100 million streams on Spotify, Yatra certainly has the commercial side on lock. Beyond that, the record is fun, danceable, and emotional. Yatra was born in Colombia, but moved to Miami as a child, and then back to Colombia when he dropped out of college to focus on music. That background has given him a range of influences as a musician. In this case, Yatra was able to add reggaeton elements to tracks like “Pareja Del Año” with Myke Towers while leaning more into his pop side on tracks like “Modo Avión”. Overall, Yatra has crafted a great album here that meets a high bar both in terms of commercial success and quality.

Laurel Hell- Mitski

Laurel Hell is dark, painful, and vulnerable at every turn, featuring moments of sparse production that build into big, cinematic moments. It’s full of subtleties and dramatic moments that draw you in and push you away at the same time. Sitting somewhere in indie pop, but going more experimental in a lot of ways, this album is half Phoebe Bridgers album cut half eighties dance ballad. In other words, it’s a complex mix of vivid imagery, dark spacey vocals, energetic production melodies and vulnerable, yet, distant introspection. Mitski’s music is often experienced by fans as a way of feeling understood, and this album accomplishes that goal, creating tracks that people can feel, dance to, and cry to. Mitski is not necessarily going to hit home immediately for everybody, but her talent and ability to convey emotion should shine through for any audience.

From A Bird’s Eye View- Cordae

Cordae set up really high expectations for himself coming into the game as one of the few truly lyrical rappers in his generation who has exhibited mainstream crossover ability, but so far he has delivered. His debut The Lost Boy, one of the better rap records of the last few years, was hard to follow up, but From A Bird’s Eye View is a successful effort. Cordae is able to keep the lyricism, make songs with some radio friendly flavor, and also largely stay true to his identity as a hungry and thoughtful young rapper. This album may have seen him sit on the fence a little too much, not committing to hit-making enough to get a huge chart climber or to lyricism enough to have one of the year’s most critically-acclaimed releases, but this album still shows a lot of skill, promise, and personality. Cordae is able to tell stories, show off a great singing voice, work with amazing feature artists, and stay true to the roots of hip hop on From A Bird’s Eye View.

Nobody’s Home- Bakar

London’s Bakar has been an exciting name on the scene since he first released music in 2017, but this project really brings everything together for him. Nobody’s Home is flat out excellent, featuring incredible vocals and storytelling. The album is honest, self-aware, socially conscious, soulful, and fun, doing everything that makes music feel like something important. Everything starts with Bakar’s voice, which is technically sound, but stands out for his tone, as his voice maintains his British accent even as he sings in full voice. Beyond his voice, he explores some of life’s most important topics in freedom, love, class, and humanity itself. The brand of genre-bending indie rock Bakar is able to create on this record is beautiful, putting together some of the best parts of various rap and rock subgenres. Tracks like “The Mission”, “Free”, and “Reclaim!” highlight the best of this incredible record.

Love Sux- Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne is really, really back. The early 2000s icon has been putting out music, but this record feels like a real comeback, as she finds a way to meld the sound that made her famous with 2020s pop punk. This is no transformative, conscious album, but it is a revival of an iconic sound that has inspired a generation of artists, and the production and song-writing are clearly well-thought-out. Lavigne’s signature vocal tone is present throughout the record over heavy punk drums and guitars, making songs to dance to and rage to that sound like they could soundtrack a coming-of-age movie. At its best this album has 2022 pop appeal on songs like “Love It When You Hate Me” with blackbear, but brings back all the elements of classic Avril Lavigne on tracks like “Bite Me”.

Dawn FM- The Weeknd

After the release of After Hours during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, part 2 of the new trilogy is here, and Dawn FM is every bit as exciting and sonically lucsious as you would hope for. Abel stays in his lane of dancey synth music overlapped with dark and disturbing themes, but he creates a whole new universe from After Hours, one in which he is stuck in a love purgatory. His vocals are, as always, absolutely impeccable, floating into space with the kind of clarity and tone you can’t believe. The album has been incredibly commercially successful without sacrificing its artistry, and might have the most consistent tracklist of any album this year, as every single song could stand alone as a top tier single. This album is an experience and a world of its own, and every last detail has clearly been perfected, with more than enough magical moments to sustain rabid Weeknd fans. Songs from “Gasoline” to “Out of Time” to “Less Than Zero” showcase just how great this album truly is.

Old Dog New Tricks- glaive

This album is very much the new sound of music, coming from a soft spoken teenager who becomes extremely energetic and emotive behind the mic. glaive doesn’t necessarily love the label of hyperpop, but the subgenre is a good way to build understanding of what he is bringing to the table. Full of short songs with chaotic synths, glitchy 808s, and vocal distortions, Old Dog is full of youthful energy that changes how music sounds, but it is more than just that. glaive also proves to have a fantastic voice, an incredible ear for production, and amazing emotional qualities. For such a young artist, this is an incredibly refined piece of music that shows off significant musical maturity, and why he was named one of our artists to watch in 2022. He is also able to match that maturity with youthful lyrics that make the project exciting and raw. This album is a storm of sonic energy and angst in the very best way, easily taking a spot as one of the best records of the year so far.

777- Latto

Latto has been a big name coming up for a while, but this album really cements her into the conversation with today’s top rappers. Her wordplay and lyricism are high level on the project, and her hit-making is also there, with commercial hits like “Big Energy” and “Wheelie” with 21 Savage. Latto didn’t need to prove she could rap, she did that a long time ago, but this project showed the world she has the versatility to be one of the top dogs in the game. She has the lyricism, confidence, beat selection, singing voice, and star power to do it all, and that makes her a serious threat to sell a huge amount of records in her career going forward. 777 is easily sitting in the top category in terms of mainstream rap projects this year, hitting all the marks it needed to in order to propel Latto further into stardom.

Few Good Things- Saba

This record is a sleeper for the best rap record of the year in a year that has already seen high profile releases from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, and Future. Saba has always been a phenomenal rapper, but his story-telling and precise bars really shine through on this project. Every song pays attention to its musical qualities and every lyric feels purposeful, creating a full project that is cohesive and thoughtful. Saba’s critically acclaimed 2018 project Care For Me was a difficult project to follow-up, but this album created something new with the same level of quality. This project has excellent production (see “One Way or Every N****”), fantastic features (Black Thought’s verse on “Few Good Things”), and immersive stories (“2012”). Saba invites his fans into his life in a special way. His vulnerability and mindfulness coupled with skilled rapping make him one of the best rapper’s on earth, and this album is a great reflection of that talent.

I know NIGO!- Nigo

I bet you didn’t expect a 51-year-old Japanese fashion designer to be the face of one of 2022’s best hip hop albums, but NIGO’s album really did deliver. With a star-studded cast of characters including Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, and more, the creator of the iconic fashion brand BAPE seemingly had too much talent to be able to miss. More creative director or executive producer here than musician, Nigo used his incredible industry connections to piece together a project with a cohesive sound and vision. All of the tracks were carefully selected to feature some of the top artists in hip hop right now, and to show off the best of what they can do over production that flows from song to song. The project was able to produce a strong vision and some great songs, including “Hear Me Clearly” with Pusha T and “Lost and Found Freestyle 2019” with Tyler and A$AP Rocky.

CRASH- Charli XCX

CRASH feels like the culmination of everything Charli XCX has been working on in recent years, hitting every mark for an excellent album. The sounds meld the big and grand pop vibes of her early work and big commercial hits with the glitchy, hyperpop-related sounds from her more recent records. The songs are all highly emotional, taking pop songwriting and spinning it with twists that fit Charli’s personality. All elements of the production are highly sonically pleasing, and the vocals are top quality. The album holds true to its name with intense emotional high and lows, and heavy production melodies and percussive hits. Everything about it is overstated without being corny. The album feels big, like every track is meant to be blasted in a stadium. From the bouncy synths and catchy melodies of “Good Ones” to the building energy of “Lightning”, Charli’s intense expression creates one of the best albums of the year.

Pier Pressure- ArrDee

ArrDee, a 19-year-old rapper from Brighton, England, came out of nowhere when his verse on a remix of the song “Body” by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne went viral on TikTok. Instead of letting himself become a meme for his brash and energetic verse like one might expect, he capitalized on the buzz with a massive project. He has one of the better rap voices we’ve heard from any new artist, with a unique accent, a full tone, and an ability to work in melodies in. The project is commercial rap, coming with club records and radio-ready hits with every track. ArrDee takes sounds from UK drill (with a lot of heavy 808s in the production), but he also raps over melodic trap beats with clear influences from the American south. Lyrically, ArrDee shows he can rap, and his bars are often clever, but his brand of cheeky, British rap sometimes lacks maturity. At the end of the day, this project has huge commercial hits like “Oliver Twist” and “Flowers (Say My Name)”, and shows the consistency to signal an obvious upward trajectory for ArrDee’s career.

Where We Started- Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett has been one of the biggest artists in country music for years now, and this year he came back with another great project. Where We Started features some incredible love songs like “The Hill”, “Angels”, and “Mama’s Front Door”, and also fun summery songs like “Bass Pro Hat” and “Anything Cold”. At the times the lyrics hit cliches and the themes can get generic, but the record as a whole shows off Rhett’s excellent country voice and ability to express love in a variety of ways. Rhett strikes a balance between country ballads and summer songs to blast in the car, and he gets more of the project right than he gets wrong. Even if you aren’t a country fan, there will be songs on this album that will hit home and have crossover appeal. He doesn’t quite hit the heights of 2015’s Tangled Up, but this is certainly going to be one of the best country albums of 2022.

Ivory- Omar Apollo

Omar Apollo is a bit under-the-radar for one of the most talented artists rising through the ranks of mainstream music. Apollo is versatile, making tracks that range from strictly rnb to indie rock, and his vocals are always immaculate. On Ivory, Apollo leans more into his rnb side, creating soulful and funky sounds as he croons about love and passion. Apollo has always had a smooth voice and a great ability to mold production to fit his voice, but this project feels by far the most polished of anything in his catalog. He has really lived up to his potential with this project, building anticipation for potential future releases. Apollo is a great example of someone who can be a mainstream star in music without sacrificing his musical or personal identity, and Ivory is a fantastic representation of him as an artist. Check out amazing tracks like “Invincible” with Daniel Caesar, and “Go Away” (featured on Moonlxte last year), and “Talk” if you want the highlights of the project.

Gifted- Koffee

Koffee, a 22-year-old Jamaican singer who exploded onto the world stage a few years ago with her hit “Toast”, is one of the excellent international artists a lot of mainstream American fans are missing out on. With sounds that range from pop to dancehall to reggae, Koffee simply has an excellent voice and ability to take you to a happy, warm, place. This album is more than that though, balancing out the summer party tracks with darker cuts about deeper themes. Koffee has the voice and charisma to really draw an audience, and with this project she has the potential to really elevate her already promising career. Jamaican music has always been borrowed from (or ripped off) in the American mainstream, and Koffee’s authentic delivery of sounds that people are familiar with is an exciting development as she moves more and more into the global mainstream.

It’s Almost Dry- Pusha T

Pusha T is widely respected as one of the best lyricists in hip hop, and It’s Almost Dry might be the album in his discography that best represents what he can do. As always with Pusha, this album in full of samples, heavy drums, bravado, and classic coke rap, all delivered with top tier lyricism. With the album being exclusively produced by Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, we get the kinds of classic beats that have built Pusha’s career. The feature list is one of the most impressive of the year in rap as well, with Jay-Z, Ye, Kid Cudi, and Lil Uzi Vert all making appearances. Every song features fantastic rapping, and enough diversity in sounds and concision to keep you engaged. The album’s most grand moment comes through the production of Kanye West, with the immaculate beat that provides the backdrop to “Dreamin’ Of The Past”. Even though Ye’s verse doesn’t quite live up to what Pusha does, the song is a fantastic representation of why this album is one of the best rap projects of the year.

MOTOMAMI- ROSALÍA

Rosalía is one of the biggest stars in the world, and the success of this album has shown just that. Full of big production and impressive vocal moments, MOTOMAMI shows just how versatile and talented she is. The Spanish singer came with the commercial hits here, with tracks like “LA FAMA” featuring The Weeknd and “SAOKO” doing massive streaming numbers, but the project has not only seen commercial success, it has also received rave reviews from critics for its diverse sounds and infectious energy. From track to track Rosalía is sometimes full of energy as she brings party bangers to life, while at other times she is singing soft ballads. She is experimental but also stays true to the unique blend of sounds and ideas that catapulted her to global stardom a few years ago. This album is one of the year’s best when it comes to quality and commercial appeal.

Candid- Ivy Sole

Candid is one of the best under-the-radar hip hop releases of the year, made by in an artist in Ivy Sole who has a ton of promise. With an ability to rap and sing at a high level, and a propensity for writing thoughtful and introspective lyrics, Ivy Sole feels like a star, and this project shows off what they can do. Throughout Candid Ivy bounces around from sound to sound, sometimes coming with flows and blunt lyrics that might remind you of Tyler, The Creator, but also vocal moments that are strong enough to fit seamlessly into an rnb album. There really is no one sound or idea that can define this project. This album is also a great example of how a rising rapper can make an album that will boost their career without blatantly hit-chasing. The album feels like authentic artistry, and its excellent rapping makes it a standout so far this year.

Once Twice Melody- Beach House

Indie duo Beach House have seen their share of critical acclaim and commercial success throughout their long career, and this album is some of their best work. The project is long, with a run time of 1 hour and 24 minutes and songs that often eclipse the 5 minute mark. We get a lot of lead singer Victoria Legrand’s haunting lyrics over intricate electronic melodies and indie drums throughout the project, creating a vibe that fans will be familiar with but new listeners will need to get used to. Once you get lost in their world though, Beach House’s incredible musicality is deeply immersive. With big moments throughout the tracklist from the unorthodox ear worm melodies of the title track “Once Twice Melody” to the building guitars and synth atmosphere of “Superstar”, Beach House take you new places musically throughout the 4 discs of this project.

Ramona Park Broke My Heart- Vince Staples

Ramona Park Broke My Heart is a fantastic album by an amazing, underrated rapper. Vince Staples has been one of the most respected rappers out for years, but he hasn’t had as much mainstream success as his music warrants. This album melds Staples’ traditional west coast flows and production with emotional stories and moments. The collaborations make sense, the songs flow cohesively, and the rapping is elite. Vince raps about crime and gangs in his hometown, Long Beach, CA, but he also injects little moments of his dry humor, and heartfelt content about loving and losing people. This album gives you space to pull out the hard-hitting bangers for a playlist, or bounce through different emotions as you go through the whole tracklist. Vince Staples is a special rapper, and this album is a great representation of what he can do.

I NEVER LIKED YOU- Future

Future is undisputedly one of the greatest trap artists of all time, and this album really solidifies his legacy. At 38, the Atlanta rapper showed he was far from done with this album, creating a consensus top hip hop project of the year. The tracklist is consistent, the beats are all hard, and Future is rapping like he means it on every track. We get singing Future over melodic production and hardcore, rapping Future over dark samples and heavy 808s, as well everything in between here. This album is pretty much everything a Future fan would have hoped for, and it has a lot of songs with serious mainstream appeal. The lyrical content is mostly basic, but as with any Future project, we get some deep moments and some very real emotions. With this album Future met every expectation and gave the fans what they wanted, and that’s an impressive accomplishment.

Heart On My Sleeve- Ella Mai

Heart On My Sleeve gives us more of the radio-friendly rnb that has built British singer Ella Mai’s career. Her signature tone and hit-making abilities are on full display over rap-leaning rnb production. As the project’s title suggests, a lot of the content is based around relationships, with songs about different kinds of relationship problems. It seems like none of the songs from this project are going to take off the way her smash hits “Boo’d Up” and “Trip” did, but she is seeing commercial success here and maintaining her career momentum sufficiently. The project also shows a different, darker side to Mai, instead of focusing on the joyful part of relationships these songs dive into the hard parts, and show that she is good at singing about that too. With just a couple features and sitting at 15 songs, Heart On My Sleeve is a solid effort that stays within itself.

Blue Water Road- Kehlani

Blue Water Road is a tastefully crafted album, with 13 songs that show off why Kehlani is a star. There are just enough features, and the guest artists are stars themselves (Justin Bieber, syd, Thundercaat, etc.). Carving out a sound that is just enough pop and just enough rnb to satisfy both sides, the album is successful with its sound, and also its content. Kehlani is not just talking about surface level themes here, they are talking about their life. What they are feeling, what they are thinking, and working through what it all means. They are also able to stay fun and bouncy, both in sound and lyrics, while being vulnerable and mature. It’s a difficult balance, and that accomplishment makes it the most refined work of Kehlani’s career. Be sure to listen to standout tracks like “up at night” with Justin Bieber and “little story”.

BRIGHTSIDE- The Lumineers

The Lumineers have been one of the most relevant bands in music for the last decade despite rarely dropping new music. This album, coming six years after their previous one, did not disappoint. Featuring a lot of Americana imagery and raw emotion, BRIGHTSIDE feels like the soundtrack to a cross country road trip. Starting with “Brightside” (one of our songs of the year last year), the album is consistently strong and polished from track to track. The production gives space for lead vocalist Wesley Shcultz’s iconic tone to shine over pianos, strings, and guitars. At just 9 tracks, this is a short project, but it has a lot of depth to it, making it feel longer. The Lumineers really have a timeless sound, energy, and ability to appeal to emotion that has made each of their projects special, and this project is an especially strong indicator of future longevity.

CAPRISONGS- FKA Twigs

FKA Twigs’s CAPRISONGS takes her experimental sound and packages it more for a mainstream audience, fitting more classic pop melodies in luscious avant-garde production. The project is also all about collaboration, with many features from The Weeknd to Jorja Smith to British rapper Unknown T. Twigs experiments with different kinds of party-leaning sounds including hip hop, afrobeats, and dance pop, but there are also moments of spacier and softer sounds. There are big differences in sound from track to track, but there are also consistencies, like glitchy vocal production on her high register voice. The more mainstream tracks don’t sacrifice the artistic integrity you hope for from Twigs, with songs like “tears in the club” with the Weeknd, and “jealousy” featuring Nigerian singer rema sounding like they could simultaneously land on the radio and a niche playlist. That’s the balance Twigs was able to strike in creating one of the best albums of the year so far.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers- Kendrick Lamar

No album in 2022 could possibly match the hype behind this record, as the world’s top rapper came back with his first project in five years. As for any record with so much hype, released by one of the biggest artists in the world, there was a lot of scrutiny for this project. Criticisms of Kendrick’s failures to be mindful of social issues in significant ways were absolutely warranted, but the musical criticisms have been largely undeserved. It’s not Kendrick’s fault he has one of the best discographies in hip hop history. Regardless of how it’s legacy will compare to his previous work, this is easily in the conversation for rap album of the year, with excellent production, top quality lyricism and story-telling, and incredibly meaningful themes. Kendrick is introspective, vulnerable, and raw about his life as a whole on this project, something we have never fully gotten from him before. The result is an excellent album with some of the year’s best songs including “Father Time” with Sampha, “N95”, “Count Me Out”, and more.

Humble Quest- Maren Morris

Humble Quest is all about being honest about the journey of life for Maren Morris. It’s full of her signature vocal tone that melds country and pop so well, and some classic pop country song-writing mixed with a little extra authenticity. At just 11 songs, Morris keeps it short and sweet, and in that tracklist she comes through with multiple songs with hit appeal. Morris really invites you into her life on this project, simply making real life moments that many have experienced into songs. At moments the songwriting gets a little to conceptual and detaches from the authenticity that makes this project good, but it generally stays true to its core ideas. In moments like “Circles Around This Town”, “Background Music”, and “Humble Quest”, Morris is the genuine hitmaker with a great voice that you love, and that makes this project one of the best of the year so far.

Melt My Eyez See Your Future- Denzel Curry

Denzel Curry, a 27-year-old rapper from Carol City, FL, has been a significant name in the rap scene for the better part of the last decade, but this is his most complete body of work yet. Curry, who is known for having fast flows and a penchant for carefully crafting his bars in a generation of Florida rappers who are largely more concerned with hit-making, pleased hip hop fans around the world with his thoughtful lyrics on this record. This album shows elevation from Curry as it takes his signature aggressive delivery and tones it down just enough to fit boom bap style production. Denzel still feels hungry, like he always does, but he is no longer trying to prove himself and more so staying true to his artistry on this record. This album has earned its spot in the conversation for best rap album of the year through its combination of great rapping and the stylistic self-awareness we get from Curry.

Loner- Alison Wonderland

Alison Wonderland, a 35-year-old Australian DJ and EDM producer, produced, wrote, and sang every single song on her third studio album Loner. The project is full of big, anthemic EDM tracks that build to massive beat drops, but it also has a softer, emotional side. Wonderland, the highest billed female DJ in Coachella history, has become a big name in a music scene that has never been inclusive of women on the production and DJing side of things, and this record furthers her status at the top of the EDM world. She was also able to use this project to create a hopeful and positive sound that is meant to help people through their struggles, as Wonderland herself has been vocal about her experiences with mental illness. There are multiple moments on the project that feel rousing and motivating in a special way like “Something Real” and “Bad Things”, making this a moving body of work.

Dance Fever- Florence + The Machine

Florence + The Machine came out of the gate with smash hits on their debut Lungs in 2009, and they are still delivering top quality music in 2022. Lead singer Florence Welch, now 35, comes into this album with a mature and thoughtful perspective that is clear in the songwriting. The production is also a modernized take on the sound that made Florence + The Machine big, with significant collaboration between Welch and super producer Jack Antonoff (who has helped superstars like Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana Del Rey create massive hits). True to its title, the album is sometimes dancey, but it is also vulnerable and real and far from a mindless listen. Welch’s intention was actually to explore the concept of dancing oneself to death, thinking about her own relationship with being a performer. What we get as a result is an album that has the grand sounds of early Florence + The Machine but also more introspective lyrics.

Digital Dreamscape- ayokay

Digital Dreamscape sees ayokay, a Michigan-born producer who has built a big name producing for artists like Quinn XCII and Jeremy Zucker, focus on his own sound. On the project he takes his typical pop style and adds more elements of electronic music, resulting in a tracklist of radio-ready singles that hold more nostalgia and emotion than a typical dance track. It feels a bit like early Chainsmokers with less EDM and bit more pop in the sound. ayokay is also able to keep the production elements cohesive, with similar patterns in the drums and tones in the production melodies. The best songs have a groove that gives them replay value for their sound alone, but also lyrics and themes that will make you think and feel as you listen. For highlights of the album check out “Amnesia” featuring Nightly, “I’ll Be Alright” with Stay Over, and “Less Alone” with Quinn XCII.

Love and Other Lies- Charlotte Sands

Sands, who went viral on TikTok in 2021 with her hit “Dress” (which is featured on this project), has really found her sound on her 2022 EP Love and Other Lies. With the ability to belt out emotional lyrics over heavy rock drums and guitars, Sands takes what it means to be a modern rockstar who uses pop-friendly melodies and makes it feel authentic. She embraces the punk image and puts together rock and pop sounds from the last few decades, making her sound anthemic. From the infectious positive energy of “Dress” to the massive choruses on “Keep Me Up All Night”, Sands packs a lot of great sonic moments into a 7 song EP, showing a ton of potential for growth as an artist. At her very best, Sands is singing about a love life obsession on “Want You Like That”, crafting soaring choruses and memorable verses over a catchy, guitar-based instrumental.

Sunset Visionary, Vol. 2- Tom The Mail Man

Tom The Mail Man has showed up on Moonlxte again and again for his versatility and potential, and one of our artists to watch this year has solidified his standing in the game even more with this project. This record once again shows that Tom can seamlessly transition from rapper to rockstar. He is the highly refined version of a 2010s Soundcloud rapper, taking all the best parts of that influence and leaving behind the elements that wouldn’t land in 2022. On this album Tom is every bit as emotional as he always is, and he communicates it in different ways. From his rap verse on “FWM2” that builds more into a hyperpop kind of sound to the heavy rock production of “Destroyed” to the acoustic ballad that is “Brown Eyes and Backwoods”, Tom is real and vulnerable through all of his mediums. His sound really encapsulates so many parts of what music is in 2022 so well, and Tom The Mail Man once again shows that on Sunset Visionary, Vol. 2.

Tana Talk 4- Benny The Butcher

Tapped-in rap fans know Buffalo’s Griselda clique are at the top of the lyrical rap world in 2022, and Benny has the best commercial potential of the group. Tana Talk 4 is a classic Griselda rap record with grimy beats and lyric-heavy coke rap, but it has more diversity in production and nods to the commercial rap world than much of Benny’s previous work. The lead single “Johnny P’s Caddy” shows especially how Benny could capitalize on mainstream buzz without sacrificing his identity, featuring a balance of catchy bars and pure rap verses, as well as a feature from one of the king’s of selling lyricism, J Cole. Overall, the project is excellent because it is cohesive, concise at only 11 songs, and only features the best in quality when it comes to lyricism. If you want an album cut that really shows off what Benny does best, check out “Weekend In The Perry’s” featuring Boldy James.

God Don’t Make Mistakes- Conway The Machine

Benny The Butcher isn’t the only Griselda rapper with a great album this year, Conway The Machine also came with the heat. God Don’t Make Mistakes pivots from the slightly more mainstream sound of Conway’s excellent 2021 album La Maquina and leans back into classic Conway sounds. This album is just straight up pure rap. Heavy beats, carefully selected samples, and classic hip hop themes. Conway is able to differentiate himself though, as he is uncharacteristically vulnerable about his mental health on “Stressed” with Wallo267, forces rap legends to keep up with him on “Tear Gas” with Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and plays with melody on “So Much More”. Just like the rest of his catalog, this album isn’t built for radio, so it’s not going to be one of the biggest commercial rap albums of the year, but it is easily one of the best.

American Heartbreak- Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak carries a lot of Bruce Springsteen-esque Americana, but it’s also deeply country. The 26-year-old Oklahoman’s big soulful voice is perfect for telling stories, and his song-writing is poetic. The closest comparison for Bryan might be Tyler Childers, but he is his own artist. At 34 songs, this album is really long, but it’s also consistently good, an incredibly impressive feat for a newer artist. The production is often stripped down to Bryan with an acoustic guitar, but you also hear fiddles, harmonicas, electric guitars, and drums throughout the tracklist. The real star is always Bryan’s soulful voice though, and the quotable lyrics he sings with that voice. For such an extended tracklist, this album is remarkably lacking in filler, with song after song sounding fantastic. Even if you aren’t a country music fan, this album is a must-listen for any huge music fan in 2022.

Pain Museum- Brevin Kim

Brevin Kim, one of our artists to watch in 2022, have dropped one of the year’s most exciting projects with Pain Museum. The two brothers from Massachusetts find a way to mix intensely sad songwriting with high energy production and unorthodox vocal mixes. This album is heavy on 808s, and big, in your face moments, but it is also soft and vulnerable. That contrast between edgy production and painful lyrics makes up the concept of the album, and the duo are able to balance both while also crafting a lot of catchy song structures. Songs like “DYE”, “NAPLES”, and “CAN’T HANDLE IT” show off the fantastic sound and energy they have created, and the tracklist as a whole is quite consistent for a debut. Brevin Kim has catapulted up our ranks as one of the top artists to watch in the entire industry over the past year, and Pain Museum is the culmination of all their hard work so far.

I used to think I could fly- Tate McRae

I used to think I could fly is a great album from one of pop’s most promising new voices in 18-year-old Canadian Tate McRae. On this record McRae shows she can make hits (see the success of single “all i wanna be”), that she has great vocals, and that she is able to emotionally connect with her generation. The themes of the album are largely centered around growing up and struggling with relationships, common for a debut from a young artist, but done well by McRae. The songwriting is catchy enough for pop radio, but it also has caption-worthy lines and enough musicality to be interesting for a variety of listeners. Of all of this year’s mainstream pop records, this is one of the highest quality and most consistent. Check out “she’s all i wanna be”, “chaotic”, and “what’s your problem?” for highlights of the album.

So Far So Good- The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers have built a career off of being EDM pop hitmakers who work with other high profile artists. On this album though, Drew Taggert’s vocals and their production are the only stars, with none of the 13 songs including any features. The production all largely aligns with their previous work, but there is diversity in their instrumentals. This music does not have quite the same commercial appeal as their biggest album, 2016’s Memories… Do Not Open, but it is an easy and fun listen. The album also stays true to their past work by having a lot of relationship focused tracks, with some of the best being the bouncy “I Love U”, the rock-leaning “High”, and the beachy energy of “Riptide”. This is not the album that you are going to sit with and analyze, but it is one of the most accessible listens of the year, and that has to mean something.

WHO CARES?- Rex Orange County

WHO CARES? is exactly the album a fan would want from English indie artist Rex Orange County. The production melds indie pop and orchestral instrumentation, Rex’s lyrics are emotional, and his signature vocal tone and delivery star. He stays true to his classic style of creating, bouncy, memorable choruses and verses that will keep you singing along. There is a signature bounce and production similarities that make this an extremely cohesive project, but there are enough differences in each track that will keep you coming back and playing this record again and again. Rex has also seen incredible commercial success on the album, with each of the tracks on the record easily earning millions of listens in the first few months since release, and the singles building up tens of millions of streams. Rex seems much more invested in quality than he is in being a pop radio artist, but this album has the kinds of catchy tracks that are bound to do fantastic numbers.

Closer To Closure- Lexi Jayde

One of our artists to watch this year, Lexi Jayde has been doing big things in music as a teenager, and her EP Closer To Closure is the next step in that process. The album is all about heartbreak: the shock, the anger, the healing, and maybe some closure. Jayde is raw and real on this project and provides a lot of validation and understanding to young women whose pain is dismissed as dramatic. It’s not just the themes, but also the sound that make this project exciting, as Jayde’s soft vocal tone is deeply emotional and unique, and she seems to have a good ear for the pop production that matches her voice. Highlights of the record show Jayde’s sonic range, from her soft take on a breakup song on “you don’t deserve these tears” to the powerful choruses and anger of “hate to be you”. Lexi Jayde continues to be an artist to watch, and Closer To Closure shows just some of what she can do.

Come Home The Kids Miss You- Jack Harlow

The most heavily criticized album on this list, Come Home The Kids Miss You is a complicated one. Based on his prior discography, this album is a clear success for Harlow, with the best sales and most polished rapping of his career, but it didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. Harlow has become an icon, and people expected him to essentially drop a Drake album (one that featured the highest level of rapping and commercial appeal). The thing is, Harlow has never dropped anything that could rival a Drake album, and while he focuses on his lyricism more than the typical mainstream rapper, he usually gets by on his voice and confidence. If you take this album for what it is though, it’s a top 50 album so far this year because it features good rapping, good production, a good combination of slightly deeper lyrical themes and typical hit-making, and it has performed quite well commercially.

Learn 2 Swim- Redveil

redveil is one of the most exciting artists on this list, an 18-year-old rapper with skill that easily rivals and often exceeds many established rappers. The Maryland rapper also produced every single track on this record, with beats that sound jazzy and understated, creating the perfect atmosphere for the young rapper’s surprisingly deep voice to shine. It has the feel of early Joey Bada$$, a young rapper who has an uncanny feel for how to take 90s hip hop sounds and make them accessible to a modern audience. Tracks like “pg baby” should make hip hop fans giddy, featuring redveil flowing effortlessly over hard drums and a perfectly placed sample. It’s not just that track though, with the whole project showing a lot of maturity and consistency for a young rapper. Lyricism is a skill that tends to improve with age in hip hop, and redveil’s natural talent shown on this project should make him a force to reckoned with going forward.

Un Verano Sin Ti- Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny is an absolute commercial juggernaut in the modern music landscape, but he’s also a quality artist who has changed the game through his style (both with music and clothes). Un Verano Sin Ti or A Summer Without You in english is a long album at 23 tracks, but it’s full of huge hits and stays consistent. Bad Bunny is one of the rare artists who is able to cater to a commercial audience at an elite level, varying his sounds and themes, while staying consistent with quality and keeping things cohesive enough to present a strong vision. He has also become a global sensation making music that doesn’t try too hard at all to do that, and this album shows that off. He stays true to his Puerto Rican roots while pushing his sound forward, and through his authenticity he draws a huge audience to the project.

flora + fana- Fana Hues

California singer Fana Hues has created on of the year’s best rnb projects so far with flora + fana. The album is full of her powerful vocals and authenticity, and a sound that truly feels like it encapsulates the best of the amazing genre that is rnb in 2022. Hues is a relatively new artist in the mainstream sense, who many were introduced to by Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost track “SWEET/ I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE”. That being said, she has the refined command of a veteran vocalist and a vision and purpose that draws you in as a listener. The album could be more experimental, but it does what it sets out to do well, keeping it concise at 11 tracks, and not sacrificing quality in the vocals or production. Fana Hues should be one of the biggest emerging names to watch in rnb after the release of this project.

Last Ones Left- EST Gee, 42 Dugg

Last Ones Left might be the hardest hitting rap albums of the year. EST Gee and 42 Dugg seem to fit together effortlessly, both coming with the same energy and bars about crime and money, but significantly contrasting deliveries. Gee has a deep, full tone that glides over heavy trap production, while Dugg’s higher register changes up the feel and lends itself to hooks. This project starts on a ten and never lowers the energy. Every beat is hard, every verse sounds hungry, and no one is mailing it in. You’ll be nodding your head throughout the 17 tracks. Despite being from different cities in Louisville (Gee) and Detroit (Dugg), and having very different vocal deliveries, the duo, who are both signed to Yo Gotti’s CMG label, have some of the best chemistry in rap. For highlights of the project, check out “Ice Talk”, “Spin”, and “Everybody Shooters Too”.

Forest In The City- UMI

23-year-old singer UMI has a strong voice that she uses with skill on her debut album, Forest in the City. With a sound that is perhaps most reminiscent of SZA, but with a different vocal tone and lyrical themes. UMI does explore typical topics of a debut record like growing up and her relationships, but given that she has released music before, this is less of an introduction to who she is as a person and more what she can do as an artist with a full-length record. At its best moments Forest in the City features UMI exploring new production styles and using catchy melodies to tell stories. Tracks like “sorry”, where she opens about about her flaws and struggles over a beat that builds into a groove, and “moonlit room”, which features a story of being stuck in love with someone who treats you badly, highlight the best of this excellent album.

Harry’s House- Harry Styles

Harry’s House is one of the biggest albums of the year, and that’s because he was able to intersect true star power and quality. It has the traditional smash hit in the TikTok-famous “As It Was”, dancey tracks for his famous live performances like “Late Night Talking” and “Music For a Sushi Restaurant”, and emotional, softer cuts like “Matilda” and “Little Freak”. On this album Harry accomplishes the task that is so hard for any huge star with an obsessed fanbase. He makes everyone happy, at least the best he can. At his best, Harry is vulnerable and softly telling meaningful stories, like he does reminiscing about someone he used to date on “Little Freak”, or singing to his fans who don’t feel completely loved by their families on “Matilda”. Styles is one of the biggest artists in the world because he is able to make music that makes people feel like it is ok to be themselves, and this album shows off that incredible skill.

Enjoyed the post? Check out our playlist with one song from each of these amazing projects

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