The Top Songs of 2022
Let the record show that 2022 was an incredible year for music. Like last year, I have compiled a list of my dearest songs of the year in addition to compiling my favorite albums. I hope this list helps you discover some new artists or reminds you to dive further into a relationship with artists you already know and love.
This year I’ve split the list into (ranked) sections, and each of the five sections is named after one of my favorite lyrics from a song in that section.
For more reflections on my past year of music listening, check out the intro to my Top Albums of 2022.
A couple more notes on the songs list specifically:
i) You can listen to all of the songs below in one convenient playlist on Spotify, presented as part of my “What’s Good” playlist series.
ii) While Spotify’s utmost virtue is convenience, its tragic flaw is being completely unwilling to pay artists anything close to a living wage. Needless to say, this sucks a lot and I feel it’s important to yell about it whenever I can. Because Spotify is the worst, I’ve also included a link to each song on Bandcamp, when possible. I hope that will make it easier for you to financially support the artists of your favorite songs on the list.
iii) You can obviously still support the artists whose songs aren’t listed on Bandcamp, as well — and the best way to do that is to purchase concert tickets and merch directly from the artist’s official site or from a local independently owned record store.
iv) If a song was featured in last year’s list as a single, it was not included in this year’s list (even if the album was released this year). Significant examples include “Silk Chiffon” by MUNA and “New Shapes” by Charli XCX.
“I wanna drop my arms, and take your arms, and walk you to the shore,” or #1–21
Big Thief — Simulation Swarm (on Bandcamp)
Bartees Strange — Wretched (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía — Candy
Bartees Strange — Heavy Heart (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — The Only Heartbreaker (on Bandcamp)
The Beths — Knees Deep (on Bandcamp)
Bad Bunny — Tití Me Preguntó
MUNA — Anything But Me (on Bandcamp)
Tomberlin — Happy Accident (on Bandcamp)
Pinegrove — Alaska (on Bandcamp)
Big Thief — Red Moon (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — Love Me More (on Bandcamp)
Big Thief — Spud Infinity (on Bandcamp)
Bartees Strange — Mulholland Dr. (on Bandcamp)
Beyoncé — Break My Soul
The 1975 — Happiness (on Bandcamp)
Angel Olsen — Big Time (on Bandcamp)
Let’s Eat Grandma — Happy New Year (on Bandcamp)
Denzel Curry — Walkin (on Bandcamp)
Fireboy DML — Peru
Beyoncé — Cuff It
“Sweet as honeysuckle, when you want a pocketknife,” or #22–44
The Beths — Change in the Weather (on Bandcamp)
Florence + The Machine — My Love
Pinegrove — Iodine (on Bandcamp)
Flock of Dimes — Pure Love (on Bandcamp)
Plains — Hurricane (on Bandcamp)
Alvvays — Belinda Says (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía — Hentai
Big Thief — Change (on Bandcamp)
Sylvan Esso — Didn’t Care (on Bandcamp)
Tegan and Sara — I Can’t Grow Up
Bad Bunny & Bomba Estéreo — Ojitos Lindos
Weyes Blood — Grapevine (on Bandcamp)
Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin — Tongo Barra (on Bandcamp)
Tegan and Sara — Yellow
Charli XCX — Used To Know Me
Julia Jacklin — I Was Neon (on Bandcamp)
The Beths — Expert in a Dying Field (on Bandcamp)
Bomba Estéreo & Manu Chao — Me Duele
Harry Styles — As It Was
Rosalía — Saoko
Empress Of — Dance for You
Fireboy DML, Asake — Bandana
Rosalía — Como un G
“I love the people playing songs in the park, guitar for babies instead of people in the bars,” or #45–73
Hatchie — Quicksand (on Bandcamp)
Pinegrove — Cyclone (on Bandcamp)
Plains — Problem with It (on Bandcamp)
Empress Of — Save Me
Regina Spektor — Loveology
Kevin Morby — This Is a Photograph (on Bandcamp)
Obongjayar — Tinko Tinko (Don’t Play Me for a Fool) (on Bandcamp)
Spoon — The Hardest Cut (on Bandcamp)
Redveil — PG Baby (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía — Chicken Teriyaki
The Smile — Skrting on the Surface (on Bandcamp)
The Beths — When You Know You Know (on Bandcamp)
Ethel Cain — American Teenager
Fireboy DML — All of Us (Ashawo)
Romy & Fred again… — Strong (on Bandcamp)
MUNA — Kind of Girl (on Bandcamp)
Oso Oso — Describe You (on Bandcamp)
The 1975 — Part of the Band (on Bandcamp)
S. Carey — Break Me Open (on Bandcamp)
Rosalía — Despechá
Chance the Rapper & Joey Bada$$ — The Highs & The Lows
Open Mike Eagle — I’ll Fight You (on Bandcamp)
Saba — Stop That
They Hate Change — Blatant Localism (on Bandcamp)
MUNA — What I Want (on Bandcamp)
Charli XCX — Good Ones
Tomberlin — Tap (on Bandcamp)
Sudan Archives — Home Maker (on Bandcamp)
Carly Rae Jepsen — Talking to Yourself
“I’m making plans for my future, and I plan on you being in it,” or #74–117
Sharon Van Etten — Mistakes (on Bandcamp)
Nilüfer Yanya — Stabilise (on Bandcamp)
Julia Jacklin — Lydia Wears a Cross (on Bandcamp)
They Hate Change — Some Days I Hate My Voice (on Bandcamp)
Tomberlin — Easy (on Bandcamp)
Kendrick Lamar — Rich Spirit
Soccer Mommy — Bones (on Bandcamp)
Maggie Rogers — Horses (on Bandcamp)
Beyoncé — Plastic Off the Sofa
Bellows — Rancher’s Pride (on Bandcamp)
Death Cab for Cutie — Here to Forever (on Bandcamp)
FKA twigs — Honda (feat. Pa Salieu)
Alvvays — Easy On Your Own? (on Bandcamp)
Pinegrove — Swimming (on Bandcamp)
Ela Minus & DJ Python — Pájaros en Verano (on Bandcamp)
Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone — Me Porto Bonito
Oso Oso — Nothing To Do (on Bandcamp)
Beyoncé — Pure/Honey
Bad Bunny — Moscow Mule
Bartees Strange — Black Gold (on Bandcamp)
King Princess — Little Bother (feat. Fousheé)
Big Thief — Little Things (on Bandcamp)
Why Bonnie — 90 in November (on Bandcamp)
Christine and the Queens — Rien Dire (on Bandcamp)
Big Thief — Sparrow (on Bandcamp)
The Linda Lindas — Nino (on Bandcamp)
Pinegrove — Let (on Bandcamp)
Hikes — Crown Shyness (on Bandcamp)
Let’s Eat Grandma — Levitation (on Bandcamp)
Kendrick Lamar — N95
Tomberlin — Stoned (on Bandcamp)
Poliça — Alive (on Bandcamp)
Vince Staples — Rose Street
Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Perfume Genius — Spitting Off the Edge of the World (on Bandcamp)
Johanna Warren — I’d Be Orange (on Bandcamp)
Big Thief — The Only Place (on Bandcamp)
Florist — Sci-fi Silence (on Bandcamp)
Julia Jacklin — Be Careful with Yourself (on Bandcamp)
Hovvdy — Ruby (on Bandcamp)
The Beths — Best Left (on Bandcamp)
Beabadoobee — Talk (on Bandcamp)
Mitski — Stay Soft (on Bandcamp)
Kehlani — Altar
Oso Oso — Sunnyside (on Bandcamp)
“And we’ll always become braver and braver,” or #118–151
The Mountain Goats — Training Montage (on Bandcamp)
Sylvan Esso — Echo Party (on Bandcamp)
Tegan and Sara — All I Wanted
The 1975 — Oh Caroline (on Bandcamp)
Bellows — Marijuana Grow (on Bandcamp)
Carly Rae Jepsen — Surrender My Heart
Nilüfer Yanya — Midnight Sun (on Bandcamp)
Kendrick Lamar & Kodak Black — Silent Hill
Weyes Blood — God Turn Me Into a Flower (on Bandcamp)
Plains — Easy (on Bandcamp)
Jamila Woods — Boundaries (on Bandcamp)
Beyoncé — Church Girl
The 1975 — I’m in Love with You (on Bandcamp)
Weyes Blood — Twin Flame (on Bandcamp)
The Linda Lindas — Growing Up (on Bandcamp)
Regina Spektor — Raindrops
Waxahatchee — Tomorrow (on Bandcamp)
Indigo Sparke — Hysteria (on Bandcamp)
Spoon — Wild (on Bandcamp)
Alvvays — After the Earthquake (on Bandcamp)
Death Cab for Cutie — Foxglove Through the Clearcut (on Bandcamp)
Maggie Rogers — Overdrive (on Bandcamp)
Belle and Sebastian — A Bit of Previous (on Bandcamp)
Kurt Vile — Hey Like a Child
Maggie Rogers — That’s Where I Am (on Bandcamp)
Denzel Curry, 6LACK, Rico Nasty, JID, & Jasiah — Ain’t No Way (on Bandcamp)
Sharon Van Etten — Porta (on Bandcamp)
Aldous Harding — Fever (on Bandcamp)
Will Sheff — In the Thick of It (on Bandcamp)
MorMor — Far Apart (on Bandcamp)
They Hate Change — Stuntro (on Bandcamp)
Built to Spill — Understood (on Bandcamp)
The Smile — Pana-vision (on Bandcamp)
Plastic Picnic — Pixie
