Best Music of 2022: NPR

Individual NPR Music staff share their personal favorite albums and songs of 2022. Read the lists

The year’s songs and albums from the volatile “roots” category showcased artists getting personal even as they explored complex cultural lines and challenged the rules of established scenes. Read the list

Hip-hop editor Sheldon Pierce on artists like NBA YoungBoy and Rod Wave, who gained massive streaming this year while barely registering on mainstream pop’s radar. Read the essay

Not exactly a best-of-jazz-for-2022 list. Instead, a group of avid listeners and critics come together to share the year’s music—one album and song each—that’s worth bragging about. Read the list

Poet and critic Harmony Holliday spent a year interviewing descendants and torchbearers, discovering that the soul of jazz must be preserved off the stage and out of the booth. Read the essay

Critic Isabelia Herrera on the year in which the irrepressible pop star continued to top the global charts while refusing to tone down her political provocations or move to the center of American pop. Read the essay

Across multiple recordings and in venues both intimate and reverberating, Sorey’s story this year has been one of MacArthur genius combining his universe of talent and ambition into unique expression. Read the essay

NPR’s Ann Powers and Annamaria Sayre and contributor LaTesha Harris join Robin Hilton to count down NPR Music’s 10 best songs of the year. Listen to the episode

Agreeing on the best songs of this year was not easy. Here’s a list of 100 songs that reflect the sprawling, energetic mess of 2022. Read the list

On his debut album, the pianist and drummer merge past and present with stellar results, establishing himself as a torchbearer among a cohort of young New York musicians carrying history into the future. Read the essay

In 2022, WRTI editorial director Nate Chinen returned with fervor to live music — and one artist in particular, young saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, emerged as a constant presence. Read the essay

From the exponential rise of Bad Bunny to the relentless commitment of up-and-coming artists to play across genre lines, it’s been a stomping, dance-pumping and stunning year in Latin music. Read the list

Three critics—Daphne A. Brooks, Danielle Smith, and Ann Powers—discuss why REVIVAL is NPR’s pick for album of the year, and why its glory lies in its many shining details. Read the conversation

We’ve ranked our 50 favorite records of the year, from hip-hop to classics and everything in between. Read the list

NPR’s Ann Powers and Sheldon Pierce join critic Christina Lee and host Robin Hilton to count down the 10 best albums of 2022. Listen to the episode

Top 10 album of the host of World Cafefrom WXPN in Philadelphia. Read the list

Hard-to-classify sounds that gave us wonderful, sometimes challenging fractal windows to jump through: microtonal rock jams, gentle ambient, mind-blowing nostalgia, Egyptian ghosts and epic synth symphony. Read the list

The host of All Songs Reviewed listens for the moments when the poetry of a song’s lyrics seems woven into its sound. This year, his playlists overflowed. Read the list

In a year when the industry has bet on fresh technology and virtual worlds, NPR’s hip-hop and R&B editor found these albums highly immersive in their own right. Read the list

Rap that reunited and revived old partnerships, revisited and critiqued old haunts, revealed strong new voices, and even helped usher in a new The minions movie. Read the list

This year’s most compelling classical music ran the gamut from snare string quartets and laid-back piano to full-throttle percussion, electric guitars and soaring vocals. Read the list

In 2022, R&B rediscovered its place in the club, pushed itself to the fringes of space, and reveled in the beauty of the black experience. Read the list

Nate Chinen, music critic and editorial director of NPR for WRTI in Philadelphia, shares some of his favorite music of the year. Read the list

In 2022, the top 10 rock albums made a pilgrimage to Memphis, communed with theologians and poets, discovered the interconnectedness of all beings, and danced through pain and pleasure. Read the list

All Songs Reviewed Host Bob Boilen is joined by NPR Music’s Hazel Sills and Marisa Lorusso to count down our top 10 rock albums of 2022. Listen to the episode

The pop critic and NPR correspondent shares his favorite albums of the year. Read the list

We want you to tell us what new music You loved this year. Vote for up to five of your favorite albums or EPs released in 2022.