It’s been an exciting year for music in 2022, and there have been many great albums released across a wide range of genres. There was a flood of great new stuff this year, as many lock-down albums finally got put out into the world. In addition to full-length albums, we also saw a number of strong EPs from artists. More so than any other year. And while we’ve heard industry talk of “the album being dead,” the few thousand submissions that sat our inboxes on fire say otherwise.
Choosing the best albums of the year was no easy task for our staff, as there were so many great releases to consider. After much discussion and debate, we have finally narrowed it down to a selection of truly exceptional albums. These albums represent the best of what the year had to offer.
Album Of The Year- This Machine Still Kills Fascists – Dropkick Murphys
Normally, you might find Dropkick Murphys in our Celtic Punk category, but this year they released a rather unique folk rock style album, featuring written material by none other than Woody Guthrie. This was an album that has been in talks for quite some time now, and in 2022 it finally saw the light of day.
What the guys have done with the original lyrics and snippets of lyrics has been nothing short of incredible. It can’t be an easy task to formulate a song by a legend, in your own style, while doing justice to the original material. The boys far exceeded that expectation with This Machine Still Kills Fascists. In a way it’s like we got a two for one, a new Murphy’s album, and a new Woody Guthrie album
Best Folk Rock Album Of 2022 – Knüppel Aus Dem Sack – Schandmaul
Once again, one of the top bands in this genre for over 25 years have delivered a masterful studio album in their 11th release, “Knüppel Aus Dem Sack.” The band is taking one of our primary top spots because this album delivers everything that we want in a medieval folk rock. When it comes to musicianship, it simply doesn’t get any better, and this album is loaded with standout tracks.
Best Folk Album Of 2022 – Make Myself Me Again – Cristina Vane
Cristina Vane has an incredible style in which he often fuses together several types of sounds. Her vocal styling is on another level itself, and her sophomore release features some well-crafted songs. It’s a total package of a fusion folk album, and Cristina shows us that there really isn’t anything she can’t do.
Best Rock Album Of 2022 – PowerZone – Chez Kane
While her debut release was incredible in and of itself, the sophomore follow-up, PowerZone from melodic rock singer Chez Kane gave us everything we loved from the first album, and turned it up to 11. Chez took on this project, and she’s totally killed it. The vibe, the throwback, the sound, the imagery, it’s all been so incredible, and we’re very much looking forward to what she has for us in the future.
Best Hard Rock Album Of 2022 – Welcome To The Show – Classless Act
We finally made it to the show, and now we never want it to end. What’s special about this record is the variety, it’s not simply Hard Rock, it has quite a bit of variety anyone can enjoy. The band’s debut release has been one of the biggest surprises for us. The guy’s sound like they’re seasoned veterans of arena rock, and they’ve spent years paying their dues, but the thing is, they are just getting started. It’s a good bet, this is not going to be the last time you see them ranking incredibly high on one of our end of the year lists.
Best Nordic Folk Album Of 2022 – Lysbærer – Nanna Barslev
Nordic Folk artist singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nanna Barslev delivered an incredible solo debut. It’s an album fueled with ancient instruments, atmospheric elements, and incredible vocals. The production also is something noteworthy about this record. This was just an all-around great release.
Best Debut Album Of 2022 – Yarrow Under The Moon – Le Yeni
An album and an artist that has seemingly come out of nowhere for us, Le Yeni has delivered an incredible debut. It’s filled with spellbinding and mesmerizing tracts, an awesome cover with star of the County Down, and it’s a mixture of folk and Celtic tunes. From the serene vocals, the beautiful Instrumentation, and the majestic artwork, just as quickly become our favorites in an ocean of strong debuts this year.
Best Pop Album Of 2022- Magnetic Strangers – Blonde Diamond
Magnetic Strangers is an album that the indie pop Vancouver based band had been holding on to for quite some time, as it was produced during 2020. along with being just a fun dreamy, yet sometimes dark pop album and cinematic vibe, it’s also incredibly thought provoking; filled with well written storytelling aspects.
Best Alternative Rock Album Of 2022 – Bloom – Soraia
Soraia has been teasing us for a while now with some releases here and there, and finally we’ve gotten a full LP with their third studio release, “Bloom.” It’s a quintessential hard/alt rock album filled with some tragedies, and yet hope. It’s been an album we’ve easily gotten attached to, as it features incredibly strong storytelling aspects, and it just sounds incredible.
Best Progressive Rock Album Of 2022 – Paint The Sky – Lalu
The choice was clear for us in this category, paint the sky is the best progressive rock album of the year, and possibly our favorite, perhaps ever. This one completely blew us out of the water as it’s atmospheric, incredibly complex, and has a massive number of incredible tracks. The collaborations are also one of the highlights from this album, this is a must for any progressive rock fan.
Best Punk Album Of 2022 – Feel The Void – Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music has returned after, in this day and age, a rather long gap in between albums, as a previous release, came out in 2017. This time around the band has evolved quite a bit, and have gone through some lineup changes. Feel the Void is an album that we thoroughly enjoyed, and we can recommend for any fan of the genre.
Best EP Of 2022 – Your Heart Knows – Jenny Kern
Nobody does it better when it comes to synth pop tracks that are emotionally gripping. Jenny put her heart, soul, and a whole lot of work into this release, and it certainly shows. It’s been one of our favorite discoveries this year, and when it comes to pop, her music has probably gotten more spins from us than any other artist.
Best Folk Punk Album Of 2022 – Solidaritine – Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello has been releasing incredible albums for years now, but in 2022 the band released what is possibly the most personal album to date. With incredible lyrics, speedy tempos, this is a genre defining album for folk punk.
Best Country Album Of 2022 – Take It As It Comes (EP) – The Buckleys
This has only happened a couple of times in our end of the year list in which we come across an EP which is so incredible that it overrides all the other records including albums that we have heard for the year. This time, our choice for the best country release of 2022 goes to Australian act, The Buckleys. This EP features some of the most infectious tracks that we’ve heard all year, and it’s even making it to some of our hard rock and metal journalists’ playlist. It’s been an excellent release, and we’re looking forward to the inevitable LP.
