NYLON's Favorite Albums Of 2022

I’ll be honest. The first few times I listened to Alvvays’ Blue Rev, it kept slipping beyond the grips of my attention. The Toronto dream-pop band’s third album is a dense one, but for those patient enough to unravel its mysteries, delights, and cleverly tangled melodies, it’ll bloom into something you won’t be able to put down. —Steffanee Wang, associate music editor

Charli XCX entered her sellout, villain arc in 2022 and ended her five-album record contract with a… crash! On Crash, Charli leans into full mainstream pop star mode, but with a wink and a nod (and a flash of Atlantic panties in the “Used To Know Me” music video). The album and deluxe edition bonus tracks showcase some of her most vulnerable songwriting over hypnotic pop beats with “Twice,” “How Can I Not Know What I Need Right Now,” and “Sorry If I Hurt You.” —Lindsay Hattrick, senior designer

A career high for Florence Welch, Dance Fever reminds you why she's so fully captivating, from cutting snarls to full choruses that make you want to run barefoot into the night. —Lauren McCarthy, executive editor

The Weeknd is an extremely skilled world builder when it comes to his musical projects, and I found myself getting lost in this fictional f.m. radio frequency time and time again this year — that is, when I didn't get stuck with "Out of Time" on repeat for a bit. —Alyssa Vingan, editor-in-chief

Tove Lo’s first independent release feels like a declarative self portrait and exploration of modern femininity. Dirt Femme covers topics of heartbreak, eating disorders, sex, and longing over a mix of ballads and hot dance tracks. With a tight 12-song tracklist, “No One Dies From Love” and “Attention Whore (feat. Chanel Tres)” are standouts. Find me crying and dancing to this album at the club all at once. —Lindsay H

Forgiveness is the last record from Girlpool, the near-decade-long project of Avery Tucker and Harmony Tividad, and it is a fitting final bow. Like all of Girlpool’s work, Forgiveness leaves you feeling seen for the ugliest and most joyful of your feelings, but the album also marks the band’s most expansive rock yet, both in terms of lyrics and production, with gratingly personal couplets like the delicate and biting “Nothing Gives Me Pleasure,” where Tividad’s voice rings out, crystal clear: “Do you even want me if I even have to ask?/ Break it to me gently with your fingers up my ass.” —Sophia June, staff writer

Steve Lacy’s album, Gemini Rights, was the soundtrack to my 2022. Lacy's cheeky lyrics on the dualities of being a Gemini resonate with my Gemini tendencies, which means I’ve listened to this album an ungodly amount of times, front to back — and it never gets old. —Kelly Reed, social media editor

I'll admit, a certain film's highly dramatic press junket and the never-ending Love on Tour residency left me with a slight case of Harry Overload in 2022, but this sunny album will likely remain in my heavy rotation for years to come regardless. —AV

Oliver Sim’s Hideous Bastard is an excavation of self — but to do that, he had to release music under his own name. The debut from The xx member is stunningly vulnerable, filled with gorgeous ballads and propulsive beats about the most self-hating and glamorous of monsters. —SJ

This breezy, dance floor-ready album was the soundtrack to my summer from the moment Drake dropped it in June, and thanks to its varied mix of genres, I can see it helping me set a vibe for many seasons to come. —AV

I’ve followed Chicago’s Ravyn Lenae since her 2016 project Moon Shoes, and can confidently say Hypnos is her most realized and cohesive project yet. Its 16 songs are sensual, liquid-y smooth, and just plain sublime. —SW

The album I returned to over and over again this year. In 50 minutes, Tomberlin exudes rage, yearning, and everything in between. —LM

Motomami is a full swing concept of Rosalía’s creation and ownership of her persona via mantras and transformation. She’s uninhibited by genre or melody and leans into subversion. Motomami is fun, emotional, engaging, and thrilling all at once. It feels like the culmination of many different aspects of contemporary culture, music, and art coming together for something new and exciting. —Lindsay H.

It is incredibly rare to listen to a debut album that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. Listening to this record was like watching a star be born. —LM

Beyoncé made an album for the club kids and ignited a revolution — and revelation. This immaculate 16-track record fiercely ushered house music to the masses, and in the process, offered up a glittering outlet for all our stifled, stuffed-up, early 2022 frustration, energy, and stagnant thoughts. Technically, Renaissance is a marvel: a seamless fantasy that is rich beyond rich, layered beyond layered, helmed by Beyoncé’s honey voice beckoning us through its chapters. Incredibly, she found a different sound to master 16 times, through the help of a superstar team of collaborators only she has the cachet to assemble. I could go on, but this is reminding me to listen to “Plastic Off The Sofa” one more time. —SW

Pop music can truly be so restorative, and few working artists are as consistent as Carly Rae Jepsen. Another sparkling, emotional record in her stellar discography. —Layla Halabian, culture editor

Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti is a peek inside the Piscean psyche, a place where everyone is crying and shaking their asses at the same time. —Layla H.

COIN always knows how to make a hell of a pop album, but they really outdid themselves with their fourth full-length, Uncanny Valley. —KR

Brent Faiyaz’s sexy, smooth Wasteland has been in heavy rotation for me in the back half of 2022 — and I’m convinced it’s slept on by the masses. With features from Tyler the Creator, Drake, and Alicia Keys, every single song is a masterpiece. —KR

While the world once again embraces indie sleaze, Wet Leg’s debut album is a time capsule to the mid-aughts Britrock bands that made music people actually wanted to dance to. Frontwomen Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers bring a much-needed unseriousness to rock ‘n’ roll. The art is in the self-awareness; they take rock as seriously as it needs to be taken, with hooks and bass lines that ooze with spunk and defiance, combined with palpably horny lyrics that evoke a youthful exuberance of green room make outs and accidental glamour. Plus, any song with a Mean Girls reference will always have my heart. —SJ