The Guardian's 50 Best Albums of 2022

In an unprecedented year of change in music, albums of all genres confounded expectations – from vulnerable rap to pop with gravitas. Listen your way to our No 1 album of the year

Published: December 23, 2022 09:59 Source

# 1
Album • Jul 29 / 2022 Dance-Pop House Contemporary R&B
# 2
Album • May 13 / 2022 Conscious Hip Hop West Coast Hip Hop
# 3
Album • Jan 07 / 2022 Synthpop Dance-Pop
# 4
Album • Mar 18 / 2022 Dance-Pop
# 5
Album • Mar 18 / 2022 Neoperreo Art Pop
# 6
Album • Oct 21 / 2022 Baroque Pop Chamber Pop
# 7
Album • Sep 09 / 2022 Art Pop Glitch Pop
# 8
Album • Apr 08 / 2022 Indie Rock
# 9
Album • Apr 22 / 2022 Gothic Rock Post-Punk
# 10
Album • Mar 04 / 2022 Indie Rock
# 11
Album • Sep 30 / 2022 Alternative R&B UK Hip Hop UK Bass
# 12
Album • May 20 / 2022 Pop Rock
# 13
Album • Oct 07 / 2022 Noise Rock Industrial Rock Experimental Rock
# 14
Album • Sep 09 / 2022 Alternative R&B Art Pop
# 15
Album • Jan 14 / 2022 Alternative R&B
# 16
Album • Sep 30 / 2022 Indie Rock
# 17
Album • Oct 21 / 2022 Alt-Pop
# 18
Album • Jul 15 / 2022 Neo-Soul Bedroom Pop
# 19
Album • Oct 21 / 2022 Post-Punk Indie Rock
# 20
Album • Mar 25 / 2022 Hardcore Punk
# 21
Album • Feb 04 / 2022 Synthpop Art Pop New Wave
# 22
Album • Feb 04 / 2022 Art Pop Neo-Psychedelia
# 23
Album • May 12 / 2022 Singer-Songwriter Dream Pop Slowcore
# 24
Album • Feb 11 / 2022 Indie Folk Folk Rock
# 25
Album • Oct 07 / 2022 Indie Pop Shoegaze Noise Pop
# 26
Album • Oct 14 / 2022 Pop Rock
# 27
Album • Sep 30 / 2022 Soul Contemporary R&B
# 28
Album • Mar 11 / 2022 Art Pop Ambient Pop
# 29
Album • Apr 29 / 2022 Synthpop Electropop
# 30
MUNA by MUNA
Album • Jun 24 / 2022 Synthpop Pop Rock
# 31
Album • Apr 22 / 2022 Gangsta Rap Southern Hip Hop
# 32
Album • Jun 17 / 2022 Neo-Soul Contemporary R&B
# 33
Album • Apr 15 / 2022 Avant-Garde Jazz Post-Minimalism
# 34
Album • Mar 04 / 2022 Art Pop Tech House
# 35
Album • Sep 30 / 2022 Art Pop Electronic Post-Industrial
# 36
Album • Nov 11 / 2022 Singer-Songwriter Indie Rock
# 37
Album • Jul 08 / 2022 Experimental Hip Hop Post-Punk
# 38
Album • May 06 / 2022 Reggaetón Latin Pop
# 39
Album • Mar 04 / 2022 Singer-Songwriter
# 40
Album • Apr 01 / 2022 Spiritual Jazz Jazz Poetry Chamber Jazz
# 41
Album • Sep 09 / 2022 Alt-Pop
# 42
Album • Sep 23 / 2022 Indie Rock Indie Folk
# 43
Autofiction by Suede
Album • Sep 16 / 2022 Alternative Rock
# 44
Album • Aug 26 / 2022 Singer-Songwriter Indie Rock
# 45
Album • Nov 04 / 2022 Dance-Punk Post-Punk
# 46
Album • Aug 12 / 2022 East Coast Hip Hop Conscious Hip Hop
# 47
Album • Jan 14 / 2022 Abstract Hip Hop West Coast Hip Hop
# 48
Album • Mar 04 / 2022 Conscious Hip Hop Neo-Soul UK Hip Hop
# 49
Album • Oct 14 / 2022 Dance-Pop Electropop
# 50
Album • Nov 04 / 2022 Synthpop Alternative Dance New Wave