Don’t look now, but the first half of 2022 is nearly in the books. And while there is still a ton of notable new music on the horizon for the rest of the year, it’s time for us to pause for a moment and take stock of the albums that have thrilled us the most over the past six months.
We hope you enjoy discovering—or rediscovering—the albums featured below (in alphabetical order). If you like what you hear and happen to have the means right now, we encourage you to consider purchasing the albums that tickle your fancy from the artists’ respective official online stores or your favorite music retailers.
See any of your favorite 2022 albums missing from the list? Let us know via the comments section below!
The 30 Best Albums of 2022…So Far
MICHAELA ANNE
Oh To Be That Free
Yep Roc
Bandcamp | Tour Dates
“An absorbing, soul-affirming collection that finds her eloquently traversing the breadth and depth of human emotion with her signature candor, clarity and compassion. Though recorded prior to an emotionally trying period during which the then-pregnant singer-songwriter’s mother suffered a debilitating stroke, the eleven introspective songs that comprise the follow-up to 2019’s acclaimed Desert Dove LP were soon recontextualized as a form of personal catharsis.” – Justin Chadwick | Read More
BAND OF HORSES
Things Are Great
BMG
Official Store | Tour Dates
“Coupled with the shimmering guitar arrangements that have defined the band’s sonic oeuvre to date, Ben Bridwell’s knowing, soaring voice never ceases to reassure in its self-awareness, emotional clarity and resilient grace. There’s an inherent everyman-like candor and humility within his words that draw you in to listen more attentively and empathetically, and Things Are Great showcases this relatability arguably more effectively than any of the group’s preceding albums.” – Justin Chadwick | Read More
MARY J. BLIGE
Good Morning Gorgeous
300 Entertainment/Mary Jane Prod.
Official Store | Tour Dates
“Good Morning Gorgeous stands out for its authenticity, stunning lyrics, and Mary J. Blige’s blueprint, powerful, unapologetic R&B flowing like a written journal. The album works as a cathartic voyage, showing another side of the artist who is now finally settled into her character, allowing her the freedom to love herself, heal, live by her own rules, and demand the respect and love she deserves.” – Giulia Bianchi | Read More
TANIKA CHARLES
Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly
Record Kicks
Bandcamp | Tour Dates
“An album replete with subtle shades and variations of soul music that further expand Charles’ musical remit. As well as her pliable, expressive voice, her lyrics have a direct, relatable quality that connect easily, contributing to the charm and appeal of the album. Hopefully the success of this album will add fuel to Charles’ fire and give her the confidence she needs to fly freer and unburdened by self-doubt.” – Patrick Corcoran | Read More
DUBSTAR
Two
Northern Writes
Official Store
“Two is a lean, masterful stroke of modern pop that stands on its own, but doesn’t disavow its link with what came before with Dubstar’s anterior efforts. Sarah Blackwood and Chris Wilkie are definitely one of the best kept secrets in music and it’s never too late to get in on it if you haven’t already—what are you waiting for then?” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Dance Fever
Polydor
Official Store | Tour Dates
“Welch is a superstar, but not a pop star in the traditional sense, and comes across as human as the rest of us. The mercurial Dance Fever is a chaotic return to form from more than just a ceaselessly stellar vocalist, and it is Florence + The Machine’s best album in a decade.” – Alex Driscoll | Read More
ROBERT GLASPER
Black Radio III
Loma Vista
Official Store | Tour Dates
“So much can be said of Black Radio III. Its tracks are often chased by reprises and remixed addendums like post-credits scenes in a Marvel film. … For all that can be said, more is to be felt. As preached on the record’s introduction, ‘We don’t play music. We pray music.’ If that doesn’t resonate immediately, just one listen will justify the hype. Glasper is who he is for a reason. He knows how to turn hearers into believers.” – Mark Chappelle | Read More
KENDRICK LAMAR
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
PGLang/Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope
Official Store | Tour Dates
“A heady feast that some might better digest in smaller portions. But rest assured, there’s more than enough top-shelf material and meticulously managed art here to show us Kendrick, already reserving an extended stay in the cultural zeitgeist longer than most of your all-time favorites, has still got it.” – Matt Koelling | Read More
MIRANDA LAMBERT
Palomino
Vanner/RCA Records Nashville
Official Store | Tour Dates
“In a genre frequently belied for being one-dimensional, Lambert’s characters appear in 3D, fully formed at even the simplest of couplets. When she mentions bygone stars of her genre, she doesn’t name drop, she storytells, as exemplified by lines like ‘Tina never quite had a Hollywood body / But she makes a damn good look-alike Dolly’ on ‘Music City Queen,’ a collaboration with The B-52’s. It’s like she’s never had more fun with a band, showcasing a swampy desert guitar and notions of fun only a honky tonk piano can provide.” – Alex Driscoll | Read More
CATE LE BON
Pompeii
Mexican Summer
Official Store | Tour Dates
“Le Bon comes across as an old soul, not just by virtue of her ability to sit with opposing sentiments and urges on Pompeii, but sonically as well. The overall influence is esoteric ’80s, with a Siouxsie Sioux/Kate Bush mashup in Le Bon’s idiosyncratic low-high-low vocal style, which is both alluring and wholly her own. And Shoegaze is an apt benchmark for some of the more ethereal-but-noisy guitar/synth interplay on the album.” – Erika Wolf | Read More
LÉON
Circles
BMG/LÉON Recordings
Tour Dates
“An elegant mix of uptempo and balladic love songs that float in their own time and space—carefully constructed out of vulnerable diaristic examinations of self and unbeholden to today’s confining parameters of what constitutes a pop song for the charts. With Circles’ increasingly unguarded personal storytelling and rich emotive production, LÉON takes another elegant step into crafting a long and memorable career.” – Mark J. Marraccini | Read More
THE LOYAL SEAS
Strange Mornings In The Garden
American Laundromat
Official Store
“Strange Mornings in the Garden is reflective of the signature sounds of both Tanya Donelly and Brian Sullivan, and longtime fans of Donelly will especially love the album if they slant towards Belly in their tastes. Strange Mornings in the Garden is lush, layered and shimmering, featuring rich, honeyed vocal harmonies and seamlessly melding rock, pop, folk, and orchestral elements.” – Erika Wolf | Read More
AMBER MARK
Three Dimensions Deep
PMR/Interscope
Official Store | Tour Dates
“Overall, Three Dimensions Deep is a stirring work, a testament to Mark’s struggles, pain, insecurities, deep wounds, and healing journey. Through the intense yet mending lyrics, glistening and futuristic tunes, Mark soars into a galaxy of electrifying anthems, which provide her with the space, time, and breadth to go three dimensions deep, face her innermost demons and wounds, and ultimately grow out of them.” – Giulia Bianchi | Read More
ANAIS MITCHELL
Anaïs Mitchell
BMG
Official Store | Tour Dates
“In a recent interview, Mitchell described these songs as “speaking to each other,” a characterization easily understood by those who have heard it. They seem to embody the same spirit and exist as a set of stories that despite being individual, feel less complete in isolation—the first time she says this has happened since the Young Man In America sessions. This is not the biting folk epic that Young Man was, nor the high concept and expansive theatre piece Hadestown was, but a humbler half-hour by a highly creative and blossomed mother who, more than anything, presents as worldly, gentle, and wise.” – Alex Driscoll | Read More
MITSKI
Laurel Hell
Dead Oceans
Official Store | Tour Dates
“At this point, Mitski has an unreasonably good discography. Some of her best work lies here on Laurel Hell, the latest in a musical canon as captivating as any other we’ve had in the past decade. You don’t just tune in for the lyrics, the indelible production, the quiet-loud emotional dynamics, or the music videos, but all of the above, and more.” – Alex Driscoll | Read More