Whether or not you heard them on TikTok, on the radio or on a contemporary slab of old style vinyl, new songs helped make sense this 12 months of a world that appeared to want extra interpretation with each passing month. Right here, in ascending order of greatness, are our picks for the 50 better of 2022 — observe that we restricted artists to at least one entry apiece — adopted by 50 extra to listen to, to like, to be enlightened by. (The Spotify playlist options all 100 songs in alphabetical order.)
50. Zach Bryan, “One thing within the Orange”
One of many 12 months’s most compelling newcomers inexplicably didn’t land a finest new artist Grammy nomination, however don’t let that detract from the rippling sincerity of this streaming-smash spotlight from Bryan’s sprawling “American Heartbreak” album. — August Brown
49. Kenny Mason, “Zoomies”
Mason’s was far and away the best trap-metal idea album about an artist’s canine to return out this 12 months. — A.B.
48. Child Stone Gorillas, “Hold Goin”
The white-hot L.A. rap group assails a soul pattern on “Hold Goin,” its members leaping out and in of body as they move the baton with an uncanny chemistry. — Kenan Draughorne
47. Kali Malone, “Residing Torch I”
Completely nothing and every little thing occurs in these attractive 18 minutes of organ drones. Gentle some candles and let the edible hit. — A.B.
46. Rauw Alejandro, “Verde Menta”
Latin freestyle is again, and never a second too quickly. Look out, weekend! — Suzy Exposito
45. Muffins Da Killa, “W4TN”
Whereas all of us watch for Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour and visuals, right here’s one other landmark work of queer Black membership music that’s equally attractive and rooted in home music historical past. — A.B.
44. Buddy, “Hoochie Mama”
Compton’s Buddy appears like he’s having the time of his life on every verse he will get to rap. — Okay.D.
43. David Guetta and Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)”
Bear in mind when the Black Eyed Peas added roughly 7% of a brand new music to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”? Guetta and Rexha do. — Mikael Wooden
42. Lucrecia Dalt, “El Galatzó”
An heir to Gal Costa’s imaginative and prescient of psychedelic, deeply orchestrated Latin music as a realm of experiment, ache and — basically — chance. — A.B.
41. Particular Curiosity feat. Mykki Blanco, “Midnight Legend”
New Orleans industrial punks Particular Curiosity group up with rapper Mykki Blanco for this starry-eyed disco fete, promising hope past the hedonism of nightlife. — S.E.
40. Paramore, “This Is Why”
“Home of Jealous Lovers” for everybody who went out to the membership after COVID, took one go searching and went straight again dwelling. — A.B.
39. Child Rose, “Go”
Child Rose’s supernatural vocals can stand out anyplace, however they’re much more superior when paired with this lavish instrumental. — Okay.D.
38. Gatherers, “Black Marigold”
If early-aughts screamo is traditional rock by now, these New Jersey vets introduced it into modernity. Slinky, attractive and explosive, with a well-deserved Geoff Rickly endorsement. — A.B.
37. Say She She, “Prism”
Image this: the Muses of Greek legend, dropped at life within the type of a Brooklyn soul-funk band. — S.E.
36. Soccer Mommy, “Shotgun”
Elegant ’90s alt-fuzz from a younger songwriter born 4 years after the Breeders’ “Cannonball” dropped. — M.W.
35. Hitkidd and GloRilla, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”
Hitkidd and GloRilla earned Grammy noms for rap efficiency due to this rousing anthem to clearing out unhealthy vitality and returning to single actions. — Okay.D.
34. Muna, “Runner’s Excessive”
Earlier than you let their Phoebe Bridgers-assisted “Silk Chiffon” steal the present, give up to the techno-pop ecstasy of “Runner’s Excessive.” — S.E.
33. Ice Spice, “Munch (Feelin’ U)”
Twenty-two-year-old Ice Spice has all of it: withering humor, saucy charisma and the flexibility to will new slang about ineffective dudes into existence. — A.B.
32. The Weeknd, “Out of Time”
Can a love music double as a ghost story? “I bear in mind once I held you,” the Weeknd sings sweetly in a voice filled with dread. “You begged me along with your drowning eyes to remain.” — M.W.
31. Bino Rideaux feat. Roddy Ricch, “Lemme Discover Out”
Good issues occur whenever you pair two of L.A.’s strongest melodic rappers. — Okay.D.
30. Bizarrap feat. Villano Antillano, “Villano Antillano: Bzrp Music Classes, Vol. 51”
Studio time with 24-year-old Argentine producer Bizarrap has turn out to be a standing image within the Hispanic world. On this trap-house session, Puerto Rican rap starlet (and Dangerous Bunny affiliate) Villano Antillano spits with fashion and a beneficiant dose of queer camp. — S.E.
29. Chat Pile, “Grimace_Smoking_Weed.jpeg”
This one belongs right here for the title alone, but it surely accompanies probably the most savage, astringent metallic information of the 12 months. — A.B.
28. The 1975, “Oh Caroline”
Think about Lloyd Dobler hoisting that boombox exterior Diane Court docket’s window and blasting “The Means It Is” as an alternative of “In Your Eyes.” — M.W.
27. V.C.R, “Blue”
The Memphis-born singer and violinist V.C.R makes being spellbound sound oh so good. — Okay.D.
26. Becky G and Karol G, “Mamiii”
Actual Gs solely. After years spent trailing one another on crimson carpets and Latin pop charts, reggaeton-pop stars Becky G and Karol G — no relation — fused their Mexican and Colombian sensibilities into an empowered cumbiatón breakup jam for the women. — S.E.
25. Elton John and Britney Spears, “Maintain Me Nearer”
To comply with up his hit 2021 collab with Dua Lipa, Captain Implausible enlists pop’s blue-jean child for a soft-touch disco jam about freedom, endurance and the shrewd monetization of 1’s mental property. — M.W.
24. Sam Smith feat. Kim Petras, “Unholy”
It’s a milestone No. 1 music for trans and nonbinary artists. And the way cool that it’s additionally as dumb as a bag of hammers. — A.B.
23. Kendrick Lamar feat. Blxst and Amanda Reifer, “Die Laborious”
One of the best music from “Mr. Morale & the Huge Steppers” speaks to the nervousness that comes with placing your coronary heart in another person’s arms. — Okay.D.
22. My Chemical Romance, “The Foundations of Decay”
For individuals who declared emo lengthy lifeless and buried, let this music be a fist, bursting defiantly from the soil. — S.E.
21. Joji, “Glimpse of Us”
Practically a decade after he helped launch Baauer’s jock-trap “Harlem Shake” to a fluke No. 1 displaying atop the Scorching 100, this former YouTube prankster topped Spotify’s world chart himself with a bare-bones piano ballad as fairly as peak Nick Drake. — M.W.
20. Makaya McCraven, “The Fours”
An ideal suture between heady jazz and digital precision. — A.B.
19. Sessa, “Canção da Cura”
Brazilian singer-guitarist Sessa creates a hypnotic ode to heartbreak on a standout music from his sophomore album, “Estrela Acesa.” — Okay.D.
Moist Leg’s Rhian Teasdale, left, and Hester Chambers.
(Caity Krone/For The Occasions)
18. Wet Leg, “Moist Dream”
On this saucy lower off their debut LP, Isle of Wight indie rockers Moist Leg make enjoyable of one thing that Harry Types couldn’t fairly seize in his cowl of their music on BBC Radio 1: the yawning banality of male consideration. — S.E.
17. Harry Types, “Matilda”
Say what you need about his performative allyship: The empathy on this music — within the delicate melody, within the sighing tenderness of Types’ vocal, within the vivid picture of a woman tying up her hair as she tries to pop a wheelie on her bike — is actual. — M.W.
16. Chappell Roan, “Informal”
All of the excessive drama and meticulous melody-writing of Taylor Swift at her finest, with some NC-17 zingers that make this situationship really feel like a contemporary wound. — A.B.
15. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges, “Mariella”
The psychedelic-funk trio Khruangbin proved way back that they don’t want vocals to make nice music. However it doesn’t damage to have Leon Bridges’ honey-soaked voice floating over their alluring sounds. — Okay.D.
Anitta performs at Coachella 2022.
(Christina Home/Los Angeles Occasions)
14. Anitta, “Envolver”
Brazilian funk-pop star Anitta scaled her option to the height of the Billboard International 200 chart with this slick reggaeton joint a few strictly informal affair. Though the music is probably not protected for work, it’s confirmed optimum for golf equipment, bachelorette events and different websites the place reckless abandon is inspired. — S.E.
13. Lizzo, “2 Be Liked (Am I Prepared)”
The important thing change of the 12 months. — M.W.
12. Fousheé, “Double Commonplace”
Fousheé’s expertise earned her high-profile visitor spots on albums from Vince Staples, Steve Lacy and King Princess, however right here she owns the highlight by daring to defy gender-based relationship roles. — Okay.D.
11. Sudan Archives, “NBPQ (Topless)”
A defining assertion about colorism within the music trade, the exultations of Black womanhood and Sudan Archives’ musical virtuosity — that ends with a full minute of her howling, “I simply wanna have my titties out, titties out, titties out.” — A.B.
Rosalía.
(SeoJu Park / For The Occasions)
10. Rosalía, “Bizcochito”
The Spanish art-pop queen’s “Motomami” LP accommodates profound reflections on emotional torment and pandemic-era isolation. However TikTok regulars got here to know Rosalía finest on this gum-smacking reggaeton-pop clapback to misogyny. — S.E.
9. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
If she felt like “a monster on the hill too huge to hang around” earlier than the concert-ticket debacle, simply take into consideration the metaphors she would possibly deploy in her subsequent anthem of famous person self-loathing. — M.W.
8. Well being and 9 Inch Nails, “Isn’t Everybody”
Getting Trent Reznor to revisit the lyrics to “Piggy” in your collaborative industro-goth single? That’s music historical past proper there. — A.B.
7. Doja Cat, “Vegas”
Doja Cat launched just one authentic solo music this 12 months: this Grammy-nominated single from the “Elvis” soundtrack. There’s poetic justice in the truth that she sampled Huge Mama Thornton’s “Hound Canine” fairly than Presley’s 1956 cowl. — Okay.D.
Yahritza Y Su Esencia.
(Adali Schell/For The Occasions)
6. Yahritza Y Su Esencia, “Soy El Unico”
Singer-songwriter Yahritza Martinez was simply 13 years outdated when she penned this forlorn heartbreak ballad, the primary hit by her household band, Su Esencia. But her sonorous voice carries the load of 100 years of solitude. — S.E.
5. Steve Lacy, “Dangerous Behavior”
It’s rock, it’s soul, it’s biscuits, it’s gravy. — M.W.
4. Burna Boy, “Final Final”
A music so good that newlywed {couples} have been utilizing it of their marriage movies — even if the Nigerian famous person is singing about heartbreak. — Okay.D.
3. Ethel Cain, “American Teenager”
Zoomers lastly have their very own “Born to Run,” courtesy of a trans woman from the evil swamps of Florida. — A.B.
2. Dangerous Bunny, “Titi Me Preguntó”
In his dembow smash, Puerto Rican dynamo Dangerous Bunny paid tribute to all of the meddlesome titis, or aunties of the world, and efficiently baited new anglophone followers with a (uncommon!) sliver of English within the refrain: “[Let’s take a] selfie, say cheese!” — S.E.
1. Beyoncé, “Break My Soul”
Not solely probably the most exuberant music of 2022 however probably the most various in its sensible purposes. Did you simply fall in love? Did you simply give up your job? Did you simply fortunately proclaim that you just’d taken your last-ever COVID check? (That one might require some strolling again.) No matter you had been celebrating — no matter you had been resisting — “Break My Soul” made for the proper soundtrack. Its wiggle accommodates multitudes. — M.W.
And in alphabetical order, one other 50 songs to not be missed:
Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, “Blenda”
Alex G, “Cross the Sea”
Omar Apollo, “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)”
Computerized, “New Starting”
Huge Thief, “Simulation Swarm”
Bleed, “Killing Time”
Blxst.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Occasions)
Blxst, “About You”
CKay, “Emiliana”
Cloud Rat, “Babahaz”
COIN, “Chapstick”
Dixson feat. Tinashe, “Warmth”
Doechii, “Loopy”
Drake, “Down Hill”
Silvana Estrada, “Te Guardo”
Brent Faiyaz, “All Mine”
Fontaines D.C., “Jackie Down the Line”
Mabe Fratti, “Cada Músculo”
Gel, “Psychological Static”
Genesis Owusu, “Get Impressed”
Lady Extremely and Little Jesus, “Punk”
Gunna and Future feat. Younger Thug, “Pushin P”
Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson, “Wait within the Truck”
Hemlocke Springs, “Girlfriend”
Larry June feat. 2 Chainz, “Nonetheless Boomin”
Kalan.Frfr, “Gentle Breeze”
KayCyy, “Shoutouts”
Omah Lay and Justin Bieber, “Consideration”
Ravyn Lenae, “M.I.A.”
Ari Lennox, “Stress”
Demi Lovato.
(James J. Robinson/For The Occasions)
Demi Lovato, “29”
Submit Malone with Roddy Ricch, “Cooped Up”
Ashley McBryde with Pillbox Patti, “The Lady within the Image”
Mitski, “The Solely Heartbreaker”
Maren Morris, “The Furthest Factor”
Carla Morrison, “Diamantes”
Paopao feat. iZaak, “Jodona”
Plains, “Abilene”
Pusha T, “Let the People who smoke Shine the Coupes”
Adrian Quesada feat. iLe, “Mentiras Con Cariño”
Purple Scorching Chili Peppers, “White Braids & Pillow Chair”
Reyna Tropical, “Pajaritos”
Smino.
(Christina Home/Los Angeles Occasions)
Smino feat. Lil Uzi Vert, “Pudgy”
Jazmine Sullivan, “Damage Me So Good”
Victony and Ktizo, “Jolene”
Summer time Walker with SZA and Cardi B, “No Love”
Westside Boogie feat. Smino and Teezo Landing, “Can’t Get Over You”
Weyes Blood, “It’s Not Simply Me, It’s All people”
Pharrell Williams feat. Tyler the Creator and 21 Savage, “Money in Money Out”
Nicky Youre and Dazy, “Sunroof”
Bailey Zimmerman, “The place It Ends”
