Here's my impression of 2022: it started with a world war 3 scare and then December came and I went on vacation. That's pretty much all I can tell you about 2022. I didn't even register it as a full year of 365 days, it went by so quickly.
It's evident in the music I heard this year. This list is particularly difficult because I don't think I heard a lot of new music this year. It's another reason I'm not doing a worst songs list this time because nothing registered with me. Also, I actively avoided listening to bad music this year because last year was so exhausting. So, I didn't listen to the new Drake album, or the Post Malone album, or anything that blew up on Tik Tok, save for a couple songs.
I did, however, indulge myself in the Lupe Fiasco, Black Thought and JID albums, so most of this list is going to be rap songs. With that disclaimer out of the way, let's get into the list
Best Songs of 2022
5. Autoboto - Lupe Fiasco
Luep's entire Drill Music in Zion album was an instant album of the year contender for me. Every single song on this album is thoroughly conceptual and skillfully worded, as is characteristic of Lupe. But one song that stood out to me among the rest is Autoboto. The first time I heard it, I couldn't get enough of it. I had Autoboto on repeat for weeks.
What makes Autoboto so great is the way Lupe flips a hard-hitting trap inspired instrumental with lyrics outlining an artistic battle with himself. He transforms into a a rather flashy version of himself, much like a transformer, which explains the title.
With that banging instrumental, his multisyllabic rhyme schemes that he seems to have perfected with every new album he drops, and that absolute anthem of a hook, this song earns its spot on this list effortlessly.
4. Gospel - Dr. Dre & Eminem
I warned you last year. Any year where Eminem drops a song, it's going to be on this list. And this one undisputedly deserves to be here.
While Dr. Dre spits a rather subpar verse, Eminem comes in to the song's redemption with arguably the best rap verse of the year (controversial take, but hear me out).
The verse packs a massive punch with the wordplays and the metaphors. That flow with those rhyme schemes are phenomenal and Eminem has a knack for making them sound effortless. They make the verse super fun to rap along to as well. In fact, the Gospel verse is now my go-to verse to show people when they say something absurd like Eminem has fallen off or he isn't as good as he used to be.
3. Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift
I'll be honest, there are very few things in this world that are as satisfying as seeing someone who keeps messing up and throwing blame around finally take some responsibility. Taylor Swift throws us a curve ball with this anthem of self-awareness, and it's a good color on her.
Taylor paints quite a vivid picture with her lyrics, expressing guilt, regret and also some sort of unrelated spite in the third verse, which I don't understand why it's there other than for comic relief. But I love this song for its honesty and self awareness.
Personally, I like the acoustic version better because it goes well with the somber, introspective theme of the song, but at least we have choices.
2.. Ordinary World - Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert is a musical gift to the world and I really missed him since his last album Velvet in 2020. Adam is dropping an album of covers called High Drama, and for the first single, he covered Duran Duran's Ordinary World.
The subject of the song being lost love, Adam going the acoustic, orchestral route on this makes perfect sense. He really made the song that much more poignant with his absolutely enchanting voice.
There's really nothing I can say that would do justice to how good this song really is. You just have to listen to it to get it. And, for maximum effect, compare it with Duran Duran's original and it's clear how Adam has completely taken over the song and . If I didn't know that this song came from an album of covers, I would never be able to tell.
1. Vampire At The Swimming Pool - Skylar Grey
As short and unnoticeable 2022 was, it was entirely Skylar Grey's year. With her self titled album and the features she did, she put out some amazing music this year.
Ideally, I would put the entire Skylar Grey album on number. I've had the entire album on repeat for months. Every single song so relatable, I feel like Skylar wrote this album specifically for me.
Between this album, My Heart Has Teeth with deadmau5, Walking On Fire with Th3rdstream and From The Ashes with Illenium, it's extremely difficult to decide which of these songs is the best song of the year. Although Vampire At The Swimming Pool is the only song of this bunch that was released as a single last year, I'm counting it this year because the album it's on was released in 2022.
Vampire At The Swimming Pool is about being a misfit and struggling to find your place and it resonates with me a lot. It's my pick for the best song of 2022 because it's the most relatable song for me. Plus, Skylar's vocals on this song, in fact, on the entire album, are otherworldly. This is some of her best vocal work yet.
It's clear to see how much Skylar Grey has matured as an artist in the lyrics and the subject matter of this album.
Other Notable Songs in 2022
Although I didn't listen to a lot of music last year, especially bad music, I did listen to enough to know what the worst song of the year was.
Worst Song of 2022
This one is weird because Meghan Trainor released an album this year but none of hers is the worst song of the year. Granted, I didn't listen to the whole album, but I did catch Made You Look and in Meghan Trainor's insufferable catalog, it's one of the more sufferable ones. I actually quite enjoy the harmonization on the song, even if the lyrics make me cringe.
Anyway, the worst song of 2022 is Victoria's Secret by Jax. Let me explain.
The reason it's the worst is because it comes off like some kind of revelation. Like Jax just made a mind blowing discovery. But the fact that Victoria's Secret was made by men and its metaphorical implication that women's beauty standards are arbitrary and superficial isn't news! It's a tale as old as time and Victoria's Secret isn't the first song about it either. Far from it.
It has been a subject of public discourse for years, decades even. So, the way Jax worded and delivered this song makes her sound extremely obnoxious, like she was going for a mic drop moment, but she chose the lowest hanging fruit to do it.
I would give the song some points if it added something to the conversation or shed some light on a particular issue or a new perspective, but it pretty much regurgitates the same rhetoric that has been run into the ground, with no redeemable quality. It would even make sense if the instrumental at least made the song a power anthem but it didn't. This song is pandering at its finest to its young, woke new generation
Guilty Pleasures of 2022
I found a couple of songs in 2022 that were actually pretty bad, or mediocre, but I found myself going back to them over and over.
I'm Good by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha is an absolutely deplorable song. It's been sitting in David Guetta's vault for about 7 years but he chose to release it in 2022, and the age shows. But this song is an entire vibe, mostly because of the nostalgia. Choosing one of the best melodies to come out of the late '90s was the only good decision David Guetta made with this song. It instantly takes me back to a simpler time that I miss so dearly. And the lyrics about contentment with who you are and what you have on that melody also sound rather soulful and uplifting and it's a message that I gravitate towards. In a twisted turn of events, I enjoyed a song I wouldn't normally expect myself to.
Crash by Mokita and Charlotte Sands is a pretty average pop song at face value, but I particularly enjoyed the metaphor they chose to go with for getting in a self-destructive relationship. The way the lyrics play out with some subtlety, but not so much that the message gets lost, makes the metaphor coherent. Plus, the melody is really catchy and both the artists have put in decent vocal work.
So, there it is. That's 2022 in music and the best songs speak for themselves.
Also, cheap plug, but I released a song this year too. You can check it out here.
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