Who would've thought that the year would go by so fast? I mean they always go by fast, but it's still surprising when you realize there are only a few weeks left in the year. It's been a pretty bizarre year for music, at least on the pop side of things. I struggled to really find songs that I really hated or loved in the pop charts and a lot of it just felt like it didn't stick with me. Lots of big artists dropped some mediocre albums that still broke the charts. Taylor Swift released another album along with artists like Drake and Bad Bunny who all seem to release new albums every year. It was all just... there.
The trend of releasing songs to become popular on TikTok to get hits is still going strong, which usually produces some pretty mediocre products. I still don't really get the full appeal of TikTok, and it's probably because I'm old now, but it just seems like a lot of the good content is buried underneath thousands of bad videos. It feels like a lot of the songs that are overused in TikTok are designed to be as annoying as possible, so I'm not sure how, but it seems to work for them. I just don't have the patience to create some sort of algorithm by looking for and liking any decent TikTok.
But enough sounding like an old man who yells at clouds. It's time to list the best and worst songs of the year 2022. But first a few special mentions:
Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill"
I thought about including this on the best song list proper but I ultimately decided to leave it out as it's really not a song from 2022. If it was, I would put it as my number 1 song of the year so that's mainly why I left it out. It's Kate Bush, a highly influential artist who rightfully got the recognition she deserved this year thanks to her song being the anthem of the latest Stranger Things season. It was nice seeing this have a big resurgence. It also makes me wonder what other classic songs could have a resurgence like this through the next season of the show or other series.
Glass Animals - "Heat Waves"
I actually put this on my worst list last year so I can't include it this year. I just wanted to mention how much I dislike this song because it actually ended up being the highest-selling of the year 2022. Mediocre garbage like this gets the most play out of any other song in the USA and that's... well pretty standard these days I guess. I don't even hate this song, I just find it annoying how a boring song like this is the one that will be known as the biggest song of the year.
Imagine Dragons - "Enemy ft. JID"
I mostly put this song here because I can't tell if I like it or hate it. It's got a certain charm to it that makes me like it, but it still has that annoying Imagine Dragons style that I'm super tired of hearing at this point. I guess I'll say this is the best thing they've released in a while, but still not good enough to be on my best list. Not being on my worst songs list is an improvement though?
Jake Harlow - "First Class"
I really thought this had the potential to be really good, but it falls short of that mark. The chorus sample is a really clever use of Fergie's "Glamorous" and the beat is pretty good. The thing that holds the song back is Harlow himself who just doesn't do the good ideas this song has justice. Things like rhyming "I am" with "I am" like five times and the super awkward "sweet sweet semen" line just make this song hard to listen to. Better luck next time I guess.
Morgan Wallen/Lil Durk - "Broadway Girls"
Morgan Wallen trying his best to get everyone to forget what he got caught saying on camera not too long ago. Here Wallen tries his best to sound tough and strains his voice to a painful point. Then at the end of the song, he starts sounding like some sort of duck honking... I guess that's his mating call? I don’t spend a lot of time with Morgan’s music but if it anything like this then I’m glad I’ve not heard much.
Alright, that's all for the honorable mentions, on to the top 10 worst and best songs of 2022.
10th Worst: "I'm Good (Blue)" By Bebe Rexha and David Guetta
I only first heard this song a few weeks ago, so that's why it's low on my list here. Honestly, if it had been around longer in my life it would probably be in the top five at least. I don't even know where to start with this song though. Maybe the super obvious Eiffel 65 "I'm Blue" sample that David Guetta thought was the most clever thing he's ever done no doubt. Is it already okay to start using samples from the late 90s and very early 2000s? Everything about this just feels wrong, especially when you add Bebe Rexha to the mix, an artist who always seems to suck the energy out of any song she's in. I guess she got lucky enough to have her name pulled out of a hat when David Guetta was choosing a "generic pop singer who's not too big to work with me". This song just feels lazy and basically just completely relies on the nostalgia of the original song or all the young people that never heard the original thinking this is something new and groundbreaking. Bring back the crappy CG aliens.
10th Best: "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift
Taylor dropped her much-anticipated album Midnights a few months ago now. The album itself is pretty decent, and "Anti-Hero" stood out on my first listen. I guess everybody felt the same because it became the most popular song from the album at this point. Before I praise the song further I have to call out the strange lyrics where she calls everybody a "sexy baby". Yeah, that's the reason this song isn't any higher on this list. Probably should have kept it off the list after that, but the rest of the song is good enough to let it slide. Besides that, it feels like a good look at Taylor's insecurities and her inner thoughts on the theme of "Midnights". The album was created as a way for Taylor to express herself and her thoughts through many sleepless nights. I think this song does a great job of exploring those thoughts.
9th Worst: "Unholy" by Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Ugh, I really don't know about this one. I feel like there were some elements that could have worked here. Sam Smith and Kim Petras aren't a bad combo for a song, I just don't love what they did in this particular one. I'm not a fan of the whole dark creepy religious imagery to make a "sexy song". To be fair the song is about a person who's cheating on their partner so I guess that imagery can make more sense in that way. Okay, so the theme matches the lyrics... why do I still not like this song? I think the production and the melodies in the song just don't work for me in the end. At the end of the day, the song is just not fun to listen to and it's the kind of song I will never be in the mood to listen to. I think it just doesn't fit the artists involved and maybe needed someone who would be more natural in this style.
9th Best: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by the Cast of Disney's Encanto
Encanto was one of the better Disney musicals of the last decade. The story was pretty good, but the thing that really made the movie memorable were the extremely catchy songs that were also really well performed by the voice cast. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" stood out from the soundtrack as the best song pretty early on. The way the song uses the strengths of the entire cast as singers and how it mixes lots of different styles into a really cool blend at the end is really awesome. It's got a great Latin style that a lot of the movie uses, but this one, in particular, stands out as really special. I think it works better in the movie where the animation also adds to the whole song, but even on its own, it's still really good.
8th Worst: "Left and Right" by Charlie Puth [Ft. Jung Kook]
Oh, Charlie Puth is back... great. Charlie Puth might be the most generic pop star in the entire world. His music is so devoid of personality I'm pretty sure it's all written by an AI. That might be an insult to AI? "Left and Right" continues the trend of Puth songs that make me feel absolutely nothing. The music, lyrics, melodies, and production are so plain they even make Jung Kook of BTS sound like he's half-asleep during this track. I guess it keeps working though because Charlie has yet another hit on his hands here. That could be partly due to him attaching a BTS member to this song, as they continue to be one of the biggest acts in the world. Either way, this song will be forgotten before the end of the year and never talked about again.
8th Best: "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat & SZA
Doja Cat's been on my radar for a while, but I don't think I truly appreciated her until this year. Honestly, I feel bad I missed this song last year because it would have made my best-of list in 2021. Thankfully the song was a hit in 2022, so I can show it some love here. Everything I said about Charlie Puth is the opposite of Doja. She's got a clear personality that people can identify with and love, as well as making fun music that's fun to listen to multiple times. When you add the always fantastic SZA then you get a really fun song with lots of vocal talent. Hopefully not the last time they work together.
7th Worst: "Pushin P" by Gunna/Future/Young Thug
Wow. Three artists trying to see who can bore their audience the most in one single song. It actually ends in a three-way tie. Seriously, there is not a single second of this song that is even remotely interesting. Maybe if you find the three guys saying the letter "P" 100 times a little funny you can find something to like here. This is like anti-charisma meets zero effort in an attempt to make something that resembles art, but I'm not sure it technically qualifies as art? I mean art requires some effort, right? The era of sleepy rappers who try their best to sound like they don't care at all has to be ending soon right?
7th Best: "Glimpse of Us" by Joji
I really like these super sad songs. I think it's a good challenge for an artist to take a song that is meant to be incredibly depressing sounding and still makes it a good listen. Nothing makes me happier than a great super depressing song. Seriously. That being said, I still don't know how much love I'll have for Joji even after this song. While I enjoy this one, it didn't really heighten my interest for more from the artist so that's why it isn't too high on the list.
6th Worst: "Emo Girl" by Machine Gun Kelly & WILLOW
One of the worst pop-punk choruses ever made by the artist who claimed to be the savior of the genre. This feels like the kind of song some music executive wrote thinking about all the money they'll make from the "youths" of America. The thing is, this song could have worked if it was performed in a more tongue-in-cheek way rather than taking it completely seriously like the song actually does. All I can think about when I hear this are a bunch of out-of-touch music executives who really thought this was going to work for the memes and the "TikTok". Just... go listen to artists who actually care about this genre and know how to have fun while not making shitty pandering music like this. At least MGK left to go back and make shitty rap music again now, so that's a win?
6th Best: "Break My Soul" by Beyonce
I'm not sure anyone expected Beyonce to drop a big house single in the year of our lord 2022, but it happened. I think the bigger surprise is that it's a very 90s-style house music song. The Beyonce song samples the 1993 classic "Show Me Love" by Robin S as well as parts of Big Freedia's "Explode". It all works pretty damn great, especially when you have Beyonce singing with some passion. Have to subtract some points for Beyonce rhyming the word "outside" with "outside" like 4 times. Also, the whole theme of the song where Beyonce is acting like she's some regular person who works 9 to 5 at a day job is a little dumb. Not saying she doesn't work hard, but you're not a regular person Beyonce...
5th Worst: "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" by Harry Styles
Harry Styles released a hugely anticipated new album this year named "Harry's House". It was a pretty mediocre album by Harry's standards, mostly failed by the production, and this song (Sushi Restaurant) is the best example of that. It feels like it's just too much thrown into one song and it ends up sounding like a total mess of a song that's honestly pretty hard to listen to. The title of the track comes off pretty pretentious when you actually hear the song, even if it was meant as a joke. The worst part is the second verse where he repeats the title of the track multiple times and even tries scatting? It just feels like it's trying too hard to be this big epic piece of music, but it ends up sounding like it doesn't really know what it's trying to be.
5th Best: "Titi Me Pregunto" by Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny released arguably the biggest album of the year in 2022 with "Un Verano Sin Ti" If he wasn't the biggest artist in the world before, he certainly is now after this massive album. "Titi Me Pregunto" is just a really fun song, probably the kind of song that makes the crowds cheer at the club when it comes on. It just has this fantastic energy and charisma from Bad Bunny that it's impossible to not find yourself having fun along with him. My only complaint could be it goes on a little too long. The slowdown at the end works but maybe drags down a really fun song.
4th Worst: "Bam Bam" Camila Cabello & Ed Sheeran
God, I'm really starting to not like Ed Sheeran. But here's Camila Cabello with her "Latin pop" single of the year. This time they make the most basic radio-friendly salsa song ever written. I guess it could always be worse, I mean this could have involved Shawn Mendes at one point. Ed Sheeran is the worst part of this song though, couldn't you get another Latin pop star or salsa singer to join you here instead of Ed Sheeran? Like someone who actually has popularity in the genre you're trying to make a hit song in? I guess popping Ed Sheeran's name on a song gives it more chances to be popular worldwide. Even if he doesn't really add anything interesting you got to have that star power. At least it's not as annoying as "Senorita" I guess.
4th Best: "As it Was" by Harry Styles
While I did call his latest album mediocre earlier, I can't deny that it still has some great songs on it. The lead single "As it Was" is a standout as it really excited me for the upcoming album. While the entire album didn't live up to the hype created by this song, I can't really say it's taken away any appreciation I have for it. Still really well made and still not tired of throwing it on every now and then. This is a song that has great production and really pushes Harry Styles' strengths. While I still prefer his first album overall and "Sign of the Times" is still my favorite Harry song, this one could climb up there too. I really wanted Harry to lean more into Rock like his first album, I understand that's probably not going to be the more popular route, but I think he had a lot of potential to make some classics in that genre. Still, there are at least some great songs like "As it Was" to listen to here.
3rd Worst: "Made You Look" by Meghan Trainor
So Meghan Trainor dropped a new album this year. Honestly, if I wasn't making this list I wouldn't have even known about this album. The big hit from this new album is called "Made You Look" and it is incredible. It's incredible that Meghan Trainor has run out of ideas and has to go back to her original doo-wop style that made her famous already. This song is pretty much ripping off her own songs "All About That Bass" and "Dear Future Husband", but somehow less interesting. "Made You Look" is all about how Meghan Trainor is gonna wear all her awesome expensive clothing and make everyone around her stare at her in awe, but it wouldn't matter if she was naked or wearing an old hoodie because you'd still be in awe of her. It's not a terrible idea or anything, but I think it's the fact that she's relying on this old style again to try to get hits that annoys me. It feels lazy for her to do this retread already and doesn't feel like anything new and fresh from an artist that should be trying new things. I'm also really tired of artists name-dropping Gucci and Louis... we get it, you are rich.
3rd Best: "Smoking Out the Window" by Silk Sonic
Silk Sonic is back on my best-of list with their big hit "Smoking Out the Window". Last year I gave their song "Leave the Door Open" the best song of the year and honestly this new single wasn't too far off from that level. Unlucky for them I thought two other songs were better (I'm sure they really care about this list and how high they make it). This is yet another super smooth single with awesome vocals and has a lot of the same great elements from the song last year. Not sure if this partnership is going to be a one-off thing, but I really hope not.
2nd Worst: "Staying Alive" DJ Khaled/Drake/Lil Baby
Oh yeah, nothing says "Stayin' Alive" like Drake sleepwalking his way through another collab with the always amazing DJ Khaled. Sorry, that's "DJ KHALED!!! I DEFINITELY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SONG IN AN IMPACTFUL WAY!!!"
Does DJ Khaled have dirt on Drake to keep him coming back to these mediocre singles? Not that Drake is dropping anything much better under his own discography these days. This just feels like another desperate attempt at keeping Khaled relevant for another year. Well, sadly it worked because yet again we have another big hit here. This time Khaled butchers the all-time classic Bee Gees song that defined an entire decade. Yeah, let's do that song but take out all the fun energy and social messages. Couldn't even try to sample the iconic intro riff? I expected nothing and I'm still disappointed.
2nd Best: "Sacrifice" by The Weeknd
I'm surprised by how little love this album seemed to get in the charts. The Weeknd dropped a new album "Dawn FM" early in the year and it's still one of the best albums of 2022. Even though it sold well, I feel like I didn't hear a lot about it compared to a lot of his other releases. "Sacrifice" was the big single from the new album and it's a great song on its own, even better with the rest of the album. The album has a darker atmosphere to it, with some existential crisis/ end of the world vibes throughout the album narrated by Jim Carrey. It fits well with the theme and the songs are perfect for a nighttime drive.
THE WORST SONG OF 2022: "abcdefu" by GAYLE?
This is the part where I feel old again. This is yet another one of those TikTok songs that gained most of its popularity from people using it in their videos on that app. There are plenty of great breakup songs out there and this is 100% not one of them. Nothing says I hate you and I'm angry like a mid-tempo song with no emotion behind it and some Na-Na-Na's in the chorus... that'll show him. Also, the whole lead-up where she has to go through the ABCs just to get to F YOU is not nearly as clever as she seems to think it is.
The idea of being so angry at someone you want to just tell them and anybody close to them off, I can maybe see that working if presented in the right way. This doesn't really do that. What did his mom and sister do to you? Why are you dissing him for having a job and a car? Why are you dissing his art when the best you can do is this lame-ass song? "abcdefu" is just plain bad. Well, thankfully we won't have to see GAYLE? again because I can guarantee she will never have another hit again.
THE BEST SONG OF 2022: "Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy
Every now and then the pop charts throw a nice surprise that completely catches me off guard. This year it was Steve Lacy's big hit "Bad Habit". I never had the pleasure of listening to Lacy before this hit, but when I first heard it I was intrigued. His style of R&B mixed with modern indie rock works really well and he's got a lot of interesting music in his catalog. I didn't realize I'd probably heard him before since he's worked with artists like Vampire Weekend, Blood Orange, and Tyler, The Creator. It's nice to see him get his moment in the spotlight, but hopefully not the last time he's there.
And that was my list of 2022. Not a bad year of music honestly, as the good really outweighed the bad here. As always I'll list some of my favorite albums of the year down below, hopefully people can discover something great they missed. I'll put a * next to my favorites.
Spoon - "Lucifer on the Sofa" (Indie/Rock) *
Michelle - "AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS" (Indie/Pop) *
Mitski - "Laurel Hell" (Indie/Rock)
Frank Turner - "FTHC" (Punk)
Gang of Youths - "the angel of 8th ave." (Indie/Rock)
Nilufer Yanya - "PAINLESS" (Indie/Alt)
Hippo Campus - "LP3" (Indie/Pop)
Ricky Montgomery - "It's 2016 Somewhere" (Indie/Pop) *
Everything Everything - "Raw Data Feel" (Indie Rock) *
Drug Church - "Hygiene" (Punk)
Wet Leg - "Wet Leg" (Indie Rock)
Bob Vylan - "The Price of Life" (Rap/Punk)
Fontaines D.C.- "Skinty Fia" (Alternative)
Braveweather - "Stay Here" (Indie Rock/Alt)
Ethal Cain - "Preacher's Daughter" (Indie Rock)
The 1975 - "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" (Pop/Rock)
Tove Lo - "Dirt Femme" (Pop)
Phoenix - "Alpha Zulu" (Indie Pop) *
Charlie XCX - "CRASH" (Pop)
Alvvays - "Blue Rev" (Indie Rock)
Viagra Boys - "Cave World" (Hardcore Punk)
Beach Bunny - "Emotional Creature" (Indie Pop)
SZA - "SOS" (R&B)
Denzel Curry - "Melt My Eyez See Your Future (Hip-Hop)
Little Simz - "NO THANK YOU" (Hip-Hop)
Here's a playlist of some of the best songs too:
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