Joe’s 2022 Complete Album Rankings

Here’s Joe with his fastidiously ranked list of all the albums he listened to for 2022–the year he finally got back to 5-stars.

In general, 2022 was a solid year. Far superior to 2021 or 2022… or probably most years going back to 2015. Alvvays is one of the strongest winners in decades and there was a real nice variety in the best albums thanks to Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Ghost and Arctic Monkeys.

Trending up: Hip-hop
Trending down: Precious indie folk/Americana

If you missed it, don’t forget to check out our video for our top 10 albums of the year!

Joe’s Stars System

5 – Masterpiece
4.5 – Great
4 – Very Good
3.5 – Good, But I’m not going to remember it in a week
3 – Average/unremarkable
2.5 – Poor
2 – Really poor
1.5 – Dreadful
1 – Diabolically bad
.5 – Late Period Boston

The Rankings

.5 Star

Country Stuff the Album – Walker Hayes

1.5 Stars

Get Rollin’ – Nickelback
Come Home the Kids Miss You – Jack Harlow

2 Stars

The Keening Sessions – The Third Entity
Divisive – Disturbed

2.5 Stars

Diamond Star Halos – Def Leppard
Jack in the Box – J-Hope
Heart Under – Just Mustard
Mainstream Sellout – Machine Gun Kelly
Worm Food – Cavetown
Skinty Fia – Fontaines D.C.
Covers – Cat Power
Crybaby – Tegan and Sara
Love Sux – Avril Lavigne
Fix Yourself, Not the World – The Wombats
For Executive Meeting – The Paranoid Style
Bloom – Red Velvet
Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Backhand Deals – Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
The War to End All Wars – Sabaton
Bronco – Orville Peck
Otherness – Alexisonfire
Carpe Diem – Saxon
I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me – King Hannah
Blue Skies – Dehd
The Overload – Yard Act

3 Stars

SZNZ:Spring – Weezer
Vaxis II – Coheed and Cambria
Pink Tiger – Apollo Ghosts
PREY // IV – Alice Glass
Never Let Me Go – Placebo
Preacher’s Daughter – Ethel Cain
Palomino – First Aid Kit
Give Me The Future – Bastille
Time Skiffs – Animal Collective
Arkhon – Zola Jesus
Honestly, Nevermind – Drake
Stereotype – Cole Swindell
Ants From Up There – Black Country, New Road
Florist – Florist
People in Motion – Dayglow
God Save the Animals – (Sandy) Alex G
How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars – Weather Station
Dawn FM – The Weeknd
MOTOMAMI – Rosalía
The Zealot Gene – Jethro Tull
Cave World – Viagra Boys
An Hour Before It’s Dark – Marillion
Extreme Witchcraft – Eels
Dirt Femme – Tove Lo
Midnights – Taylor Swift
Diaspora Problems – Soul Glo
Will of the People – Muse
AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS – MICHELLE
Changes – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
The Other Side of Make-Believe – Interpol
The Kick – Foxes
LABYRINTHITIS – Destroyer
Endure – Special Interest
Indigo – RM
No Regular Dog – Kelsey Waldon
Back From The Dead – Halestorm
The Lakes of Zones B and C – Emperor X
Queen of the Night – Dirt Poor Robins
New Preoccupations – Caracara
Guv III – Young Guv
Being Funny in a Foreign Language – The 1975

3.5 Stars

Rock Believer – Scorpions
Squeeze – SASAMI
Remember That – Polyphia
Household Name – Momma
Resist – Midnight Oil
Earthling – Eddie Vedder
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You – Big Thief
Reeling – The Mysterines
The Tipping Point – Tears For Fears
Pool Kids – Pool Kids
This Is a Photograph – Kevin Morby
All Blue – Julianna Riolino
Life on Earth – Hurray for the Riff Raff
Cool it Down – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Unlimited Love – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Viva Las Vengeance – Panic At the Disco
Boat Songs – MJ Lenderman
Formentera – Metric
The Liar – John Fullbright
Janky Star – Grace Ives
Under the Midnight Sun – The Cult
Entering Heaven Alive – Jack White
Flaming Swords – Fievel is Glauque
Ribbon Around the Bomb – Blossoms
Beatopia – Beabadoobee
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
By Royal Decree – The Flower Kings
Patient #9 – Ozzy Osbourne
Once Twice Melody – Beach House
RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART – Vince Staples
Closure/Continuation – Porcupine Tree
For the Sake of Bethel Woods – Midlake
Classic Objects – Jenny Hval
Holy FVCK – Demi Lovato
Darklife – Death’s Dynamic Shroud
Loose Future – Courtney Marie Andrews
Fossora – Bjork
Crisis of Faith – Billy Talent
Emotional Creature – Beach Bunny
Things Are Great – Band of Horses
100./ Alpha Zulu – Phoenix
99. Sore Thumb – Oso Oso
98. what else can she do – Kaitlin Butts
97. Regards to the End – Emily Wells
96. Welcome 2 Club XIII – Drive-By Truckers
95. Only the Strong Survive – Bruce Springsteen
94. Timewave Zero – Blood Incantation
93. Warm Chris – Aldous Harding
92. The End, So Far – Slipknot
91. Giving The World Away – Hatchie
90. Life is Yours – Foals
89. One Is One – Delta Spirit
88. Asphalt Meadows – Death Cab for Cutie
87. If My Wife New I’d Be Dead – CMAT
86. Pompeii – Cate Le Bon
85. Denim & Rhinestones – Carrie Underwood
84. There Be Dragons – Blue Nagoon
83. Present Tense – Yumi Zouma
82. Guv IV – Young Guv
81. Colder Streams – The Sadies
80. Listen to the Blood – The Kernal
79. We’ve Been Going About This The Wrong Way – Sharon Van Etten
78. The Misfit – Rhett Miller
77. Laurel Hell – Mitski
76. Mars Volta – Mars Volta
75. Humble Quest – Maren Morris
74. C’MON YOU KNOW – Liam Gallagher
73. Amateurs – Laura Jean
72. Chopper – Kiwi Jr.
71. Angel in Real Time – Gang of Youths
70. Night Parade of One Hundred Demons – Earthless
69. Decide – Djo
68. The Long Road North – Cult of Luna
67. Farm to Table – Bartees Strange
66. WE – Arcade Fire
65. Big Time – Angel Olsen
64. Oxy Music – Alex Cameron
63. Hello, Hi – Ty Segall
62. Sometimes, Forever – Soccer Mommy
61. 4 – Slash
60. Chris – Ryan Adams
59. Palomino – Miranda Lambert
58. Are You Haunted – Methyl Ethyl
57. Reborn – Kavinsky
56. Harry’s House – Harry Styles
55. Lighten Up – Erin Rae
54. CRASH – Charli XCX
53. Still Life – Carson McHone
52. The Loneliest Time – Carly Rae Jepsen
51. The Gods We Can Touch – AURORA
50. Denim and Diamonds – Nikki Lane

4 Stars

49./ Gemini Rights – Steve Lacy
48. Take it Like a Man – Amanda Shires
47. Age of Apathy – Aoife O’Donovan
46. Hellfire – Black Midi
45. Jamie McDell – Jamie McDell
44. Two Ribbons – Let’s Eat Grandma
43. We Are There – Modern Studies
42. Endless Rooms – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
41. Antimai – The Dear Hunter
40. Cruel Country – Wilco
39. Misadventures of Doomscroller – Dawes
38. With People – Diane Coffee
37. Not Tight – Domi & JD Beck
36. Fear of the Dawn – Jack White
35. For All Our Days That Tear the Heart – Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler
34. World Record – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
33. PAINLESS – Nilüfer Yanya
32. How to Let Go – Sigrid
31. Natural Brown Prom Queen – Sudan Archives
30. Coping Mechanism – Willow
29. Special – Lizzo
28. Air Guitar – Sobs
27. Autofiction – Suede
26. SOS – SZA
25. The Unraveling of PUPTheBand – Pup
24. You Belong There – Daniel Rossen
23. Hold the Girl – Rina Sawayama
22. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow – Weyes Blood
21. A Light For Attracting Attention – The Smile
20. Lucifer on the Sofa – Spoon
19. Prince Daddy & The Hyena – Prince Daddy & The Hyena
18. Omnium Gatherum – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
17. Chloe and the Next 20th Century – Father John Misty
16. En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (One is Too Much and a Thousand is Never Enough) – Dungen
15. Nightroamer – Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
14. Electricity – Ibibio Sound Machine
13. The Hardest Part – Noah Cyrus
12. Utopia – St. Lucia
11. The Boy Named If – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
10. Michael Rault – Michael Rault
9. Expert in a Dying Field – The Beths
8. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar
7. Raw Data Feel – Everything Everything

4.5 Stars

6./ Remember the Magic – Junatime
5. I Love You Jennifer B – Jockstrap
4. Renaissance – Beyonce
3. Impera – Ghost
2. The Car – Arctic Monkeys

5 Stars

1./ Blue Rev – Alvvays